Showing posts with label Religious Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Education. Show all posts
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These Printables on disc would make a great gift!
Do you know a Religious Education Teacher? Our most popular Religious Pack Disc has over 3000 pdf files on it that are perfect for using in CCD classes, Co ops and Sunday Schools. Or if you are the DRE of your Catechist group, you can get our Parish Pack Disc that includes all the content of the Religious Pack, but includes (4) discs that can used among your teachers.
Or, you could just get yourself a copy and save yourself hours of searching the internet looking for the perfect printable for your class or children to use. Your time is too valuable for that.
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This (2) disc set includes our Religious Printables as well as our Educational Printables. Over 6000 pdf files would be readily available for you with this set.
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Don't miss out. This will be the best chance to get this many printables at such a discounted price.
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We offer these resources to help inspire young Catholics to learn more about St. Francis of Assisi.
Sixteen Inviting Ideas to Enrich Your CCD Class or Program
The learning year has just begun, and faith formation programs are in full swing. The children have registered and are filing into the classroom. You are ready to go and enthusiastic. But what happens if your students aren’t so excited about missing soccer practice, their favorite TV show, or piano lessons to attend class? Nothing is worse than to be absolutely certain that some children in your class are not very keen on being there. How do I know? Simple, I ask the children on the first night of class. If parents are present with us in the class, I sometimes ask moms and dads to close their eyes so that the children feel they can answer honestly. (I'm pretty sure they peek, though.) I then ask who would rather be somewhere else or doing something else besides coming to class. It is very disheartening to see even a single hand go up. But I would rather know the truth on the first night; however, sad it may be, so that I can plan my year accordingly, and show up next class ready to change their minds.
I recognize that as a catechist I am competing with the world for each child’s attention. Sporting events, television shows, school functions, video games, the internet, texting, social circles, and fatigue, are all realistic factors that make demands on children’s time and energy. I generally do not feel overwhelmed with the competition, on the contrary. I feel spurred on by the challenge to reach every single child with the message of the Church – and it doesn’t involve just reading in class.
Below are sixteen different ideas to help bring the faith to life for your CCD class or Faith Formation program with easy, inexpensive, and very effective activities that are sure to help bring the truth of Christianity and the Catholic faith to life for young hearts and minds.
1. Invite your pastor to visit your class with his Mass kit. Children always find this activity so fascinating. The Mass kit, sometimes called a Mass travel kit, is a smaller portable version of everything a priest needs to celebrate the holy Mass. Children will begin to recognize the importance of sacramentals as well as the need for serving those away from a formal parish, not to mention, slowly taking one thing out of the case at a time appeals to a child’s natural tendency to be awed by the truth.
2. Ask your sacristan to give a step by step tour of how he or she prepares the altar and sacristy to celebrate holy Mass. This activity helps children to recognize the parts of the church, the importance of the altar, and the sacramentals used in the celebration of the Eucharist.
3. If your church has a cemetery, have a knowledgeable long-time member of the parish, give a tour of the cemetery to the children. Not only do the children see historical names and dates of those who worshiped in their church before them, but it is a good opportunity for your accompanying catechist or DRE to teach about reverence for the dead, how to behave in a cemetery, and the Communion of Saints. When the tour is completed, appropriate prayers may be prayed as a class on-site or back in the church, including the Eternal Rest prayer or the Litany for the Dead.
4. Have your pastor give a personal tour and talk in the church about how he prepares to celebrate the holy Mass. What vestments does he don and what do they mean? Does he say any special prayers? Are there specific tasks that he performs in the sacristy, on the altar, or in the church to prepare for his parishioners and the presence of our Lord? This helps children see the importance and reverence associated with the holy Mass, and the love the pastor has for his Bridegroom, the Church.
5. Provide special opportunities for community prayer as a CCD class or Faith Formation Program. For example, you could pray the Rosary as a group, with each child using an individual rosary and a catechist leading the bead placement. Invite a few children to read appropriate reflections on the Mysteries from the ambo. Similar activities can be done for litanies, novenas, and other devotions.
6. Lead a church tour. Give children the opportunity to explore, ask questions about and become familiar with the place that we call God’s House. As Catholics we are asked to spend a minimum of about 60 hours a year (weekly Mass and Holy Days of Obligation) in the church. It is important that children become as familiar with and as comfortable as possible in the place we hold in such reverence, so that they will feel needed and welcomed. Children need to feel a sense of ownership and belonging just as adults do. After all, each generation will attend Mass and worship our Lord, support the Church socially and financially, and be given the task of evangelizing and spreading the Good News, just like the generation before it. Every generation is important!
7. Arrange a Meet the Ministries Night. Help children see that there are many different people who work together in various ministries or groups to allow the church to serve the parish community in a very meaningful and real way. Kiddos can meet new people while they are introduced to groups that might encourage their participation – prayer groups, youth or family groups, Mass lectors, or choirs.
