Each year at our parish we have an annual day of reflection for our 2nd graders preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We call it “Forgiveness Day”. It is from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Students rotated through 8 different stations each focusing about an aspect of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Here is a little bit about each station:
1) Priest Station – one of our priests talks with the students about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, shows them one of the “Reconciliation Rooms” or Confessionals and answers any questions the kids have.
2) Game Station – A station where there is a board game that students play answering various questions about the Sacrament.
3) Snack Station – A snack is served and kids do a word search related to reconciliation.
4)Movie Station – A brief video about Reconciliation and discuss some of the details from the video with the students.
5) The Quiz Station – Students are posed various questions that they are asked to answer.
6) The Story Station – A story is read about forgiveness and then discussed with the kids.
7) The Heart Station – Students decorate a heart, cut out of felt, which has their name on it. This is then put on a large banner and put in our gathering space for Reconciliation.
8) Activity Station – Students played a “hands on” interactive game with a reconciliation theme.
The parents who help out share with us how much they enjoyed the experience. We also find even parents who did not help out share with us how much their child enjoyed it and how they talked about the experience the rest of the weekend. Forgiveness Day is a great way to prepare students and help them feel comfortable about making their First Reconciliation.
Does your parish do any kind of retreat for the 2nd graders preparing for their First Reconciliation? I’d love to hear what you do!
This was originally posted on my blog: catechesisinthethirdmillennium.wordpress.com
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