The Fettuccia: Examining Our Role in the Kingdom of God

By Jennifer Miller, Elementary Catechist

For the last two weeks in the Atrium, the Lower Elementary children have been contemplating the History of the Kingdom of God with a presentation commonly known as “The Fettuccia,” or “long, thin ribbon.” The main material of this work is a long ribbon, almost 100 yards, with moments of time marked in 4 different colors. If your child comes home asking for fettuccine or speaking a phrase that sounds Italian, this is why. The Fettuccia is a touchstone presentation in the Level II Atrium that is loved by all ages of the children. 

We return to the Fettuccia every year, and it parallels one of the “Great Lessons” that Maria Montessori shared for the Elementary, “The Story of God Who Has No Hands” which also is repeated every year. The presentation gives an impression on the History of the Kingdom of God, placing it through time.

The first meeting with the children is sharing with them the story of Creation: In the beginning, there was nothing but God, and then slowly, carefully, deliberately and so beautifully he created everything. The last to be created was man and woman, all of creation was entrusted to them. They were different from all the other beings because they were made in the image and likeness of God. They can love others, think and use their hands. Then comes Redemption, when Jesus was born, died and rose from the dead for us all. After Jesus came, His light and love is to spread for all of mankind. Finally we talk about the time that has still not unfolded; we help work together to build the Kingdom of God to prepare for Parousia (also known as the Second Coming or the End of Time), when Christ will return and “God will be all in all.”

The second meeting of this presentation is with the materials, and there has been a buzz of expectation. The ribbon is longer than the length of the school building, so we bring the children outside for the unwinding of the ribbon. The children see and feel the ribs of the grosgrain ribbon. We don’t know how long it look for God to create the earth—no one was there but Him, so these ribs can symbolize 1 year, 100 years, or even 1000 years. The reel unfolds first a blue ribbon which marks creation before living things, then the ribbon changes to tan which marks the creation of plants and animals. The tan keeps unfolding, and towards the end there is an embroidered man and woman and a heart and hand. “Adam and Eve!” “Humans!” the children shout. Then there is a red cross symbolizing Jesus and another change of color to yellow, but it is a very short piece of ribbon. This is the time of Redemption. “Where are we on this ribbon?” The children take an arrow that has 2020 and point it to the very last rib of the yellow ribbon. But there are two more yards of white ribbon, ending in a brightly colored fringe of red and yellow. That white is the “Blank Page,” the future, the pages yet to be written. This is “our work” in building the Kingdom of God, to bring us to Parousia, the fringe on the end.  

This reasoning and abstracting child is now contemplating the unity and vastness of history, and seeing the Golden Thread, a thread that ties us as people and creation together with God as the source.

Planting the Seed of the Pascal Mystery in the Heart of the Young Child

Written by Jennifer Ashton, Primary Directress

“it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:32

In the Children’s House, the announcement of Our Lord’s death is always proclaimed in conjunction with His rising. We would never just say that Jesus died on the cross without also saying He rose and will come again! Even when a child comes to us and says, Jesus died on the cross, we would immediately fill in the remaining...and He is risen! We do this for two reasons, first being that death alone can be scary for a young child, but also to lift up the Pascal Mystery of death and resurrection.

The month of March has brought a seed planting work to the shelves, as we prepare for our Outdoor Garden in the spring. We are raising little perennial flowers to start indoors and will later transplant outdoors when there is no chance of frost! Raising perennial flowers from seed helps the children to further ponder the Pascal Mystery as they witness the growth of the plant and the transformation of the seed. When we plant a seed and it grows it does not just become a bigger seed! The seed changes and must “die” in order for plant to grow. We know that the death of the seed is not the end but the beginning of a new life for this flower. The further beauty of perennials, is that this flower will return to us year after year and produce an abundance of flowers in years to come. This leads us to later ponder with the children the strength that hides within the seed, and where that strength comes from.  The children joyfully respond they know this strength comes from God! We present an open ended question for them to meditate on, “if God would give a seed this kind of strength, imagine the strength that is inside of us!”

Perennial gardeners have a lovely little rhyme about planting from seed...”first year sleeps, second year creeps, third year leaps!” What I love most about this rhyme is how accurately it describes the development of the 3 to 6 year old child in the classroom. The first year they are with us, parents and teachers alike are left to ponder together the secret of childhood: all that is hidden and sleeping within, the second year we get these glimmers of what they know, what has been developed within them already and what we still need to support to aid them in fully realizing their potential. The third year brings out our great leaders and we see the children leaping into that potential! Our 3rd year children are showing all the signs of this greatness within as they are preparing to shed their seed and burst forth with beauty and grace in the garden!

As we prepare for the Easter Season, keep in mind what a rich activity gardening at home can be! It is an excellent way to bring Scripture into your every day life, a way to introduce responsibility and help prevent wastefulness and also a way to demonstrate the wondrous effects that can result from diligence and patience.