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Teens: Keeping them Wondering

By Reader Submission

One technique I use with my teenagers (talk about hating to come!) is . . . I keep them a little off-balance as far as what to expect from class . . . it is never the same two weeks in a row. . . they never know what sort of lesson it will be . . . something really creative and fun . . . something really challenging . . . . something offbeat. . . . sometimes I think they come to class just to see what I’m going to do on a given day (even though I am still giving them the same information no matter how it is packaged) . . . they are learning it in spite of themselves sometimes!

Mary Grace McCoy, Iglesia Catolica de Santa Julia/St. Julia’s Catholic Church in Siler City, North Carolina

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: High School, Reader Suggestions

Teens: Using a Challenging Curriculum

By Reader Submission

Our curriculum is challenging for them to read on their own, so I have them copy the outline of the new lesson from the board into their folders when they first come in. Next, we discuss each point in depth. Finally, they are assigned to read the chapter at home.

Irene Filfiley, St. Patrick Church, Huntington, NY

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: High School, Reader Suggestions

Family Time!

By Reader Submission

With today’s hectic life we spend less and less time together as a family. Most families are having a hard time making ends meet, but there are many activities they can do that won’t dent the budget. Here are a few just to get you going.

1. Play a favorite game or board game.

2. Pop some popcorn and watch a movie or DVD.

3. Make some cookies from scratch.

4. Watch a home movie/DVD or look at family photos.

5. Play a fun game outside.

6. Make an obstacle course and see who can get through it the fastest.

7. Make up a board game on poster board and play it.

8. Play a video or computer game and have teams.

9. Make something as a family (craft, toy, bird house, garden, etc.)

10. Rake the leaves into a pile from your yard and jump into it.

11. Ride bikes or go for a hike.

12. Go fly a kite.

13. Read a book or a Bible story together.

14. Plan and cook a dinner together to eat as a family.

15. Go camping (you can even do it in the back yard).

16. Make ice cream the old fashioned way.

17. Go pick berries, apples, oranges, etc.

18. Go fishing.

19. Make a calendar using family pictures to give to relatives.

20. Go to the park.

21. Do a family life blog. Fill it with family news, musing, tips, etc.

22. Volunteering for community service together as a family is a wonderful way of creating a special bond and lasting memories for families.

23. Walk the dog together.

24. Do a Scavenger Hunt or Treasure Hunt. Scavenger Hunt- Make a list of things to find. Divide the family into teams. Set a time to find as many things as possible on the list. The team with the most items from the list at the end of that time wins. Treasure Hunt- Plan a Treasure Hunt for the family by hiding something and making a map that everyone must work together to find it.

25. Make your own putt-putt course and play it. [Successful Family Activities: familieswithpurpose.com]

Planning fun and successful family activities shouldn’t be a chore for busy parents. Most just require a little fore thought and a little planning to be successful. So don’t get bogged down in the details or overwhelmed with the planning. The first thing to spoil family activities is a stressed parent, so go slow and ease into your routine. *Alternate between planned and unplanned family activities. Not every family activity has to be an elaborate outing. Sticking around home and just “hanging out” can be just as fun. Just don’t let the TV, computer, and video games become a distraction. *Be flexible. Sometimes family activities don’t go as planned. The baby is tired, the car had a flat tire, or it rained when it was supposed to be sunny and hot. *Make sure the family activity is something everyone will enjoy or at least tolerate. Talk over the family activities ahead of time and get everyone’s input. This will help prevent resistance later on. *Schedule your family activities on the family calendar. Plan out for a month when the family will be together and schedule the family activities accordingly.

Amazing_Grace

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: Reader Suggestions

Trinity for Nursery School

By Reader Submission

I use St. Patrick’s idea. I show them a three-leaf clover and we chat about it. What color is it? How many leaves does it have? Then I talk about the sign of the cross, practice it with them, talk about how God is one, but three at the same time, like the clover leaf. They look up at you with their wide eyes, soak it all in, go home and tell their parents. They believe. I tell them God is amazing; He can do anything. How open they are, how beautiful! I also read them stories about St. Patrick.

