My Atrium Space 2012

Well this week has been a really busy one, so instead of my Taking Time Tuesday post, today I will be sharing what has been taking up quite a bit of time here! Our Catechisis of the Good Shepherd Atrium has started up again, and I have been busy making sure that the environment is all ready for the little souls who will be deepening their relationship with the Lord there. Since we have been moved to a new room this year, so everything was a new experience and took a bit of work to figure out. The room we use is still being used for a great many other things when it is not an Atrium, so I needed to make sure that it was still functional for everyone else! It was a bit of a challenge, but I think that the results were really good! Let me know what you think!

Prayer Table Area

Alter Area

Practical Life Area

(Some of these shelves will hold our Infancy Narratives as we get closer to Christmas.)

 

 

Art Area and Tracing Work

Our Cenacle

Parable Area

( AS you can see, the shelves are empty. New parable work is added as they are presented.)

 

 

Geography Area

(These are purely sensorial right now, but I will present more in couple of months.)

 

I have so many new kids that I really had limit the number of works that were out that needed longer presentations. As the kids get used to the environment and how we work in the Atrium, I will add more and do more presentations. Right now we are all getting used to how things work! So I have quite alot of Practical Life work out to help them gain concentration, coordination, and to learn how to care for the space. Here is some of the trays we have right now.

 

Pouring Beads

(In an effort to tie our trays into the liturgy to help the kids connect with it, I made the beads purple like the wine, and I added on clear bead. The clear bead represents the one drop of water the priest put in the wine when he prepares the Chalice at Mass. I am not telling the kids. My hope is that they discover it as we do more work with the gestures of Mass.)

Pouring Water

(This is our only water work this year due to our distance from the bathroom where we got water before. However, the kids love water work so much I knew we needed something!)

Chopstick Transfer

(This is a very hard work and I think I need to find a new tool for it. They transfer the small wooden disks to the container with the lid. I thought that this looked alot like a ciborium and I am hoping that the kids will find that too!)

Spooning Beads

(These I made small pearls because the kids LOVE the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. I am sure the the kids will figure this out, and until then they love the pretty beads!)

Matching Birds

(This is a work you will recognize from our classroom. I thought it would be good for the atrium since we have a lot of small kids. The bird of course are a reminder of God's Creation.)

 

Matching Large to Small

(Here is a work of matching large natural materials to small ones. This is a big hit with the littles right now! Again, it reminds then of God's Creation.)

Tweezing Feathers

( Simple and really exciting for the kids. This one was a big hit last year and I thought I would bring it back. They love to use the clothes pin to transfer the feathers and the feathers are so fun to feel too!)

Matching Rocks

( This is also a work from last year that everyone liked. It is cool to see the kids look at the rocks with wonder. Since they are minerals and crystals, they arent something that they see very much. I hope that they see the beauty of God!)

 

So there you have it! This is our space for year to love God in, pray to God in, and to learn more about his love! I truly love program that was based on the Montessori Method. It really just the perfect way to allow kids to bask and grow in the love of the Good Shepherd! If you want to know more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, you can click on the link! If you search Catechisis of the Good Shepherd on my blog, you will find my past posts all about it! Peace and Blessings to you all!