Tabletop labyrinth

We are just finishing up our small "Ways to Pray" unit, and adding this lovely tabletop finger labyrinth to the classroom was our final lesson. (We bought it a few towns over, at the art center, for $24. It is ceramic, and about 12" by 12") The children love it, and negotiating the sharing of it during our limited work time has been interesting.

We have a dedicated RE "hour" (really 45 minutes) before service. But many of the children arrive late which, while it does not impact the start time, sometimes keeps us from establishing an easy rhythm to the gathering circle first thing. So some weeks we are left with only about 10 minutes for the children to work with the stories and supplies. It may be that next year, we work more mornings into the year's schedule where we simply enjoy being gathered together, get to know the offerings of our classroom, feast, and talk about life. We've had a few of those this year, and they were well received, too.

Just last week I sat in on a webinar about the "Flipped Classroom," which refers to a model of education where the adults prime and privilege what the children bring to the exchange, and the content mostly derives from the pupils rather than the teachers (though it works well when the teachers "seed" the conversation with ahead-of-time suggested resources, discussion topics for home, or fun little assignments). Many in the webinar immediately though of Spirit Play, and there was much discussion about how this is already done to a great degree in Spirit Play and how it could be done more.

pieces for Passover

I attended Catholic school as a child. I paid exquisite attention to the stories and pictures and art about the saints and mystics, and some heady practices and stories such as saying Novenas and seeing angels and lighting a certain number of candles. But I did not read the Bible. I did not even pay very close attention when our lesson for the day was about the Bible. I remember two vaguely religious events from those years: 1) playing a green-gossamer winged angel in the 2nd grade Advent play (and being miffed that I didn't get to be pink-gossamer winged) and 2) singing back-up in the play about Noah's arc in Vacation Bible School (but pretending to be sick on the day of the performance because I was too nervous to go on).  As an adult, I pursued many other interests, but religion was never among them. I--to this day--have not even seen "The Ten Commandments," which apparently places me in a very tiny population in America mostly shared by those under the age of 12...

So to tell truth, I did not learn many of the Judeo-Christian stories until I got a church job and started teaching Unitarian Universalist religious education. But what an entree! To be able to read, hear, consider, grow to love, then prepare, share, and reflect upon such a rich legacy--one that UU's place alongside stories from other sacred texts from other traditions, and words and deeds of great teachers from any number of religions, and no religion at all--this is what makes my life-learner's heart sing. My heart cracks open for Buddha; Jesus; Rumi; Starhawk; MLK, Jr.; Rachel Carson; Mary Oliver; Maya Angelou... the list goes on, and there is always room for more.

Next month is Passover. So, I researched the story. I thought about what pieces were the most compelling, and how to present the story to a multi-aged audience, and how to make its telling rich and intriguing in order to invite the deepest connection to the content. And then I thought about what I, myself, might actually be capable of creating in under a month.

And this is what I came up with:

Something new I tried for this story was making reversible and moveable pieces. I think to share this one, I'm going to want to do a video. (So hey! That will be another new thing!)