Advent Club Week 3 / Week 4

Unsere 3-te Woche der AdventsAG fing ein bisschen chaotisch an! Durch ein Misverständnis würden unsere normalen Räumlichkeiten doppel-gebucht und wir müssten schnell einen anderen Ort finden. Wir zogen dann in die aus 2 Zimmern bestehenden Sachristei der Kirche, aber nach dem Aufbau merken wir, dass das 2-te Zimmer auch für eine Probe gebraucht war. Gut, dass wir so flexibel sind! Alles hat trotzdem gut geklappt, aber die Kinder waren natürlich durch den Raumwechsel ein bisschen aufgeregt und abgelenkt. This third week of Advent Club was a little crazy! We arrived at our usual place to set up only to find that it had been double-booked for another Christmas gathering. We moved to the sachristy of the church, a nice two-room suite, only to find that a rehearsal was set to take place in one of the rooms. Good thing we're flexible! Because we were in a totally different place, the kids were overly excited and had a bit more difficulty concentrating. 

Die Geschichte diese Woche war "Das Geheimnis von Weihnachten", auch von Godly Play.  Mittels Gemälden von Giotto, die heute in der Scrovegni Kapelle hängen, hörten die Kinder Teile der Weihnachtsgeschichte, die oft übersprungen werden. Ich erzählte den Kindern, diese Geschichte ist sowie ein Gleichnis, aber nöch größer. Es ist ein Geheimnis - das größte Geheimnis sogar -  wie Gott ein Mensch wurde und zu uns in einem Baby kam. The Godly Play story we heard this week is called "The Mystery of Christmas" and uses paintings by Giotto from the Scrovegni Chapel to tell some parts of the Christmas story that sometimes get overlooked. I tell the children that this story is like a parable, but even bigger. It's a mystery - the greatest mystery of all - how God became a man, how God came to us as a baby. 

Ich habe die Gemälde in Goldpapier eingepackt, damit die Kinder die Geschichte mit den in goldenen Kisten gesteckten Gleichnissen verbinden. Die Geschichte ist ein Geschenk von Gott und ist kostbar.  I wrapped the story materials in gold paper, so that the children make the connection that, like the Parables, this story is a gift and is precious.

Ein Blick auf das Material: 
Below is a closer look at the materials:

Im Uhrzeigersinn von oben:
The pictures represent from the top middle counterclockwise:

1. Die Verkündigung des Engels an Maria / The Annunciation
2. Marias Besuch bei Elisabeth und die Geburt von Johannes dem Täufer / Mary's visit to Elisabeth and the birth of John the Baptist
3. Die Geburt Christi / Jesus' Birth
4. Die Darstellung im Tempel / Simeon and Anna recognize Jesus as the Messiah in the temple.
5. Die Drei Könige / The Three Kings
6. Kindermord in Bethlehem / The Slaughter of the Innocents
7. Die Flucht nach Ägypten / The Flight to Egypt where Jesus is brought to safety.

Danach sangen wir Weihnachtslieder und übten fürs Programm im Seniorenheim. Afterwards we sang Christmas songs and practiced for our visit to the Senior Center in two weeks. 

Unter anderem im Seniorenheim werden die Kinder die Weihnachtsgeschichte mit den eigenen Worten erzählen. Um dies zu tun haben die Kinder angefangen Krippenfiguren aus Salzteig zu basteln. Für die Kreativphase hat jedes Kind eine Person oder Tier in der Geschichte ausgesucht zu gestalten. One of the things that the children are going to do at the Senior Center is to tell the Christmas story in their own words. We also began making our own nativity set to as a gift for the Seniors and to use to tell the story. So during the Creative Phase, each child picked a person or animal to make out of salt dough. 

Ein Hirt und Schaf.
An unpainted shepherd and sheep.

Ein Engel.
An unpainted angel.

In Woche 4 war ich auf einer Fortbildung in Holland gewesen. Melinda, meine Co-Lehrerin, und William, mein Ehemann, haben den Kindern weitergeholfen für den Seniorenheimbesuch vorzubereiten. During Week 4 I was at a Godly Play Training in Holland, so Melinda and William (my husband) helped the children in preparing for the program at the Senior Center. Thank goodness that I have such a great people that I can depend on! 

Die Kinder haben die ausgetrockneten Krippenfiguren angemalt. Die sahen so toll aus! They finished painting their nativity figures. Their finished work looked so charming!

Danach haben alle die Weihnachtsgeschichte, Lieder und Gedichte fürs Programm geübt. They also rehearsed the Christmas story, songs and poems for the program next week.

Beim Üben der Weihnachtsgeschichte. Wir benutzten
die Holzfiguren, weil die Farbe an unseren immer noch nass war.
Going over the Christmas story. We used the wooden nativity figures,
because ours aren't dry yet.

Wir üben die Gedichte. Practicing one of the poems.

Nur noch eine Woche! Only one more week to go!

For more Advent Club fun, see:

Week 1

Week 2

Four Candles Burning

Happy Fourth Advent! This week at church, we heard the Godly Play story, "The Mystery of Christmas". This story is based on a series of frescos by Giotto and contains parts of the Christmas story that are not as frequently told, but nonetheless important. The story was written for older children, so I left out some parts for the younger children in our group. 

The panels are normally found in a wooden, golden parable box.  Since I only had a backpack today to transport my materials in, I wrapped them in gold paper with a bow. The children immediately made the connection with the parables before I began speaking.  

"This is the most mysterious parable of all: that God became a human being, that He entered our world as a baby . . . "

I didn't tell this story last year, because I couldn't find a copy of Madeleine L'Engel's The Glorious Impossible that the Godly Play German books recommend purchasing for the storytelling. This year, however, I discovered that all of the paintings were on-line here and here. So I downloaded them, mounted them on canvas, and varnished them with Modge Podge.

Middle: The Birth of Jesus; Counter-clockwise from top left: The Annunciation,
Mary's Visit to Elizabeth, Presentation in the Temple, The Visit of the Magi,
The Murder of the Innocents in Bethlehem, and The Flight to Egypt

I think this will now be one of my favorite Godly Play stories. Not only does it fill in some blanks for children about the events surrounding Jesus' birth, it also introduces them to some amazing art. The 8-year-old in the group was riveted, but it did get a little long for the younger children.  There is no "Wondering" phase at the end, and I was going to try it anyway, but the smaller children were too tired by that point to try. 

For the creative phase, the children could either draw or make more beeswax ornaments. (I've certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of this craft this Advent season! Thanks again, Naturkinder!)

Then, came a special Advent feast thanks to a good friend who prepared it for us and let us use her apartment for the children's service!

On Fourth Advent, we also spend time remembering the wise men who followed the star from the east to find the Christ Child.  We also spend some more time thinking about Mary on this Sunday as well, because without her, there would be no baby.

The Godly Play board for the Fourth Advent Sunday.

Our old East German-made cabinet is running out of room!

 Hope you are finding peace in the midst of the sometimes crazy last week of Advent! Blessings and joy to you all!