We love this idea from Cindy, a DRE in Illinois: Something I just recently started doing in order to help our families remember to do their lessons each week is send a ‘sparkly’ e-mail about the lesson of the week. I’ve had a few people tell me they really like the reminders because so often [...]
Posted tagged ‘What Worked Well?’
Adding “sparkle” to your program
February 1, 2012All vocations lead to heaven!
January 27, 2012One of our creative catechists made a very eye-catching visual of this truth by taping paths all over her classroom. She demonstrated that even though all the vocational choices are distinct and have certain overlaps, they all move toward the same goal of eternal life in heaven. What a great introduction to last month’s topic! [...]
Being the hands and feet of Jesus
November 15, 2011We were so inspired by the creative interpretation of one DRE on the November lesson of being the hands and feet of Jesus! Children were instructed in their classrooms that they would come back on site the next week for a Family Service Night where their grade would host a service station that corresponded to [...]
Taking the work out of learning the Works
November 6, 2011You can turn just about any lesson into some kind of game and this is an especially effective way to take the drudgery out of learning memory verses. If you’d like a simple (and fun) way to help your child memorize the Corporal Works of Mercy, try this: You’ll need 14 note cards. Prepare them [...]
Fun and games
October 20, 2011One of our creative catechists shared a suggestion for introducing November’s classroom topic, the Corporal Works of Mercy. Instead of just telling the kids what they are, have them discover for themselves through a fun and quick game of Charades! Each of the corporal works requires a giver and a recipient, so pair up your [...]
Casting the nets wide!
October 8, 2011A great idea from one of our distance parishes: This year we’re trying something new. Parents have enjoyed the parent teachings so much, we’re opening it to the parish as an adult catechesis opportunity. I’ve also restructured the home lesson explanation to work for this format.
A sticky situation …
October 1, 2011After today’s first Family Formation class, a catechist told me about a fun and effective way she used to help her young class remember the prayer we say silently before the Gospel at Mass. Each child got three small cross stickers – one to place on each of their foreheads, lips, and heart – to [...]
Motivating responsibility
September 20, 2011Over the years my five kids have had a lot of different catechists for Family Formation and I’ve seen many creative ideas. One of the best ideas to motivate them to think about the classroom requirements throughout the month is setting up some kind of reward system. On a simpler level, the catechist sets up [...]
You are SO together!
September 19, 2011Sometimes I have it all together and sometimes areas of my life could use a basic overhaul, but when it comes to prepping for a new Family Formation year, I find it best to take a cue from the requirements of starting a new school year. Prepared is great but being organized and prepared is [...]
Kickoff!
September 15, 2011Filed under Building Community, Creative Ideas, and Encouragement: Today we heard from a DRE who started her parish’s kickoff event with ice cream floats and decorating with Smarties for the parents to take home and use as Angel Bingo markers for the September Home Lesson. Why Smarties, you ask? “We told them that through Family [...]
Matt Brounstein
Sue Klejeski
Molly Koop
