The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (Levels 1-3)
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (Levels 1-3)
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program meets in the “Atrium,” a special room devoted to the religious life of the child. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a Montessori-based religion program. In the Atrium we encourage your child’s religious curiosity by presenting faith presentations at their developmental level. There is more information down below.
Our atrium is available on either:
· Wednesday: 9:30am-11:30am (all 3 levels)
- New Students Only Start Date: September 6, 2023
- Rest of Students Start Date: October 11, 2023
· Wednesday: 5:00pm-7:00pm (ONLY available for Level 2 & 3 ages 6-11)
- Start Date: October 4, 2023
· Saturday: 9:30am-11:30am (ONLY available for level 1 children- ages 3-5)
- New Students Only Start Date: September 6, 2023
- Rest of Students Start Date: October 7, 2023
Parent Orientation: September 20, 2023 from 6:30pm-8:30pm (church basement)
Assistant Training for the Atrium: September 27, 2023 from 6:00pm-9:00pm (church basement)
If you are discerning putting your child into the atrium, please consider the following:
- We accept children in between the ages of 3-12.
- The cost is $100.00 per child – for the first two children, and then free for the other children of the same parents. You can pay via cheque or cash and drop it off at the office.
- Tax receipts will not be issued for registration fees.
- We have around 3 family nights throughout the year. This is an evening where your whole family comes together to grow in their faith through crafts and activities.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Dominique via email at: holycrossparishcatechist@gmail.com or at: 204-233-7367.
Registration is now open.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
What is the “Atrium”?
The atrium is a specially prepared area. It is a sacred, quiet environment where children can work with beautiful materials which allow them to draw deeper into the essentials of our faith (all handmade by people from our parish). In the ancient Roman church the “atrium” was the room outside the main church where people were prepared for baptism. At Holy Cross we have three atriums, one for Level I: 3 years old to grade 1; one for Level II: Grades 2-4 and Level III for Grades 5-6.
What method do we use?
The “method” we use in the atrium is known as the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Based on principles of Montessori, it was developed over the last 50 years by Sofia Cavalletti in Rome and is rapidly growing across the world. Ours was first in western Canada but it is slowly expanding in Winnipeg.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has been described as the meeting of two mysteries – the mystery of God and the mystery of the child. Children seem to have a relationship with God even before we try and “teach” them anything. They have a special attraction to prayer, holy things, ritual, silence and beauty. We provide the environment where they can experience these things. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd uses carefully chosen themes from the Bible and liturgy to present to the children. After hearing a presentation (e.g. the parable of the Mustard Seed, the geography of Israel, the miniature altar) children are free to move quietly around the room working with any material they want. This includes art response and materials that provides care for the environment such as flower arranging or brass polishing.
What do the children learn?
Level I, for children ages 3-6 who are so rich in love, focuses on the child’s capacity to know and enjoy God who is love. We avoid giving them “kidee” religion but provide the deepest, most essential themes of faith, above all, that Christ died and rose again. Some of the themes covered: Jesus as our Good Shepherd, the parables of the Kingdom of God, the geography of Israel, stories of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the vessels of the altar, the gestures of the mass, the vestments of the priest.
Level II (ages 6-9) and level III (ages 9-12) expand on everything the children received in Level I, delving into the Bible and liturgy in much greater detail. Children are also introduced to the history of the kingdom of God (from Creation to the Parousia), the books of the Bible and how to work with the Bible, the maxims (“sayings”) of Jesus, and his moral parables.
Websites
To learn more, we invite you to visit the websites below:
- Archdiocese of Toronto (Church Teaching/Catechesis): www.archtoronto.org
- Good Shepherd Catechesis (U.S. office): www.cgsusa.org
- The Centre for Children and Theology: www.cctheo.org
- The Canadian Association: www.cgsac.ca