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Becky Parker
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 10:04am | IP Logged
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So how about Religion? I know that following the Liturgical year lends itself to some really creative activities and there are books, especially Catholic Mosaic, that fits this sort of study perfectly. But what if we use a text book too? I use the Faith and Life text books and the Baltimore Catechism, again, as a spine. I want to make sure that while my kids are learning the Liturgical Year information, they are also getting the basics of our faith (something I didn't get much of!) Any simple ways to make them a more creative experience? I really don't like the workbooks! But I do like the texts and at this point we just read and discuss them. Any ideas for bringing in some creativity that might help the lesson to stick?
(I'm editing to add that I think the hands on aspect of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is really great, but without the training, or really, the time to put it all together, I'm hoping for some ideas outside of that.)
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 10:20am | IP Logged
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I like to use Mead's Primary Journal for writing (dictation, or narration) and also drawing. You can get them pretty inexpensively at Wal-Mart, so you could have several going at a time. This is how we flesh out some of our subjects, make it more creative. Sometimes communication can be in pictures, not just words. Or inexpensive Sketchbooks could be dedicated to each subject, to elaborate on what we are learning.
I also think the ideas shared previously, like First Communion Notebooks, Confirmation Notebooks, Easter Vigil Notebooks, different types of lapbooks, would be taking this idea further. Symbolism, Mass book, the Sacraments. I'm not as creative here, but I do find the little journals are enjoyable. For Advent I had an "Alphabet Advent" with each day in Advent a letter of the Alphabet. We had corresponding picture books to read. Then we had a journal that my son wrote the words of the day, sometimes a sentence that summarized what we learned, and then a drawing. We didn't do every letter, but it was memorable.
For me, I need to see the big picture of what we are trying to learn by the end of the year. Take religion, for example, learn certain prayers, be able to know some of the catechism questions, identify or know some important Bible stories, life of Christ, familiarity with the Liturgy and Sacraments, Saints, etc. So, like you, I do like to look at the scope and sequence for religion curriculum, and then find ways so it's not just "filling a bucket, but lighting a fire". And this fire is really important, the most important of all, because it's the Love of God and His Church.
I don't want it to be loosey-goosey or haphazard. Learning for us also includes self-discipline. Although it's not for all ages, the discussion on this thread by SuzanneG are some great examples and illustrations of fleshing out religion so it's not just sit down subject, but across the curriculum and the family life.
These are just some vague ideas, not substantial. And for some strange reason I'm feeling like deja vu...did I write something like this earlier. Hmmmm...
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 10:21am | IP Logged
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Becky,
The Faith and Life texts have STUNNING artwork. How about using the art featured for the week as your picture study. You could introduce the artwork one day discussing how it relates to this week's lesson, perhaps one day could be spent discussing the artist briefly, maybe viewing some of the artist's other popular work, and then perhaps on Friday you could have the children work on an art project or recreation of the artwork on their own.
We also like to make games out of quizzing each other with the Baltimore Catechism. That really adds a spark of competition to the learning!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 10:24am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
Becky,
The Faith and Life texts have STUNNING artwork. How about using the art featured for the week as your picture study. You could introduce the artwork one day discussing how it relates to this week's lesson, perhaps one day could be spent discussing the artist briefly, maybe viewing some of the artist's other popular work, and then perhaps on Friday you could have the children work on an art project or recreation of the artwork on their own. |
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Oh, yes, Jen! Good point! I forgot how I've been doing that...not Faith and Life, but using beautiful artwork to illustrate some of the liturgy and liturgical year. I made a daily display this Lent which has a work of art to illustrate the Gospel of the day. It's been wonderful.
Then I also made the Stations of Light for Easter using artwork to illustrate. The wonderful art gives so much room for contemplation.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 10:29am | IP Logged
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Adding that we love using this resource for helping us understand the beautiful symbolism in Sacred Art -
Signs and Symbols in Christian Art by George Ferguson.
You can also find out a lot by googling around online.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 10:31am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
Adding that we love using this resource for helping us understand the beautiful symbolism in Sacred Art -
Signs and Symbols in Christian Art by George Ferguson.
You can also find out a lot by googling around online. |
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If we haven't, we probably should have a separate thread for just symbolism and resources. I have tons. This is one of my favorite areas. We carry the understanding of symbols for everything, but especially at Easter with the rich liturgy and then Easter eggs.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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ekbell
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| Posted: March 03 2010 at 4:30pm | IP Logged
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I've found the Faith Folders from here, Lapbooks for Catholics have worked well as a supplement to our Catechism. My daughters have enjoyed decorating our folders with appropriate symbols.
The Art Masters Enhance Religion program also works well as means of adding creative possibilities to a religion program. It's primarily an art appreciation program but the pictures are chosen according to the themes and topics normally covered by catechism classes for those grade levels.
I have the Junior High Homeschool edition (or confirmation preparation edition). For each print there is a religious theme, discussion of the artist and artwork, and various projects both creative and research oriented, many focusing on the religious theme.
BTW I'm using Mary Daly's First Timeline successfully with my eight and six year olds. I add more reading particularly for the eight year old but she still likes the little stories that go with the Timeline figures.
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Creativity-centered Learning Programs
