In keeping with our goal of being able to build on what we learn in class during our time at home, we plan on creating a weekly summary of our Religious Education journey. So here is the summary of lessons:
November 17, 2019: The younger children were introduced to the workbook titled "Finding God" On the first page was a picture of St. Francis and the children immediately recognized and remembered who he was. They were able to recall details about some of the things he did and what was special about him. We talked about how God cares for us and how He gives us good things and good people in our lives. The children were tasked with drawing their favorite thing that God has made. We talked about how we show our love for God by listening to Him, by treating others kindly, by praying, and by attending Mass. We drew pictures of our favorite parts of Mass, which included the Body and Blood of Christ and the Sign of Peace. We talked about how we can find God's messages in the Bible and reviewed the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament (ask them and see if they can tell you!). We reviewed who Adam and Eve were and who Mary and Joseph were. And we learned a new word: Trinity.
God Our Father made us
Jesus, His Son, brings us God's love.
The Holy Spirit brings us peace
To reinforce our learning of the Trinity, we practiced the Sign of the Cross and were blown away to realize that when we make that gesture, it is as if we are drawing a cross. To further reinforce the Trinity, we started to learn the prayer, 'Glory Be'
The older children had a tour of the Church and started becoming more familiar with our surroundings. We discussed Holy Water and how it becomes Holy. We talked about the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We also visited the Chapel and learned about the Tabernacle. Ms. Asha taught the children about showing reverence and respect for God by genuflecting in front of the Tabernacle, and Ryan taught his classmates about bowing in front of the altar. This was followed by a discussion about when and how to perform these actions. In the classroom, the children continued with their Bible reading with the story of the tenth plague and the story of the parting of the Red Sea. The children were very curious about these two stories. It was great to have such an active discussion. After discussing these stories we then played Jeopardy on the knowledge we have learned so far in our class. And two more children came to class with the memorization! Great job! We will pick the game back up in a couple of weeks with something new.
Some things you can do to follow up:
Keep reviewing those simple facts we've covered to date - repetition is key to learning,
Keep reading from the Bible. If you need story suggestions, let us know and we can provide some for you.
Practice saying the 'Glory Be' prayer with your children. I'd love to see them be able to say it with us during class.
Glory Be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning
is now
and ever shall be
world without end
Amen.
November 3, 2019: We had another nice round of classes on Sunday. As I mentioned in the update for last weekend, the goal of this week for the younger children was to focus on some more Bible stories. We talked about the difference between the stories in the New Testament vs the Old Testament. We read Daniel and the Lion's Den, David and Goliath, and Jonah and the Whale - all from the Old Testament. We encountered the recurring theme of trusting in God - and the idea that because these people believed and were faithful to God, they were protected and safe in times of danger. We completed some worksheets to help reinforce the stories. Those worksheets were sent home with kids and can be used to go over those stories at home.
The older students continued to learn about Moses. After a reflection on what they learned last week, they discussed ways of communication: radio, television, prayer, Angels. This was to get them ready for the lesson and to think of ways that God will communicate with us and how it's important for us to listen for Him in our daily lives. Next they read Exodus 3:1-15 ( the story of Moses and the burning bush). Afterwards, they completed some discussion questions to see how much the children understood from the Bible reading. To reinforce the lesson they played telephone. Ms. Asha gave the first child a sentence about Moses and they would pass it along by whispering it to each other, with the goal being that the last child would be able to repeat the sentence perfectly (thought it doesn't usually work that way! LOL!). This was to reiterate the importance of listening carefully to the word of God. To finish off the class, per the children's request, they played a quick round of Bible Scrabble.
For take home sharing, parents of youngers, feel free to go over the Bible worksheets and then share your favorite Bible stories by reading them to your kids. Parents of olders, they are practicing memorization from the Bible. Our current memorization is "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth." Psalm 121:2. Three of the children have memorized it so far and received a prize. The rest of the group can try next week - so this week, while we have no class, help your kids remember this Bible verse so they can share it in class next week.
Just a reminder that there is no class tomorrow, Sunday, November 10th. If you have a Box of Joy, that must be returned by November 10th. You can bring it to Mass this weekend. Thank you for supporting this service project.
October 20, 2019: The younger students had a discussion about Church, God, and Respect. We talked about the meaning of respect, various scenarios in which respect was warranted or expected, the people in our lives who deserve our respect, and how the way in which we present ourselves can also show respect or lack of respect. Together, we completed a worksheet describing different behavior choices during Mass and decided whether or not those behaviors were respectful or disrespectful to God.
