STORM team!

My son can make me so proud sometimes :)

As a green belt, he is allowed to join STORM team (Special Team of Role Models). All members of the STORM team must adhere to strict codes of behavior both in class and outside of it, both in uniform and in plain clothes, even to and with people who do not even know they are in tae-kwon-do.

Since they are not used to having children of such a young age, but have several coming up who are 8 and 9, they created a Junior STORM team for the younger ones until they are age 12. The children will participate like the older members, but have fewer requirements. At age 12, they can join the regular STORM team. I am not sure how that will work when these other kids will be 12 before my son will be 12, yet he will not only have his black belt before then, but will have been on Junior STORM team longer than the others... but we'll cross that bridge when we get there ;) I guess, too that if he really wants to ask for an exception as time gets closer, he'll have to get over the effects that are typical in boys when girls are present on equal footing in areas that boys and girls are really best separated (physical activities such as tae-kwon-do being just one small example).

The STORM team uniform is a sleeveless black top with a red t-shirt and black pants. Junior STORM team members wear a blue t-shirt. He had his t-shirt but not the rest of the uniform his first night of STORM team practice.

Even my brand new nifty camera couldn't catch all the motion - I think the setting was wrong, but it means I can post more photos on the blog ;)

All photos are while in formation.

[caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="135" caption="Marching"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="119" caption="Marching back to original position"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_906" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Doing a form while in formation"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_905" align="aligncenter" width="123" caption="Probably marching :) "][/caption]

Fruit flies. BLECK.

I am in crisis mode here.

(post written on Sunday, will be listed on Tuesday - will anything have changed in the meantime?)

Seriously!? Almost THREE weeks of these things!

They are everywhere!

And I can't get rid of them fast enough. I have cleaned and scoured everything; been evil with my son for not putting dishes away properly and keeping food out of our living room (we have to eat in our living room - it's how our apartment is set up - the trouble is the boy-mess and "forgetting" to bring the dishes back into the kitchen.

As I estimate I have killed (slaughtered!?) over 500 in the last 5 days alone, I start to wonder - is this the Christian thing to do? Kill God's *innocent* creatures.

And then one flies into my face again, or there are about 75 covering the microwave door and I think, "They're not innocent!"

And THEN I think, "But only human beings have the capability of being innocent or guilty as we have reason and a free will."

But that only leads me back to, "Is it right to kill these creatures who are only following the laws that God gave them?"

Don't get me wrong - I would rather play the Pied Piper and lead them out (without the drowning part at the end), but I tried that and failed.

So they get the apple cider vinegar version of the Pied Piper, with drowning.

SIGH.

I so have other things to do! And I am contemplating the morality of killing fruit flies....

[caption id="attachment_901" align="aligncenter" width="169" caption="Fresh cup of vinegar cocktail (apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish-soap)"][/caption]

UPDATE -

[caption id="attachment_913" align="aligncenter" width="219" caption="24 hours worth of fruit flies. Hardly makes a dent. And that's a 3/4 inch deep pile. SIGH. "][/caption]

Remain In Me

Eastern Orthodox of as the True Vine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus said, “Remain in Me.” It said many times within one sitting (the Parable of the True Vine), but He also said it with His actions and other teachings.
He gave us many ways to remain in Him – the most obvious being in the Sacraments, the prime sacrament being the Eucharist and also in Reconciliation.
But how does it work? Really?
In the level 1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium, for the 3-6 year old children, we focus on the Parable of the Good Shepherd – the Good Shepherd who knows our names, loves us – we are in relationship with Him. That is enough. That is more than we need.
In level 2, we work with the True Vine parable, and the history of the Kingdom of God materials. The children come to realize there is a response to this relationship: Remain in Me. And they explore the ways that we simply remain with Christ.
In level 3 the children are coming to awareness of their place in the Kingdom, not just as a gift to enjoy, but as something for which they are responsible. NOW we start asking, “How shall you remain in Him? And how shall you fill your blank page (the part of the story of the Kingdom of the God that is only just now being written in our lives and in our world right NOW)?”
Then they enter into adolescence with the tools they need to make confident choices in their lives.

The Good Shepherd, c. 300, at the Pio Cristiano Museum, Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Remain In Me

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Eastern Orthodox of as the True Vine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"][/caption]

Jesus said, "Remain in Me." It said many times within one sitting (the Parable of the True Vine), but He also said it with His actions and other teachings.
He gave us many ways to remain in Him - the most obvious being in the Sacraments, the prime sacrament being the Eucharist and also in Reconciliation.

But how does it work? Really?

In the level 1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium, for the 3-6 year old children, we focus on the Parable of the Good Shepherd - the Good Shepherd who knows our names, loves us - we are in relationship with Him. That is enough. That is more than we need.

