Godly Play Volume 5

Practical Helps from Godly Play Trainers

Jerome W. Berryman, Cheryl V. Minor

• Publisher: Church Publishing
• Year: 2003
• Print ISBN: 9781931960045
• eBook ISBN: 9781606741313
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Godly Play® is an imaginative approach to working with children, based on Montessori principles.

The kind of help you will find here for your continuing development as a Godly Play teacher supplements the first four volumes of The Complete Guide to Godly Play and their related videos. You will find wisdom about developing the storyteller you already are. There is advice on how to manage time and space in the classical teaching and learning environment for Godly Play. The authors of volume 5 are nearly all accredited Godly Play trainers. It has been written not only to introduce you to some of the next generation of leaders in Godly Play, but also to make available to you the benefit of their experience and insight.

Since there is nothing quite so practical as good theory, there are also reflections about children's education, their spirituality and a theology of childhood for adults. This information is based on what has been learned about children in Godly Play settings around the world so we adults can be guided toward entering the reality Jesus called "the Kingdom of Heaven."

CHAPTER 1

HELP WITH TELLING STORIES

THE GOOD SHEPHERD CALLED US

“Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me...”

I think it should be noted that on the Sunday after September 11, 2001, I called all of our classes together and used the Parable of the Good Shepherd as a way to have conversation about the tragedy of the World Trade Center. I think it should be noted because, as I talked to trainers around the country later that week, it seems we all had done much the same thing. The Good Shepherd had called to us. And many of us had turned to Psalm 23 to read it to our children, a source of comfort in our lives, as it was in our parents and grandparents’ lives and in the lives of all the grandparents before them. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...”

—Kim McPherson

THE STORIES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

by Jennifer Acland

The children gather eagerly. They have not heard these stories before.

I teach religious education in a non-denominational Christian school for girls in Melbourne, Australia. The school has Christianity woven into its foundation, but many of the families in the school would have only a very occasional church connection with it. Some parents have been married in the local churches, and they may well be buried from those churches when the time is right, but worship is not part of their life routine.

I wanted to know if religious education inspired by Godly Play would work in an Australian Primary school. I was appointed as the Junior School Chaplain after I ran an in-service training to introduce the teachers to Godly Play. The teachers welcomed the change in approach and me.

The children sit, silent and mesmerized by the movement, the material, the voice: the story. We journey together through the desert, we seek God’s face and we long for the Temple. Later we listen to Jesus’ words and wonder what his life and death might mean for us.

Listening to the silence as I told the stories, hearing their remarkable responses and seeing their beautiful artwork all made me think of ways to invite them deeper, through the stories, to the place where they might encounter God. I wanted to tell them more stories, more stories of individual people doing the very thing I was inviting them to do. I told them about Balaam and Gideon and Saul, the first King. I wanted to tell more stories of women who listened to God. So I wrote about Ruth and Naomi and Hannah. Later I told about the woman at the well and about Martha who worked and Mary who sat. I told them about the woman and her oil. They continued to wonder and to do their work.

I do not use many of the stories from the Liturgical Cycle as the children I teach do not go to church. Instead I stay close to the scripture stories as we have them. Staying true to the inspiration and practice of Godly Play I have written new stories. I am a member of the Australian Network of Biblical Storytellers. They encourage people to learn scripture passages for recitation in church rather than always hearing it read. I have found their method meshes beautifully with the reflective silence of Godly Play. Children who have not heard the stories come fresh to them. It is a delight to tell the stories and to watch them being received like bread from heaven.

I speak the words of scripture straight from the book, or so it seems to the listeners. I learn the passage from their Good News Bibles and I speak those words to them.

They have not heard words exactly like these before. And yet they echo with a distant familiarity.

“Do you know the whole Bible, Miss?”

I smile at their wonder. They find the story for themselves in the book and they hear the echo again. And again, I pray… The stories speak for themselves.

THE SLOW PACE OF GODLY PLAY

by Kathleen Capcara

When I travel to other Godly Play classrooms to lead workshops, I often hear teachers worry about the need to “slow down.” Helping children learn the skill of being still to allow more openness to the presence of God is certainly a part of Godly Play. But I believe some of the urgency about telling stories slowly may come from a feeling of the need to emulate the style of Godly Play’s founder, Jerome Berryman.

The Reverend Doctor Berryman is a gifted storyteller. His soft voice, slow delivery and gentle manner in presenting lessons have held us spellbound for years. But I believe that in modeling the Godly Play method for us, it was never his intention for every Godly Play storyteller to become exactly like him. All of us who present Godly

Play lessons will need to find our own style and authentic voice. I also believe that it is often appropriate to modify your storytelling style to suit the ages of the children and specific situations in your classroom. A slightly faster pace may work better with older children and in some situations.

