Tracking Children's Work

I have seen a variety of combinations of methods for tracking children's work, presentations, mastery, etc. Some just seem too over-done; others work better in some situations than others.

• Every child has a page in a binder with a list of all possible presentations for that atrium level. The date is noted when the child receives each presentation or moment. 
• Similar idea with more space for observation notes. 
• Separate page for every session, with every child's name listed, with space for writing in presentations and work choices. 
• Basic attendance and that is it. 
• A chart of presentations down the side and every child's name across the top - a page for each age level within the atrium. Catechist fills in a variety of symbols based on presentation, mastery, repetition, etc. 
• Same idea as above, but a simple X for the catechist presented or an O for another child presenting it (in the case of a previous absence). 
• Any combination of the above. 

My personal preference: the last one listed. I have tried them all. Everything else is just too many pages or doesn't provide "enough." When required to, I am happy to keep an attendance sheet (one sheet that covers the whole year). Otherwise, I like to see all "year one" presentations on a chart listed down the side, with the children's names across the top. I place a simple X or O as needed. 

I usually include a 4th chart for "all children likely to receive" - and I am NEVER opposed to adding in a child who is ready for something sooner; or waiting to present something to a child who is just not ready. 

For the first few weeks of this year, I did not have these charts ready for my combination 2/3 atrium. The following reasons made that (not having the charts ready) a very bad idea: 

• Some of the children are new; some children have varying levels of experiences at various times. 
• All of the children are new to me. 
• This combination is brand new. 
• The WIDE age range (grades K/1, 3/4, 6)
• Being in an atrium not my own. 

Today I was in the atrium, with charts in hand, filled out with what I already knew (I don't know everything the children have done) --- and the whole atmosphere was totally different. 

Within the atrium, we want to be "matchmakers" - match the child with a material that will help him respond to the gifts of God. We as catechists are to be humble servants to the workings of the Holy Spirit. 

One would think that would mean "wing it" - but it doesn't. Winging it does NOT work. 

Coming in with a plan, knowing that the plan might not work out (and likely won't), instills a confidence level that allows for that gift of humility. 

I came in today ready to give the Blue Unity to the 3rd graders and older. They'd all had it. I was able, because I had my little charts, to *quickly* (not scanning a variety of pages) look at, "Ok, what else has this child already had, and what are the next possibilities?" Yes, I still had some questions for the children (with the Blue Unity, I wanted to know what they remember, what work they have done with it - to ascertain, is there anything more they will receive if I have them do it again, or is it best to just move on to something else?). 

And now I can say, "ok, next week I will present the Plan of God to the level 3 children and follow their interests from there. But for all the children, for the next 2-3 weeks we are going to look at geography of Israel appropriate to each child's level; and we are going to pull together the pieces we have of the Mass so that the older children are ready to work with the level 3 Mass charts if interest directs them there right away (otherwise we'll get to it later in the year) and the younger children can come together for the Synthesis of the Mass." Do I know precisely what I am going to show each child on each day? Not a chance! They might be sick or otherwise absent; or so in deep with another work that I won't take them away from it. So I will work with the children who are present at the time, inviting them to spend their work time selecting previously presented materials that meet their current needs. And over the course of the month all will be accomplished. :) 

We will be well-prepared then to enter into prophecy and infancy narratives in December, with the older children going into Prophet Studies and the level 2 children exploring the Messianic prophecies. 

Having a plan of some sort - just to see the connections and the patterns - is such a balm to the soul. The charts of my choice provide me such a quick glance to ascertain appropriate work choices for the children, and options for where I can present if they are ready for something new. 

Planning = freedom! 

One last thought. I do not personally need to note every single follow-up a child has had. That is the work of the Holy Spirit - that is NOT MY PLACE. It is my place and it is necessary for me to note that a child has a received a presentation, therefore has the option of working with it again. By seeing on my chart, "this child had this work already" - I know that I can call over a small group of children who have all had something and have a new meditation on it. OR I know that a child has already seen something when I see him working with it inappropriately; if I know he has seen it, I know he needs a re-presentation and probably something deeper with it; conversely if I know he has not received a presentation or received the presentation from another child, that gives me another clue as to WHAT needs to be said, HOW to address the situation and WHERE to take the meditation. 