In level 2, we work with the True Vine parable, and the history of the Kingdom of God materials. The children come to realize there is a response to this relationship: Remain in Me. And they explore the ways that we simply remain with Christ.

In level 3 the children are coming to awareness of their place in the Kingdom, not just as a gift to enjoy, but as something for which they are responsible. NOW we start asking, "How shall you remain in Him? And how shall you fill your blank page (the part of the story of the Kingdom of the God that is only just now being written in our lives and in our world right NOW)?"
Then they enter into adolescence with the tools they need to make confident choices in their lives.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="182" caption="The Good Shepherd, c. 300, at the Pio Cristiano Museum, Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"][/caption]

Rest on the 7th Day

I have some thoughts to get out of my head and heart before they burn me up completely:

The Lord said to work for 6 days and rest on the 7th day, correlating with His work of creation. This corresponds to Sunday through Friday for work and Saturday (yes Saturday!) for rest.

Then Jesus Christ resurrected on the 8th day. Even HE rested on the 7th day!! (ok border-line sacrilegious, but come on, it's true!)

Ok, Sunday is both the first day and the last day. Fine.

The Apostle directs us to set aside that day of Resurrection (Sunday) as a day for the Lord. The Lord's Day. "Sun" day (God gave us the sun to give us life; He gave His Son to give us Life - works in English anyway ;) they used to be the same word in Old English, but I digress).

That gives us Saturday for bodily rest and Sunday for giving to the Lord. That means that YES, you can "work" on Sunday: work directly for the Lord. The rest of your week should be for Him too, but Sunday should be very direct and obvious (prayer, Bible, church, liturgy, religious education, faith formation).

The thing that burns me is the people who DO NOT WORK DURING THE WEEK AT ALL - or MINIMALLY. Then suddenly, it's Sunday and "I can't work because it's Sunday."

HUH!!? God EARNED His day to rest (as if He needs to earn anything, the life-giver that He is, He can do what He wants). That is SATURDAY. It does not mean laziness - it means physical rest - refreshment. Do not worry about providing food yourselves (Israelites in the Desert could not collect Manna on this day).

And Sunday is a day FOR THE LORD. Not for YOU. It is your offering back to HIM.
Saturday is HIS gift to YOU for WORKING. Sunday is HIS day that you give back to Him in THANKSGIVING.

And if you don't earn a privilege, you can't DEMAND it. Don't collect your manna during the week, you don't get it on Saturday - or Sunday!

Stepping down from the soapbox now.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori

Wow. I am still in shock.

As I reflect on the letter I received today (I am typing this on Friday afternoon), I thought I'd share some thoughts that answer some private questions I receive from time to time.

Basically, these questions center around the relationship between Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori education - for US. In OUR family.



Quote from the acceptance letter:

"With your great Montessori background, it's easy to want to include many wonderful materials in the atrium, but especially in an atrium used for training, we need to be true to Sofia and Gianna's understanding of the essential."

I appreciate what is said here, but I have some concerns as well.

• I came to Montessori THROUGH Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Yes, I found Montessori first, but I had levels 1 and 2 formation in CGS before I went to AMI primary Montessori training. The above statement makes it sound as if Montessori came first. Then level 3 CGS and elementary Montessori training overlapped.


• AMI is foundational. It does not participate in "fluff" and it too focuses on the essentials.


• I have full respect for Sofia and Gianna, and I have equal respect for Maria Montessori. All three ladies focused on the essential with the children, yet Sofia and Gianna's work was founded on Maria Montessori's work. This is getting a bit into the chicken/egg syndrome, so the main point is that we canNOT separate the Montessori method from CGS without losing KEY QUALITIES.


• Many of those foundational Montessori principles that are given in CGS formation courses (silence game, walking on the line) are losing their strength in the passing from one adult to the next. But when such exercises are fully present in the atrium, you find children who are centered (normalized), at peace, and working deeply.


• For me personally, CGS informs my application of the Montessori method in the academics far more than Montessori affects my CGS work in the realm of faith formation. I am not necessarily taking the above comment personally, but I do feel it is a blanket statement that reflects a division between the two rather than a recognition of CGS's roots in Montessori - the condition of the roots reveals the condition of the potential flowering.

Some interesting tidbits on the relationship between CGS and academic Montessori - or how Montessori can and SHOULD apply to CGS:

• Walking on the line and the silence activity are being watered down in CGS and the fruits are not forthcoming. These are *essential* Montessori principles that CGS needs to hold onto tightly, or it will become simply a mental exercise in religious education, such as Godly Play has become.


