Do not be misled by the name of this institution, because a Sunday school for children is not the endless, sometimes boring lessons, tests, exams. The main difference is that Sunday schools in the temples are not compulsory education, but the call of the soul, the manifestation of faith. Here pupils are raised, educated, open to them the world, and do not teach certain subjects in order to obtain a certificate.
Organizational nuances
As in the traditional school, the Sunday Orthodox school for children has a division into classes, but this is rather arbitrary. In primary classes, children under four years of age are taught. They are brought here mainly by mothers who visit this church. But sometimes it happens that mother, far from the church, makes the decision to give the child to a Sunday school for kids, and then she starts to visit the temple herself. In the second grade, children from 4 to 8 years are taught, in the third - from 8 to 12, etc. The number of classes depends on the method of instruction and the superior.
Restrictions are still there. For example, girls can attend Sunday school lessons only in skirts and kerchiefs. By the way, the latter are often used not as headgear, but as a canvas for embroidering or drawing.
Methods, principles and objectives
There are Sunday schools, in which children are introduced to the world from the age of six months, but there are, of course, only a few. Until the age of four, the methodology of teaching in Sunday school is reduced to developing games. Children are engaged in finger games, singing, modeling, drawing. One nuance: if they make crafts - then on Easter or Christmas themes, if they listen to stories - then from Holy Scripture. Each lesson at school always begins with prayer and ends with it too. Older children are taken to the temple after classes. A weekly visit to the Sunday school and the temple leads to the fact that the child feels the church as a part of his life, his faith grows stronger among believers.
In the second grade in the Sunday school begins preparation for the school of general education. The duration of the lesson increases from one and a half hours to three. Children are already engaged without parents and become more independent. It is impossible to answer specifically the question about what is taught in Sunday school. Here they give the basics of theatrical art, train crafts, etc. But the main goal of the Sunday school is to make the child realize that he lives to make our world better. Every lesson in school is work for the benefit of other people. A ten-year-old child should already understand that a toy sold at a charitable bazaar, made by his hands, will benefit orphans in orphanages.
In the third grade, children begin to introduce disciplines. In addition to studying the Law of God and the Church Slavonic language, they sing in the church choir, are engaged in iconography. The lesson lasts about four hours.
Child and church: notes
It is difficult to explain to the child that it is not accepted to run and laugh loudly in the temple. If he is naughty, you can not force him to listen to the service until the end. After a while, the child himself is aware of the rules of behavior in the church.
Be prepared for the fact that boys are engaged in Sunday school, separate from the girls. If the girls sing in the choir, then the boys help to serve on the altar.
Before taking the child to Sunday school, parents need to get acquainted with its procedures, the schedule of classes, the training program. All orthodox schools for children are free. There is a tradition: while the kids are learning, the parents talk with the rector of the church, are engaged in church singing or handicraft.