The Ten Best Ways to Live

When I ask my son where he feels closest to God, he always answers in the forest or somewhere in nature.  Following his cue, on a recent family trip to the forest, I took along materials for one of my favorite Godly Play stories, "The Ten Best Ways to Live". As you may have guessed, this story is about the Ten Commandments given to Moses in Exodus. The title here says so much: we tend to think of commandments in our modern language as being something harshly restrictive, but these commandments  are meant to show us how to live life to the fullest.

I brought along a portable desert sack that is smaller than the one I use in church and knew where I could get some sand in the forest. Then, I took 7 small wooden figures, a rock for Mount Sinai, and the heart-shaped box that holds the commandments. 

In case you have never seen the box that holds the commandments, it looks like this:

There is a strong non-verbal message going on in this story that is communicated through this box.  The heart shape communicates the motivation behind the commandments themselves: not a divine Kill-joy who tries to control everything, but a wise Father who loves us enough to give some healthy advice and boundaries. 

There are two versions of this story, an abridged version for small children and a longer version for older ones.  The last time my kids heard the abridged version because we were with younger children, so I chose to tell them the longer version this time. My favorite part of the longer version is where Moses asks to see God's face and God explains that no man can see God's face and live.  Instead, God places Moses between two rocks and allows him to see God from behind.  The GP storyteller then makes the statement that seeing God face to face is too much for us.  But if we see him from behind, we can then follow Him all the days of our lives.

The heart in the foreground has the two greatest commandments
that Jesus said summed up the 10 Commandments:
Love God, Love people, and a reminder that God loves us.
The Ten Commandments themselves are on the other plates to the left.

During the wondering phase, my son found the most important and best thing to be how Moses always put God first.  Both children were pretty aghast that the children of Israel would worship a golden calf, which led to a discussion about what kinds of things people today worship. The only single commandment that either child seemed to mention or identify with was the first one, probably because we have been learning the commandments together. That's one of the great things about "Wondering" in Godly Play: you can focus on the things that speak to you at that particular point in time and then find something new at a later date.  In that respect, GP is a lot like Lectio Divina.

We have been learning one commandment a week during our family time before the kids go to bed each night.  I have been using a kid-friendly version of the Ten Commandments that you can find here.  I let the kids make up hand motions to go with each commandment and this has been effective in helping them to remember.

Do you have any interesting ways to teach children about the Ten Commandments?

A Pleasant Surprise

Last week my daughter had surgery to have polyps in her nose removed and tubes put in her ears.  The surgery went well, but she had a rough time afterwards from the effects of the anesthesia and pain from the surgery itself. Her spirits brightened later that day when my husband handed me a package postmarked from Canada and I told her what it was: the felt pancake set that we won through a giveaway at Petals and Sunshine earlier this year. Good timing, Stephanie!

Isn't it adorable? Two handmade felt pancakes with bananas,
kiwis, blueberries, a strawberry, a pat of butter and some syrup.

Forgetting about how bad she felt, my daughter immediately
put on a party dress and set up a table for the dollies.

Blogging is so much fun - you make new friends and get neat surprises. Thanks, Stephanie, for making a tough day for my daughter more fun!

And be sure to check out Stephanie's blog, Petals and Sunshine!

Fragen sind wie Fenster / Questions are Windows

Buch - Der Neugier der Kleinsten Raum geben: Kinder fragen nach Gott und der Welt
(Book - Making Room for the Curiosity of Little Ones: Small Children ask about God and the World)

Ich muss zugeben, das Alter von 0-3 war nie meine lieblings Altergruppe von Kindern.  Ich war immer zu ungeduldig um zu versuchen die nonverbale Sprache von Kleinkindern zu verstehen.  Aber nachdem ich dieses Buch gelesen habe, habe ich eine neue Verständnis für diese Kinder und neues Impuls bekommen sie auf ihrem geistlichen Weg mit Gott zu begleiten.  Dear English-speaking readers, I so wish that the book above was available in your language, because it has some very important things to say that are lacking in most ministries to children 3 and under.  I have to admit that toddlers have never been my favorite age group to work with. I've always been a bit impatient with their non-verbal communication and have often not really tried to take the time to observe and be with them enough to understand.  But after reading this book, I have a new understanding of the possibilities with this age group and new inspiration to walk with them on their spiritual journey.

