Article on Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

I found the following article on my jumpdrive, dated in 2014. The file has my name on it, but did I write this? The file name also has the name of our local diocesan newspaper. Was this published?

I don't even know! I don't remember writing this, but it IS my style! I am happy to have someone else say "nope, that's mine!" ;)

I think I would like to add more about the long-term experience of the child who has been in the atrium.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been part of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for more than 10 years, in a variety of roles. My participation began before I became a mother and has only become more intense through experiencing the depths of our faith through my son’s deepening relationship with the Good Shepherd.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is typically a once-a-week 90-120 minute gift for the children and the catechists to delve into the depths of the most essential elements of our Faith. Level 1 is for ages 3-6; Level 2 is for ages 6-9; and Level 3 is for ages 9-12+. A child who attends all three levels of the atrium (the designated space for the CGS materials) will move through the stages of recognizing their relationship with the Good Shepherd (level 1), recognizing and desiring a response to this relationship – to remain with Him and follow His teachings, His voice (Level 2), and finally actively seeking to serve Him through the initial discernment of vocation, the child’s personal place in the Plan of God (level 3). Ideally, these experiences can be followed up into adolescence to further develop the history of the Kingdom of God through the Church, through vocation studies, ever-preparing for the Parousia, when God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).

Indeed level 3, a space set aside for 9-12 year old children has so much for the adolescent and the adult; a growing number of adults request to spend time in the level 3 atrium to expand and deepen their own faith.

The level 1 child focuses on Jesus – the visible, tangible reality of the presence of God. We look to His life, His parables, His True Presence in the Mass, the geography of Israel during His life on earth, always focusing on the Church’s balance of Scripture and Liturgy, our primary sources for doctrine in all the atrium levels; establishing the reality of a current relationship with the Good Shepherd who knows me by name, loves me and will do anything for me that is for my benefit of remaining with Him. This is both enough and far more than enough.

God gave us His life, His Light, His joy in abundance.

The level 2 children expand this focus on the Good Shepherd into the reality that the Good Shepherd came for all peoples of all times – those around the world, those who came before us and those who will, God-willing, come after us. We explore all the level 1 topics again, adding a few more parables, life events, moments of the Mass, more geography, and now adding two key areas pertinent to this age: Moral Formation (moral parables and Maxims – Jesus’ instructions for how to live within the Kingdom of God) and finally, The History of the Kingdom of God – several long timelines that show the expanse of this history, with the particular moments of Creation, Redemption and Parousia, noting the Blank Page of history being written right now, by people together with God, just as the Bible came to us, work of human hands inspired by God.

We also prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist, through special times and retreats set aside for meditation on the True Vine parable, the Loving Father (Prodigal Son), juxtaposing the Found Sheep and Found Coin (Lost Sheep/Coin), and exploring the reality of the Healing of the Centurion’s Servant. These are moments cherished by the children who have the opportunity to delve into their faith with the responsibility of the choice they are making to come to these sacred sacraments. Through these special sessions, tied together with the atrium experience, the child’s sacramental preparation is beyond all other programs I have experienced before I came to CGS or since.

In Level 3, the children continue the same topics, but with fewer didactic materials and a greater number of abstract materials. Now the child is being called, not just to remain on the Vine, but to bear fruit – what is YOUR place in the Kingdom of God? We explore all 7 sacraments in depth, deepen moral formation, study the virtues, introduce the Liturgy of the Hours, explore each and every prayer of the Mass, and begin a study of Typology – the Church’s practice of seeking Jesus in the Old Testament and Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New – and the as yet unfulfilled prophecies that will come at the end of time: Parousia. Now we deepen our exploration of this "response". It is more than a passive remaining now. It is an active seeking. An active response in thanksgiving for the great gifts that God has bestowed upon us, for the reasons He created us and loves us. What will fill my blank page? How will I respond to the gifts of God? God has a Plan - how do I fit in and how can I help it move along towards the final moment of the Parousia? We explore the History even further: the Jewish People, Typology of Creation, Sin, Flood, Abraham and Moses/Exodus; Parousia when "God will be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).

