In my classroom I maintain our prayer corner to the best of my ability changing colors with the liturgical calendar and maintaining a clear and tidy sight path to the cross and the scriptures. These symbols are a comfort to me and hopefully to my students to know that He is with us always (Matthew 28:20)
As school routine we rise each morning, sing O Canada, hear the reading of the Word, and one student a designated grade, will pray. My class is no exception. I refer to this on my Teaching the Faith page, but it's worth noting here too that I encourage students to read through our prayer book or come up with their own prayer when it is their turn to pray. They then choose a prayer they like, print it out neatly and we practice together to ensure they will be confident pray-ers on their chosen day.
Part of my class routine involves a more spontaneous and specific prayer time. Please read more about this important time near the end of my Morning Meeting post here.
Although my personal prayer life is just that - personal, I did want to mention it here because there are parts of it that I'm willing to share and that I feel contributes to the well-being of my class.
Having a prayer journal, where I jot notes about my daily scripture reading, days events, and gratitude notes has deepened my faith and simply made me happier. I don't write a lot (most days to my dismay as I love to write and reflect!) but it's enough to keep me grounded and note progress. You'll see here a fairly simple entry with initials below each. Those are the initials of my students and I simply rotate them though as a reminder of who to pray for each day. I find saying a quick prayer about or for them shines a new perspective on them as one of God's precious creations (yes, even the difficult ones!) Many times this nightly practice is all it takes to redirect my attitude to a place of empathy and compassion where hours before in the classroom, frustration and irritation prevailed.
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