8. Highlight a Relic. If your church has a relic or is planning on hosting a relic, use it as an opportunity to teach about relics, saints, and reverence. It is also a wonderful chance to talk about mysteries and miracles, and how they have been an integral part of the Catholic faith both historically and in modern times. A short talk or presentation especially for children could be given by your pastor or the organization responsible for procuring the visitation of the relic such as the Knights of Columbus or other ministry. Children should be able to get fairly close to the relic, handling it under supervision, if possible.
9. Hold a yearly retreat for children. Retreats are completely spiritually oriented and are much shorter, and easier to plan and facilitate than a week long VBS type program. This single day-long program can focus on any of a number of topics: highlighting a liturgical feast, teaching children to pray, learning about the Blessed Mother or the Trinity, preparing to receive first Reconciliation or first Eucharist. I have held day-long retreats for my CCD classes for quite a few years, and they have been very well received, enjoyed, and quite memorable.
10. Invite children and their families to a Parish Mission. If your parish organizes a yearly Mission, you may approach your pastor to have the speaker address the families and children during one particular speaking block. The children and their families may be invited to sit in a specially designated or reserved area to help the speaker more easily address them – even if only for a few minutes of the planned program
11. Encourage Mass attendance by arranging for individual families or children to bring up the offertory gifts during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at different times throughout the learning year.
12. Invite children to attend the next Baptism in the church. This is very easily accomplished within class hours if you will have a child within the CCD program who will be preparing to join the church community within the learning year. With your Pastor's support and cooperation, plan for the Baptism to be the teaching event for your regularly scheduled class time. As a simple format, he could easily explain a bit about the sacrament of Baptism to the children and then baptize the child. This could be followed by a simple celebration of cake and welcoming into the church in the hall or designated room. It is important for children to celebrate as a community and see the sacraments in action. Reading about matter and form in a book is a nice introduction, but nothing takes the place of witnessing the dispensing of sacraments in the flesh.
13. Arrange for the CCD Program or a specific class within the program to lead the Stations of the Cross devotion. In some parishes, ministry groups take turns leading the traditional Lenten devotion weekly in the church. Ask for your ministry to be involved also. Ask for child volunteers to read individual stations. This can be a very exciting and welcomed task for many kiddos. If you do not have many volunteers, just a few children may be used and assigned a few stations a piece or catechists may also participate. Ask your parish secretary for copies of the devotion that is used and provide children with copies of their assigned stations so that they may practice ahead of time. Have a catechist with them during the devotion in case children stumble over words, or need help determining when to start or pause in their reading.
14. Inform families when the next sacrament of matrimony will be celebrated in the church and invite them to attend with the rest of the parish community.
15. Invite your pastor to a Q & A Night. Many children, and some adults, are not aware of all the tasks that a priest, and specifically, a pastor, performs. Ask students to prepare questions to ask their pastor, when he comes to speak. As a simple speaking idea, ask your pastor to perhaps do a Day in the Life account, which could then be followed by an open question period. For a bit older teens, this could even help lead a young person to explore the priesthood or religious life as a vocation.
16. Consider making Jesus a part of your class with Adoration. Whether you visit Jesus in the adoration chapel for a few minutes each class period or celebrate as a Religious Education Program for a half-hour monthly, incorporating Christ in the Real Presence into your year plan is awesome! We are blessed in our parish to have a pastor that holds 30 minutes of Adoration for our CCD children and families once a month. He leads and facilitates prayer, meditation, and allows for children to share any intentions they may have, which we pray for all together in the presence of our Lord. With children as young as five years old and those in the challenging tweens and early teens, the time with our Lord quickly became a monthly highlight for the children and teachers alike. Although some may be concerned about losing time to cover material in the classroom – there is nothing written in a textbook that is more important than actually being present with our Lord.
With a little planning and enthusiasm, the prospect of faith formation will be slowly become a solid priority in the life of your young Catholic learners.
Using Hands-On Learning in Your Religious Education Lessons
![Open in new window](javascript:CaricaFoto("http://www.thatresourcesite.com/faith_pixs/articles/montessori_birthday.JPG");)
August 31st is the birthday of Maria Montessori, the woman behind the Montessori Learning Method. As I think of her today, I am reminded of how successful her methods have been in my Religious Education classes.
If you are not familiar with the Montessori Method, you can think of it, in the simplest sense, as learning by doing. It is active hands-on learning for children in an environment that has been especially prepared for them. The teacher facilitates rather than leads in the learning area using specially selected interactive learning tools, so that learners can make natural connections on their own. You can learn even more about the academic setup, features and strengths of this method in an article I wrote last year entitled, A Brief Intro to Maria Montessori and the Montessori Teaching Method.
