Church school begins in Atlanta
September 24, 2017 – marked the beginning of our Sunday school year. As our church is growing in many ways, asides from our impressive construction that is underway, our parish life is indeed thriving. As we reflect on our Sunday school program we are extremely proud to see our kids show such great interested in our faith and our culture.
The children are divided into four groups and teachings are geared and adopted according to their ages.
Toddler group encompasses ages between 2 & 4 and in this group we are focused on interactive play and motor skills. Tracing Cyrillic alphabet on our blackboard and trying to build Noah’s ark are just few examples of how our Bible school is tailored to our youngest parishioners.
In our intermediate group we have kids ages from 5 – 7 and this group is by far most active group eager to learn. The classroom setting is set up in two special areas. Work station where we work on different projects and expose our kids to our Orthodox faith. Another segment that we have set up is our “Nurture our Roots” corner where all the kids sit under a tree and we have discussion time about our culture, traditions and famous people that have left a mark on the world we live in today. We find that is extremely important to teach the kids about our roots and nurture that flame that lingers in them.
Our advance group has ages between 8-11 and this group is being elevated and promoted as our “big kids group”. The advance group has information presented to them thru lecture and workshop where discussion is vital component of a successful Sunday school. Teachings about our Orthodox faith are entwined with everyday examples to ensure the kids grasp and understand information that is being presented. Culture and traditions are also emphasized in our discussion time as said before that is a big part of our life and identity.
Our final group is geared towards our teenagers where Fr. Miladin is the spiritual leader and together they embark on the adventurous exploration of different topics that teenagers face in their everyday life. Understanding the peer pressure these teenagers face, his mission is to help them overcome obstacles by encouraging the faith to be their guiding light.
Throughout the year we plan to have exhibits of the works done by the kids where parents get to see and explore what their young ones have learned. First of many is scheduled to be in few months and it will be set up as a museum gallery where kids will showcase their work. Theme for the first exhibit is “ A Walk through Orthodoxy – My Serbian Heritage”.
Source: Eastern American Diocese