• Evolution and Age of the Earth: The academic materials that inspired such level 2 works as the Fettuccia and Blue Unity and History of the Gifts - has NO MENTION of the specific number of years since the birth of the Earth.  Yet originally these CGS materials were made to represent a certain number of years and specifically TAUGHT evolution. I will not get into evolution versus creationism vs something in-between here. I will simply state that it is NOT the place of the atrium to get into this topic either. The atrium's place is to emphasize that God created the world and provided these gifts without mention of length of time. Let the children's imaginations, their schools and parents work it out. These modifications were finally made, but only after the Montessori community looked even further down on CGS for even trying to say that a rib on the grosgrain indicates 1,000 years - pure Montessori has no such material, neither should the atrium.


• I have had SO MANY children struggle with the concept of going from a globe to this flat map of Israel, with little to no connection to where we are now (other than on the globe). This is an area that CGS atriums should be introducing a brief preliminary geography material. Starting with the globe, then a round ball of clay, cutting the clay into two (hemispheres) and rolling them flat to show the two halves of the earth on a flat surface; then showing the puzzle map of the world, with Israel and the atrium's locations marked.


• We have Exercises of Practical Life in the atrium, but so many catechists are NOT focused on the Montessori essentials and they introduce "fluff" into the EPL area, at the same time they ignore what is most essential. Yes, the children need EPL. It fulfills developmental needs that allows the catechist to then get into the theological presentations. HOWEVER, transferring puff balls from one bowl to another is not necessary in the atrium, unless you have the children using tongs to get fresh cotton balls for the polishing work.

The tray on the left should be glass or hard plastic; I was using it elsewhere the day this photo was taken.

• Polishing: I have personally streamlined my AMI album pages on glass, metal and wood polishing, so that ONE presentation can be given and the child now has all the polishing available to work on. The only differences are the actual polishes in the bottles, the type of tray, the ring and the dish for the polish and cotton ball - designed to indicate what that polish is to be used for.


• There are a few ways that the Exercises of Practical Life within the atrium can be freshened up, so as to focus on the essentials, while meeting children's developmental needs, and leading more fully into the life of the atrium, the family and the church.


• Last EPL thought: consider how the children are to be responsible for the atrium and the church; provide those materials (polishing, flower arranging, cleaning, sweeping, folding cloths (ie for the altar)). Consider what preliminary work they need in order to accomplish those works (eyedropper transfer for polishing, introductory cloth folding, carrying trays and mats). If you need a few more preliminaries at the beginning of the year, fine! Then pull them out by the second month of atrium so the children are not matching colors or transferring puff balls all year when they have other work that more fully meets their developmental needs.


• Language: Some people add far more 3-part and 4-part cards than are entirely necessary. I fully agree with CGS's current materials manuals in how much they provide, with one exception: it is nice to have the 3-part cards for the cities of Israel for the level 1 children. But I have seen some people go much, much further and label *everything*. It gets to be too much.


• Summary: So in many areas, the Montessori influence is not balanced. Too much or too little and both to the detriment of the potential of the album.

In all other aspects, CGS is separate from the academic Montessori, which includes something good and beautiful (we call it Cosmic Education ;) ), but is separate from CGS in that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is theology at its richest and deepest.

I recognize what I would be doing in a formation course; but I wonder how I would go about assuring that stronger, balanced Montessori foundation.

Again, though, CGS has impacted how I do the academic portion of Montessori far more than my Montessori background will ever impact CGS.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori

Wow. I am still in shock.
As I reflect on the letter I received today (I am typing this on Friday afternoon), I thought I’d share some thoughts that answer some private questions I receive from time to time.
Basically, these questions center around the relationship between Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori education – for US. In OUR family.

Quote from the acceptance letter:

“With your great Montessori background, it’s easy to want to include many wonderful materials in the atrium, but especially in an atrium used for training, we need to be true to Sofia and Gianna’s understanding of the essential.”

I appreciate what is said here, but I have some concerns as well.

• I came to Montessori THROUGH Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Yes, I found Montessori first, but I had levels 1 and 2 formation in CGS before I went to AMI primary Montessori training. The above statement makes it sound as if Montessori came first. Then level 3 CGS and elementary Montessori training overlapped.
• AMI is foundational. It does not participate in “fluff” and it too focuses on the essentials.
• I have full respect for Sofia and Gianna, and I have equal respect for Maria Montessori. All three ladies focused on the essential with the children, yet Sofia and Gianna’s work was founded on Maria Montessori’s work. This is getting a bit into the chicken/egg syndrome, so the main point is that we canNOT separate the Montessori method from CGS without losing KEY QUALITIES.
• Many of those foundational Montessori principles that are given in CGS formation courses (silence game, walking on the line) are losing their strength in the passing from one adult to the next. But when such exercises are fully present in the atrium, you find children who are centered (normalized), at peace, and working deeply.
• For me personally, CGS informs my application of the Montessori method in the academics far more than Montessori affects my CGS work in the realm of faith formation. I am not necessarily taking the above comment personally, but I do feel it is a blanket statement that reflects a division between the two rather than a recognition of CGS’s roots in Montessori – the condition of the roots reveals the condition of the potential flowering.