When I was asked to become a Catechist years ago, I knew that I wanted to bring some of the positive experiences and activities that I had from homeschooling my own children at home, into my formal parish classroom. This meant learning by doing and interacting with the material – not just reading aloud in a classroom together.
I quickly found that I had made the right decision as my very first year brought me about fourteen children at different ages and learning levels, including gifted and challenged learners. Montessori and interactive learning were a saving grace.
I have heard over the years from Cats and DREs far and wide about how to make the classes more active or appealing to children. Montessori may be the answer. As bishops and pastors are asking families to become more involved in their child’s faith formation (even to the point of attending classes and activities together,) having class activities that are interactive, engaging, and fun becomes even more important.
I designed a few ways to get children engaging in the material in some non-traditional ways. I hope that these ideas can prove fruitful in your classroom too.
1. Have a question box.
Many children have questions that they are not willing to ask in front of others. Can my dog go to heaven? Did God create Cancer? What if Jesus doesn’t want to forgive me? My parents are divorced, can they get married again and can they still go to heaven? By creating an inviting and anonymous question box, children can put in questions that they want answered. By taking a few minutes of class time when needed, children feel a real sense of belonging without the fear of looking inadequate in front of their peers or embarrassed in front of their parents.
2. Take an interactive church tour.
Children love learning about the church – the building itself, and the sacramentals contained within it. Many children (and some adults as well) wonder what things are called, what are they used for, and why things have to be done a specific way? Taking an interactive tour helps develop reverence and while building knowledge. I have a special church tour worksheet that I created and use yearly. I attach it to a clipboard with a pencil tied on with string, and then we begin. It gives kids something to do with their hands and encourages purposeful listening. Learn more in my article called, CCD Lessons – Have You Toured Your Church Yet?
3. Use REAL things, when possible.
Whenever there is an opportunity to use the proper religious item, do so. Rather than just reading a scripture reference in your text, take out actual Bibles, pair the children in twos, and have them practice finding and reading the passages with you. The sense of accomplishment that they feel when they have found something themselves in God’s Word is very inspiring. If you are going to teach about portions of the Mass, use the actual missals from the pew. Along with a yearly missal, our church has monthly missalettes for daily Mass use, and I know for a fact that children wonder what the books are, and why don’t they have one. Our pastor uses a big print version of it during the Liturgy of the Word (not at the pulpit, of course), and I had a child ask me what the “special book” Father was using was. Children want to feel involved and a part of the congregation in a very actual sense. By letting them use the “real thing” they feel valued, and they learn how participate in Mass and grow in their faith.
4. Use Montessori Cards in the class.
I use Montessori cards featuring sacramentals in my classroom.
Montessori cards are simple little cards, which provide a picture (usually a photo) and a simple label. Although many think of them as flashcards, they are not. Montessori cards are used to teach vocabulary terms, reading skills, word and picture associations, as well as help build memory skill.
Here are a few ideas on how to use these Montessori cards.
1. Name the pictures on each card.
2. Play matching games with two identical sets of cards.
3. Sort a group of cards by topic criteria.
4. Recall narrative details about the topic. (Explain all you know about the material.)
5. Relate pictures in the set to one another.
5. Play Games to Learn and Review
The printable games that I have created do everything from teach prayers, drill the Ten Commandments, review the parts of the Mass, reinforce the Seven Sacraments and the differences in each, allow children to see and learn about sacramentals using photos and all in a hands-on format that children really enjoy using. Most games can be played individually or in teams of two or more. This is a sample of our newly updated Build Your Faith Bingo game. It is a fun game that reinforces: sacramentals from your church tour, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, identifying Holy Saints by their symbols, Mysteries of the Rosary, and the Parts of the Mass by title. It uses less color ink than our previous version and accommodates up to seventeen players at once.
I revamped this game and many, many of our other resources to meet the needs of those who wanted to use less color ink and use our resources in a classroom or co-op setting.
6. Create a Holy Table or Mini-Altar in your classroom
I begin our class periods with prayer. Children file up to our Holy Table and bless themselves with holy water and return to their place to begin prayer. Our Holy table reflects the liturgical season in our linens and candles and displays, a large hardcover Bible on a wooden holder. A rosary is also on display along side a small decorative glass jar (which has an airtight cover) which is our holy water font. This is a basic setup, although I have other things that I put out as well. Another Cat on our parish team, has a beautiful altar, complete with big photos of our pastor and our Lord during Benediction and sacramentals from Holy Land. Oh, it is just so lovely. Children need to be able to see and touch the things that make our Catholic faith so rich and authentic.
These are just a few ideas of how you can incorporate the Montessori Learning Method into your Religious Education or CCD classroom and help you bring the faith to life in your classroom.
