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Becky J
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 3:30pm | IP Logged
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Hi, everyone,
I have a copy of Moira Farrell's CGS album for ages 3-6 and since last fall, I've been slowly assembling all the materials for use starting next fall with my soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter. I have spent a lot of time and money putting things together, so I hate to give up on this project now, but I am feeling overwhelmed by how much more there is left to do and spend.
Does anyone have any words of encouragement? Has anyone else tried home-based CGS and just found it too labor- and cost-intensive to prepare? Has anyone found any worthy alternatives?
Thanks much for your help.
Sincerely,
Becky Jennings
Folsom, CA
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 3:34pm | IP Logged
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Becky -
Don't be overwhelmed!! Who says you have to do all of them in one year! Not me! And I'm sure not Moira!
The loveliness of Moira's albums, CGS and the presentations are that they are meant to be repeated by the child so that they have a deep appreciation for them.
I pick one or two for each season! Eventually I will have all of them done. You can do the same and then you can work on adding some others for when your dd is 5!!
Just my 2 cents!
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Maryan
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Maryan
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By the way, if you want to look, I have blogged some of the presentations that I have done on my homeschool blog: Our Daily Life and Work. But you can see, I haven't done all of them!! Next year I'll add some more!
Also happymama and some other moms have posted some of their presentations at CGS Moms
And many more moms here have done presentations. If you search the archives for "CGS," I'll bet you'll find quite a few links to their pictures too!
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Maryan
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A Lee in the Woudes
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 3:49pm | IP Logged
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Listen to Maryan, because to me she's the poster child of doing it with a budget, in small increments and making it happen!
You don't need to have it all before you present to your daughter. In fact, the real Catechesis of the Good Shepherd does a 3 year cycle for the catechesis. Not all the presentations are there for the first year, nor are they even in the atrium when the year starts.
I'm in the process of collecting my thoughts on a post (or series) for First Heralds on CGS in the home.
The timing of your question is excellent! I hesitate to even refer to it as CGS because we're not using the real program, but elements for our home. But you're the catechist, and you and your child set the pace for your own atrium.
The materials are labor intensive, and if you asked any catechist they take a long time to make, and they do not have everything done when they open the doors!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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I echo everything Maryan and Jenn said.
My materials are not always BEAUTIFUL and EXACTLY like Moira describes, but we do the presentations anyway. I use lots of things we have around the house and improvise. I'm not crafty and I get to Michael's probably once or twice a year.
Sometimes I do several presentations, sometimes (like now) we haven't touched them for awhile. We've repeated some, some we haven't.
You have two more years to get through all of it, and LONGER....many of the presentations are still worth repeating or introducing for the older bunch.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 4:31pm | IP Logged
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Just jumping in to say "DITTO" what everyone else said. I've only done a couple of presentations this year because of time/crisis mgmt/budget constraints. But, I still see the fruit of the presentations as my children act and re-act the presentations.
BTW, I'm using Moira's 3-6 album with all of my children from 3 - 11, so don't feel you have to hurry up and finish the album before your dd turns 6.
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Jen Mackintosh
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domchurch3
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Yea! Mackfam answered my question about Moira's albums. I have a 5 year old who will be 6 in July and I was wondering if I should bother with the 4-6 album. Guide me in the right direction if I'm wrong in sticking with the 4-6 album first before moving onto the 2nd album
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AndreaG
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The 3-6 album is definitely where you want to start, it will work for olders too!
And I want to add encouragement to Becky J- I found Moira's albums very time consuming to prepare for, but when I had given some of the presentations I felt the effect they had on my children were worth every effort.
It would be nice if someone would make a kit of all the materials- but I suppose buying all those handmade items would be pricey.
Perhaps it would work to have a group of moms, like what was done for a Jesse tree ornament exchange. Each person could focus on the materials for one presentation (or a part of one) and then swap.
Just thinking out loud!
Hang in there Becky J!
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Andrea
GrayFamilyCircus
Read Through the Catechism in a Year- For Moms!
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happymama
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AndreaG, I've often thought the same thing about being able to buy parts or presentations, but in the Good Shepherd & the Child book they specifically say that the catechist should try to make all the materials for her atrium herself. It is true that until you've put in the thought and time putting together a presentation, you (as the catechist) don't really connect with it. CGS constantly stresses the importance of the formation of the catechist above all!
That being said, there are a few particular items that are hard to come by, and it'd be helpful to be able to brainstorm ideas together - which was why I started the CGSmoms blog - but would love to compile a list of blog posts from other moms doing this, too.
