Life is Work- Can We Make it Holy?

We started off Monday's class with a reading from a book called Benedict's Way: An Ancient Monk's Insights for a Balanced Life.  The authors, Lonni Collins Pratt and Father Daniel Homan, describe the basic principles of a 7th century monk, Benedict, who espoused a life of work and pray.  He taught that "Life is work, and all work is holy."  Stephanie stated that all work in the Atrium honors that monastic tradition, and the work of hands is holy work.  The overall idea is that everything we do can be a service to God.

Oh, I'm going to work really hard to remember that next time I am tired of washing dishes in the evening,  or hurriedly packing lunches, or confronting daily messes at home or in the yard!  I realize I'm blessed to have household chores as a challenge, and that I'm healthy enough to accomplish these daily chores.  But really staying in the moment of the task and what it means to sanctify that work is something I'll aspire to.

I think this concept of staying in the moment is helpful to keep in mind as we learn the "Practical Life" and "Grace and Courtesy" aspects of the Atrium.  Stephanie taught us that the more work we do with the basic principles or the "How To's" in the beginning, the smoother our year in the Atrium will be.  As simple as some of the works seem- How to Shake Hands, How to Say Thank You... they are the building blocks.  It's important to learn these fundamentals carefully, even though your tendency might be to hunger for the more complex works. As our handout on the Montessori Prepared Environment and Practical Life describes in its final tenet: "To integrate the mind and soul and body as a preparation for the observation and contemplation of life, and as the foundation for meditation and prayer." 

We discussed how to make album pages, and one of the main points was to not overthink it- Sofia said this needs to be very "essential."  I sensed that Stephanie's corrections on the album pages we submit to her will help us with this- if we include too much, she'll help us pare it down.  We learned that it's important to have a beginning, middle, and end to your presentation or group pages.  There's also something called the Point of Interest, or "hook" to really draw the child in to the work.  As I understood it, this helps you to focus on what the child will hone in on-  "thumb, thumb" when carrying a table, or maybe "hands behind your back" when we're watching a work.  This is certainly more effective in the short and long term than- "Don't drop that table!" or "Don't touch what she's working on!"

Along these lines, we talked about "de-schooling" when we were in the Atrium.  Examples are showing instead telling, going slowly and only telling only the most important things, not being obsessed with progress or how many lessons each child gets.....  Stephanie described that this is all part of our formation as Catechists, and near the end of Monday's class she reminded us that "As Catechists we remember that Christ is the only teacher."

In closing I wanted to share a passage from a book I read several years ago and loved.  The author, Sue Bender, went to live with the Amish for several weeks and came away with a much deeper understanding of their lack of distinction between process and product, work and outcome.  I'm not ready to become Amish by any stretch, but their principle of work reminds me of St. Benedict,  the concept of Holy work, and how we are learning to plant these seeds in our Atrium.    

From Plain and Simple:

"Since all work is honored, there is no need to rush to get one thing over so you can get on to something more important.  The Amish understand that it's not rushing through tasks to achieve a series of goals that is satisfying; it's experiencing each moment along the way." 

Less is Always More

In Monday's Catechesis class we learned about the four planes of human development, from infancy to maturity. During each stage- ages 0-6, 6-12, 12-18, and 18-24, there is a three year period of intense growth, followed by a three year sub-plane period of refinement. I was amazed to learn that between six months and 3 years of age, 80% of a child's intellectual development takes place! It's phenomenal to imagine all that is going on in their little minds. Before age six, children have what's called an "absorbent mind", and they learn effortlessly.... after age six learning takes more effort and hard work. A handout we received on the Absorbent Mind describes, "Through the absorbent mind, all learning becomes a permanent part of the child."

So ages 3-6 in the Atrium are all about the basics, such as one word prayers at the prayer table. "Amen" or "Alleluia" or "Rejoice" is all that is necessary for now. More can be added in later years, but simplicity is just right for ages 3-6. In Stephanie's words, "We give them rich food, but not too much of it." I love that, and it reiterates what we learned last week- let the Scripture and the beautiful materials speak for themselves. Through repetition and play, the children internalize the message.

Another quote often stated in the Montessori method that, upon googling, is originally attributed to Dante, is: "Let thy words be counted." Don't say too much or you'll lose the child's interest or muddle the main point. In working with older kids there will be discussion, questions, and elaboration, but for now we stick to the fundamentals or building blocks of liturgy and scripture.

We also talked about the theology mystery, and how God is the greatest of all mysteries. Yet Cavalletti teaches that mysteries are not something we need to solve. She says that the purpose of mystery is to draw us into a deeper relationship with God. What a profound thought to contemplate, and what a good meditation for those of us who struggle with the pull of this task-oriented, fast-paced, over scheduled era. It's tempting to always want the answer, the outcome, the solution. And to assume that's the goal of the process. Done and done, move on to the next challenge. But how much do we miss out on if we're only focused on results instead of the path we took to get there?