**If you have recently purchased our Religious Pack DVD, all the printable resources I have mentioned above are already included on your disc. If you haven’t picked one up yet, there is still time to do so. It is an easy way to view, click, and print our most popular printables and hundreds of revamped and brand new resources perfect for classroom or homeschool use.
If you are not familiar with the Montessori Method, you can think of it, in the simplest sense, as learning by doing. It is active hands-on learning for children in an environment that has been especially prepared for them. The teacher facilitates rather than leads in the learning area using specially selected interactive learning tools, so that learners can make natural connections on their own. You can learn even more about the academic setup, features and strengths of this method in an article I wrote last year entitled, A Brief Intro to Maria Montessori and the Montessori Teaching Method.
When I was asked to become a Catechist years ago, I knew that I wanted to bring some of the positive experiences and activities that I had from homeschooling my own children at home, into my formal parish classroom. This meant learning by doing and interacting with the material – not just reading aloud in a classroom together.
I quickly found that I had made the right decision as my very first year brought me about fourteen children at different ages and learning levels, including gifted and challenged learners. Montessori and interactive learning were a saving grace.
I have heard over the years from Cats and DREs far and wide about how to make the classes more active or appealing to children. Montessori may be the answer. As bishops and pastors are asking families to become more involved in their child’s faith formation (even to the point of attending classes and activities together,) having class activities that are interactive, engaging, and fun becomes even more important.
I designed a few ways to get children engaging in the material in some non-traditional ways. I hope that these ideas can prove fruitful in your classroom too.
1. Have a question box.
Many children have questions that they are not willing to ask in front of others. Can my dog go to heaven? Did God create Cancer? What if Jesus doesn’t want to forgive me? My parents are divorced, can they get married again and can they still go to heaven? By creating an inviting and anonymous question box, children can put in questions that they want answered. By taking a few minutes of class time when needed, children feel a real sense of belonging without the fear of looking inadequate in front of their peers or embarrassed in front of their parents.
2. Take an interactive church tour.
Children love learning about the church – the building itself, and the sacramentals contained within it. Many children (and some adults as well) wonder what things are called, what are they used for, and why things have to be done a specific way? Taking an interactive tour helps develop reverence and while building knowledge. I have a special church tour worksheet that I created and use yearly. I attach it to a clipboard with a pencil tied on with string, and then we begin. It gives kids something to do with their hands and encourages purposeful listening. Learn more in my article called, CCD Lessons – Have You Toured Your Church Yet?
3. Use REAL things, when possible.
Whenever there is an opportunity to use the proper religious item, do so. Rather than just reading a scripture reference in your text, take out actual Bibles, pair the children in twos, and have them practice finding and reading the passages with you. The sense of accomplishment that they feel when they have found something themselves in God’s Word is very inspiring. If you are going to teach about portions of the Mass, use the actual missals from the pew. Along with a yearly missal, our church has monthly missalettes for daily Mass use, and I know for a fact that children wonder what the books are, and why don’t they have one. Our pastor uses a big print version of it during the Liturgy of the Word (not at the pulpit, of course), and I had a child ask me what the “special book” Father was using was. Children want to feel involved and a part of the congregation in a very actual sense. By letting them use the “real thing” they feel valued, and they learn how participate in Mass and grow in their faith.
4. Use Montessori Cards in the class.
I use Montessori cards featuring sacramentals in my classroom.
Montessori cards are simple little cards, which provide a picture (usually a photo) and a simple label. Although many think of them as flashcards, they are not. Montessori cards are used to teach vocabulary terms, reading skills, word and picture associations, as well as help build memory skill.
Here are a few ideas on how to use these Montessori cards.
1. Name the pictures on each card.
2. Play matching games with two identical sets of cards.
3. Sort a group of cards by topic criteria.
4. Recall narrative details about the topic. (Explain all you know about the material.)
5. Relate pictures in the set to one another.
5. Play Games to Learn and Review
The printable games that I have created do everything from teach prayers, drill the Ten Commandments, review the parts of the Mass, reinforce the Seven Sacraments and the differences in each, allow children to see and learn about sacramentals using photos and all in a hands-on format that children really enjoy using. Most games can be played individually or in teams of two or more. This is a sample of our newly updated Build Your Faith Bingo game. It is a fun game that reinforces: sacramentals from your church tour, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, identifying Holy Saints by their symbols, Mysteries of the Rosary, and the Parts of the Mass by title. It uses less color ink than our previous version and accommodates up to seventeen players at once.
![Open in new window](javascript:CaricaFoto("http://www.thatresourcesite.com/faith_pixs/games/build_your_faith_bingo.JPG");)
I revamped this game and many, many of our other resources to meet the needs of those who wanted to use less color ink and use our resources in a classroom or co-op setting.
