Friday, November 23, 2007

How to get your catechism class engaged

Catholic Exchange has a great article on how to get your catechism class engaged in the Faith. I was pleasantly surprised to note that I already employ several of these techniques in my bilingual Spanish First Holy Communion Class, including:
1. beginning with a prayer and sometimes a hymn ( since I teach seven year olds, I have to teach the hymn before we can sing it. We are also learning the rosary in English (last year, they learned it in Spanish) and offer our own petitions each week.
2. Including personal examples from my life. This is easy, they are in my home, and opportunities to share are readily available.
3. Listen to their experiences, and incorporate them into the theme of the lesson. I can't count how many times I have used school and home examples from their own lives to illustrate "what God expects of us"(sin) and "how much God has give us and loves us" lessons.
4. Attend their functions. We try to attend the Spanish Mass at least once a month to keep in touch with the families. I am often invited to communion and graduation parties as the guest of honor. I always try to make it.

1 comment:

catholicandgop said...

Thanks for the article. The end of September I started teaching 5 and 6 year olds CCD, and I'm completely clueless. I've been sort of piecing things together as I go.