This morning at our church's brunch, I tried something new for our Godly Play lesson with the children. I told two stories "side-by-side". You hear this term a lot in GP circles, but there isn't much literature on how to do it. I actually had to ask a colleague, Markus from Gott im Spiel, about how exactly to do it.
Basically, you tell two stories, one after the other. Although you can do a separate Wondering time after each story, most of the time you do one Wondering session after both stories have been told. You ask the usual questions for whatever genre(s) you are dealing with, and then a special question: "Is there something in this story that can help us understand the other story better?"
The stories that I chose were "Jonah" from the official Godly Play "canon" and a story in Godly Play-style, "Jesus Calms the Storm", written by some religious educators in Germany, among them, the above-mentioned Markus.
I hit upon the idea to tell the two stories side-by-side, because the authors made this suggestion for older children in their liner notes. I had already been in limbo about what story to tell, since I will only see some of these children one time before Easter. And I didn't want to tell "The Mystery of Easter", because some of them will hear it in Easter Club next week. I love to tell Jonah before or during Lent, because it deals with the theme of repentance. But I also think hearing stories about the life of Jesus is important as well. The "side-by-side" option solved my dilemma.
All the children present had heard the Godly Play version of "Jonah" at least once before, and some 2-3 times. And most of them were familiar with "Jesus Calms the Storm" from children's Bibles. There was only one child that I was not completely sure about, but everyone ended up completely engrossed in both stories.
I chose to ask at the end of the first story, "What did you like best?" before beginning the second story. And then I repeated this question at the end of the second story.
Then, I asked, "Is there something in 'Jonah' that helps us understand the second story better?" There, I was met mostly with confused stares - much different from silent wondering! An older child said, "Well, I can tell you how Jonah and Jesus are different . . . " and proceeded to talk about how Jonah wasn't exactly a "tip-top prophet" and how Jesus in contrast was obedient to God, the Father.
Following this child's cue, we then discussed what the two stories had in common and then how they were different. This seemed to helped the others break down my previous question into smaller bite-sized chunks that was easier to talk about.
As many of you know, children usually do not create art about stories that they have just heard, when given the choice. Most of the time, they return to a story that they have heard the week before or some time earlier. So, I was rather surprised when two of the children made artwork directly relating to the two stories I told today. One girl drew a picture of the ship carrying Jonah and the big fish that swallowed him.
Another boy made the wool picture below of Jesus in the boat speaking to the wind and waves.
All in all, the "side-by-side" storytelling was a good experience, and I will definitely do it again.
Basically, you tell two stories, one after the other. Although you can do a separate Wondering time after each story, most of the time you do one Wondering session after both stories have been told. You ask the usual questions for whatever genre(s) you are dealing with, and then a special question: "Is there something in this story that can help us understand the other story better?"
The stories that I chose were "Jonah" from the official Godly Play "canon" and a story in Godly Play-style, "Jesus Calms the Storm", written by some religious educators in Germany, among them, the above-mentioned Markus.
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| "Jonah" and "Jesus Calms the Storm" side-by-side |
I hit upon the idea to tell the two stories side-by-side, because the authors made this suggestion for older children in their liner notes. I had already been in limbo about what story to tell, since I will only see some of these children one time before Easter. And I didn't want to tell "The Mystery of Easter", because some of them will hear it in Easter Club next week. I love to tell Jonah before or during Lent, because it deals with the theme of repentance. But I also think hearing stories about the life of Jesus is important as well. The "side-by-side" option solved my dilemma.
 |
| End scene of "Jonah" |
 |
| End scene of "Jesus Calms the Storm" |
I chose to ask at the end of the first story, "What did you like best?" before beginning the second story. And then I repeated this question at the end of the second story.
Then, I asked, "Is there something in 'Jonah' that helps us understand the second story better?" There, I was met mostly with confused stares - much different from silent wondering! An older child said, "Well, I can tell you how Jonah and Jesus are different . . . " and proceeded to talk about how Jonah wasn't exactly a "tip-top prophet" and how Jesus in contrast was obedient to God, the Father.
Following this child's cue, we then discussed what the two stories had in common and then how they were different. This seemed to helped the others break down my previous question into smaller bite-sized chunks that was easier to talk about.
As many of you know, children usually do not create art about stories that they have just heard, when given the choice. Most of the time, they return to a story that they have heard the week before or some time earlier. So, I was rather surprised when two of the children made artwork directly relating to the two stories I told today. One girl drew a picture of the ship carrying Jonah and the big fish that swallowed him.
Another boy made the wool picture below of Jesus in the boat speaking to the wind and waves.
All in all, the "side-by-side" storytelling was a good experience, and I will definitely do it again.