6. Create a Holy Table or Mini-Altar in your classroom
I begin our class periods with prayer. Children file up to our Holy Table and bless themselves with holy water and return to their place to begin prayer. Our Holy table reflects the liturgical season in our linens and candles and displays, a large hardcover Bible on a wooden holder. A rosary is also on display along side a small decorative glass jar (which has an airtight cover) which is our holy water font. This is a basic setup, although I have other things that I put out as well. Another Cat on our parish team, has a beautiful altar, complete with big photos of our pastor and our Lord during Benediction and sacramentals from Holy Land. Oh, it is just so lovely. Children need to be able to see and touch the things that make our Catholic faith so rich and authentic.
These are just a few ideas of how you can incorporate the Montessori Learning Method into your Religious Education or CCD classroom and help you bring the faith to life in your classroom.
**If you have recently purchased our Religious Pack DVD, all the printable resources I have mentioned above are already included on your disc. If you haven’t picked one up yet, there is still time to do so. It is an easy way to view, click, and print our most popular printables and hundreds of revamped and brand new resources perfect for classroom or homeschool use.
Blessings,
Kalei
Creating a Living CCD Class
In teaching and homeschool circles, the word living is usually used in reference to
literature. A living book is one that
brings the plot, setting and characters to life, engages the reader, and
encourages completion of the work because it is so well written. It doesn’t distract the reader with fluff and
irrelevant details; rather it feeds the reader’s hunger for knowledge and enjoyment
while providing incremental learning chapter by chapter.
A living CCD or
Religious Education class tries to be engaging from start to finish and
encourages attendance on its own accord.
Over the years, I have had children choose to attend my CCD class rather
than soccer practice or tell me face-to-face how much they enjoy coming weekly
because it’s fun. Granted, some years I
have been overwhelmed from issues in our family life or homeschooling and felt
a bit burnt out, but I attribute my return each year to the Holy Spirit and our
dedicated pastor who inspires me regularly, values the work that I and the
other catechists do, and holds a retreat for us Cats annually to recharge our
batteries and grow in our faith.
I am an educator by trade, and over the years have designed
a layout for my living CCD class that has been quite effective. Here is a quick overview. I try to use a little mathematical formula
for my 75 minute weekly class. 10-10-30-10-10. By
breaking up the class into increments, the children are kept interested and
engaged, and lots of different mustard seeds can be planted at once, many times
with tangible activities, hopefully providing a very full harvest later in life.
10 - The First Ten
Minutes of Class – Greeting, Prayer and a Liturgical Theme.
This is the time to greet and welcome students, take roll,
and join in prayer. Children (and parents
who are joining us as well) approach the little altar in our class, bless
themselves with holy water, and return to their spot. I then ask for special intentions, and we
pray for them and our own personal needs with a simple prayer or two – The Lord’s
Prayer, Hail Mary, or Glory Be. I transition
into a liturgical theme featuring an event from the life of Christ, a particular
feast that may be occurring on the liturgical calendar, or the solemnity or
memorial of a particular saint. **
10 - The Second Ten
Minutes of Class – A Quick Review of the Previous Week’s Lesson and Checking Homework.
Most times the homework I assign is reading from the text of
our class – Faith and Life 2. I will
spend a few minutes for questions, and then I proceed with a review. Most times it is oral in a game form while a
few other times it is a written quiz or one of my worksheets. If the previous lesson was using an F3
Folder, we take a look at it and review the pieces. We then move on to covering new material.
30 - The Thirty
Minutes of New Material – The New Lesson for the Week
Considering that the children in my class range in age from
about seven to eleven years old, and we meet in the evenings after many
children are tired because of school and other extracurricular activities, I
try to keep my new information to within a thirty-minute span. It usually includes a visual or tangible prompt
of some kind (F3 Piece or F3 Folder, a religious poster to look at, teaching
prop, or a sacramental of some type,) as well as a short oral presentation. As a general rule, I will not read from the
textbook or do reading as a class, as I feel that is something that can easily
be done at home with a parent or other family member. Many times, I try to incorporate changing
positions around the room (gather into a circle, move to another portion of the
room, move your chair to get into groups of two) to help keep children alert.
If everything goes well, we end up leaving our classroom
twice a meeting. The first time we leave
our class is to see the lesson in action.
It is my goal to meet in our big kitchen almost every week to see the lesson
I have just presented in action – this means using SCIENCE! Yes, I said it; I use science to teach about
the faith. You may have heard of using
videos, books, games, crafts, even a magic trick or two, but I like to use
science experiments. (You’d be amazed at
how their little eyes light up when I present an experiment, and God ends up
being the star of the show.)
