Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS)

Preschool 3-6 years old uses the L1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd method of religious formation of children.

• It is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy of the church and the educational principles of Dr. Maria Montessori.
• Children gather in an “atrium,”a room prepared especially for them, which contains simple yet beautiful materials that they work with to enjoy and nurture a relationship with the Good Shepherd, Jesus.
• We call the specially prepared space an “atrium” (a term used in the early church for where a catechist prepared themselves to enter fully into the liturgy once they were ready).
• CGS offers child-sized models for Bible narratives, bible parables, the sacraments (model altar, model baptism font) and the liturgy (prayer corner, Eucharist corner) – so that they may “do it themselves” over and over as a form of contemplation.
• The Atrium offers a child an area with consistent structure and order from week to week, pleasing, natural materials as models, the freedom to choose which materials they wish to work with and teaches them how to live in community with grace and courtesy.