The Godly Play family is growing! There are now 14 more certified storytellers in Mink, Belarus.
Eleven women and three men attended a three-day Core Training May 12-14 led by UK/Germany Trainer, Helen Spencer, and myself. With this group, we did some serious playing! We laughed together quite a bit, and wondered about a great deal of things. Our unofficial motto was "Godly Play, not Godly School"!
Our lively group was made up of children's workers from 5 different churches:
One of my favourite parts of any training is when the trainees experience a full Godly Play session for themselves as participants, often for the first time. Here Helen shares "The Great Family".
Many people come to Core Training having only assisted children in the Response Time, or never having seen a real Godly Play room. It is fun to observe and assist them during their first Response Time for themselves.
Core Trainings go all day and involve lots of sitting. Sometimes it wears me out, because I don't get enough exercise. There was nothing to fear at this training, because Alesya walked me an extra 8-10 km each evening after the training ended to make sure that I saw all of Minsk. (This was my third trip here, but the first time that I actually saw the city!)
And I had some amazing food while I was there as well! Here are some "draniki", a type of Belarussian hash brown with lots of sour cream and smoked salmon. Yum! Yum!
Eleven women and three men attended a three-day Core Training May 12-14 led by UK/Germany Trainer, Helen Spencer, and myself. With this group, we did some serious playing! We laughed together quite a bit, and wondered about a great deal of things. Our unofficial motto was "Godly Play, not Godly School"!
Our lively group was made up of children's workers from 5 different churches:
One of my favourite parts of any training is when the trainees experience a full Godly Play session for themselves as participants, often for the first time. Here Helen shares "The Great Family".
Many people come to Core Training having only assisted children in the Response Time, or never having seen a real Godly Play room. It is fun to observe and assist them during their first Response Time for themselves.
We wondered about Children's Spirituality,
the roots and influences on Godly Play,
and about which of the Montessori principles in Godly Play we liked best.
Of course, there was time to learn and practice our stories,
and to share them with our peers. Depending on the person, this can be a lot more challenging than sharing the stories with children!
Pictured below, Helen and I are with Sveta, Irena, and Alesya, who did all of the legwork for us, and without whom we could not have offered this training. (There is one other Sveta not pictured, who also went above and beyond the call of duty to serve us!)
Core Trainings go all day and involve lots of sitting. Sometimes it wears me out, because I don't get enough exercise. There was nothing to fear at this training, because Alesya walked me an extra 8-10 km each evening after the training ended to make sure that I saw all of Minsk. (This was my third trip here, but the first time that I actually saw the city!)
Here I am at "Ploshad Pobedi" (Victory Square).
Alesya and I on top of the city library building, one of the most excellent views town.
.
And I had some amazing food while I was there as well! Here are some "draniki", a type of Belarussian hash brown with lots of sour cream and smoked salmon. Yum! Yum!
So privileged to have shared this time with such special people!
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