Annual Report 2006

Keen observation and reflection is the foundation of the work of both Maria Montessori and Sofia Cavalletti. In this spirit the Center for Children and Theology is pleased to announce our blog--Listening to the Child with the Center for Children and Theology.  Weekly, we will post a new response, prayer, or artwork from the child.

This project, as well as all our others, is the fruit of the ongoing work at the Center.  Our office is small, our staff sparse, and our budget tight, yet our output illuminating and supporting the spirituality of the child has been plentiful. 

LAST YEAR the Center for Children and Theology:

• successfully published several projects:
  The Seed of God by Genelda Woggon, Still Waters by Pam Mader, Icon of Christ the Good Shepherd by John Snogron, two Occasional Papers, and ECHOES featuring the religious work of Maria Montessori and the bilingual atrium;
• hosted our third Weaving Our Gifts: A Conference for Catechists in Hartford, CT, featuring writer Aline Wolf as our keynote speaker, and twenty-five workshops led by catechists;
• offered courses in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level I, II, and III to prepare catechists to work with children in the atrium;
• spoke at the American Montessori Society National Conference in Houston, and the National Association of Episcopal Schools in Los Angeles.

• posting weekly updates to our blog, Listening to the Child with The Center for Children and Theology featuring children's reflections on faith;
• assembling teams to develop materials for the Children’s Interfaith Center, and beginning to put materials and resources in the 9-12 atrium at Christian Family Montessori School for the children to “test” through their work;
• speaking at several conferences: the National Catholic Education Association (April), ChildSpirit (November), and South Carolina Early Childhood Association (January 2008);
• continuing our courses and publishing work;
• and planning Weaving Our Gifts for October, 2008, featuring Silvana Montanaro as the keynote speaker (health permitting.)