Godly Play

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Godly Play (German equivalent: Gott im Spiel ) is a type of religious and spiritual education for children, but also suitable for young people and adults, and is based on Montessori pedagogy . With the help of prefabricated figures and objects made of wood , felt and other materials, stories from the Bible and topics related to church and religion are told visually.

The development of Godly Play began in the USA . Jerome Berryman , a pastor of the Episcopal Church and trained in Montessori pedagogy, tested his concept in community service and in institutions with children. This concept has been in theory and practice since the beginning of the 1990s, and German translations have appeared since 2006 .

Stories

Berryman divides the stories told into three categories:

  1. Stories of faith from the Old and New Testament tell of people's experiences with God in the Bible. Examples are the Ten Commandments and Noah's Ark .
  2. Parables deal with the parables of Jesus . Examples are the parable of the Good Shepherd and the parable of the Good Samaritan .
  3. Liturgical acts deal with issues in the Christian church , for example baptism and the church year .

materials

Different materials are used depending on the story told. With the help of figures and objects made of wood as well as stones, felt and fabric parts, the stories of faith of the Old Testament play mainly in the so-called desert sack (or in the desert box). Other stories, such as the story of creation , are represented by wooden panels painted with corresponding scenes. The New Testament stories of faith take place with the same materials on large pieces of felt. Parables are presented in a two-dimensional way. People, animals, cities and individual objects are mostly painted and sawed out on wood. In the liturgical acts, detailed miniature objects and materials similar to those used in the stories of faith are used.

room

The structure of the Godly Play room corresponds to the environment prepared by Montessori.

The criteria for this are:

  • The room is inviting, thought out down to the last detail and lovingly furnished.
  • Everything has its special place, is considered valuable and the basic order is not changed.
  • Everything that is on the shelves is made for children's hands: attractive, qualitative, robust, well-kept, elementary, natural (wood, felt, basket, fabrics, etc.).
  • The colors and naturalness of the materials encourage calm, slowness and respectful handling.
  • The arrangement of the room should help the children to take action themselves without the fundamental help of the adults.
  • Everything is accessible, prepared, complete and ready for use (sharpened pens, filled water containers, cleaning supplies provided, sorted sheets and pens, mats and documents ready to hand).
  • The room should help the children focus on what they want to do without distractions.

Other special features of the room are:

  1. Visible threshold: The children are accompanied into the room by the door person on the threshold. The children take off their shoes.
  2. Free center of the room: no tables or chairs are required. The children are sitting on the floor.
  3. Shelves with the stories: The circle of children in the middle of the room is surrounded by open, low shelves. This contains materials for the stories. They are arranged according to the individual story genres (focus shelf, Christmas and Easter shelf, parables, OT and NT religious stories).
  4. Focus shelf: The focus shelf is the central place in front of which the narrator sits. The three parts of the shelf contain the central stories (Baptism - Holy Family and Church Year - Good Shepherd and the Lord's Supper ).

time

There are two adults involved in a Godly Play lesson: the narrator and the person at the door. The narrator leads the group time and is responsible for presenting the story. The person at the door greets the children on the threshold, supports them in finding a place and calming down, and at the end bids them goodbye.

An hour is divided into four phases:

Come in and form a circle

The narrator is the first to enter the room and takes their place in front of the focus shelf. The person at the door greets each child on the threshold individually and asks the question: “Are you ready?”. Then the person lets the child into the room. As soon as everyone has found a place in the circle, a casual exchange takes place.

Present and respond

Then the narrator shows the children a story using the materials. While narrating, she avoids eye contact with the children and uses gestures sparingly. The story ends in the exploratory phase, which usually begins with the words "I wonder ...". Pre-formulated or self-considered questions about the story are asked and thoughts, views and ideas are exchanged.

Expression phase

In the expression phase or the creative phase, everyone can deal individually with the story and their own thoughts on it. Provided painting and handicraft materials or the materials of the stories can be used to get creative.

Feast and blessing

In a small symbolic festival, the community comes together again in a circle. In a relaxed exchange and with a little something to eat and drink, the participants can get into conversation. Finally everything is put away and a common or individual blessing or prayer is said, and the audience is bid farewell.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play . In: Birgit Brügge-Lauterjung et al. (Ed.): Handbook Church with Children . Verlag Junge Gemeinde, Stuttgart 2005, p. 338 ( [1] ).
  2. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play . In: Birgit Brügge-Lauterjung et al. (Ed.): Handbook Church with Children . Verlag Junge Gemeinde, Stuttgart 2005, pp. 339f.
  3. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play. God in the game. Handout for the introductory event . Stuttgart 2019, p. 5.
  4. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play . In: Birgit Brügge-Lauterjung et al. (Ed.): Handbook Church with Children . Verlag Junge Gemeinde, Stuttgart 2005, pp. 342f.
  5. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play. God in the game. Handout for the introductory event . Stuttgart 2019, p. 11.
  6. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play . In: Birgit Brügge-Lauterjung et al. (Ed.): Handbook Church with Children . Verlag Junge Gemeinde, Stuttgart 2005, p. 343.
  7. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play . In: Birgit Brügge-Lauterjung et al. (Ed.): Handbook Church with Children . Verlag Junge Gemeinde, Stuttgart 2005, p. 340.
  8. ↑ Martin Steinhäuser: Godly Play . In: Birgit Brügge-Lauterjung et al. (Ed.): Handbook Church with Children . Verlag Junge Gemeinde, Stuttgart 2005, pp. 341f.