He calls them by name

 

Before we began the presentation of the Good Shepherd, I asked Yves, age 4, what he thought a shepherd does for the sheep.  Yves responded, “He calls them by name.”   I asked if there was anything else the shepherd did and Yves replied “He leads them.”  Yves’ words come verbatim from the scripture reading, which he hadn’t heard for several weeks.

Who are the sheep?

 

Danielle, age 3, was receiving the presentation on the Good Shepherd.  When I wondered what the sheep’s names might be, she quickly replied, “Danielle.”  When I wondered which sheep was Danielle, she pointed to the sheep being held on the Good Shepherd’s shoulders.  She said that another sheep was named Maisy (her sister), then asked what my name was, and then said that a third sheep was named by my name.  Later, as we put the material away, she repeated the names of these three sheep.  She spoke of putting sheep to sleep and that the Good Shepherd made them a blanket.

Jesus rose!

 

As he set the altar, David, age 5, picked up the crucifix and said, “Jesus rose!”  He looked closer at the picture on the crucifix and said, “I see nails in his hands.”

God made Jesus

 

While talking with classmates while praying at the altar, Dylan, age 6, said, “God made Jesus.  God made grass.  God made Saturn’s rings.  God even made metal!” 

Prayers at the altar

Bruno, age 5, worked at the altar and then wrote the following prayer with the moveable alphabet: “bruno, thundr, mom, daddy, ben, tereesa” (Thunder is the name of his dog, Ben is his brother and Teresa is his sister).

I'm in God's world

When the classroom teacher of Willa, age 4, asked her what she liked about working at the model altar, Willa replied, “so soft and quiet and peaceful… and makes me feel like I’m in God’s world.”

God has given us all

After Willetta, age 4, completed her work of altar tracing, she asked me to write these words: “God has given us all.  All he has given.  God has been a father to Jesus and to Joseph also.  Jesus is really special.  Mary is his mother.” (She initially used the word “was” but changed this to “is”.)