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Background Materials for Spirit Play
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Maria Montessori
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Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was the originator of the Montessori Method of education for the preschool child and was
the first woman to receive (1894) a medical degree in Italy. After working with subnormal children, she pioneered in the
instruction of retarded children, especially through the use of an environment rich in manipulative materials. The success of her
school led her to question the educational system for normal children, and in 1907, she opened her first Case Dei Bambini in a
slum area of Rome. This led to the establishment of many centers based on her method; the first one in the United States was
founded in 1912. Montessori believed that education could be defined as the self-development or spontaneous learning of a
child in a prepared environment. She developed the ideas of child-size furniture, concrete to abstract materials, and an
emphasis on cognitive development and sensory training which are now utilized in most child learning centers.
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Important Keys
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The two most important keys to the Montessori Method are the environment and the teacher. The teacher is the link
between the children and the materials, prepared and arranged on the shelves by this teacher. But the teacher remains
secondary to the children themselves and creates an atmosphere of peace and comfort in the classroom.
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Elements
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The elements of a Montessori classroom are:
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1)freedom: children are free to move about their environment, choose their own activities after the initial lesson, and interact with
other children in a respectful and peaceful way;
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2)structure and order: materials are grouped according to intellectual area and sequenced according to their degree of difficulty
on shelves easily reached by the child; no one is allowed to interrupt or interfere with the child's work and the child must return it
to its place in the same condition that the child found it;
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3)reality and nature: all materials are authentic although child-sized and there is only one of each set of materials so that the
child is encouraged to learn to wait or to choose an alternative; plants and animals are cared for in the environment.
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4)beauty and order: well-made materials are arranged in an open and attractive manner;
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5)the materials which stimulate the child's attention span and encourage a focus of attention in the areas of practical life,
sensorial, and academic including mathematical, language, writing, reading, geography, and science;
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6)development of a community life through mixed ages, children’s responsibility for the care of the environment, and the respect
shown for their work and others.
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Jerome W. Berryman--Godly Play
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An Episcopal priest who studied the Montessori Method and its religious implications with Sofia Cavalletti (Catechesis of the
Good Shepherd) in Italy in 1971. Since then, he developed the Godly Play approach to Christian religious education with an
emphasis on the function of religious language—parable, sacred story, and liturgical action—in the moral and spiritual
development of children.
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The goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using the language of the Christian tradition to encounter God and find
direction in their lives. There are six objectives that help to meet that goal:*
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1)To model how to wonder in religious education, so children can “enter” religious language rather than merely repeating it or
talking about it.
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2)To show children how to create meaning with the language of the Christian tradition and how this can involve them in the
experience of the Creator.
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3)To show children how to choose their own work, so that they can confront their own existential limits and depth issues rather
than work on other kinds of problems dictated by others, including adults.
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4)To organize the educational time to follow the pattern of Christian worship that the Christian tradition has found to be the best
way to be with God in community; getting ready, listening to the word of God, responding to God’s word, giving thanks, sharing
the feast, and participating in the blessing and dismissal.
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5)To show children how to work together as a community by supporting and respecting each other and one another’s quest.
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6)To organize the educational space so that the whole system of Christian language is present in the room, so children can
literally walk into that language domain when they enter the room and can begin to make connections among its various parts
as they work with the lesson of the day and their responses in art or other lessons.
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*from Teaching Godly Play: The Sunday Morning Handbook by Jerome W. Berryman
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Spirit Play
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We see the purpose of religious education as helping children in living into their own answers to the existential questions, as
in Jerome Berryman's work:
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Where did we come from?
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What are we doing here? What is our purpose? How do we choose to live our lives? What are our gifts? How do we use
them?
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What happens when we die? Why do we die? Why are we lonely and sad sometimes?
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We use the Montessori approach and Berryman's morning-as-worship approach for the structure of the morning. As in
Montessori, the key elements are the classroom environment and the teachers. These elements free the children to work at
their own pace on their own issues.
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1)The Door Keeper helps the children get ready to enter the classroom as parents drop them off.
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4)Children clean-up, followed by a feast (snack) with the Storyteller.
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5)Leave-taking is a formal process of saying good-bye to the Storyteller when parents arrive and children are ready.