Die Autorin von diesem Buch, Ulrike Labuhn,  ist eine Freundin von mir und meine Mentorin bei der Godly Play Arbeit in Deutschland.  Sie hat auch jahrelang Erfahrungen mit Kindern in evangelischen Kinderstätten in Berlin-Brandenburg.  Dieses Buch wurde geschrieben als Praxisbuch für evangelische ErzieherInnen, aber ich denke, Eltern und alle, die mit Kindern zu tun haben, könnten davon profitieren. The author of this book, Ulrike Labuhn, is a  friend of mine and my Godly Play mentor here in Germany.  She has years of experience with children in preschools run by the state church in Berlin-Brandenburg area. She wrote this book specifically for preschool teachers, but I think it has a lot to offer parents and anyone else who works with children.  

"  . . . Fragen sind wie Fenster, aus denen Kinder aus ihrer Welt hinausschauen," schreibt Ulrike.  Kinder sind geboren mit der Fähigkeit nach Gott zu suchen und ihn zu spüren.  Kleinkinder, aber, stoßen täglich an den Grenzen ihren Wissens und suchen Antworten bei ihrer Bezugsperson. Sie stellen Fragen, die oft von Erwachsenen nicht wahrgenommen oder ernst genommen werden.  Diese Fragen aber, wenn sie wahrgenommen werden und mit Respekt behandelt werden, ermöglichen das Philosophierien und Theologisieren mit unter Dreijährigen.  " . . . Questions are like windows from which children look out of their world into the unknown."  Children are born with the innate ability to seek God. However, as toddlers, they reach the boundaries of their knowledge and experience daily and look for answers and help among their caregivers.  They ask questions that are often looked over or dismissed by adults.  But these questions, when they are taken seriously allow the beginnings of philosophical and theological thought in small children.  

Ich höre oft, dass Kinder unter 6 Jahre alt unfähig zum abstrakten Denken sind.  Als Kinderpastorin habe ich diese Theorie länger abgelehnt, da ich in den letzen fünf Jahre mehrmals gesehen habe, dass Kinder doch Verknüpfungen machen, die mit abstrakten Denken zu tun haben.  Ein Beispiel vom Buch ist die kleine Julia, die ein Vogelnest im Garten ihrer Kita findet und täglich rennt zu gucken, ob die Vogelbabys ausgeschlüpft haben. Danach holt sie ein Buch über Vögel, "liest" die Bilder, und äussert Gedanken über die Schale, Feder, usw.  Sie fragt ihre Erzieherin, was mit der Schale nach dem Ausschlüpfen passiert. Die Erzieherin gibt eine Meinung und Julia überlegt auch: vielleicht macht die Schale sich zu, wenn ein neuer Vogel drin ist.  Obwohl ein unaufmerksamer Erwachsener dies als Unsinn abweisen könnte, laut Labuhn "diese Interpretation  . . . erfordert ein abstraktes Denken, das wir den Kleinsten oft gar nicht zutrauen". I often hear that children under 6 years of age are incapable of abstract thinking, a stance which I have long since rejected. As a children's pastor, I have seen many times that children make associations and are capable of theorizing at early ages.  An example from Ulrike's book is the 3-year-old Julia who finds a bird's nest in her preschool's yard. Each day she looks to see if the baby birds have hatched.  Then, she gets a book about birds in her preschool, "reads" the pictures and verbalizes thoughts about the process.  She asks her teacher what happens to the egg shell once the bird has hatched.  Thinking it over with her teacher, she says, "Maybe the shell will close by itself when there is a new bird inside." Though an inattentive adult would probably laugh and dismiss this proposal as nonsense, Ulrike contends that this interpretation requires a child to think abstractly in a way that we often don't give children credit for.  

Der Rest des Buches geht darum, praktische Vorschläge wie man diese existientiellen Fragen in der Religionspädagogik fördern kann, z.B. durch die Anwendung von Godly Play.  Im Voraus müsste man die Haltung haben, dass wir auf einem gemeinsamen Weg mit den Kindern sind.  Ulrike schreibt: "Es geht nicht um richtig oder falsch, sondern um das Einüben einer lebenslangen fragenden Haltung."  Nächstes Mal, dass ich mit einem Kleinkind bin, werde ich viel gedüldiger und aufmerksam sein. Sonst könnte ich etwas sehr Wichtiges für das Kind und für mich verpassen. The remainder of the book gives practical suggestions as to how these questions from under 3's can be encouraged in religious education. Not surprising Ulrike writes about her experiences of telling Godly Play stories with this age group. The prerequisite for helping very young ones on their spiritual journey is to have the attitude that we are all on a journey together. Ulrike writes, "It's not about right or wrong answers, but about helping children to develop the life-long ability to ask questions." The next time I am with a child under 3 years of age, I will make an effort to be more attentive to their verbal and non-verbal communication and be more patient.  Otherwise I could miss something important that God wants to share with both of us!

