Jennifer Fitz is a writer and homeschooling mom of four, who sometimes does something really crazy, like accounting, or teaching religious education. She’s always loved teaching, and cut her teeth as a catechist at the hands of the two most patient DREs in Columbia, SC. Like many lay volunteers, she started teaching religious education without any formal training in classroom management techniques. Week after week she struggled with one problem: How do I get these kids to behave?
The good news is that classroom management is a specific set of skills anyone can learn and master. Jennifer has put what she’s learned into a book for catechists, coming 2013 from Liguori Publications. Learn detailed, step-by-step methods for turning chaos into order so that both students and teachers can enjoy discovering the faith together.
Jennifer’s catechist formation workshops have received enthusiastic reviews. She has taught courses on Catechist 101, Classroom Management, and Choosing Activities for Elementary-Age Students. Her classes focus on the underlying principles of problem-solving and decision-making, so catechists can apply what they’ve learned to any classroom situation.
Some of her favorite topics are:
• Building your own VBS and Holiday Programs
• Using Historical Re-creation to Step into the Bible
• How to Teach the Lives of Saints to a G-Rated Audience
• Bible Study for 5th Grade and Up
• Teaching Traditional Catholic Meditative Prayer in the Classroom
• Tackling Tough Topics (Divorce, Mixed-Faith Homes, etc.)
• Purity and Self-Respect: Teaching Young Students while Safeguarding Innocence
You can find Jennifer elsewhere on the internet at The Catholic Writer’s Guild, CatholicMom.com, and NewEvangelizers.com. Download free Catechist handouts at her personal blog, JenniferFitz.wordpress.com. The easiest way to contact her is via e-mail: currentresident (at) fitzes (dot) com.