Training Workshop

Workshop in Austin, February 16, 2008

Anne Collins of Stillwater, OK, Monthly Meeting met with a number of First Day School teachers in our Meeting on Saturday, February 16, 2008. Below are all of the handouts as well as some additional materials from a previous workshop Anne had given at Pendle Hill.

About Godly Play

The goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using spiritual language – parable, sacred story and silence - to help them become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives. Godly Play Booklist

Godly Play (TM) has been developed by Jerome Berryman incorporating Montessori educational methods to engage children's active participation in and creative response to sacred stories. It nurtures spiritual journeying and encourages children to wonder within a safe space as they are listened to with full acceptance and affirmation.

Faith and Play is being developed by a working group of mostly Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Quakers to tell Quaker stories using this same method. We anticipate that approximately 10 Quaker stories will be ready by the 2008 Gathering. Berryman himself sees this method as being useful in engaging children in their religious traditions both the various Christian traditions as well as non-Christian faiths.
Fall 2008 update: The Faith & Play curriculum has been published and is available through a dedicated website which includes much additional information.

Some key aspects of Godly Play include:

  • a greeter/door person individually welcomes each child into the room, asking if they are ready for the story
  • everyone is seated on the floor in a circle (including the teacher); the door person sits quietly near the door
  • stories are told using simple, but evocative materials to represent key elements of the story
  • the story itself is pared down to the most essential elements to allow the children's imaginations to engage
  • the story is told without interpretation or moral instruction
  • the pace of the story telling is relatively slow and deliberate
  • the materials are taken out of their box/container with care and reverence
  • spaces of silence punctuate the story to allow the children to absorb the meaning and anticipate what might come next
  • the storyteller keeps his/her focus on the materials and on the story, not on the children who are also focused on the story
  • when the story is finished, the story teller asks open-ended wondering questions leaving silent space for the children to respond
  • when the wondering is finished, the story is put away carefully in its container and put on the shelf
  • the children are then invited to individually chose an art activity (painting, coloring, drawing, clay modeling, etc.) in response to the story
  • another choice is to take the story from the shelf and retell it to oneself
  • this creative period is spent mostly in silence [Adults should not comment on the responses unless specifically invited to do so by the child, and then only in a 'wondering' way]
  • when the creative period is over, the children put away the art materials and return to the circle
  • a simple "feast" of water/juice and crackers can be shared at this time with giving thanks
  • the feast ends as time-for-parents-to-come arrives; children clean up their snack items and return to the circle
  • when a parent is there and a child is ready, the door person calls the child's name to go say good bye to the story teller before leaving the room with his/her parents.

Examples of "Wondering questions" include

The four essential questions for the stories from the Hebrew Scriptures can also be used with the parables, and other stories.

  • I wonder what part of the story you liked best?
  • I wonder which part is important?
  • I wonder where you are in the story or what part of the story is most about you?
  • I wonder if there is any part of the story we can take away and still have all we need?

Other wondering questions might be related to a particular story:

  • I wonder how the sheep felt as they followed the shepherd [Good Shepherd]
  • I wonder if the sheep have names [Good Shepherd]
  • I wonder how it might feel to be inside the sheepfold [Good Shepherd]
  • I wonder how the people felt when they were slaves in Egypt? [Exodus story]
  • I wonder what you are wondering about this story [inviting the children to share their own wondering questions]

Storytelling tips:

  • make sure you have all of the materials needed to tell the story
  • Read and re-read the story - not to memorize it word for word - but to own the story so that you can tell it with ease and fluency being mindful of the scripted words since they were chosen for specific reasons.
  • enter into the storytelling in a spirit of worship

Notes about the door person's role

  • the door person welcomes each child when they are ready to enter the room
  • the door person remains by the door in case any latecomers arrive
  • the door person can invite a child who is capable of joining the circle without disturbing or wandering to join the circle after arriving late
  • a child who would need help to join the circle or who would wander stays with the door person and hears the story from outside the circle
  • the door person models focusing on the story while it is being told
  • a child who is disrupting the circle may be asked to step out of the circle and sit next to the door person [see Dealing with Circle Disruptions]
  • while the children are participating in the art response, the door person can assist with any needs - water for water colors, etc.
  • the door person may also help with getting the materials for the "feast" ready; children can be asked to help with passing out napkins, etc.
  • as mentioned above, the door person helps each child transition out of the space and into their parents' care

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