10 -Ten Minutes with
Our Lord – Visiting the Adoration Chapel as a Class
We return from the kitchen clean up a bit and reorganize our
tables, if need be, and then head out for the second time to visit our Lord in
Adoration. We are very blessed to have
perpetual adoration at our parish. We
have a small, intimate and inviting adoration chapel that the children love to
visit. Each of our CCD classes
incorporates adoration into their class period.
When this practice began, I was a
bit worried at the time that I would lose too much formal teaching time doing
this over the course of the entire year (10 minutes x 28 formal classes = 280
minutes or almost five hours (four whole-class periods). Even so, over time I began to see how Jesus
worked in the lives of the children.
Since many children are over stimulated throughout the day, Adoration
provided them with a small little gift of a few minutes of peace and silence. They learn reverence, patience, how to
appreciate solitude, and best of all, that Jesus is available for them whenever
they need Him.
10 -Ten Minutes of
Housekeeping – Reminders, Homework and Such
After adoration, we return to class for housekeeping
details. I assign the reading homework,
and they all write it in their folder. I
give out any handouts or newsletters, remind the kids about attending Mass and
completing an entry in their Mass Journal, as well as give a hint about the
content for the next week’s class.
10 -Ten Minutes of
Playing to Learn – Reviewing with Games
I reserve the final ten minutes of class for reviewing
year-to-date content with games. Games
are usually played in teams, and everyone is encouraged to play and participate
well. Sometimes I will use a game with
pieces such as putting prayers in order, reviewing the Ten Commandments, or my Tell Me About It question game; other
times I will hook up my laptop to the classroom TV and play a video review game
that I created. (The kids’ love this
style of review game too, as many are used to computer interaction – even at
such a young age.)
To close the evening class, we finish in prayer, and I wish each
child a safe and healthy week.
This is just one layout for a Living Religious Education
class. For younger children, you may want
to use an 8+ style of timing, which changes the learning activity every eight
minutes or so. Older children, who
should have a longer attention span, can easily benefit from a 20, 20, 20, 10
setup.
**A Note on Liturgical Theme Resources:
If you would like to incorporate Saint study into your class
and are looking for a nice intro prompt, our Saintly Symbols Coloring Sheets
are perfect for this. They are fun to
use to introduce the Saint and discuss his or her symbol, plus they can be
colored and used to decorate the classroom.
So far, I have only been able to post
a few on the site, but our Faith
Pack DVD has over 75 of them on it plus almost all of them have an accompanying
fill-in biography notebooking sheet and fill-in biography learning card, either
of which could be completed as a class.
You can simply use resources you have on hand or that come from your
parish library.
Blessings,
Kalei
Blessings,
Kalei
Little Cut-n-Paste Rebus to Learn About the Angels and the First Sin
 |
| Answer Key Sample |
The need for the distinct explanation of the first sin ever committed and the first sin ever committed on earth may arise in your religious education class or home catechises session too. To help explain this in a tactile and inviting way for younger learners, I have created a cut -n-paste rebus about the angels and the first sin.
This activity is fun, simple and fast to complete so it can be a quick perfect addition to your lessons at home or in the classroom. Simply cut out the pieces, read the story together and paste in the pieces where they match in the story. St. Michael is depicted as a warrior angel with a bow and Lucifer is depicted as a plain angelic figure - as he would have been originally. This provides a great opportunity to talk about how sin can change us spiritually and even physically.
Scrambled letter clues are given for each piece, CCC passages are noted and an answer key is provided.
Find the Angels and the First Sin Rebus as well as other resources to teach about sin and forgiveness in our collection now.
Blessings,
Kalei
A New Way to Teach About Creation
Creation is one of those topics that everybody wants to explore, but most don't want to dive into head first. Fears of questions about dinosaurs, did we really come from slime, and how can God create out of nothing, can overwhelm anyone who is not prepared. 
So, to help you prepare to effectively and authentically to teach about creation to your children or CCD class, we have put together an F3 (Flip, Flap. Fold) Folder on Creation. This is our first complete double folder lapbook style project. The folder is easy to make and the printables are easy to implement in a classroom or homeschool setting.Expect to explore the questions: What did God Create? Why did He create it? and How did He create it? This inviting double F3 Folder focuses on teaching young Catholics about creation, introduces the Theology of the Body, ponders the uniqueness of our soul, reconfirms that we are precious to God, highlights St. Joseph, and explains the antependium. This F3 Folder on creation includes just about everything you need except the prepared blank double folder and a Bible. An answer key is also included.
Find out more about how to make and use this resource by watching our video below.
Learn more about or download our F3 Folder to Teach About Creation now.
Feel free to drop us a comment about this or any other resource on the blog. Your two cents worth may be just what inspires someone else.