Inspiration for the Week

" . . . das Ziel des Theologisierens (mit Kleinkindern) ist nicht ein fertiges Ergebnis, kein richtig oder falsch, sondern es ist das Einüben einer lebenslangen Haltung auf der Suche nach Gott, deren Wurzeln in der frühen Kindheit gelegt werden und die uns unser ganzes Leben lang begleiten."

- Ulrike Labuhn 

Der Neugier der Kleinsten Raum geben: Kinder fragen nach Gott und der Welt

" . . . the goal of theological thought with small children is not to produce a finished result, but to help them practice a life-long attitude of seeking God. The roots of this are found in early chidlhood and accompany us our whole lives."

- Ulrike Labuhn 

Remember those carrots?

Remember those carrot seeds that we planted on our balcony in the spring? (See Sensorimotor Worship: Gardening.)  Well, there was much rejoicing when we finally harvested the carrots at the end of August!

We had carrots in everything the next few days - in salads, in our snack boxes for school, even our hamster got some fresh carrot!  I think the whole experience drove reality home to us about how much work and patience it would take to grow our own food.  Not only were we thankful for the carrots themselves, but we also had a new sense of thankfulness for the many farmers who grow our food.

Montessori Musings: Geography

One of the things on my summer bucket list was to introduce my children to the different land forms in the Montessori curriculum. The whole aspect of Montessori that involves teaching nomenclature is especially important to my children, because they are bilingual.  Because they speak German all day long at school, they will not casually run into words like "isthmus", "cape" or "archipelago"in their everyday life without extra help on my part.  Montessori lessons not only teach them the concepts, but build their vocabulary in English as well.

For anyone not familiar with the typical landforms used in a Montessori lesson, you can find free downloadable cards here at Montessori Materials. After introducing the various landforms, I made a booklet for my son to color using materials that I received for taking part in Karen Tyler's on-line Montessori course. (See this post for more info on Karen's course.)

My son looking through his land forms booklet. 

Although my 5-year-old daughter was interested in the land forms themselves and in finding them on the globe, she did not want to make a booklet. My 8-year-old, though, found it all very fascinating and drew a flat map of the world to decorate the cover of his booklet.

He was very proud of the artwork he did for the cover.

After making the booklet, we used a globe to find examples of each of the land forms.  Then, several days later, after reviewing the booklet, we decided to make the land forms with sand and water.  I had originally planned to do this outside on the playground, but we have had the rainiest summer that I can ever remember having here in Berlin and it was pouring down on the day I chose to do this.  So, we ended up doing it all in our kitchen.  With trays, dirt and water, the kids sculpted various land forms from the booklet.

Making a strait . . . 

 . . . and an  isthmus.

A couple of capes . . . 

 . . . and an archipelago!

As you can imagine, it took a while to clean up my kitchen, but the satisfaction of hearing both children later that week still talking about them and finding the land forms by themselves on the globe made it all worth it!

Linked to Montessori Monday!

Sensorimotor Worship: Treasure Hunt

The Christian faith emphasizes that each one of us was specially fashioned by a loving God who put much thought into who we are and who we will become. Each human being is an amazing creation and God has given him/her something special to contribute to this world. As my wonderful summer with my children drew to a close, I wanted them to understand and remember this as they stepped back into the rhythm of the school year.  So, I came up with the idea to do a treasure hunt with them.

First, I emptied out an ornate jewelry box and attached a picture of my children to the top of the box to communicate that they themselves are God's treasure.

Then, I placed two different things inside:  1) a verse from the Bible, Psalm 139:14, which says "Lord, I praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made" to remind them of how special they are in God's eyes, and 2) chocolate "gold" coins just for fun.

The chocolate gold coins

Psalm 139:14 - I cut the verse in strips,
so that my 8-year-old, who can read,
could put it together like a puzzle.

Then, I made envelopes to be hid in different places with instructions inside of how to find the next one.

Next I told the kids that they were going to find a treasure and that inside was an important message that God wanted them to know.  My 8-year-old read the clues to my 5-year-old and together they raced around the house to find the treasure.  They seemed quite pleased at the end and happily gobbled up the chocolate.: )  Hopefully, this fun experience will help them to remember that they, along with all of God's children, are the true treasure on this earth!