Early Childhood Education: December 2008

Advent

By Anne E. Neuberger

Advent is a time for waiting. It is the long, night watch, as we hope and long for the coming of our Lord.

We adults may have to work to create Advent in our hearts. Children, however, have no such difficulty. Are there any people more capable of experiencing and exuding joyful anticipation  than preschoolers? Perhaps there is no other time in our lives when we await Christmas with as much glee and excitement than when we are very young.

Children’s joy is enviable but it makes them especially susceptible to the onslaught of commercialism surrounding Christmas. It is very difficult to shield them entirely, but we can offer them a way to focus on what Advent is really about. This can be done through play, children’s work that comes so naturally to them and opens up their minds and hearts to new knowledge and experiences.

Waiting for Jesus through play:

1. Provide props for dramatic play of the Nativity story:

• A ‘manger’—a box or doll cradle
• A doll and swaddling clothes
• Clothing for Mary and Joseph, shepherds and wise men (capes, adult tee shirts, towels, etc.
• Stuffed animals to be sheep

If your classroom has a climber or a dramatic play corner, arrange this area to look as much like a stable as possible. Lengths of burlap cloth draped over the climber for a roof, wooden boxes, blankets, buckets—use anything that creates the sense of a stable. Items that reflect modern times more than biblical times won’t bother the children as long as they can ‘feel’ that it is a barn. Consider bringing in hay if you don’t have any children who are allergic to it. It will be messy but it is only for four weeks! And besides, Jesus wasn’t born in an antiseptic hospital!

2. If possible, get a child’s nativity set, one that is made for play. With their Fair Trade program , Catholic Relief Services offers colorful ones made by artisans in several countries. (See www.crsfairtrade.org/crafts/)

•  Doll house dolls can be adapted for this with simple clothing cut from felt.
•  Add small toy animals such as horses, cows, sheep and dogs.
• Provide building blocks or small boxes for a stable, the inn, and other buildings

3. For children who love to draw, put a large piece of paper on a wall. Over the four weeks of Advent, have them first draw shepherds and sheep. Each time you meet, suggest figures and details to add, such as:

•  Stars in the sky
•  The inn and other buildings
• The stable
• donkeys (more than one child will want to draw these!)
• cows
• hay
• water for the animals
• angels
•  camels
•  wise men (only the mention of three gifts in scripture limits us to three wise men. There may have been more or less than three!)

To keep the sense of waiting for Jesus’ birth, don’t add figures of Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus during Advent. Before the children return after December 25th, add these figures you or a child has made.