We are His people, the flock of the Lord The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is an approach to the  religious formation of children. It is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy of  the church, and the educational principles of Maria Montessori.  Children gather in an "atrium," a room prepared for them, which  contains simple yet beautiful materials that they use.   You may be wondering how these materials help the religious  life of children? If an adult hears a beautiful passage from the Bible,  the adult might take a Bible, find the passage, and read it slowly again  and again. He or she may think deeply about the words and perhaps  speak to God in a thankful or hopeful prayer. But a little child, too  young to read, needs another way. In an atrium the child can ponder a  biblical passage or a prayer from the liturgy by taking the material for  that text and working with it - placing wood figures of sheep in a  sheepfold of the Good Shepherd, setting sculpted apostles around a  Last Supper table, or preparing a small altar with the furnishings used  for the Eucharist. Older children who do read often copy parables  from the Bible, lay in order written prayers from the rite of baptism, or label a  long time line showing the history of the kingdom of God.  To read more about this, please visit this web site. For more information please contact Maureen at 832-4336 or:  religioused@olphwinnipeg.ca