Creative Godly Play at Home – Parables

Wooden Peg Doll Good Shepherd and Polymer Clay Sheep (Photo from Explore and Express)

I have a number of posts about Godly Play, including posts about using Godly Play at home. More and more often, parents are finding creative and inexpensive ways to use Godly Play concepts to make the Bible a living part of their home environment.

Last autumn, I wrote about Creative Godly Play at Home – Old Testament. Please refer to that post if you’d like resources to help you get started using Godly Play at home. My other Godly Play posts, especially How to Add Godly Play to Your Homeschool and Fitting Montessori-Based Religious Education into Your Home, have helpful resources as well.

Parables in Godly Play and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Programs

Between Epiphany and Lent, most Montessori-based Godly Play and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd programs in churches introduce parables. In this post, I’ll be sharing some resources from both Godly Play and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for introducing parables. The videos are especially helpful in showing traditional Godly Play presentations. Just choose what you feel will work best for your family.

My daughter, Christina, at 2½ using Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials in our church atrium, 1993. (Parable materials are also on the nearby shelf.)

The parable materials in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd are often beautiful 3-dimensional wooden materials, whereas many are made of felt in Godly Play. While I love the CGS materials, the Godly Play felt materials are generally more practical for home use (unless you have a carpenter in your family who would enjoy making materials for you). I have links to some examples here that work very well for home use.

The parable posts from Thoughts from the Sheepfold give a helpful overview of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd parables.

Wonderful in an Easter Kind of Way has some fascinating posts about Godly Play parables.

Godly Play 101: The Genres from Explore and Express explains the basics of the sacred stories, parables, and liturgical lessons in Godly Play.

Creative Godly Play Ideas for Parables

You’ll find scripts for presenting parables in The Complete Guide to Godly Play: An Imaginative Method for Presenting Scripture Stories to Children (Volume 3) by Jerome W. Berryman (the current version of all the Godly Play parable scripts).

Young Children and Worship by Sonja Stewart and Jerome Berryman has patterns for making materials and older versions of scripts.

Parable of the Good Shepherd

This is the foundational parable for both Godly Play and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Some wonderful ideas for home use:

Sneak Preview (Parable of the Good Shepherd materials from Explore and Express – photo at the top of this post)

Good Shepherd Lesson (Photo from We Don't Need No Education)

The Good Shepherd from We Don’t Need No Education

The Parables of Jesus (The Parable of the Good Shepherd): A Lesson for a Sensorimotor Preschool Experience Inspired by Godly Play from Training Happy Hearts

Good Shepherd and Sheep (Photo from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments)

Good Shepherd at Home (a lovely home version based on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments

Good Shepherd Learning Activity and Craft (a version your child can make) from Catholic Icing

Parable of the Good Samaritan

Parable of the Great Pearl

Parable of the Sower

Godly Play – Parable of the Sower (my post)

Parable of the Sower from Training Happy Hearts

Parable of the Leaven

The Parable of the Yeast (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd lesson that works well at home) from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments

Parable of the Mustard Seed

Parable of the Mustard Seed (Photo from Watkins Every Flavor Beans)

Parable of the Mustard Seed from Watkins Every Flavor Beans

Parable of the Mustard Seed from Explore and Express

Adapting Godly Play for the Inclusive Classroom (pdf with helpful ideas) from Stranmillis University College (insights for Godly Play in general and specific thoughts on the Parable of the Mustard Seeds)

Parable of the Loving Father (Parable of the Prodigal Son)

Parable of the Loving Father from The Wonder Circle

Judy Jowers at Flickr – Godly Play sets for many Bible stories, including parables.

I’d love to hear how you’ve introduced parables at home (or in your church)!

Related posts:

1. Godly Play – Parable of the Sower
2. Creative Godly Play at Home – Old Testament
3. Godly Play Isn’t Just for Children
4. How to Use Godly Play at Home during Advent
5. How to Add Godly Play to Your Homeschool