At each level, the child returns to the same themes, going ever deeper and truly experiencing his identity in the Kingdom of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prophet Studies in Level 3

In the last several weeks, our lives have taken some pretty major turns. For the better? Only God and time will tell.

In lieu of being in a consistent atrium each week, I have been subbing in a variety of locations - which is awesome because of the variety of ideas and the freshness of sharing atrium experiences with different children ---- and not so awesome in that I am still recovering from an early bout of the flu 2 months ago, picked up from a new germ pool at a new atrium. While I have been able to fight off everything else, the cough just goes on and on and on and on. So I will be pulling back from subbing, just in time for all the teachers to get sick and need subs more often. Sorry! I need to heal up!

This all means I have spent a solid 36 hours in bed (I am *never* that sick!), our classroom is only half ready (read: MESS), Garden of Francis orders are no longer "caught up", Keys of the Universe videos have not been finished, and Legoboy has not participated in all the things he was going to do, simply because I no longer can get him there. So my hope for this year was to streamline both businesses to spend less time on them, spend less time with my son (we homeschool, he's 11, he needs some time away from me ;) ), and not require 50 hours in a day. Now I am spending *more* time on the atrium and the same amount of time elsewhere.

At least Legoboy's schooling is moving forward. And he remains healthy. Healthy enough to get braces! Hehe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole experience, and the events that led to the changes, have put me in the mind of the prophets. Most of them were persecuted in their own homes, shunned by the very people God led them to speak to, tortured emotionally and physically, yet most of them trusted God in all moments (ahem, Jonah!) and they all, using a word from the final prophetic book of the Bible, Revelation or the Apocalypse, *overcame.*

With God's grace, they were Overcomers.

All of us who are persecuted can be an Overcomer.

There are so many lessons to be learned from the Prophets. 

Each of us are called to be a prophet. Always.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Within the atrium, our official studies consist of the following:

Level 1:

• 5 messianic prophecies during Advent

Level 2: 

• 8 messianic prophecies (same 5, plus 3 additional), looking towards the moral prophetic message in some of them
• We also look to the Books of the Bible and many atriums have a set of command cards guiding them through those books, which have some questions on the Prophetic books section

Level 3: 

• Tying in the moral and messianic and looking to the future, Parousia
• Study on the Call/Vocation of the Prophets
• Study on the Content (Moral/Messianic) of the Prophets
• Study on the Struggles of the Prophets
• We also look to a set of prophecies related to the Parousia, matching the passage with its title and discussing what it might mean: The Holy Bible & Parousia

Personal Experience: 

In the level 3 atriums I have been in?

We began here: 
2012 Seeking the Plan of God post on Prophet Studies


Over time, we found our groove.

At level 3, our Prophecy Binder has veered a bit from the official CGS material, based on feedback and requests from the children themselves. I will not reproduce the CGS material here, but anything I have that is not found in the CGS materials is available for download at Garden of Francis.
Update with a note: The older CGS prophet study included a great deal more than it does now. Now (as of 2011-2015+) we almost solely focus on Isaiah with a tiny bit of looking at the call of 3 other prophets. The chidren were not satisfied with this to say the least, so I pulled out the older materials and adapted them a bit. The details follow.

The Binder Cover
I used a 2 inch D-ring (I would not use anything NOT a D-ring!)

Inside the front pocket:
Map of the Middle East during the time of the Prophets
Prophets Scripture Chart (several copies - each student takes one)
Before the Sun Burned Bright song - some children like to learn it

Instruction page (first page in the binder - in a sheet protector)

Added a set of cards to guide the children through studying a prophet or prophecy.
These are based on the old prophet study.
Some children created additional ones for each other and for themselves
- I encourage the older children to find ways to extend the work.
Stored in a pouch. 

