Orthodox Catechesis for The Early Child Online Course
Online Course
The online course is 14 weeks long. There are new presentations that open every Monday.
We will meet for video conference calls throughout the course.
This course presents Orthodox theology and traditions that are age appropriate.
The Course Includes:
- Lesson Plans
- Patterns for the Hands-on Materials
- Video Presentations
- Live Video Conferencing
- Classroom Management
- Best Practices for Early Childhood Development
- The new information STAYS OPEN for the adult learner to go through at their own convenience.
- Participants will spend about 3 hours per week viewing all the information.
· Each week includes:
- video presentations of the activities as presented to children,
- information slide shows about best practices for the early child
- Orthodox Theology for each topic,
- the lesson plans for the activities,
- the templates for you to make your materials.
- Video conference calls will be scheduled, for questions and discussion.
The Tuition for the course is $750.00 per person
The classroom, called the Children's Room is a specially prepared environment designed to satisfy the child's natural inclination to movement and to spirituality by providing hands-on biblical and liturgical activity.
Once demonstrated by the teacher, the children are free to repeat each activity, to retell the Bible stories while manipulating the pieces, and to proceed to other connected activity for carefully selected biblical stories, Orthodox hymns, prayers, and liturgical traditions.
The program is designed to address a most sensitive time for spiritual formation, ages three to six, providing an authentic Orthodox experience where the spiritual child is honored, nurtured, and given a place for expression of faith.
The Montessori method is applied here for its proven practical advantages, independent of the personal religious beliefs of Maria Montessori or Sofia Cavaletti. Contemporary studies highlight how Montessori pedagogy effectively supports young children’s mental, physical development, along with many cognitive skills.
Montessori and Cavaletti explored various biblical stories with young children, selecting those that resonated most. The first level curriculum includes few Old Testament stories because young children think concretely and may interpret these narratives literally. Instead, the focus is on Church experiences, biblical stories about Jesus Christ’s life and love, and practicing prayer habits within Orthodox traditions such as making the sign of the cross, singing hymns, and liturgical responses.
