Godly Play (for children up through 3rd Grade)
St. Paul has been using Godly Play as its elementary curriculum for several years. We find that it is an excellent way to share our faith with children and give them language to talk about God and church. Many of our teachers have attended specific training sessions in the Godly Play method. For those of you who may be new to it, Godly Play was developed by Jerome Berryman, an Episcopal priest and a trained Montessori teacher.
You may notice that our classrooms resemble a Montessori classroom, with open shelves, materials to work with, and carpeting to sit on. During class time, the teachers share a story with the children and then invite the children to wonder about the story. By asking open-ended questions, the teachers are not checking to see that the children have learned the facts of the story, but are leading the children to think more deeply about the importance of God’s ongoing creation in us.
After this time of wondering the children have time to respond to what they’ve heard. They may choose to draw, write in a journal, or look at the story they have just heard. Sometimes their response may be to work with another story. So at the end of class, there may not be any tangible piece of paper to bring home to parents. We ask that parents not be discouraged about this. Sometimes a lot of work is going on in their minds.
As a final note, you can support your children in Godly Play by talking with them: What was today’s story? What did you talk about? What did you think about the story? And always, feel free to talk with your child’s teacher.
For more information, explore the following links:
- Godly Play.org (http://www.godlyplay.org/view.php/page/index)
To register your child for Godly Play at St. Paul, please see the following form:
