SpiritPlay- Washing Trays

Today was the first day of SpiritPlay- the UU adaptation of the Montessori-based “Godly Play” developed by one of my heros Jerome Berryman. First- I was amazed and delighted when my co-teachers agreed to join me. We were all a little daunted by the amount of prep and set-up required. The idea is that there is a “prepared room” so that the children are empowered to find what they need to do their work. This means there’s a huge amount of preparation need for the first class, but then little changes from week to week except the story. The teacher also has to be prepared. There are certain phrases that are used, places to be, hand gestures and ways of handling conflict that are particular to this method. There’s a way everything is to be done, to help give the children a sense of mastery. Because really the curriculum, like most CRE curricula, is just story, craft and snack. What makes this different is that we are trying to create a scared space where we can engage directly with religious language. The radical assumption is that all humans are engaging their existential reality no mater what their age.

This morning the co-teachers and I gathered early, after I spent a night of telling the Genesis creation story to myself over and over, remembering to look at the wooden pieces that represented each day instead of making eye contact with the children, and remembering to hold space between each day and not rush on.

I had thought the long descriptions of clean-up supplies that are present in the Montessori classroom to help children take care of their own spills seemed really long and complex, and I was willing to let it go. But at the last minute we made a quick run to the kitchen for buckets and sponges and were back in time for the children to enter. And so this morning the children did more-or-less engage with me in a quiet wondering space. I was touched and delighted each time they were willing to play along. The biggest fun, however, was clearly the clean-up. How fun to have your own sponge in a bucket marked “trays” to clean off your tray. How fun to have a special bucket marked “hands” to wash your hands in. Some of the younger kids spent more time washing up than making art.

I wonder what will happen next week? I wonder if 4 weeks of SpiritPlay could leave something lasting with the children, the teachers, or the church school?