Worship as a Way of Life

When prospective parents visit Mustard Seed School, they often ask, “How do you incorporate faith into your teaching?” I try to paint a picture of how our Christian faith is woven through all our activities, beyond our communal worship time, praying, and singing Christian songs.

During this season of Lent, the stories of Jesus are woven through our daily activities. The children see these connections. When we read a book at the end of the day that tells part of the Easter story, children cry out, “That’s what we saw in worship today!” and “We had our feet washed too!”

By entering into the story of Jesus’ life in so many different ways, the children become immersed and come to a new, deeper understanding.

In paint, the children worked on two large-scale, collaborative paintings. One shows Jesus on a colt with the crowd waving palm branches, the second is of the Last Supper.

We had the opportunity to help tell the worship story for the whole preschool. Each child took their role as a disciple very seriously. Using their bodies to tell the story puts the children inside the action.

The children retold the same Holy Week stories in blocks, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion.

Our songs change during Lent. We put away the Hallelujahs and become more contemplative, singing “Jesus Remember Me,” and “Lift High the Cross.” Even our prayer is now a song, “Follow Jesus, I Will Follow Jesus.”

Each day in worship throughout Lent, the whole preschool has made a drawing of the worship story. Today the children bound all these drawings into their Lenten Journals. There is one last blank page in the book titled The Resurrection. Over the break, your child could add a drawing to this last page to complete the Easter story.

Happy Easter. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!