The King of Kings, Godspell, and Jesus Christ Superstar-- and how to teach a 4 y.o.




Ahhh, Saturday. The one day I can drink coffee in my pjs in relative peace. 

I have a full agenda today, once I get moving: head out to the hinterlands of Littleton to pick up the broadsides for my poetry book, then groceries, then house chores (there's so much sand tracked in...it's gross). Then, around 4, taking Holly to the Easter Egg Hunt. 

I'm going to try to get G to go out to dinner. I have a suspicion that, by the end of all that here-and-there-ness, I will not want to move into cooking mode. We could do sandwiches, but maybe not. 

Maybe the new noodle shop? Maybe Free House? 

We'll see. At the moment, though, it's barely morning. And I have to pace myself-- tomorrow will be a bit busy as well. It's Palm Sunday this weekend, and then Holy Week begins. 

Holly and I watched the animated film The King of Kings yesterday. It was pretty good; a little confusing at the start, as the main character is Charles Dickens, who is interrupted by family shenanigans while trying to do the one-man show of A Christmas Carol. Follow me so far? Dickens apparently wrote a child-friendly (!) The Life of Our Lord sometime between 1846-49 for his children. The animated film (which has an unbelievable cast of vocal talent; Kenneth Branagh voices Dickens) shifts into a retelling of this version, with his young son Walter experiencing the whole unfolding of the life of Jesus. Once that got going, the film was good. Holly was a little confused how the story of Scrooge fit in with Jesus (I sorted that out for her). The film goes through the major miracles of Jesus' ministry all up to the rising on the third day. Pretty comprehensive, to be honest. And since I've taken on the faith formation for Holly (CCD only meets once a month now), this was a good addition to what we've been talking about. 

Holly's best/hardest question after the film: Why can't we see God? 

Um. I managed a simple-ish, "God is everywhere, and we see Him in every good thing" kind of answer. But wow. Curve ball late on a Friday afternoon, eh? 

She is so eager and interested in learning, and it's hard to simplify things down to a four-year-old's understanding. I used to teach CCD for high schoolers for a good many years, and I was pretty comfortable with that level. This is something else, and it's kind of good, too: it's forcing me to examine the fundamentals of faith at the simplest level. 

And we get to color Bible story pictures frequently; Holly likes to be inventive with her color selections (somehow Mary was all blue, including her face-- I was wondering if she was holding her breath in protest)-- but we get to talk about things at her level, and that's kind of neat. 

I might rent the old version of Godspell this week; mine is a VHS tape (yes, I am old), and that won't do. I really ought to buy a dvd of it; I love that musical so much, and I pretty much raised Meg on Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. Faith with bangin' soundtracks. 

I hope you have a restful Saturday. If you are gathering for No Kings, peace be unto you and yours. We need each other in these turbulent times. Be safe. 

Blessings,

C



Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by!

Popular posts from this blog

I've had a bellyfull of privileged statements lately--

Image
 It's cold again. Very. And I can't help but think of those who are living rough, who are unhoused or are "couch surfing" from patient friend to patient friend. Most of us are just a paycheck or two away from making those same hard choices.  The overnight shelter in Littleton is open, and there is a giving tree at the Coop with needs tags for them. There is an ongoing collection for basic necessities to benefit those who are having a rough time. There are several "little free pantry" sites. But it's not enough, and the need is growing.  When I hear from certain pundits that prices are down all over, that gas is about 2.00 a gallon, that an extra dollar or two won't break anyone... I get steamed. Seriously angry. How dare they spout such fallacies? I've read "so what if beef is a dollar or two more a pound" too many times lately. When hamburger is a luxury item, there is something radically wrong.  Health care costs are already spiking, ...
Read more

End of the semester: has it/is it worth the time we have spent? Maybe?

Image
We have one week left of this fall semester; it's been pretty good, most of the time. A lot of work, mostly mental, some self-imposed, but good. My overwhelming sense of responsibility for whether my juniors will do well on the AP test in May is eating at me, though. I know it's just a test. I know that it's only a snapshot of what they can/cannot do in an artificial environment (online, 2.5 hours, and the beastly multiple choice part). They are good humans. They are interested and interesting. They have questions. They have the ability to search out answers and make a pretty cogent argument for why they think as they do. So wtf with this stupid test? The anxiety they feel is made even more so for me. We've practiced a ton of stuff, and it's frankly not felt like a lot of fun most of the time. I don't like this way of teaching composition. I will give it a lot of reflection and see if there's anything I can do to make this less boring/rote/miserable. Snacks ...
Read more