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Meredith
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Happymama, I am loving your CGSMoms blog, it's been very iinspiring. I too would be very interested in compiling materials for a swap. We have really enjoyed Moira's 3-6 Album and my dc love it when we have presentations, but we aren't able to do them as often as I'd like! The Mass Kit gets used almost weekly, sometimes daily. Lots of good fruit here when they are allowed to work with the materials time and time again.
Blessings,
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Meredith
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lapazfarm
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I would definitely join a swap! I know the ideal is to prepare the items yourself, but I live in a world where ideal isn't always possible. Actually, it never is, but we do what we can, right? I would be all over a CGS swap if it meant I actually got to do more presentations.
Now...Who wants to organize it? 
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Theresa
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 10 2008 at 1:42pm | IP Logged
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I'd be interested in a swap, too. What areas/presentations are your weakest ones?
Becky, which ones do you have left to do?
Although making your own is encouraged, I see in many atriums other people supporting the catechist in preparing materials, and there are also some ready-made materials incorporated. Fontanini people are popular in the two local atriums. They are expensive, but if you're buying slowly, and some can do double duty (since you're at home), like using the same Mary for the Nativity, Annunciation, and Visitation.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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lapazfarm
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Well, the way I see it, we could do it one of two ways. We could each choose one presentation to prepare everything for, in multiple copies, and then swap them. Or, we could as a group choose a single presentation, divide it into parts, and each of us be in charge of sending multiple copies of a single part of it to the coordinator, plus return postage. The coordinator could then divvy them up into whole presentations and send them to the members.
I could go either way. It would be nice to receive a lot of "presentations in a box", already made and ready to go. But it would also be more work to prepare multiple copies of an entire presentation. Much easier to say "I will get 10 copies of the angel for the annunciation scene" while another member makes (or buys) the Mary figures, another makes(or buys) little chairs for Mary's home, etc.. and then you head to the store and the post office and you're done. But then you only have one presentation done.
What do you ladies think?
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Theresa
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Becky J
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| Posted: April 10 2008 at 10:18pm | IP Logged
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Thank you everyone for posting your suggestions and words of encouragement. I tend to have both an impatient and perfectionistic personality, so it's helpful to be told that the idea of CGS is not to assemble materials thoroughly and perfectly and "plow through" each presentation every year.
That said, here are the presentations I'm mainly done preparing for:
Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany
Geography
Mustard Seed
Pearl of Great Price
Good Shepherd
If anyone needs tips on materials for any of those presentations, let me know.
One overall tip I have for the presentations: for the human figurines, consider using Fisher-Price Little People in Biblical dress. Some of these I got with the Noah's Ark and Christmas sets, and some of them I purchased individually on eBay from sellers who specialized in Little People paraphernalia. I plan to use Little People structures like barns, stables, etc., for some of the structures needed for the presentations.
I've yet to do the "altar work" presentations because I figure the preparation is more or less a matter of purchasing the altar kits from Our Father's House. Ditto regarding the baptismal presentations.
I figure there are some presentations for which the materials can only be assembled at the last minute because they have an "expiration" date (e.g., yeast for The Leaven presentation and wheat seeds for The Grain of Wheat).
I could use suggestions for the resentation on The Tabernacle. What did you use as a Tabernacle? Where did you get reasonably-priced candelabras?
For a lot of the presentations, it's not so much that I don't know what to use or how to put things together, just that there seem to be so many steps to take and so much to do. Again, I guess it's a matter of being patient and not expecting to have everything ready for the upcoming CGS year.
I have some general questions about materials that recur throughout the presentations:
Does anyone use battery-operated candles as opposed to real ones? With two small children, I am afraid of having an open flame. What style candle is the one that is typically lit for each presentation?
Has anyone found a good source of cloths in liturgical colors? I have been wanting these not only for the CGS presentations but also for our home altar. I can't sew, so I wonder if anyone has found anything "ready-made" along these lines.
Thanks again everyone for your help!
Becky
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 11 2008 at 8:18am | IP Logged
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BeckyJ wrote:
| I've yet to do the "altar work" presentations because I figure the preparation is more or less a matter of purchasing the altar kits from Our Father's House. Ditto regarding the baptismal presentations. |
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Yep... that's actually why I started here.... I didn't have to do anything! 
Becky J wrote:
| I could use suggestions for the presentation on The Tabernacle. What did you use as a Tabernacle? Where did you get reasonably-priced candelabras? |
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I measured the size of the ciborium - about 6 inches high -- and then looked for an unfinished jewelry box at AC Moore or Michael's. I added a cross and spray painted it gold. Candelabras I couldn't find cheap, so I use three brass candle holders (total of 6) on each side. Besides that's what a parish near us does! 