Scripture chart - with a letter to the left side of each set,
corresponding with a booklet.
This may be based on the old material; it is modified for clarity. 

Each booklet in its own lettered pouch.
Book 'a' comes first; the others can be any order.
CGS used to use the books; then said use for catechist study only.
My atrium children have all gained a LOT from them!
But we needed modifications to aid in personalizing the experience. 

Last year, we made multiple copies of the first book,
since all the children need to read it each year.
And we had a HUGE class. Too large. 

What follows are the modifications I made to each booklet - 

notes to guide the children's follow-up work. 

(these should be pictured in order from book a to book e)

The children are always invited to artistic response: art, writing, creation of a project, etc.

We also have this really cool poster:

It shows the kings aligned with the prophets,
through 3 time periods in Israel.
VERY cool. 

NOT PHOTOGRAPHED:

• One atrium has a beautiful wooden treasure box that holds index cards. A set of blank index cards is next to the box. As the children find a prophecy (anywhere in the Bible - prophetic books, Revelation, New Testament, etc.), they are to write the Scripture citation and a quick summary (if the passage is longer) on one side. On the other side, they can write a title for the prophecy. This work was inspired by a combination of our updated/older-fied Prophet study and the Holy Bible & Parousia material. A child put it together. 

It is always good to have additional reading materials on hand. This particular book is very nice!

A sample page - beautiful illustrations, good information!
The style connects the children to the art heritage of our faith. 

Pin Maps of Israel

Israel at the Time of Christ materials I created for our local level 2 and level 3 atria.


I started with the materials manual (the last two versions of the level 2 printed manual and the online materials manual), I checked atlases and other resources (both ones the children would be able to access in the atrium as well as resources accessible outside the atrium) and did some serious modifying.

I then created my own documents and materials that reflect the actual appearance of Israel and what we can determine historically. No two atlases are 100% identical, so what I have prepared is what I hope to be a good representation of Israel while also reflecting the nature of the regions puzzle map we utilize in the level 1 (and early level 2) atrium.

Pin Map Love - a previous post about this material.

The materials are available for purchase at Garden of Francis - Israel Pin Maps - Time of Jesus. A portion of this work was developed with direct assistance of a handful of catechists at our local parish, so a portion of all pin map sales will be directly tithed to that parish. Pins are are also available with options for each pin map board or a complete set.

All features on one control map
and a working (mute) map with all features
Level 2 might not have this set -
more likely to have a larger control map available
as well as individual control maps for the maps described below.
OOPS! Missing the Mountains of Perea to the eastern edge of Perea.*
Total of 42 locations/pins. 

the mute working map for "Cities and Regions"
3 Key Cities (white pins with red lettering)
18 Cities, Towns, Villages (red pins with black lettering)
4 Regions (white pins with black lettering)
WHITE = previously known
Red = cities
Black = general usage

the  mute working map for "Mountain Ranges, Desert, Bodies of Water"
OOPS! Missing the Mountains of Perea to the eastern edge of Perea.*
This map is for geographical areas:
Mountain Ranges: 5 yellow pins (with green lettering)
Desert: 1 yellow pin (with black lettering)
Water: 4 blue pins (with black lettering)
Yellow for land areas; blue for water areas
Green for mountain reference

the mute working map for "Mountain Peaks"
7 green peaks (with black lettering)
Green for mountain reference

For level 2, it is BEST to have a separate container for each pin map. So the children go to the shelf and have for each of the pin maps

• Working mute map (this is the one with holes)
• Control map (can be the wooden map photocopied and mounted onto tagboard, add labels)
• Booklet (this provides some information on each location, the corresponding Bible verse - and tells them the name of the place so they can find the pin to place it on the map)
• And the box of pins for that map only

At level 3, they can have ONE box with all the pins and a set of atlases and other maps to research where to place the pin for each geographical location. In my level 3 atriums, the children earn the privilege to work with the pin maps by researching and filling in two pages listing each of the locations by Bible verse (they look up the Bible verse and write in the name of the location). 

