A child has carefully traced the regions of the Holy Land in the time of Jesus. He is now carefully shading before gluing on symbols for the three primary cities in Jesus’ life – Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem..
The Littles are focused, skill-acquiring people who are interested in doing things for the sheer joy it. They have a wonderful ability to see the hidden mysteries of God’s Kingdom and form a deep and lasting relationship with the Good Shepherd.
A room with shelves, tables, a globe, books, and boxes to explore. In the foreground a bunch of white carnations wait for the children to do floor arranging.
Prayer
The Pentecost celebration when we ask the Holy Spirit for one of her gifts. The seven read candles are lit. A red underlay. A painted cross behind the candles.
The whole atrium centers around prayer. Prayer can take many forms ranging from sitting in silence, to singing, to drawing, to jumping. We trust that God is listening and guiding the child into an ever deepening relationship.
Practical Life Skills
A three year old rinsing dishes in a grey basin on a towel covered table after a community meal. A five year old is using a red towel to dry and stack the dishes.The
The 3 to 6 year-old child is growing stronger and more coordinated. They have a great capacity to acquire skills that allow them to help the family but also prepare them for the exploration of the wider world. Concentration, confidence, self-regulation, and management of failure are developed by providing a spiral of skills beginning with the simple and growing more complex.
Community
The prayer table set up for a season of preparation. Palmetto roses are in a vase on the left with a cross in the center. On the right side is a prayer card with an image of a seed growing from a seed to an adult wheat plant. A Bible is in the front of the table.
We join together in prayer and song. Together, we share the joys of the Kingdom of God and learn how to live with each other – how to interrupt, how to disagree, how to apologize, how to care for each other, and how to ask others for help.
Creative and Diverse
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple painted in the style of Haitian art. A box stands on end with its interior painted white, blue and gold to represent the Temple. In the foreground, Mary, Joseph Simeon, and Anna stand around baby Jesus. All the people are dark brown spheres or ovoids, Each has white paint showing the primary features and blue, green, or red paints as accents.
Our atrium materials recognize that Christianity covers the whole world and many cultures. We celebrate the art of our Christian siblings.
We enjoy robust conversations about how different times and cultures show us different aspects of God and the church.
A child with braids and beads holds a magnifying glass and points at a millipede as it visits the Map of the City of Jerusalem work.
The Good Shepherd
The central lesson for the Littles is the Parable of the Good Shepherd. They learn of Jesus’ care for the sheep, that Jesus loves the sheep, and that the sheep know Jesus’ voice and follow, and that they are part of Jesus’ flock.
A child in a green shirt and blue shorts lays on the floor opening the sheepfold gate to ponder the parable of the Good Shepherd for himself.
Values of God’s Kingdom
Absorbing the values of the Kingdom of God through the parables; exploring the gifts of communion and baptism; and pondering the reality of Jesus’ incarnation through maps, the five infancy narratives, Jesus’ special meal, and his resurrection are the primary aims of our lessons.
The lid of a metal tin with a white sticker. Its black writing that spirals inward reads:” The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who plants a mustard seed and it grew into a tree!”
Home Prayer Table
Often children choose to make their own family prayer table box to continue to ponder with Jesus at home. These offer your family more room to recognize God’s love in everyday life.
At home prayer table on a blue and green rug. A small wooden table with a green cloth, candle in bowl, cross, Bible, image of the Annunciation, and pot with a plantA child wearing black shirt is sitting at a brown desk on a stripped rug working on hand-eye coordination while using a needle to punch holes around a cross. A child wearing a pink bracelet holds up an acrylic cross to a light. She traces a flower she has shaded. The cross is part of her prayer table at home.