Some of the slower pace of Godly Play stories is necessitated by the use of manipulative story telling materials. It is difficult to tell a story quickly and move materials that illustrate the story at the same time. And learners find it challenging to simultaneously watch what you do with the materials while they listen to what you say as you present the lesson. The ability to process both verbal and visual information at the same time improves with age in many learners, but not all.

The children in your classrooms who are extroverts will be quick to let you know when they feel the pace of your storytelling is too slow. But try to remember that there will also be introverts in your class who may not verbalize their appreciation of the slower pace.

I live on the East coast, where a premium is placed on accomplishing things quickly. I believe that some of this comes from a desire to do as many good things as possible in the limited time we have on earth. As one of these well-intentioned people, I need to remind myself that when the prophet Elijah was waiting for God to come to him, Elijah was sitting still in a cave. And God was not in the earthquake, wind or fire that passed by Elijah. God came in a sound of sheer silence. It takes a slower pace to be fully present to a sound of sheer silence. I use a prayer by Michael Leunig to remind myself and my restless fourth and fifth graders to find the peace and serenity that are already in our hearts: “God help us to live slowly...to move simply...to look softly...to allow emptiness...to let the heart create for us.”

GETTING READY TO TELL STORIES

by Becki Stewart

Practicing

• Your goal is to make the story your own.
• Choose a lesson you love or are familiar with.
• Begin by reading through the script.
• Use the lesson materials or substitutes so you learn the story with your body.
• Practice with cue cards. Highlight key words. As you practice without notes, use the cards when you forget.
• Audio tape yourself and listen to the story over and over.
• Practice in front of a mirror and watch the movements.
• Practice telling the story to a safe audience.

Developing Your Style

• Be patient with yourself, it takes time.
• You have your own unique style.
• The story belongs to all people and the children need to know that.
• Just do it.

Making “Mistakes”

• It happens.
• Just keep going.
• Make a choice—leave it or correct it when you can.
• Use your mistakes: learn from them.

STORIES FROM THE HEART: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO LEARN GODLY PLAY STORIES BY HEART

by Rosemary Beales

Sometime teachers are afraid they cannot memorize the stories, and that they need to rely on written prompts such as note cards to help them present the story to children. Here are the reasons that it’s important to make the effort to work “without a net.”

First, “learning stories by heart” is a more accurate description of what we do than the word “memorizing.” I hope it will transform the process from a task that must be accomplished to a joy that may be embraced.

When a story sinks into your heart, it also comes from your heart in the telling. Children know the difference!

Learning the stories by heart:

• allows the story to take root in you so that it becomes your own and nourishes your own spirit
• removes the distraction of having to look in two different places—the text and the materials—as you present the story (Focusing your visual attention on the materials actually helps you remember the language.)
• gives the children only one place to look, at the story materials (This focuses their attention as well as yours.)
• shows children that you love the story so much that you know it by heart
• enables you, eventually, to become fluent enough that you can work with any child who chooses any story material at response time

The language of the Godly Play texts is carefully chosen, and it is important to be attentive to the language. But it is even more important to be relaxed and enter into the story you are presenting. Telling the story from your heart, to the children’s hearts, is more important than getting it right.

THE LANGUAGE OF GODLY PLAY

by Becki Stewart

Jerome Berryman identifies four kinds of language in a Godly Play classroom.

The Language of Sacred Stories:

• described by Jerome Berryman as narratives in which God is the main character
• tells about the encounters of the people of God with the mystery of the presence of God
• helps us find our own story within the Master Story (the Bible)
• tells about finding our identity as children of God

The wondering questions for the Sacred Stories include:

• I wonder what part of the story you like best?
• I wonder what part of the story is most important?
• I wonder what part of the story is about you or where are you in the story?
• I wonder what part of the story we could leave out and still have all the story we need?

The Language of Parables:

• pushes language to the limit
• illustrates that the Kingdom of God is not something that can be expressed easily using ordinary language
• encourages us to make sense of life in existential terms (meaning, death, aloneness, freedom)
• stands on its own (You can’t throw a parable away just because you have discovered one correct interpretation.)
• includes the “I Am” statements of Jesus
• speaks in the authentic voice of Jesus

The wondering questions for the Parables include:

• I wonder what this could really be?
• I wonder where this could really be?
• I wonder who the person could really be?
• I wonder if the birds have names? If they are happy? If they know how to build their nests? I wonder what the person was doing while the seed was growing? I wonder if the person was happy to see the birds nest in the tree? If the person could take the shrub that grew as big as if it were a tree and put it back inside the tiny seed?
• I wonder how he felt now that he had the great pearl? I wonder why the seller would give up the great p...

Table of contents

• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Chapter 1: Help with Telling Stories
• Chapter 2: Help with Managing Time
• Chapter 3: Help with Managing Space
• Chapter 4: Help with Nurturing Relationships: Congregations and Parents
• Chapter 5: Help with Nurturing Relationships: Teachers and Children
• Chapter 6: Going Deeper with Godly Play