Godly Play

A method for families to share the biblical story at home and learn the practice of sharing one another’s stories as part of God’s Story. Using Godly Play® methods, Jerome Berryman offers families a way of nourishing faith in the home while supporting children’s spiritual growth through the practice of “storying,” our most ancient way of making meaning. This book offers “storying” rituals and techniques from Godly Play for exploring the meaning of Christmas, Easter, Creation, the Parable of the Good Shepherd, Pentecost, and the Trinity to give sustenance to the family’s flow, play, love, and spirituality. Stories of God at Home follows the rhythm of life’s cycles (birth, death, earth, life, God, and depth) in telling biblical stories and shows how parents and caretakers can grasp their role with children using classic children’s literature.

Meaningful, lasting learning comes from childlike curiosity and play. The approach of this book is to make relgious instruction fun, spontaneous and deeply spiritual. Godly Play is a practical yet innovative approach to religious education--becoming childlike in order to teach children.

This revised and expanded version of Godly Play founder Jerome Berryman's 1995 handbook is for current and future users of Godly Play. With this revision, the book's original formatting has been redesigned to complement the eight volumes in The Complete Guide to Godly Play series. Illustrations have also been updated, and the text now better reflects the playful spirit of Godly Play. Up-to-date research in childhood development and instruction has also been incorporated in this comprehensive update.

The Godly Play® approach helps children explore their faith through story, to gain religious language, and to enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. Based on Montessori principles and developed using a spiral curriculum, the Godly Play® method services children through early, middle, and late childhood and beyond. Revised and expanded, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 4, offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure that stem from more than 10 years of using Godly Play® with children across the world. Thirty to forty percent of the text is new or revised, including a new lesson, revised Introduction, and a full Appendix.

Godly Play® is an imaginative approach to working with children, an approach that supports, challenges, nourishes, and guides their spiritual quest. Revised and updated, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2 offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure that stem from more than 10 years of using Godly Play with children across the world. 30 to 40 percent of the text is new or revised, including a new lesson, revised Introduction, and a new full Appendix.

The key people whose stories are told in this volume enrich and extend the core narrative, which tells how the People of God sought the elusive presence of God. Welcome to The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 6. In this volume Jerome Berryman has gathered together fifteen enrichment presentations to be integrated with Volume 2. Introduce these new presentations to the children when they are ready for more. When will that be? Our experience has shown that if children have Godly Play form at an early age, they will be ready for more at about age seven, but every child is different and therefore every circle of children is different. It is recommended that these lessons not be used until after the core lessons of Volumes 2, 3, and 4 have been told for a minimum of 2-3 years. A fluency in the core stories helps enhance the use of the Volume 6 lessons as they are used to deepen the meaning of the core stories. What's inside Volume 6: 15 Enrichment Presentations for Fall? All the information you need to present the Enrichment Lessons for Fall to the children in your Godly Play Room. Enrichment Lesson 1: Second Creation: The Falling Apart Enrichment Lesson 2: The Story of Abraham Enrichment Lesson 3: The Story of Sarah Enrichment Lesson 4: The Story of Jacob Enrichment Lesson 5: The Story of Joseph Enrichment Lesson 6: The Story of Moses Enrichment Lesson 7: The Story of Ruth Enrichment Lesson 8: The Story of Samuel Enrichment Lesson 9: The Story of King David Enrichment Lesson 10: The Story of the Prophet Elijah Enrichment Lesson 11: The Story of the Prophet Isaiah Enrichment Lesson 12: The Story of Prophet Jeremiah Enrichment Lesson 13: The Story of Prophet Ezekiel Enrichment Lesson 14: The Story of Daniel Enrichment Lesson 15: The Story of Job

An internationally recognized Christian formation program. This 4-volume series presents an imaginative approach for telling scripture stories that invites children to wonder about themselves, God and the world in a way that is playful and meaningful to them. Based on the Montessori teaching method, Godly Play outlines specific storytelling techniques and use of story figures that encourage children to respond through a variety of creative activities. This method is greatly respectful of the innate spirituality of children and encourages them to use their curiosity and imagination to experience the mystery and joy of God. Volume 1 contains all of the material you will need to become familiar with the Godly Play approach, with detailed information on creating a special space for children and techniques for presenting each lesson.

Godly Play® is an imaginative approach to working with children, based on Montessori principles. The kind of help you will find here for your continuing development as a Godly Play teacher supplements the first four volumes of The Complete Guide to Godly Play and their related videos. You will find wisdom about developing the storyteller you already are. There is advice on how to manage time and space in the classical teaching and learning environment for Godly Play. The authors of volume 5 are nearly all accredited Godly Play trainers. It has been written not only to introduce you to some of the next generation of leaders in Godly Play, but also to make available to you the benefit of their experience and insight. Since there is nothing quite so practical as good theory, there are also reflections about children's education, their spirituality and a theology of childhood for adults. This information is based on what has been learned about children in Godly Play settings around the world so we adults can be guided toward entering the reality Jesus called "the Kingdom of Heaven."