Blessings,
Kalei
How Much Do You Know About Sacramentals? Our F3 Folder Lesson Will Help You Find Out
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| Inside of our F3 Folder on Sacramentals |
Our Flip, Flap & Fold (F3) Folder helps teach about sacramentals at home or in the CCD or religion classroom.
What do a plastic rosary, a stone church, a fifteen foot tall wooden crucifix, and a tiny paper prayer card all have in common? If you guessed that they are all sacramentals, then you are absolutely correct.
If you aren't too familiar with sacramentals in general or you are not sure about their purposefulness and importance, then you definitely won't want to miss today's special resource that teaches about the sacramentals used in the Catholic church.
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| Outside of our F3 Folder on Sacramentals |
Today's resource is our first ever full F3 Folder. If you are intrigued by lapbooking, but put off by what appears to be lots of prep and effort, then our F3 resources are probably right up your alley. They are smaller, self-contained lessons with paper pieces inspired by my friend, Shell, of Thinking Love, No Twaddle blog, who makes and shares with us lovely little lessons that contain everything you need to effectively deliver them to your kiddos. This keeps the learning focus on the lesson and concepts and not so much the prepping and making of the project pieces.
And if you have ever wanted to incorporate file folder projects into a classroom or group setting, say your CCD class or religious education co-op lessons, but just weren't sure how, then you'll definitely want to download today's free resource.
To show you just how easy it is to use this five page printable resource, watch our short video that explains how to create and use this fun and very do-able resource in your little homeschool or classroom.
Click HERE to download our first full F3 Folder to teach about Sacramentals.
Click HERE to see how to prepare a Single F3 Folder to use with today's resource.
We hope you find this resource very useful and fun to use. We hope to share more F3 Folder lessons if we find families really enjoy using them.
Blessings,
Kalei - That Resource Team
Click HERE to see how to prepare a Single F3 Folder to use with today's resource.
We hope you find this resource very useful and fun to use. We hope to share more F3 Folder lessons if we find families really enjoy using them.
Blessings,
Kalei - That Resource Team
Meaningful Colouring for Tweens? Yes!
Fun-filled colouring pages created with tweens and beyond in mind.
Tired of the same old cartoon pictures for coloring? Want something spiritually uplifting or challenging for your bit older kiddos? Then have we got goodies for you.
Colouring books have been around since the late 1800s. Once referred to as paint books, these little books were used to help children learn concepts of art and improve their cognition. I have found, however, that we have never finished a colouring book and my children (and perhaps yours as well) like to pick and choose only the pages that they want to colour and eventually end up tossing an unfinished book to the recycle bin. So here's how we combat that dilemma - single colouring sheets that reinforce our learning lessons. It's double duty art fun.
Whether they are colouring pages that reiterate Aesop's morals, encourage practicing writing and pronouncing the names of favourite dinos, or are so engaging that they help them understand and memorize the Stations of the Cross - our sheets do double duty. But I bet you aren't surprised to hear that are you? We are all about the fun in learning, but also about preserving our precious time as well.
Visit our revamped colouring pages to see our collection of art sheets highlighting Mother Mary, the Stations of the Cross, Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Rosary, and more. Using classic public domain images, our pages offer challenging fun for tweens and older learners who can once again relax and enjoy colouring. We suggest using good quality coloured pencils or fine tipped felts. My tweenie loves to use Paper Mate Flair Point-Guard Porous Point Pens, 12 Colored Pens
. She used those to colour the picture above.
Please note that since we use public domain images for many of our resources, we are limited in our selection. Some mysteries of the rosary were not available, but we are always on the lookout. :)
I'll also put out there that we are always looking for more artwork for the kiddos. So if you have any art skills or a passion for creating colouring sheets we would love to help you share your work with others and give you full credit. We could even create a Friends page for you to highlight your work or help point others to your blog or website. Contact us if you are an artist who would like to help out other homeschooling families or educators around the globe.
Plus, keep watching for our set of colouring pages that are specifically designed for religious education and my CCD classes. Join us on Facebook to get it as soon as it is uploaded.
Blessings,
Kalei - That Resource Team
A New Calendar for Mum that Never Gets Old and Helps Reinforce the Faith
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| Cover Page |
Keeping track of things in the year can be a daunting task for even those who are really organized. As many of us scour the Internet trying to find those tools and printables which will make life easier for us in our teaching or homeschooling journey, we are often dismayed to find things that would be perfect if only it had this or that. One of my pet peeves was to find things that although they were functional, they were bland or not pleasing to use. I was also looking for Faith themed things. Needless to say, there wasn't much out there, so I decided to start making a few things and sharing them. And now, thousands of resources later, I like to think that we have some really good treasures for Catholic and Christian families alike to enjoy using.
