Godly Play

An early offering of the Godly Play phenomenon that is reaching more and more churches each year. Sets out the theology and, to some degree, the practice of the Godly play program. Berryman argues that imagination is at the root of our being as humans and that using it (as children do in Godly play) is how we are in the image of God. An excellent resource for Christian educators and all who are interested in the foundations of Godly play.

I ordered this book to guide me in teaching sunday school in a multi-age classroom. Since reading it, I have been thinking seriously of beginning Jerome Berryman's Godly play curriculum. Jerome spent many years studying and practicing the theories and methods used in Montessori school. He sought to carry this experience and way of thinking about children into the sunday school arena. WHat he has developed is explained thoroughly in the book, and it is a refreshingly different approach to religious education. Unlike most methods, Godly play seeks to preserve a high view of children, encouraging them to playfully enter the sacred stories and come away with their sense of wonder and imagination intact. Many of us adults think religious education means boxing children into our ways of thinking about ourselves and God. Godly play allows children to wonder about themselves, about God, and about the world around them in a way that is playful and deeply meaingful to them, and not on our terms. Great reading, only I must warn you, if you read this, you may want to read more of his material....

& #65279;The problem with most religious education approaches is that they attempt to direct the children TO GOD. They forget that children engage joyously in life, reaching Godly moments at regular intervals! Jerome Berryman posits that Godly Play is the ultimate game, "the playing of a game that can awaken us to new ways of seeing ourselves as human beings." Children play naturally,and they find God, naturally, in everything. Godly Play is a way to give them the religious language to more fully play that game. It is deeply respectful of the child and of God's presence. This book will stimulate your imagination, help you to approach the religious education task as a joy-filled, mystery-filled, dance that is an approach, not a rigid end-point. From nine years of experience with Godly Play, I can say that the results are children who both know the stories and relate them to their own lives in the most ordinary - and extraordinary- ways. It also results in teachers who are dedicated and find the "work" to be a gift. This book is the foundation that you will return to for inspiration again and again. It is also a guide for dealing with children (and problems in the classroom) that allows you to remain respectful and to open up possibilities for rare existential conversations with kids. You will find that Jerome Berryman's ideas expressed in this book will explode your imagination, humble you as a teacher, and rededicate you to your task. Take it slowly, though; there's a lot here, and it's not always an easy read. Chapter 2, especially, is a must for all teachers of Godly Play, as he takes you through the lesson from his point of view. Ultimately, it's well worth your effort.