The 3-6 year old child is particularly capable of receiving and enjoying the most essential elements of our faith – the announcement of God’s love especially experienced through Jesus the Good Shepherd, who died and is risen.
Materials on the life of Jesus Christ and his teachings help to make the mystery of God concrete for the child. Geography materials establish Jesus as a real person in time and space and Israel as the land through which God realized salvation for all. The Infancy Narratives announce the Incarnation of God moving from the Annunciation to Mary, to the Birth of Christ, to the Presentation in the Temple. Models of a map of the city of Jerusalem and the empty tomb engage the child in the Paschal Narratives which the child experiences in a special way through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Light.
Selected parables serve as keys to unlock the mystery of the Kingdom of God and nurture the child’s natural sense of wonder. How beautiful and precious is the kingdom of God! How small it begins! How slowly it grows and yet how magnificent it becomes!
Throught the arranging of the chalice, paten, the candles, and crucifix, the child becomes familiar with the articles of the Mass. The child lives this relationship with God in a particular way in the liturgy. The 3-6 year old child enters the mystery of the Eucharist through the most important gestures including the preparation of the chalice, the epiclesis and offering, and the sign of peace. From these gestures the Mass emerges as the Sacrament of the Gift. The child becomes acquainted with the historical character of liturgy through the events of the Last Supper, Christ’s death, and His resurrection.
The liturgical colors and calendar situate the child in the church year expressing the Paschal Mystery – Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. A prayer table in the atrium reflects the liturgical cycle with appropriate colors for the prayer cloths and selected prayers and scripture verses. Songs, banners, and readings enhance the rituals and celebrations of the season.