Today I share a free calendar that I have been working on for a while and have finally completed to be able to use it for this coming learning year. As I am a sacramental prep catechist in my parish, I find that my CCD or Religious Education year has to be just as organized as my homeschooling year as I am very accountable to my DRE, my pastor, the individual families, and the Bishop, if need be. And although things can get quite hectic for me at times between home and parish learning sessions, I always try to surround myself with elements of the Faith as much as possible to keep me focused. I also like to be in God's glory, nature, as much as possible. Having said that, my calendar combines linear thinking, nature and the Dedication of the Months into one resource which can be reprinted and used over and over each year. Below are the sample pages for the month of July.
In this resource you will find a cover page and then two pages to represent each month of the year. I also noted the dedication for each month and added a little pictorial reminder as well. You will also find sweet Victorian graphics to represent different flowers or plants that are popular for that month of the year. I tried to allow a bit of white space at the top of the right hand pages for you to write a scribble or two, a quote, a reminder, Bible verse to ponder, a doddle, etc. This resource is designed to be printed back to back starting with page one (cover) and is to be bound on the left hand side in a binder or duo-tang, or simply just staple it together.
Click Here to download Mum's new calendar (standard version)
Click Here to download Mum's new calendar (leap year version)
**Don't forget that 2012 is a leap year.
I hope you find this sweet calendar helpful and inviting to use.
Blessings,
Kalei
And now for some tangible and online fun with the Ten Commandments
Looking for ways to teach about the Ten Commandments? See what we have to share for learning online as well as offline.
One of the most popular topics that teachers and parents tackle is teaching and reviewing the Ten Commandments with their children or class. The Ten Commandments are a very important part of our faith. Without knowing the Ten Commandments, God's rules for us to live by, we cannot possibly perform an examination of conscience to be able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation or improve ourselves by developing virtues which are directly contrary to sin.
One of the very first recommendations we give to parents and fellow catechists is to begin early in life and consider using the book pictured at right: The Ten Commandments by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik as a base. With a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, this little picture book helps to introduce and easily explain each of the commandments one by one with timely examples which ring true today just as they did when this book was written in 1978. A very simple approach is to read through the book and then reinforce the content and teachings using our free printable resources.
You will find a very nice selection of free printables including:- *notebooking sheets,
- *mini-books,
- *printable games,
- *hand-outs,
- *learning cards,
- *colouring sheets,
- *worksheets
We hope you find these resources for studying the laws for virtuous living fun and useful in your own little homeschool or classroom.
Visit our Ten Commandments Resource page right now to see all that is waiting for you.
That Resource Team
F3 Resources to Help Study About the Gospel and the Evangelists
Encourage learners to Explore the Gospels
Lent and Easter provide us with a great opportunity to hear the Gospel from more than one Evangelist. We know that the word gospel means "good news" while evangelist means "teller of the good news - our Saviour has come". The Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - each have a unique way of writing about the life of our Lord in the books of the New Testament called the Gospels.
St. John wrote as a loving friend of Jesus; his gospel is often referred to as the Gospel of Love.
St. Matthew writes as a apostle or eyewitness and includes more of Jesus' teachings on the heavenly kingdom than any of the other writers. For example, he writes a complete account of the Sermon on the Mount.
St. Luke gives a great detailed account as one would expect from a doctor. Although He did not know or travel with the Master, he interviewed many people who did including the Blessed Virgin Mary. A co-worker with St. Paul, and author of the book the Acts of the Apostles, he compiled all of the interviews he took about the life and times of our Lord Jesus into one very detailed account. His writings were meant for everyone who loves God.
St. Mark wrote his gospel account in the words of St. Peter. It is Peter's eyewitness account of Jesus' ministry, life, death and Resurrection.
Each cover and include many of the same facts, but sometime there are unique differences that set them apart for the reader. One easy example of this can be seen in when the author's introduce our Lord. Matthew begins at the genealogy of Christ, while Mark begins with John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness. St. John's Gospel was the last to be written of the four and included many details left out by the other three writers.
To help learners (both young and old) more easily understand the Bible, we created a few notebooking sheets and F3 (flip, flap and fold) pieces that can be used to learn about the evangelists, the Gospels and then individual accounts in the Bible.
The notebooking sheets give an opportunity to comparatively write out the details of a specific event as it occurs in each gospel. We have created two sheets. One could write or draw details. These can be useful for grades 4+.
The F3 pieces provided are patterned after the inquisitive KWL style organize(know, want to know, have learned). In this set you will find sets featuring: the Gospels, The Evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. There is opportunity for drawing as well as writing. This F3 project resource can be completed and mounted on card stock and then bound together using a spine of some sort, brads, rings or any other way that you may prefer.
Click HERE to download this packet of resources.
Click HERE to see all of our F3 Resources.
Blessings,
Kalei