I am good knowing THAT a child has received something already; I can then gauge responses to see what to do next. No more paperwork details than that! 

:) 

Silence

A quote attributed to Pythagoras:

Be silent; or say something better than silence. 

Can someone help me identify the source of this quote:

Only in the silence can the voice of God be heard.  

Connections and Differences Between CGS Levels

The last couple of years, I have been so focused on helping others understand how CGS builds from level 1 to level 3, so that they become comfortable with the children NOT memorizing the 10 Commandments in levels 1 or 2; become comfortable with their children learning in the earlier ages what we didn't learn until much older (if at all); become aware of the "golden thread" patterns throughout the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, that encourages parents to continue bringing their children to atrium when a "book-based religious ed" program may have a more convenient schedule. (Some of my explanation of connections are here.)

But in that time, I have lost track of emphasizing the *differences* in each level, especially in level 3. To the point that the adults don't understand that these are not level 1 children anymore, with level 1 needs, or in need of level 1 interactions.


But the children know!

I asked the 4th grade children today what they remember from level 1 or what any of them know from their siblings; the 5th and 6th graders have a few memories from their sacramental preparation time in level 2 and the 4th graders just spent 3 years in that level.

And then they shared what they have found to be different thus far in level 3 - the differences that make it their OWN atrium. That make level 1 and level 2 NOT an appropriate place for them; that make the teaching style of the level 1 catechist and the teaching style of the level 2 catechist no longer an appropriate match for these level 3 children.

Some of their answers:

• Respect: While they felt respected in all the other atriums, now the respect is that they have a lot more input, they have a lot more to say. The teacher says less and the children think more. 
• Right/wrong answers: There a lot fewer materials thus far that have matching answers. Even the Plan of God mute does not have to perfectly match the control, as long as they explain why they placed something where they did; then explain why it has meaning at its location on the control. BOTH of those meanings are accurate and have value. 
• Exploring questions with no or few solid answers: Adults don't have all the answers, but it is obvious that some adults are better at guiding the children towards finding their own answers. They feel more respected by the adults who are able to guide them, than the adults who come in and just tell them what to do. 
• Pertinent adults: A small group of children had many questions on this matter and asked, "Which adults do we ask for help for what things?" We had a brief conversation about the differences in the types and scopes of the materials used in the atrium and how certain adults had certain pieces that would be of help; other adults could observe and participate with the children. Most adults would just be observing. At this parish there is one trained level 3 catechist, with two adults who have had about half the formation in level 3. These names were identified for the children as sources of assistance. 
• Time for exploration: All of the children agreed that they appreciated having materials to explore; a brief introduction; then let them go with it; knowing that they need to get ME or other specifically-named adults for a follow-up chat. (UPDATE 10/2013: I no longer have "assistants" but I do prep the other adults to be of specific guidance on specific materials)

Very interesting revelations! And how interestingly they tie into the needs and tendencies of human beings as represented by this age group. 

I introduced to the children today a "suggested work choices list", emphasizing that not only was it not complete, it never would be complete and they were only to use it as a back-up to their own ideas. Every child was invited to enter, quiet themselves either at the prayer table or sitting alone for a moment, then select work. 4 children consulted the list, with 2 of them asking what a material was (for clarification). The assistant got two girls started on exploring a maxim, which led them off into their own study. 

Another group of children studied a timeline book I brought in that ties together various events of Biblical history with what was going on in the secular world. While this is not an atrium material precisely, I allowed them the length of time they desired for this work, because of its direct connection to the Plan of God and other salvation history work, direct tie-in to their school studies, it provided much research fodder for discussions and it will help the oldest ones especially move into the study of the prophets and of typology. 

