Aug 31
Be Welcoming
From the very first class, be sure to stand at the door as students arrive. Greet each student, introduce yourself, and ask your students' names. Tell them where to put their coats and ask them to be seated. Distribute name tags when all students have arrived and are seated.
Aug 29
Prayer Place Mats
by Tina Westergaard
Catechist Tina Westergaard found a fun and easy way for her first graders to learn their prayers. She makes prayer place mats that her students can take home as a reminder to practice their prayers at every meal.
To make prayer place mats for you students, follow these simple instructions.
Continue reading "Idea of the Month: August" »
Aug 26
The Most Important Thing You Teach
As a parish catechist, you represent the Church to the young people assigned to you. What you say and do, how you look, how you treat each child--all these things teach how you and, by extension, how the Church regards its young people. The most important thing is to make children feel good about coming to their parish, to make them realize that they will always be warmly welcomed, and that the Church community cherishes them and extends the love of Jesus to them.
Copyright 2011, Peter Li, Inc. This article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any form without permission, except for use with your classes or families.
Aug 25
Getting Acquainted
Often the youngsters in your class come from different neighborhoods and schools and do not know each other. And you may not know many of your new students either. That's why you need to spend some of your first class learning names. Start with name tags. You can buy blank ones that can be pinned on at a school supply store. Or you can have children make their own. Click here for handmade name tag ideas. Collect the name tags at the end of class because you may want the children to wear them for the first few classes.
At the next class, gather the students in a circle and make a game of giving the correct tag to each child. Hold up a tag and caution the person to whom it belongs to say nothing, and have the class identify the owner. When all are wearing their tags, go around the circle and have each child share some personal information, for example, a favorite song, a favorite computer game, the name of a family pet, and so on.
Encourage children to use each other's names and to use yours as well. Tell them using a person's name is a sign of respect, and respect is important in every learning situation. Be sure to write on the chalkboard or a large sheet of paper how you prefer to be addressed, for example, Ms. Wilson, Mr. Bates, Sister Mary William, Brother Rob.
Copyright 2011, Peter Li, Inc. This article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any form without permission, except for use with your classes or families.
Aug 24
NSVC: The Place for You
Think of a place where you like to go: where you feel respected, embraced, cared for, and safe; where you find strength to face painful and unpleasant circumstances; where you can share your struggles and celebrate your accomplishments.
The concept of "place" isn't limited to a physical location. For example, a gathering of my children -- anywhere -- is a "place" that brings me great joy. When I find myself surrounded by books -- or absorbed in a single book -- I am in a "place" of promise, adventure, and excitement.
This feeling of "place" is exactly what we strive to provide to catechists with the National Society for Volunteer Catechists, a service of CATECHIST magazine.
Continue reading "From the Editor: NSVC, The Place for You" »
