Godly Play ascribes to an important principle from Maria Montessori’s teaching. That is, when the classroom environment is properly prepared, it functions as a “third teacher.” The doorperson and storyteller can manage a sizeable number of children when the Godly Play classroom is set up to allow children to be self-sufficient. The materials placed in the classroom must be beautiful enough to “call out to the children,” (“touch me, pick me up!”) and must be durable enough to allow many small and large hands to work with them.

So we pay special attention to both the quality of materials and their arrangement in the classroom. Godly Play Resources (GPR) is an excellent source for classroom materials. This company, headed by Tom Berryman, has been working with Jerome Berryman for twenty years designing and crafting materials specifically for Jerome Berryman’s lessons. The lesson materials are works of art that have evolved over the years. The folks at Godly Play Resources have refined their designs to make them even more beautiful and durable than the storytelling materials I saw in their Kansas workshop 15 years ago. When I visited GPR’s Ashland Kansas headquarters, a model of Herod’s temple that was sitting on the shelf of the workshop was so beautiful and called out so loudly to me that I bought it and hand carried it on an airplane to Baltimore. Fifteen years later, it is still as beautiful as the day I bought it, though many feisty boys have taken it apart and put it back together again. There is not a lesson for this material. I am not sure Tom even makes Herod’s Temples any more. (My temple is an excellent supplemental material for my classroom. I use it during Holy Week. )

The point is that when you buy quality materials, they are treasured by the children, and they last for decades. Try setting up a giving tree. (see my entry from July 1 ) You’ll be amazed at the donors who are willing to sponsor one set of materials. And if you really can’t afford Godly Play Resources for all your classroom materials, start with a few key pieces. I suggest the Wooden Church Year calendar, the Noah’s Ark, the Ark and a Tent, and Solomon’s Temple. The Advent Cards and the Faces of Christ (AKA Mystery of Easter) are especially good investments since those lessons are used during the entire seasons of Advent and Lent. One set of materials covers 5 – 6 lessons!

After buying some key pieces, make or gather your own less expensive materials and gradually replace them with sets from Godly Play Resources.