Get Ready To Teach With Me! Catholic Catechism Class & 2 Program Review!

[@irishtea15]

The kids are very blessed to have you as their teacher.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! I truly love to teach (lol- probably more than they enjoy sitting there listening to me...)

[@10acrefarm5]

This is probably the best "planning a faith lesson" video I've seen! Making it real for them is probably the best bridge for helping them see their faith as relevant and real and carrying it into their adulthood with them. The 'fluff' doesn't help anyone when making real-life hard decisions. Our faith has the answers to those questions in a way that will bring peace to those hard questions as well--and that is why writing down feelings isn't going to help anyone now or in the future when it comes to looking for Truth. In addition, people often underestimate the power of writing things down. Looking up scripture in the Bible and writing it down slows the brain down enough to think on what is being written and discussed. Writing is also a muscle movement, so it helps ingrain what is being discussed into a deeper place in the memory. And understanding how to look up scripture in the Bible (and the Catechism--so many don't even know what that is) is absolutely a life long skill for always, so teaching them to do it often is key. Food and a short break to move around--fantastic! I mean we've ALL been to a conference where we remember so much more the 2nd half of the program after we've had a bite and moved around a bit. Lastly, many of the CCD programs are meant for schools, just as you said. They have a ton of information, but it is often presented in a very busy way and it is often, it seems, difficult to make it real and applicable to the students. Have you ever worked with the Faith in Life Series? It's broken down into 30 or so lessons, with about 3 pages of information--much more do-able for a 1 hour a week program. What you have shared was very uplifting as you broke down how to make it both applicable, real, meaty and enjoyable. Thanks very much for making this video.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! I am fortunate to be in a parish where the leaders are completely committed to always trying to make the faith more alive and meaningful for both the kids and adults. When my kids were younger, we did use the Faith and Life series in our homeschool and liked it- especially all the beautiful artwork in the student texts. However, as they got older, we found the information from year to year to be very repetitive. Now- repetition is not a bad thing at all, but there did come a point when both my kids and I were looking for more. But in a parish setting, where many of the kids are not consistently attending classes, or even missing whole years of instruction, I agree that Faith and Life would be a good, solid option. As you said, the lessons are very manageable and could easily be done in an hour. In fact, one of our local churches does use it for religious ed. I dearly wish, though, that some of the Catholic publishing companies would give us more choices for weekly based programs!

[@10acrefarm5]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Yes! There is a real need for solid Religion programs for students that only meet one time a week. It was also great that some of your students were high school. Many churches only offer education up to grade 8. Does your church offer a program thru high school or does it stop at Confirmation?

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Our kids do Confirmation prep in grades 7 and 8, and then they are confirmed in 9th. After that there is Life Teen and Teen Alpha, but, honestly, not many of the teens do either. We are always trying to figure out what kind of program might entice them to stay more involved. Many of them work by that age, though, and/or are heavily involved in sports and academics (with an eye on college applications). So it is always a work in progress...

[@heathert8895]

Can you do a video on homeschooling catecesis and what you've used in the past

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Heather- we did one awhile ago with some of our favorite resources. You can see it here :) Teaching The Catholic Faith At Home: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ3aiIiobbR-nMU

[@heathert8895]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Can't wait to check it out!

[@michellenelson11]

Your students are blessed to have you! I can tell your heart is in this. And, WOW, your parish must be huge. I think your room could hold all of our PSR students from grades K-12. I love that you feed your students. So much love shown in this video. What do your students think about you being on KZbin?

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Michelle- we do have an extremely large parish, and the building in the video is fairly new (built because the other buildings were bursting at the seams). Lol- most of my students have no idea I am on youtube

[@joiedevivre5157]

We used to use the "Finding God" program by Loyola but, our CRE switched to "Alive in Christ" by OSV. Our OSV books now have the "Kerygma" / Proclamation emphasis which makes it better, I believe. I use the Catholic Social Teaching portion, located in the back of the book, to make more of an emphasis on " The Beatitudes" and living/proclaiming the Catholic Faith. Both programs are great for offering a bilingual edition to help with parents, that are the first teacher in the faith whose first language is Spanish to encourage their child at home. I 'm enjoying your page. Saint Elizabeth Seton, Pray for us!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

I'm so glad to hear that OSV has added that emphasis to Alive in Christ; it sounds very helpful. Yes- the Spanish editions of both are such a huge help to have! We're so glad to hear you are enjoying our videos :) Have a blessed Advent!

[@joiedevivre5157]

Wonderful! You are a blessing to The Church. Are you a Catholic School Teacher, as well ? God Bless!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Glad you enjoyed the video! I teach classes in a local co-op as well as catechism at church :)

[@LovedbyJesus23]

It’s great that you teach these classes at church. I would like to do that one day! I was just looking up the Loyola curriculum to see if I could use it with my kids at home. We used the Image of God series. Along with that we just read/watch Bible & Saint stories & do activities!🥰

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hello- the Image of God series is also a good one. If your kids are younger, everything you are doing is great! It doesn't have to be overly complicated for them to know and love the Catholic faith. Most churches are in desperate need of catechists, so hold on to the thought of being one some day; that would be awesome!

[@Pattiph61]

I am new to teaching faith formation and this video was so helpful.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

I'm so glad! I always enjoy hearing from a fellow catechist :) God bless you for teaching and passing along our beautiful Catholic faith!