Becky J wrote:
| Does anyone use battery-operated candles as opposed to real ones? With two small children, I am afraid of having an open flame. What style candle is the one that is typically lit for each presentation? |
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For our Mass presentations, we use the real votive candles and use them right on the altar (ditto for the sanctuary lamp). For the other presentations where we light a candle as we read the Gospel... I keep it up high on our family "holy table" because I have two really little guys that might topple it over. But I let the kids light it and snuff it out and we do the presentations on the floor near it.
Becky J wrote:
| Has anyone found a good source of cloths in liturgical colors? I have been wanting these not only for the CGS presentations but also for our home altar. I can't sew, so I wonder if anyone has found anything "ready-made" along these lines. |
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I have a white tablecloth with stains that I'm going to cut around to see if I can make vestments and other type linens. I'm not a seamstress, so we'll see how this goes!! Perhaps Goodwill has liturgical colored tablecloths?
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Maryan
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Cay Gibson
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Becky,
My whole philosophy is "just do it". Since the start I told myself I would not let the program overwhelm me. I don't use the manuals exactly as typed but they give me a starting point. We use what I have and my oldest ds has made a couple of wooden things for us.
I admit we haven't done the program this year but here are some of my past links of "simply" doing CGS:
Lenten Altar
Palm Sunday Presentation
Renewing Baptismal Vows
Pretend Mass
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Cay Gibson
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happymama
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I, also, am a "perfectionist" melancholic - and being that way, I hesitate to start things until I feel like I have a really good understanding of why and how... This chat group is a great place to brainstorm ideas for getting or making some of the more unique materials, but I just want to encourage everyone to not get "overwhelmed" by it.
Maybe because of all the "background" research I've done on both CGS and Montessori, I tend to have strong opinions about both!
That being said, I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, I don't want to sound negative about it, but with both CGS & Montessori, I've noticed (especially on Yahoo groups!) a huge emphasis on having "materials" but very little concern about how, when, or why to present things. This is the reason that many trained Montessori educators AND CGS-trained catechists do NOT believe these types of presentations should be done in the home without training.
Obviously I disagree with that conclusion, and have been immeasurably blessed through both Montessori and CGS use in my own home! But it's a point that seems worth repeating - this type of education is not like a program you order from a company, shrink-wrapped and ready to present, and the children are just going to instantly become holy because of it. Timing is critical. Materials are supposed to be natural, simple, and essential. The catechist is supposed to have spent a LOT of time reflecting on the core meaning of each presentation prior to presenting. The materials are the means, not the end - the end is time spent in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
I think reading a few of the CGS books before you get started, and taking your time reflecting on each presentation will get you off to a great start. It isn't rocket science - but it is a very unique approach that most of us have never experienced before. I guess what I'm trying to say is that CGS shouldn't be seen as a "burden" or one more thing to check off of a to-do list, but something that brings you real joy as you patiently work through the seasons and years!
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lapazfarm
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Excellent points, happymama. And that is sort of why I wish the materials were more readily available/easier to make,etc. I'd like to be able to focus more on the presentations, timing, deeper meanings, you know? But the making of the materials is so time consuming that it really takes the focus off where it should be--the lesson!kwim?
I have really fallen off doing the presentations because I just don't have time to make the materials (Becky, you are WAY ahead of me!LOL!)But I am hoping that I can get some done this summer so I can focus more on the important stuff during the school year.In the mean time, I take it slowly, one thing at a time.
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Theresa
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LisaR
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happymama wrote:
That being said, I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, I don't want to sound negative about it, but with both CGS & Montessori, I've noticed (especially on Yahoo groups!) a huge emphasis on having "materials" but very little concern about how, when, or why to present things. This is the reason that many trained Montessori educators AND CGS-trained catechists do NOT believe these types of presentations should be done in the home without training.
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YES!!! I wholeheartedly agree. I probably threw the baby out with the bathwater but I personally ditched CGS and Montessori, because I got SO bogged down with materials materials materials. Our home is very small and it jsut seemed like it would end up being more STUFF shuffled around. I was given the impression many times that either 1. this is why it needed to be in a school/clasroom setting
2. I was not making/doing something right
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Lisa
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marianne
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I love these lessons, but I've had a hard time getting all of them in as well. I've finally realized that we're not going to get to everything this year. We've done all the altar work, the geography lessons, and the Advent lessons. However, the parable lessons take SO MUCH preparation, that I just can't get my act together for those. I think I will have to spend some time this summer working on that.
Take it one presentation at a time. The work is so rich that you don't need to rush it.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Overwhelmed by CGS