Christine Rathier, St. Teresa School, Pawtucket, RI

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: Reader Suggestions

Prayers: Line-by-Line Game

By Reader Submission

One very popular activity for children, is taking the 4 basic prayers line by line, putting one line on each desk. Then ask who has a line from the Our Father. Then have the children come up with the lines to the front of the room. If they are not in order have the children who are sitting down figure our which line comes next.

Teresa Bobe, Patchogue, NY

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: Prayer, Reader Suggestions

First Holy Communion Problem

By Reader Submission

First Holy Communion Problem

Teaching those who have been incorrectly receiving without proper preparation to appreciate the value of that preparation: Perhaps you could use the problem (someone receiving Eucharist prior to Easter) to reinforce the concept of a family meal, making the analogy to the child that perhaps when his mother is cooking for a very big feast, she does not let him/her run in the kitchen and help himself to the food she is preparing; instead, he must wait until the proper meal time before he/she can have the delicious food. Or perhaps you could talk about foods that are more challenging to eat that the child had to be shown how to eat . . . I’m thinking about things like a coconut that is very hard to crack if you don’t know the trick, or a lobster. . . something that would explain to the child that you are trying now to educate him/her in how to consume this most important meal. Or how about making an analogy with popcorn. . . you would never, ever eat the kernels all by themselves (i.e., receive Eucharist before being prepared for it), but if you let the kernels sit in the hot oil (come to class faithfully, learn all you can, etc.), eventually they will pop into big fluffy kernels (First Eucharist at Easter). Another alternative might be an analogy with Christmas . . . you could ask what it would feel like if they opened all their gifts before Christmas and then had nothing on Christmas morning to open. With teens or adults, you could probably take the approach of asking them to fast from the Eucharist until Easter if they have already been receiving, and you could tie that into a general discussion about the purpose of fasts in our spiritual lives. Mary Grace McCoy, Iglesia Catolica de Santa Julia/St. Julia’s Catholic Church in Siler City, North Carolina

Mary Grace McCoy

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: Elementary School, Reader Suggestions, Sacraments

First Reconciliation

By Reader Submission

Once I used this in-classroom penance service (followed by later individual confessions): We talked about the beach and I asked who had ever written or built something in the sand, only to have the waves wash it away? (Most everyone, of course.) Then we transitioned into talking about how God is that way with our sins. I had taken a big piece of purple silky cloth and put it in a large baking pan (artfully draped and arranged to cover the pan) and filled it with sand. Then each child came up and wrote something in the sand that they were sorry for, and then erased it by passing their hand over it. It was a real light-bulb moment for the kids and I could see by their eyes that they really got it. Another involved those “trick” candles on cupcakes. I lit the candles and then went around the room and asked each child if they could think of anything wrong they could do that would extinguish God’s love for them. . . they named the worst thing they could think of, then blew out the candle, only to have it reignite, of course. (This worked well for several until years until one year, when Father just happened to be in our class when we were doing this exercise, and one one kid’s candle actually DID stay out . . . so Father deadpans, “Wow, you must have done something really bad!”) One caveat. . . have a glass of water handy for extinguishing when you are done because they will keep reigniting forever, causing a lot of smoke and threatening to set off the fire-alarm (not that I neglected to think of this myself the first time . . . ok, ok, I did forget, but it ended okay!). Mary Grace McCoy, Iglesia Catolica de Santa Julia/St. Julia’s Catholic Church in Siler City, North Carolina

Mary Grace McCoy

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: Elementary School, Reader Suggestions, Sacraments

Lenten Grape Vine Project

By Reader Submission

We took a long sheet of brown construction paper and rolled it up the long way, and then twisted the paper so it was rumpled and twisted. This was about ten feet long. This is tacked on to the wall horizontally (but a little curvy like a grapevine). I then took green and purple construction paper. With the green, I cut out grapevine leaves. With the purple I cut out many grapes. The paper leaves and grapes were placed in a jar. The twisted long brown paper is the “grapevine.” The kids are given these instructions: Whenever they do a SECRET service for someone, like help someone without bragging or calling attention to themselves, they can tape on a leaf to the Grapevine. If the kids noticed anyone being kind, generous etc, they can tape on a grape to the Grapevine. This project can start on Ash Wednesday, and continue through Lent.

Mary Cinatl, Fort Worth Diocese for the Deaf

Read all posts by Reader Submission Filed Under: Reader Suggestions, Special Needs

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