[@jenniferrogoff8459]

Honestly because all we did in our class was in a workbook I didnt even realize it was from the Bible at all. And when I received a Catechism at my confirmation I didn't even know what it was. So it would be really good to introduce them to that too. Maybe share Fr. Mike Schmidts podcast that they can do on there own and maybe play and episode for them when you play videos. They might actually go listen to the podcasts on their own if you do that.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you for sharing this all, Jennifer. You are giving me a lot to think about. I am finding the Catechism in a Year challenging (in a good way), but I would love it if my students did either The Bible in a Year or the CIY. I often show them other videos from Fr. Mike, so they already know who he is, and listening to his podcasts would be an easy next step for them.

[@jenniferrogoff8459]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Praise the Lord ! That sounds great! Those kids are very blessed to have you as their teacher! Amen Alleluia all week long they are bombarded with nonsense and they really need substance and to know somebody has confidence in their potential to maturity! And by giving them great Catechisis of our beautiful faith you are able to provide that for them! Great job!!

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thank you! It is an uphill battle for sure- lol, Jesus is competing with their phones, Tick Tock, X-Box, Netflix.... everything! It's almost as though the kids are so distracted they are astonished when they start discovering what and who Jesus really is.

[@jenniferrogoff8459]

@@catholicmomanddaughter exactly! Right on! Jesus wins tho! Jesus we Trust in You!! Praise the Lord! Amen

[@jenniferrogoff8459]

Trust me you are right they dont like the cheesy let's write our thoughts and feelings stuff in the Catechisis class. From my experience when I was in those classes it makes our faith seem like a joke. I think Baltimore Catechism would be a great way to supplement your teaching and deepen their faith! I also think it is very important that they have an actual Bible with them in class too because it also makes it more serious and real to them then seeing scripture in a workbook only. I get the impression you are doing a great job and encouraging them to look in their real Bibles. Very awesome! When I was in CCD it was very lukewarm and childish and hard to take seriously. They need to feel the realness of our faith. Your class sounds way better than mine was.

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Thanks, Jennifer! I try really hard to make Jesus real for them- because he is real! There are so many amazing and wonderful things about the Catholic faith (starting with God's promises to us in the Bible), that I try to share them. But at the end of the day all I can really do is plant seeds and trust in the Holy Spirit to water them.

[@gloriously_catholic]

Do you have any suggestions for books, activities, and advice for catechism for 2nd-3rd grade? I am currently trying to work with my son (he’s 8 and in 2nd grade) on 1st year catechism at home. The church we attend is sadly lacking in volunteers and catechists. The person they had in charge, in my opinion, is more so trained for older kids (teens) and my son wasn’t learning while he was attending. My husband and I both took turns staying with him during catechism class and we both agreed we would prefer to do it ourselves at home. Any advice and tips would be most appreciated and helpful 🤗🙏♥️

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

It is so wonderful that you and your husband are going to teach your son! The Catholic Church always points out that parents are called to be the first teachers of the faith. We made a video (it's been a couple of years now) about our favorite resources for teaching at home. I will link it for you. The program that I loved the best was the Family Formation Program from St. Paul Church in MN. It is perfect for elementary students- such a great blend of information, activities, songs, Bible verses, etc. I show some samples in our video. We learned *so much* from this one. Our video: The Catholic Faith At Home: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ3aiIiobbR-nMU Family Formation Program: www.familyformation.net God bless!

[@annlink8265]

What a wonderful video of your process. I am wondering how long it takes you to prepare a class? I understand you have your previous year plans but if you didn't, do you know how long it would take?? I struggle trying to put together a lesson. Co-teaching is helpful in some respects, but I am all hands off when it is not my week. And we use the Catholic school for our lessons, so we don't use the whiteboard or anything in the classroom. We have used the smartboard, with an attached laptop to review a couple of videos, but neither of us are tech proficient. Another challenge is that we only have 45 minutes! It feels like we just get done reviewing from last week and it is almost time to leave. Thanks for all of your tips and tricks. (Candy and food will be a regular thing....)

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

Hi, Ann- it usually takes me a couple of hours to prepare a class (but remember I am preparing for a 90 minute class). I also usually find pictures I put into a very loose slideshow in Keynote (some weeks it is only a couple of pictures; this week it was about 20 because I talked to the class about Lourdes as well). 45 minutes once a week is not long at all, so I feel your pain! OTOH, I think 90 minutes is really too long (not for me, lol- I can keep talking forever) but for the kids to be sitting there (not even college classes generally run for 90 minutes). But you know- we just do the best we can. God bless you for teaching! It's not always easy or fun, but I always think of it this way: what if no one ever took the time to tell me about Jesus? Lol- I would be so mad! Even if we don't/can't do it perfectly, it is way better than nothing :)

[@annlink8265]

@@catholicmomanddaughter This has nothing to do with this video, but can you remind me when your conference is in Indiana? And where again? I really want to come, but I need to check my calendar and I couldn't remember which video you mentioned that .

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

@@annlink8265 Hi, Ann- it is Saturday, March 11 in Indianapolis. We would love to see you there! Here is more info: www.indianacatholics.com/womens-conference/

[@annlink8265]

@@catholicmomanddaughter Just ordered my ticket

[@catholicmomanddaughter]

@@annlink8265 Wonderful! We can't wait to meet you in person... see you there!