Core Training

I've just returned from southern California....I had hoped to have a break from the Northwest rain and cold and find some warm sun....it was instead disappointingly cloudy and windy but.... beyond expectations in the work together with a community from Pacific Palisides.....there was true sun and warmth in that core training event this past weekend. They will begin Godly Play this fall and have been very intentional about getting ready....a process that is so necessary and important in Godly Play.

The Foundation has recently changed the title of the three day training of teachers that we have been doing now for several years. We have called it in the past a teacher accreditation event and if participants are present for all 18 hours and practice giving a lesson they have been "certified" by the Foundation as an accredited Godly Play teacher.

We have changed the name to more accurately reflect what this training truly is: the necessary core training to get started well. Handing someone a piece of paper after a three day training does not make one a Godly Play teacher. A couple of years of practice with regular contact with children is more likely to be what would identify a Godly Play teacher.

The content will stay basically the same - it has proven to be excellent content:

Experiencing Godly Play in a full session
learning and experiencing the 4 genres of Godly Play:
Sacred Story, Parable, Liturgy, and Silence.
Practicing a lesson with a small group and
each person presenting a lesson and receiving valuable feedback.
3 main presentations:
Spirituality of Childhood
The environment and the unspoken lesson
Supporting the Circle of Children
And all of it is done as a spiritual retreat where each participant is supported to enter this and experience "coming close" for themselves.

But it is just the beginning! Like learning a language, it is the practice and the use of the language that it takes to become fluent. So we are calling it a "Core Training" with clarity that there is more to sustain and build a strong and vibrant program.

And we will still give you a nice certificate if you want - to say you are on your way!