3. The Environment and the Adult with Diane Olsen

"All your children shall be taught by the Lord; great shall be the peace of your children." Isaiah 54:13 NAB

Diane Olsen shares with us the importance of the environment for the absorbent mind of the child.  We explore the role that the environment has in spiritual formation and the place of the adult in that environment.  Our discussion is on the first two chapters of Gianna Gobbi’s book Listening to God with Children. (Listening to God with Children has now been reprinted as the book Nurturing the Whole Child and can be purchased HERE)

Diane helps us appreciate the importance of a simple and purposeful environment for children. How does the physical environment of a room aid a child’s spiritual growth and development?  A space that is simple and essential has the ability to create peace in the child whereas a busy or embellished environment can be distracting and unsettling to a child.  Diane lifts up the adult’s role as the one to prepare the space for the child but the adult must also prepare internally to meet the child where he or she is, leaving all expectations and pride behind. The adult must remember that the Holy Spirit is the true teacher in the atrium.

Diane Olsen has been involved in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 1990. She has received all formation levels and was recognized as a formation leader in 2002.  She is actively involved leading catechist formation around the country and was recognized She is co-director of CGS at Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa, Kan. Diane has a philosophy and math degree from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, N.M., and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies-Catechesis of the Good Shepherd from the Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Mo. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother.

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