It seems strange to be promoting a program that is not entirely in place. Yet as I continue to plan Godly Play teacher training and gather storytelling materials, I am writing weekly notices for our Sunday bulletin and newsletter articles to introduce the new program to our congregation.

I will also set up a bulletin board with answers to frequently asked questions about Godly Play – and photos of children engaged in Godly Play. Finally, a display of Godly Play story materials that changes weekly will be set up in the Narthex with brochures available for passers-by who may be curious about the program.

See the Useful Godly Play Stuff page of this site for examples of my Sunday Bulletin articles. You will also find a document called "Keeping Godly Play Front and Center."  It is a version of an article in Volume 5 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play -- and  lists several ideas to use for promoting Godly Play year round.

Dian VanDeMark and I will be the trainers at a Godly Play teacher Accreditation event on Sept 28-30 at St. James Episcopal Church, 3100 Monkton Road, Monkton, MD 21111 410-771-4466. St James also hopes to hold a Re-accreditation training during the same dates for accredited Godly Play teachers who want to update their skills and certificates.

I cannot say enough good things about Godly Play Teacher Accreditation (TA) trainings. These events are a combination of

● hands-on experience with Godly Play stories and materials

● an inspiring gathering of like-minded people who care deeply about the spiritual development of children

● a spiritually refreshing retreat including prayer, song, and worship services that can be adapted for use in the Godly Play program in your congregation

Although TA trainings take place over 3 days, the time flies by. You practice and tell stories in a non-judgmental setting, learn about the foundations of Godly Play, learn specifics on setting up a classroom, and sharpen your classroom management skills. The setting is high-energy at times and peaceful and calming at other times.

There are TA trainings taking place all over the US. For dates and locations, see www.godlyplay.org. For more information about the Monkton event, get in touch with conference coordinators Loree Penner, lpenner@saintjames.org 410-771-4466 OR Kelly Francis, kellyfrancis@gmail.com

I hope to be able to post a downloadable brochure as soon as it becomes available. Look for it in the useful Godly Play stuff part of this site.

Some Godly Play programs are small -- only two to four teachers. Filing paper work such as Teacher Profile forms and Policies and Procedures booklets may seem unnecessary in a family-sized church, but there are some good reasons for having detailed records on file.  Remembering teachers' interests, hobbies, and birthdays will help you thank and recognize them. It will make their Godly Play teaching experience more satisfying. Knowing about particular skills may help in the planning of special Godly Play classes or intergenerational events. In the case of  a health or family emergency, someone unfamiliar with your Godly Play program and teacher may need access to details you usually keep in your head.

The best way to gather this information s is by speaking directly to each teacher and filling out the form yourself. As you listen closely to what the teacher says, you may learn -- and want to make note of -- information not listed on the form. You may also want to fill out Profile forms for other non-teaching volunteers such as craftspeople, feast coordinators and materials-gatherers.

What does a profile form look like?  For an example of the one I use, see the Important Godly Play Stuff part of this web site.

Shelving units that roll on wheels, fold together and lock are most commonly used in shared space for Godly Play. You can also use short bookcases and turn them toward the wall so that the contents are hidden from the Day School students on weekdays.

The most important part of sharing space with other groups is fostering a spirit of mutual respect. Finding the room the way you need it to be when you use it and leaving the room the way you would want to find it is the goal.  Otherwise a school year of sniping and complaining from both groups who use the space will result.

For an example of a tangible way to show your good faith to both Godly Play teachers and Day School teachers, see the Shared Space Checklist in the "Useful Godly Play Stuff" part of this site.

From experience, I know this will require some shifts in my planning. Stay tuned to the schedule page to see a slightly altered schedule for our “boys class.”

● Recruit 50% men as Godly Play teachers. Jerome Berryman has always stressed the importance of this. With a large percentage of boys in the  class, male teachers are a must.

● Speak with each parent to get a better idea of the learning styles of each boy in the class. This will help me know how many kinesthetic learners we will have, and which boys prefer puzzles, three dimensional work, or classificatory work.

● Include more movement-oriented options before getting ready, during response time, or  before the feast. I will mention these in my new lesson outline.

● Include supplies for woodworking and model-building on our art shelves.

● Plan for about one class a month to take place outside the classroom. We will allow for some adventure and discovery through field trips to different parts of the church , Christian symbol scavenger hunts, Labyrinth walks, etc.

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.

Having said that, summer can be a good season to scrounge yard sales for nice quality objects to use in your Godly Play classroom. Check out the materials lists on pages 60-64 of Volume on in The Complete Guide to Godly Play. Among the things I’ve discovered at yard sales for use in my basic classroom set up are

•  baskets to hold art supplies and cleaning materials
• trays and pitchers for the feast
•  crystal bowl and pitcher for the Baptism lesson – and sometimes white dresses for a doll’s Baptismal gown 
•  a creche for the focal shelf and Holy Family lesson 
•  mens’ shirts to use as smocks 
•  trays to use for art work during response time
• feather dusters, watering cans, and dustpans for clean up

Remember that good Godly Play classroom materials should be beautiful, durable, and safe for children to use all by themselves.

After the children are greeted by the doorperson and find their place in the circle, we take time to get ready for the lesson. This time of becoming quiet and attentive is as important for the storyteller as it is for the children. It can be difficult for adults and children to “enter the story” after a morning of hurrying to get to church on time. Sometimes it can take less than a minute for the circle of children and storyteller to get ready; sometimes it can take as long as ten minutes or more.

Guided meditations are one way to get ready. After the children close their eyes, the storyteller can play a CD of quiet music in the background and lead the group in some deep breathing and muscle relaxation This is the most basic form of guided meditation. But you can use imagery and prayer as well. There are many books that can help you with what to say. Maureen Garth and Maureen Halpin are two of my favorite sources for this type of getting ready.

Both of these women did extensive work leading meditation with groups of children in a classroom setting. Maureen Halpin was a Roman Catholic nun who wrote many lovely books about praying and meditating with children, most of which are unfortunately out of print. (A modified version of one of her meditations, Three Boxes is available on this site.) I will share some of her ideas from time to time.

Maureen Garth works in Australia with public school children and finds that groups of children who participate in simple guided meditations based on images from nature before formal classroom activities like math and writing are more attentive and creative. See children.meditation.org.au for some downloadable mp3 tracks of the type of meditation she uses. You will likely discover that when your Godly Play class is truly “ready,” the quality of their wondering and response time will be deeper.

On the schedule for the coming year, I have listed several other ways of getting ready that I plan to introduce to the children. We will try things like the finger labyrinth, prayer postures, freeform line drawing on connected sheets of computer paper, learning Psalms by heart line-by line, and sign language prayers. A final advantage to an extended period of getting ready is that it allows time for latecomers to arrive without missing the lesson for the day.