Teaching Godly Play

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.

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.

An imaginative method for presenting scripture stories to children

The authors have devised an exciting way to introduce three- to - seven year olds to the wonder of worship. Activities are developed around the order of worship commonly used in Reformed churches: assemble in God's name; proclaim, give thanks to and go in God's name.

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

This book is an important “history-of-traditions” work in which Godly Play founder Jerome Berryman re-visions religious education as spiritual guidance and traces the history of Montessori religious education through four generations. Berryman then highlights the development of the Godly Play approach to spiritual guidance within this context and concludes with thoughts about the fifth generation and the future of the tradition.

A concrete guide for churches wanting to use Godly Play with adults. Written by Rebecca McClain, this book presents the case for the use of Godly Play with adults. With using a metaphor of a family meal, Graceful Nurture lays out four creative programs for adults: * The Heavenly Banquet -- for preparing adults for baptism, confirmation, and reaffirmation of vows (12 weeks); * Dessert Only -- for preparing families who are beginning Godly Play; * Slow Cooking -- a Godly Play retreat weekend; and Coffee and Cream -- using Godly Play on Sunday Mornings (12 weeks). Requiring the use of lessons from the Complete Guide to Godly Play, Graceful Nurture offers background on Godly Play, including why and how to use it with adults, and in depth notes and suggestions for 12 key Godly Play lessons, including how to adapt them for an adult audience.