The pins for the maps: 

I bought ours from Nienhuis (Heutink in the US). They are sturdy pins with sturdy flags, available in all the colors we need. I order the "extra flags" in sets of 10, currently $6.60 for a pack. Shipping is expensive through them, but I try to order other items to bring down the shipping cost. Nienhuis/Heutink Pin Map Flags in packs of 10

This particular tacklebox is a "Flambeau Incorporated"
I cannot locate an item number.
A Plano 345500 6-12 Compartment Adjustable is rather similar, but smaller.
The Plano 2360099 Prolatch 3600 Stowaway seems quite identical to this one.

The tacklebox I use for level 3 is perfect for this age - they can have the pins in one container, divided out like this. It has 6 compartments; I have inserted a divider in one to split between the two land ranges of "mountain ranges" and the one "desert." I would like to add a symbol above where I labeled the section (on the underside of the lid) to show which color combos go in which section.

I have also labeled the contents on the underside of each slot.
These could be color coded.

All of the cities we use
Cities are represented in red. = 18 new
The three key cities the children already know from L1?
Those are written in red on the white flags - to emphasize them. = 3
Regions are white flags as well (already known) with red lettering. = 4

Mountains are represented by green; and yellow shows a land "area"
So yellow with green for the mountain ranges. = 5
Yellow with black for the desert. = 1
Green with black for the mountain peaks. = 7

Blue is water - that's the easy one ;)  = 4

Anything with two names, I wrote the second name on the back of the flag.
The Sea of Galilee is also Lake Tiberias
Golgotha is also Mount Calvary

Biblical Geography Scripture charts: 

The level 2 children also have these charts on hand -
they can look up a geographical location in the Bible
to read more about it. 

The level 3 children have this blank chart they fill in, using context clues
from the heading of that particular page and the Scripture verses noted.
Then they can work with the pin maps in any order they choose. 

The booklets:
I don't have a ready photo of the booklets. The pages I personally utilize fit 3 to a page and the booklets have red or green covers depending on the color scheme chosen by the atrium I create them for. I only recommend using them for level 2 as the information they pull from is best researched by the level 3 child using the blank Biblical Geography charts.

OOPS! Missing the Mountains of Perea to the eastern edge of Perea.*

Level 3 - we like to lounge

During official presentations, I prefer the children to sit up, but during follow-up chats on their work, their personal questions and meditations, and during their own personal work - one way the older children know this is truly their space is that they get to s-t-r-e-t-c-h. 

Did you know that Jesus and His apostles "lounged" rather than "sat" at the Last Supper? 

Study on Abraham:

These are new-to-atrium children who have a strong interest in overview presentations of some of the level 2 materials: Synthesis of the Mass in this case.

More Abraham: another day.

Multi-level Atrium - Just for the fun of sharing

This atrium session we have all three atriums available to the children of appropriate ages, but the level 3 children have access to all three spaces (typically going between levels 2 and 3), and we occasionally all go into level 1 for some things, like changing the liturgical color :) 

Level 1

CUTIE! 

Exercises of Practical Life: Stringing beads

Liturgy: Re-creating the Liturgical Calendar
(we have coloring pages for this - I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE
when the children make it entirely themselves instead!)

Probably a bit young from the liturgical calendar... ;)
matching up the colors though
(hm? perhaps we need some simpler such EPL materials...)

Liturgy: Gestures

Scripture/Prophecy/Prayer: Tracing a Prophecy prayer card

Awesome concentration
Tracing and illuminating Scripture passages assists in meditation

Level 3

Moses Typology: They each choose their comfortable position

Not much movement going on here

But they sure get into these readings and conversations! 

Level 2

Reviewing some geography concepts

chit-chatting, sharpening pencils -
free movement and awesome conversation
even when our hands are not on the official materials

Such joy :)