Another group of children worked with our shorter Fettuccia to get a better feel for it; while yet another group of children spent time with the Plan of God mute. They needed some assistance with this work since about half of the children had not been officially presented with the control. This should NOT have been a problem with this particular group of children, but it seems that they were not sure who to ask for help at key moments and confusion set in when the adults who offered assistance did not get a trained catechist soon enough. I have to admit, it made it very difficult for me to come in and attempt to pinpoint (without boring the children to tears, as well as without making them never want to work with the Plan of God again) where the original point of question lay, because by that point it had been over-laid by so many layers. 

Thus, we had two conclusions that threw my "plans" out the window: 

1. instead of presenting the Mystery of Faith to small groups, and a prayer table meditation on Creation (to prepare for typology next week); I allowed the children to JUST work. It was intense and wonderful! (by the by, I am happy to throw out my plans for just such a reason!)
2. And we had a "housekeeping" conversation to answer prevalent questions: 

• where is the tracing paper hiding? 
• really, we can move the tables around? really? you mean like this? and like this? (they were testing their boundaries by asking me - I loved that!)
• and really, we can't sit on the heaters? ;) (in the overly hot room, two boys thought they'd sit on the heaters and block the heat from suffocating everyone!)
• confirmation for the children that they have been making excellent work choices
• Most importantly, the discussion points raised above about what kind of atrium is this, what is expected of the children and what is expected of the adults. 

I really got a sense from the children that they left "relieved" - that their needs are going to be met, that their opinions respectfully stated are going to be heard and even addressed, that there was a good reason for some of their discomfort and when properly addressed discomfort can lead to a greater level of being. One girl was even quietly clapping her hands with a look on her face, that said, "YES! Thank you! Thank you for being so honest!" While this was not a deeply theological conversation, it was certainly a meaningful one, a necessary one, and led them to be comfortable in a room that is designed for THEM. 

These children, at this age, can spot a fake a mile away; when they hit 13+, they will spot those fakes 10 miles away. The atrium, for them, is REAL. 

Sharing Their Work

They laid out the timeline,
discussing it;
then pulled out the booklet
and read through it,
discussing some more as they went. 

It always deeply impresses me, without fail both in the deed and in the impressing, that there is always at least one child in the atrium who is not only willing but truly seeking to provide a presentation for another child.

When we have absences, I always have children who want to show the returning children a presentation that was missed, whether a huge timeline or small gesture. The children seem to crave these moments of sharing with one another.

The girls in question this evening were only half done with the Plan of God when we had to close it up for the evening. I listened to their conversation and sharing as I worked with other children, just so I could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through them. And He did. The message this evening was, as it always is, "Have faith. Just remain in Me."

I know the girls look forward to working with the mute strip next week. Two other girls had it out this evening and made some interesting placements:

Discussing placement

They were so neat in their placements. 

Adding the inventions to the blank page.
Why this choice?
Because we still use those gifts today,
on our own blank pages. 

When the girls were done discussing and laying out the pieces on the mute strip, the rolled out the control strip above it and compared. They kept saying, "How different we did it!" One time, they said, "We were so wrong!" but I cut in to ask, "Were you wrong? Really? Or what is it that caused you to place these items in these places?"

They placed the cultivation of the wheat and the vine at the start of the first two civilizations - because they knew the start of civilizations and agriculture went together - what they had not done was think one step further to discern that agriculture came before the great civilizations; that agriculture must have been the basis for the start of the great civilizations, but first mankind had many experiments to make both in biology and in civil law before civilizations could become great. 

It was in the comparison that they discovered more about themselves and about the Plan of God itself. 

Closing prayer with the Mystery of Faith

Hard at personal work. 

starting "My Century"

Three Period Lessons in the Atrium

I have always been a bit thrown-off by the 3 period lesson. Not because I don't "get" it, but because I had Montessori experience first, then Catechesis formation for levels 1 and 2, then Montessori training at primary and elementary, with level 3 interspersed with elementary training.

Now, we do not utilize the 3 period lesson as much in levels 2 and 3 - just when we are working with a brand new child at age 6 or 7.