We then continued our discussion from last week about prayer and how to pray. We talked about why people bow their heads and close their eyes when they pray. We learned a new term: genuflect. The children began to create prayer starter cards which will help them speak to God in their own way. Some examples include:
Please help my friends and family, especially...
We praise you Lord for...
Please help me to do better when I...
God, you created me to know, love, and serve you. Our Father...
Father, help me to know that you...
That last one prompted a discussion of what the kids would like to learn about God during their time in Religious Ed. One of the kids asked who were the first people that God created. So while the kids were decorating their prayer cards, I read them the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible. This led to a discussion about trusting in God. Then, we continued on with our Bible, reading another story of trust, the story of Noah's Ark.
The older students' studies focused on stories from the Bible this week as well. This group started their class by reading the story of Noah's ark. They had a much more in depth discussion throughout the reading of the account than their younger counterparts. Students were challenged to think about how we can relate the events that Noah experienced to everyday life. Discussion focused on trusting in God and how He keeps His promises to us. We realized how important it is to walk with Him, even during the times in which we struggle.
A worksheet followed which reiterated what we had just learned about Noah and God. Next we read the story of the tower of Babel and discussed how multiple languages were formed. We also discussed why God thought it was important to have people speak in many different languages.
To finish off, we played a bit of "Bible Scrabble". The kids were tasked with using only words that would be found in the Bible. When they placed a word on the board, they had to describe how that word was connected to the Bible. Some of the words were a bit of a stretch (winter and cub for example), but every word got them thinking about how everything comes back to God! After all there was probably a bear cub on Noah's Ark, and God gave us all the seasons, including winter, which is fast approaching!
Some ideas for follow-up at home:
See if the kids can tell you anything about the Bible stories they heard in class. You could also reread them together, especially if they have trouble remembering. Talk about how trusting in God is important when making choices in your everyday life. Find examples of how you can put your trust in God this week.
Practice reciting the Our Father and Hail Mary. Our younger kids especially have said they do not know these prayers well and want to learn them.
Help your kids find ways to pray using their own words. Try using one of the prayer starters above and let your child finish it for you.
October 6, 2019: After being asked the name of our Church (and not knowing the answer), the younger students K, 1st, and 2nd grade students were given an impromptu lesson about St. Francis of Assisi. This was a timely discussion since his feast day was Friday! There is a wonderful storybook in our Library by Juliette Levivier titled Francis: the Poor Man of Assisi, and we sat and read this together. The story shows St. Francis becoming a brother and friend to all - including lepers, the poor, and animals too. The story prompted discussions on the following:
How it feels to be a helper of the poor and sick, to both the giver and recipient.
How God speaks to us in our everyday lives, by helping us make appropriate choices.
How St. Francis helped create the first Nativity scene - which led to a discussion about the members of the Holy Family, which then led to a discussion of our own families and the people who are important to us, including a brief touch on the Sacrament of Baptism and the role our Godparents have in our lives.
The importance of prayer - we practiced making the Sign of the Cross correctly. They were introduced to the Our Father and Hail Mary.
The older students read and discussed the second story of creation, Adam and Eve. In order to apply what we read, we created a sunburst on the wall with God's mercy at the center of it. We then thought about situations where we might need or want God's mercy, and posted them around the outside of the sunburst. This exercise really helped us brainstorm and apply our faith to situations we encounter in our everyday lives. Trust was an important part of our discussion - how we need to trust the Lord and His plan for us. We used the example of how Adam and Eve didn't trust God completely and how Mary did trust our Lord, and how those choices affected their lives and all of our lives. To wrap up our discussion, in an effort to make our prayer time more meaningful, we broke down the Hail Mary line by line, and talked about what each line of the prayer meant.
Some ideas for follow-up at home include:
For all kids:
Reinforce the point that God isn't someone we just encounter on Sundays in Church and talk about how to incorporate God in daily decisions and choices
Find a way you could help someone who is poor or sick - maybe by donating an item to our food basket at the front of the Church, or donating a toy or other item to charity, or making a visit to a nursing home.
For the younger kids:
Tell them about their Baptism day and the exciting celebration that took place. Talk about the family members who were present. See if they can tell you who their Godparents are.
For the older kids:
Practice reciting the Hail Mary and ask them if they can recall the meaning of the words they are reciting. If they can't remember a certain part, write that down so they can ask us at the next class for a reminder.