Children are naturals with this, though, as anyone who has tried to urge a toddler to go from Point A to Point B.... they are all about process and not product. Stephanie talked about watching a child wash hands over and over, or spoon beans, or pour water during the practical life works. They revel in the repetition. It's a one person work, it's theirs, and our job is to allow them to repeat that work as many times as they'd like. In our impatient adult minds this repetition may seem silly or redundant, but children "create" themselves through repetitive work of their hands. Our initial presentation is the least important part of the work. We give it and then get out of the way.

We closed in the Atrium with Stephanie showing us the work on the Eucharist/Communion. She slowly and methodically presented and named each piece of the altar table- using different vocabulary from the Episcopalian tradition, but the key elements are the same and we'll make it our own at IPC! After slowly rolling out the altar cloth and presenting the cup, bread, and cross, she lit two candles. Here again, silence is alright. There seems to be a human tendency to fill it, but there is no need to. We have to learn to be comfortable with the mystery of "What did the children get out of this?" For in the end, each lesson in the Level I Atrium is a gift. God gives us a gift, we present it to the kids, and then we wonder with them in the stillness.

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, " Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  

And he called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, 

Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

-Matthew 18: 1-4

Learning to Get out of the Way

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Learning to Get out of the Way

It felt surreal to have 9 familiar IPC faces in the classroom at St.Luke's on Monday morning, ready to begin our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd adventure. Two more will join us next week, and I can't wait to roll our sleeves up in the coming weeks and really delve into this method of spiritual formation for children.

One of the first things our instructor, Stephanie Diethelm, mentioned was that one of the goals of being a trained Catechist is to “get out of the way” as children learn about their faith and their own personal relationship with God, the good shepherd. What a relief, to feel like you are not there to solicit or provide “the right answer” about Scripture in a Sunday school setting, but to foster a relationship with God that is unique to each child, a relationship that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

We learned about MariaMontessori, the first female physician in Italy. She had to get special permission from the Pope to even attend medical school! She endured many hardships at school but persevered and finished. Upon graduation the medical community still didn't know “what to do with her”. Lucky for us, and for our children and those before, she was sent to work with children who society had deemed “damaged” with mental deficiencies. She realized through her work with them and in studying the work of two French physicians that the children might flourish with didactic materials they could touch- things that were created not only for their size but also for their age level and stage of development. It worked, and she applied this to working with children during the Industrial Revolution, children whose parents would go to work in the factories and leave them home and unattended all day! They were literally peeling the stucco off the walls in their apartments. A landlord requested that Montessori open a school (no wonder!), and she did, calling it “the Children's House.”

The Children's House was to be an extension of home- or a connection between the two. It opened on January 6th, 1907- on the feast of epiphany. Montessori wanted it to be a feast of education, guided by Christ. Again, we see the theme of getting out of the way- the children wanted to learn all about practical life, and they did. Washing hands, wiping a table, caring for their environment. It's ironic to me that the same children who were left at home while their parents were away in the factories actually wanted to care for that home... perhaps they just didn't know how. How many times in life do we “interfere” with children's work when we should let them see the process through? Of course sometimes it's necessary when safety is concerned, but the art of “hovering” has become a finely tuned skill for most of us parents.

We also learned about Sophia Cavelletti, a Biblical and Hebrew scholar at the University of Rome, who had always taught adults and had no children of her own. She had many friends who were trained Montesorians though, and after being “tricked” one afternoon by one of them to work with a few seven year olds, she found her true calling. She saw the joy and contemplation children felt from lighting a candle and reading passages from the Bible, one line at a time and then reflecting. She met Gianna Gobbi, an apprentice to Maria Montessori, and they collaborated for many years together to develop Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

In closing, we learned that an Atrium is a place of prayer. It's a place of contemplation to grow closer to Christ. Children love “the dignity of work” and it's important to use that language because every work a child does in the Atrium is a prayer. Their prayer, not ours- again, we show them one work at a time, and then get out of the way!

Lastly, a quote from “TheReligious Potential of the Child”, by Sophia Cavalleti. This passage is actually from the book's Foreword, written by RebekahRojcewicz. 

 “Perhaps it is difficult for us to sense the fullness of life in the atrium or to recognize the particular quality of the children's joy if we have not first discovered our own joy in response to God's presence. But the children help us with this. As we listen with them, somehow the voice of the Good Shepherd becomes clearer, and it is easier to hear our own names being called.

May the children be our teachers. May the joy grow always fuller.”