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Stories have been developed in the following categories using current children’s literature, myths, and religious stories that
cover answers from various sources to the existential questions above. Each set of stories is color-coded or symbol-coded to
the shelf for easy access and return.
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Unitarian Universalist Focal Shelves: Lessons pertaining to our central story of agreeing to live in community and right
relationship, including our central symbol, the Flaming Chalice, church history, U.U. history and U.U. figures.
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Promises: Lesson pertaining to our principles and stories illustrating each principle.
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Sources: Lessons pertaining to the sources of our principles and our faith, including Judeo-Christian stories from Godly Play.
On the top shelf will be pitchers with the symbols of the sources on them, including U.U. The pitcher used for the feast juice will
be one relating to the story of the day.
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Stories of the Mystery: Stories relating to the Mystery that some people call God.
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Beginnings and Endings: Stories from all cultures and science telling of our beginnings and what might happen when we die,
including concepts of heaven and hell, and reincarnation. These shelves will include materials on the Universe Story and the
story of Earth.
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Sacred Places: Table containing a JerusalemTemple, and other sets of blocks representing those spaces religions hold
sacred, including a labyrinth.
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Art Shelves: Contains materials for art responses including paint, clay, paper, crayons, markers, glue sticks, templates for U.U.
and source symbols, and easels.
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Cleaning Supplies Shelf and Snack Preparation Shelf: Child-size materials for clean-up and snack preparation. There is also
a hand-washing station, and a station for clean-up from painting.
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Church Corner: Model your sanctuary space with an altar table, lectern, and those materials needed for ceremonies at your
church including child dedications, coming of age, marriage or union, memorial services, flower communion, water ceremony,
etc.
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Other materials to be developed:
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Heroes and Heroines: People who we admire who relate to our sources such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Mother
Teresa, etc.
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Religion Boxes: Contain objects helping to explain the major tenets of religions.
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Prayer Boxes: Contain ways in which people pray, i.e. using body prayer, beads, written prayers, etc. Also those containing
ways to be spiritual.
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Spirit Play Introductory Lessons are available for purchase. See index page for link.
Currently, the complete curriculum is only available with trainings due to copyright issues.
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Bibliography updated 2004
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Montessori
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Montessori: Her Life and Work, E. M. Standing, 1998.
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The Essential Montessori: An Introduction to the Woman, the Writings, the Method, and the Movement, Elizabeth G. Hainstock,
1997.
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Nurturing the Spirit, Aline D. Wolf, 1996.
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Michael and D'Neil Duffy: Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in the Montessori Elementary Classroom (Parent Child
Press, 2002)
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Godly Play
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Young Children and Worship, Sonja M. Stewart and Jerome W. Berryman, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press,
1989. Contains templates for all stories.
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Following Jesus: More about Young Children and Worship, Sonja M. Stewart, Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press, 2000.
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Teaching Godly Play: The Sunday Morning Handbook, Jerome W. Berryman; Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
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The Parable Cycle, The Liturgy Cycle, Children and Sacred Stories, Jerome W. Berryman; from Godly Play Resources Inc., P.O.
Box 563, 703 Main St. Ashland KS 67831; 1-800-445-4390, or www.godlyplay.com. These are all the lessons as Jerome
presents them in his workshops. Readymade materials are also available for the lessons from Godly Play Resources. Also,
Jerome's website is www.godlyplay.net.
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New books from Berryman: The Complete Guide to Godly Play
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Volume 1: How to Lead Godly Play Lessons
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Volume 2: 14 Presentations for Fall
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Volume 3: 20 Presentations for Winter
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Volume 4: 19 Presentations for Spring
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Volume 5: Practical Helps from Godly Play Trainers
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also available: 3 training DVD's with Jerome Berryman presenting stories
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Living the Good News Press 1-800-824-1813
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The Children's Hour: An Alternative Learning Experience Lessons covering the UU principles using materials on trays as in
Montessori, categories include UU Identity, World Religions, UU Symbols. by Joyce Zaugg DRE laucdre@aol.com or
zauggtj@uswest.net
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Montessori Art Books available from Montessori Services
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Go Get Your Smock: Creative and Independent Art Experiences from the Montessori Early Childhood Classroom by Diane Sutliff
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Let Out the Sunshine: A Montessori Approach to Creative Activities by Regina Reynolds Barnett
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