Three period lessons are used to provide vocabulary in a very focused manner. Starting with 3 objects, providing the names (and functions for the older child); play little games with the objects, utilize them, manipulate them - the child knows them by you saying the name; finally the child can label the objects himself. As the child learns the names, more objects can be added.

Within both CGS and Montessori, there is an over-arching concept, beyond the three period lesson, that the child will have EXPERIENCE first. We don't just toss some items at the child and say "here are their names, now let's learn them" - no, it is all done in context of experience.
At elementary we can give experience and language at the same time; at primary we want experience first, then language so it becomes meaningful.



The conundrum?

My Montessori experience is that the three period lesson is done in one sitting. If a child is truly stuck in one of the periods, then we say, "Thank you for joining me in this work today; we'll have more another time!" and we come back to it when the child is ready and refreshed. But for the most part, if a child "gets it", we move on and we might add additional objects at that sitting, if they are ready. This applies to names of objects, comparative qualities and superlative qualities.


CGS seems pretty adamant that the three-period lesson for one set of items is to potentially be dragged out over 2-3 years. I LOVE CGS. My concern here is that going too slow violates the child's dignity and intelligence. We are telling them, "You can't possibly learn these names in one fun little presentation."  Again, some children DO need more time and we should honor that; but over and over again I see catechists who have a 3rd year child who still has not "completed" the 3-period-lesson for the basic articles of the Mass. By slowing down too much, we actually bring the child to a stand-still. Ouch!

In the first period, we provide the names while laying out the items. We then use the names several times ourselves as we re-name the items, replace them, etc. Many times the catechist will then invite the children to do a portion of the 2nd period, asking them to put away or take out particular items by name. But never in that first sitting have I seen a non-Montessori trained catechist even attempt a 3rd period in the first sitting, even for children who are eager-eager-eager to say those words! I'm not saying it doesn't happen - just sharing my own experience.

Perhaps it is that CGS is trying to give that experience first, since the children do not normally get to handle the objects of the Mass. Also, CGS is not about tests and quizzes; it is about being in relationship and developing that relationship; allowing the Holy Spirit to guide. This does not explain the extreme slowness of the process when this is nourishing food for the children. It happens with the geography work, other liturgical work and other areas as well. The three period lesson is not a test - it is a tool for the child to recognize what he already knows, to be able to verbalize what he already knows, to honor his development and intelligence, and thereby the dignity of his inner soul.



The other day, I had a conversation with a highly intelligent young lady (9 years old; has had a good deal of previous atrium experience) who was laying out the articles of the Mass and meditating upon the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. She had a green stole over one shoulder that a much younger child had placed there. During our conversation, I asked her about the item on her shoulder. She said, "This is after the feast." "Ah, I said - and what is it exactly?" "It is after the feast. Oh, it is Ordinary Time." She was saying the two phrases as if they were the name of the object, rather than what the object represented. That would be like saying a statue of Jesus IS Jesus. It is not that the mis-labeled stole leads directly to idolatry, but I am quite concerned that the mentality is set up towards that line of thinking, if we do not provide nomenclature in a timely and appropriate fashion for the young child.

Later, I gathered a group of 3rd and 4th graders and we did the 3 period naming lessons on the vestments of the priest. At this age, I could give a lot more detail on function. And we ended with the 3rd period, which was a bit of a stumbling block but they got it.

One boy reflected, "No one has ever asked me to actually SAY the names of these items myself without telling me the name right before. I like that. I actually know it now."

Fettuccia in the Level 3 Atrium

This year, I have two atrium spaces (3 weekly sessions) with children who are new to the atrium altogether.

Officially, it is not deemed necessary to introduce these children to the Fettuccia, the Blue Unity or the Level 2 History of the Gifts. Yet, my observations have led to the response of providing these presentations.

For the Fettuccia, I combine all the moments and we have an hour long visit with the Fettuccia - we hit all the doctrinal content, then go where the children go with it. They are invited to read through the booklet of their own accord on a follow-up day - to get it out one more time before moving to the Fettuccina. I asked one

We do the same with the Blue Unity and the History of the Gifts.