Some interesting tidbits on the relationship between CGS and academic Montessori – or how Montessori can and SHOULD apply to CGS:

• Walking on the line and the silence activity are being watered down in CGS and the fruits are not forthcoming. These are *essential* Montessori principles that CGS needs to hold onto tightly, or it will become simply a mental exercise in religious education, such as Godly Play has become.
• Evolution and Age of the Earth: The academic materials that inspired such level 2 works as the Fettuccia and Blue Unity and History of the Gifts – has NO MENTION of the specific number of years since the birth of the Earth.  Yet originally these CGS materials were made to represent a certain number of years and specifically TAUGHT evolution. I will not get into evolution versus creationism vs something in-between here. I will simply state that it is NOT the place of the atrium to get into this topic either. The atrium’s place is to emphasize that God created the world and provided these gifts without mention of length of time. Let the children’s imaginations, their schools and parents work it out. These modifications were finally made, but only after the Montessori community looked even further down on CGS for even trying to say that a rib on the grosgrain indicates 1,000 years – pure Montessori has no such material, neither should the atrium.
• I have had SO MANY children struggle with the concept of going from a globe to this flat map of Israel, with little to no connection to where we are now (other than on the globe). This is an area that CGS atriums should be introducing a brief preliminary geography material. Starting with the globe, then a round ball of clay, cutting the clay into two (hemispheres) and rolling them flat to show the two halves of the earth on a flat surface; then showing the puzzle map of the world, with Israel and the atrium’s locations marked.
• We have Exercises of Practical Life in the atrium, but so many catechists are NOT focused on the Montessori essentials and they introduce “fluff” into the EPL area, at the same time they ignore what is most essential. Yes, the children need EPL. It fulfills developmental needs that allows the catechist to then get into the theological presentations. HOWEVER, transferring puff balls from one bowl to another is not necessary in the atrium, unless you have the children using tongs to get fresh cotton balls for the polishing work.

The tray on the left should be glass or hard plastic; I was using it elsewhere the day this photo was taken.

• Polishing: I have personally streamlined my AMI album pages on glass, metal and wood polishing, so that ONE presentation can be given and the child now has all the polishing available to work on. The only differences are the actual polishes in the bottles, the type of tray, the ring and the dish for the polish and cotton ball – designed to indicate what that polish is to be used for.
• There are a few ways that the Exercises of Practical Life within the atrium can be freshened up, so as to focus on the essentials, while meeting children’s developmental needs, and leading more fully into the life of the atrium, the family and the church.
• Last EPL thought: consider how the children are to be responsible for the atrium and the church; provide those materials (polishing, flower arranging, cleaning, sweeping, folding cloths (ie for the altar)). Consider what preliminary work they need in order to accomplish those works (eyedropper transfer for polishing, introductory cloth folding, carrying trays and mats). If you need a few more preliminaries at the beginning of the year, fine! Then pull them out by the second month of atrium so the children are not matching colors or transferring puff balls all year when they have other work that more fully meets their developmental needs.
• Language: Some people add far more 3-part and 4-part cards than are entirely necessary. I fully agree with CGS’s current materials manuals in how much they provide, with one exception: it is nice to have the 3-part cards for the cities of Israel for the level 1 children. But I have seen some people go much, much further and label *everything*. It gets to be too much.
• Summary: So in many areas, the Montessori influence is not balanced. Too much or too little and both to the detriment of the potential of the album.

In all other aspects, CGS is separate from the academic Montessori, which includes something good and beautiful (we call it Cosmic Education  ), but is separate from CGS in that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is theology at its richest and deepest.

I recognize what I would be doing in a formation course; but I wonder how I would go about assuring that stronger, balanced Montessori foundation.

Again, though, CGS has impacted how I do the academic portion of Montessori far more than my Montessori background will ever impact CGS.

Wishing to be sick !?

On Saturday, I was feeling so psychologically tired (should have been a sign I was getting sick), that I actually wished to be sick. Yep. I really wanted to be sick. Just so I could have an excuse to lay in bed all day. Because I knew I wouldn't do it unless I were forced to - there is just too much work to do right now to lay around. Even if God gave us a day a week for total rest, I need something more (!?) to justify it. Go figure.

Well... as the saying goes.

Be careful what you wish for.