Author Archives: browniesmoke

“Needed: A Theology of Children”

At our church, the church, the main parish hall, and parish office are on one level. The nursery and Sunday School classrooms through 12th grade are on the basement level. We have three services each Sunday in our church, and … Continue reading

Posted in Godly Play, Jerome Berryman, The Episcopal Church | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Seven Faces of Easter (Part II)

(See Part I here.) I find that the Seven Faces of Easter are the most compelling stories (or set of stories) in our Godly Play “library.” More than any other story, I find the children in the circle (and the … Continue reading

Posted in Godly Play, Godly Play Classroom, Lent, Seasons of the Church Year | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A Godly Play Valentine

 The “Ten Best Ways,” or the story of the Ten Commandments, includes the ten commandments stored in a red heart-shaped box. To quote the story, “Love God. Love people. God loves us.” That just about sums up Valentine’s Day, doesn’t … Continue reading

Posted in Godly Play, Materials for Work Time | 2 Comments

“Follow Me” – Making a New Story (Part 2)

[See “Follow Me” – Making a New Story (Part 1) here. We’ve now used this story two weeks in a row. The class of younger children heard the story yesterday (January 22, 2012). I also had the fortitude to put camera … Continue reading

Posted in Following Jesus, Godly Play, Godly Play Story Materials | 3 Comments

Advent Workshop 2011 – The Advent Wreath (epilogue)

(For the rest of the story, see here, here, and here.) A few people weren’t able to be at the workshop but had helped immensely with the process during the planning stages. As a thank you, I spent a bit … Continue reading

Posted in Crafts, Parish Traditions, Seasons of the Church Year | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Follow Me” – Making a New Story (Part 1)

Our team of teachers met on January 6 to discuss the schedules and story selection for the new “semester” – January 8 – May 13, 2012. As we talked, we were anxious to include a story about Jesus calling the … Continue reading

Posted in Following Jesus, Godly Play, Godly Play Story Materials | Tagged | 1 Comment

Work. Bleh.

(Not that kind of work – the Montessori kind of work.) I, the one with the terrible stage fright, love to tell stories. I believe, after all these years, I am excited to see what I will learn from a … Continue reading

Posted in Godly Play, Godly Play Classroom, Godly Play furniture, Materials for Work Time, Montessori | 2 Comments

How We Tell the Advent Stories

Ever since my oldest (23) was a first grader, we’ve been using the same traditional Christmas Pageant at our church. Our pageant usually takes place in lieu of the 9:00 a.m. service on the 4th Sunday of Advent. The 1st … Continue reading

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Advent Workshop 2011 – The Advent Wreath (Part III)

[For the backstory on this event, please see Advent Workshop 2011 – The Advent Wreath (Part 1) and Advent Workshop 2011 – The Advent Wreath (Part II).] The day finally arrived! I never sleep well when I’m heading up an … Continue reading

Posted in Godly Play, Parish Traditions, Seasons of the Church Year | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Advent Workshop 2011 – The Advent Wreath (Part 2)

[See “Advent Workshop 2011 – The Advent Wreath (Part 1)” for the backstory on this project.] Our Advent Workshop is about 48 hours away, and I have been over at the church tonight setting out materials and considering flow. I never … Continue reading

Posted in Crafts, Parish Traditions, Seasons of the Church Year | 4 Comments