RESULTS: 

Level 2/3 in an atrium that has all three levels of materials present:
When asked their thoughts this past week, two 6th graders and a 4th grader in the level 2/3 atrium, all new to the atrium, having just reached the Level 3 History of the Gifts, responded, "I really appreciate seeing the big presentation - I have this image in my mind that I keeping seeing now of the Kingdom. I know there is room for me in it! The little ones have helped me think about my own response." When asked if they would have preferred not to have the level 2 presentations, knowing it was level 2 work intended for younger children, they responded, "NO! I needed that image! I don't think I would have understood the small strips as well. It would not have meant as much to me."

In this atrium, they can get out the Fettuccia any time since it is ever-present in the atrium.

Level 3 atrium with only level 3 materials:
In the other atrium, solely level 3, my Wednesday evening session has had only one boy (6th grade) in attendance the first few weeks. In this atrium, the 4th graders have been in atrium since kindergarten; the 5th/6th graders had sacramental preparation in a modified atrium, but have otherwise been in the regular religious education program. We had borrowed the Fettuccia from Level 2 and worked with it in the church. The children begged to work with it some more. I brought in a crocheted "ribbon" that I had used for my first Blue Unity set (crocheted yarn stitched to blue felt) - thus it was the length of the Blue Unity, done in yarn, with cardstock Bibles and arrows and texts. The children have taken it to the hallway, read the booklet, told the story in their own words and otherwise reviewed it with one another.

Then our second boy (also 6th grade) finally joined (he'd had other commitments the first few weeks of class). The first boy was SO EAGER, so shaky in his eagerness to do the Fettuccia with the new boy. I was so excited to see this joy and this excitement, because he was one I was concerned about connecting to the atrium. The boys worked in the hallway for about half an hour; they laid it all out, discussed the events, what it all means - it was true sharing of the faith - one child to another. I almost cried! It was so wonderful!

Mini- Fettuccia from one direction

Mini Fettuccia from the other direction

Introducing Level 3

The level 3 atrium is not complete, but a good deal is ready and much has been re-made. I have Mass materials for the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) and only this past summer had to adjust them to the Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form). It has been much more of a task than I expected! With the recent translation changes, my limited attendance at this form of the Mass, combined with having the level 3 materials manual pre-translation and a "translation kit" for level 3 which only tells you what to change, doesn't give you everything.... Well, it turned out easier to create everything with the original materials manual - then go back and apply the changes. It will be SO NICE for new level 3 atriums when CGS-NA comes out with an integrated level 3 materials manual.

I digress.

It is so wonderful to start a new atrium - hard work but soul-enriching - especially when one has the full support of everyone in the community. If I want doors removed, chalkboards covered, tables removed, different shelving - it happens. And to know that more children will be served in this experience -- I should have been nervous perhaps, but honestly I just trusted in the Holy Spirit. After all these years in the atrium, I can honestly say that I am comfortable just 'being'. Being with the children; being in the atrium. Being that "matchmaker" between the child and the material - knowing that I do NOT have to have all the answers. That the Liturgy and the Scriptures speak for themselves - that I can match-make and step back. Decrease; increase.


Here is our beautiful level 3 atrium:
(apparently some photos are missing... hmmm.... will have to take new ones :) )



PRE-ATRIUM DAYS: 
It was a classroom for the regular religious education program. Inspiring, no?

ATRIUM DAYS: 

Prayer Area
Bibles on the right
Mass Charts on table to the left

Prayer table supplies on lower two shelves
Booklets from level 2 on top shelf for reference

Typology timelines in cabinet on top
Maxims
Kingdom Parables
Virtues
(Commandment tablets to the right, on a "lift")

Supply closet with Good Shepherd to the left;
work folders
Moral Formation
10 Commandments on stands
prayer table supplies
optional work table

Mass Cabinet (table of charts to right)

History of the Kingdom of God
Large timelines rolled in basket to right
Includes Prophets, History of Worship in Israel