model behavior

such discipline could never be obtained by commands, by sermonizings... Discipline is reached always by indirect means.

(Maria Montessori)

I am trying to remember some Montessori principles: to model the behavior I would like to see our children using, to notice and comment on good behavior, and to correct not by focusing on the bad behavior but by reminding children what I do expect. I have a long way to go!

I often forget and say, Don't run! rather than Remember - in this classroom we walk more slowly than usual. I frequently stand up from a sitting position while holding the basket of materials in one hand. I am still struggling very much with the goal of noticing rather than praising (aka: descriptive praise).

(public domain image)

Last Sunday, though, I remembered at least two or three times to stand up empty-handed, reach down and take hold of the materials with two hands, and then carefully carry them across to their place. I didn't talk about what I was doing, but just did it.

I have for two weeks now carefully (slightly exaggeratedly, but without many words) used the Faces of Easter control card when putting away the materials after the lesson. I've noticed that the children do really watch when I do this. Last Sunday one child said aloud, as I stacked the next-to-last plaque, That last one goes on the top. 

Two children helped me place mats in our circle before class and (without my saying anything- hooray!) rolled up the mats to carry them. I said, Oh I'm glad to see that you've rolled up the mat, and continued as they fetched the others, saying things like, It's much easier to carry that way. I see that you've rolled that up very neatly. 

Where I and the children are both falling down a bit is at the end of class, when we're all a bit tired, and we should be waiting respectfully to receive communion or blessings. The young children tend to get silly, and I let myself get irritated. But last week Vandriver came to our class. (Our pastor was ill, and so Vandriver led Anglican Evensong instead of the adult's usual Communion service. He then came to our class to say the blessing, just as normally the pastor comes with communion.) Afterwards, when I fretted privately about the silliness, he reminded me that this was not really bad behavior. They stayed in their places, they weren't loud, etc. So it's good to be reminded to keep things in proportion. And to focus on the progress that I'm making, which I think has led to good progress for the children.

Lumijoki chalice photographed by Estormiz (public domain image)

some related links and sources:

don't focus on the negative

focus on the positive

positive guidance techniques

descriptive praise

Faces of Easter control card

We have no Godly Play this week, because on the last Sunday of each month we have an all-ages worship service. But thanks to stf, here's a photo from last week:

In the foreground you can see the control card I made for the Faces of Easter (Lenten) materials. This lesson takes us through various important episodes in Jesus' earthly life, from birth to resurrection. [I'm trying out the plaque designs by Juliana Heidenreich. For now, I have used the free sample cards - the German GP copyright notice is printed right on each picture. In the longer run, once I know which pictures I like best, I want to pay for them properly (or ... commission my own drawings?!?).]

Something that had really struck me back in Advent was how easy the Advent plaques were to arrange. If you get them mixed up, it's easy to put them in order again, because the first one shows only one candle, the second two candles, and so forth. The hardest part is remembering to put them back in the basket "backwards" (the first goes in last, so that it is on top for the next time).

But with the Faces of Easter, a person cannot put them in order without remembering which story each picture relates to, and knowing the order in which these episodes happened in Jesus' life. So I made a control card, which I hope will work a little like a puzzle. You can see at least a portion of each card, and should therefore be able to figure out which plaque needs to be on top of which.

I wonder how it works with store-bought Faces of Easter cards. Is it easy to put them back in order?

Candlemas

Yesterday was our first official Godly Play Junior Church, in new premises (although not the room we will usually use, as that had already been booked by someone else), and with a new extra-long time slot (parents drop off their children before the adult church service starts, and we do not join them again until their coffee time afterwards). Also new: the celebrant joins us as soon as the adult service is over, to administer communion or blessings to everyone at junior church. Wonderful!

Our congregation is served by both Anglican and Lutheran clergy, following the Porvoo Agreement. The Anglicans celebrated Candlemas the Sunday before, but the Lutherans have it on the Sunday after, and both last week and this week the adults were following the Lutheran lectionary. So yesterday I began by putting all of our candles (including a brand new Christ candle) in the middle of our circle and praying for God's blessing on them and on us as we use them. Our lesson was the Baptism lesson. During the feast, I also told a short story of Christ's presentation in the Temple.

I made a control card, with the reference to the story in Luke on the back, and a series of small photographs on the front:

the Christ Child (who was not baptized as a baby...)

his mother Mary, who stayed at home with the baby Jesus for 40 days after he was born

his father Joseph, who, with Mary, took him to the Temple, to dedicate him to the Lord

the prophet Anna, who recognized Jesus as the child who would change everything

Simeon... who prayed a poem which we still sing at Evensong today 

Simeon's poem said that Jesus would be a light, not just for those who knew they were the People of God, but for everyone. And that's why we bless candles on Candlemas.