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Barb.b
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| Posted: March 24 2014 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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Do you do it all at home (some churches let you do "home study" with their curriculum, do you do the classes at church or a combination of both.
How do you like your church's faith formation classes?
Barb
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3ringcircus
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| Posted: March 24 2014 at 9:34am | IP Logged
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Are you referring to CCD? My eldest has to do 2 yrs. of classes at church for the Reconciliation/FHC sacraments. Before that, it is informal home study in addition to Catholic HS coop activities (Blue Knights & rosary).
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Christine
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Barb.b
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| Posted: March 24 2014 at 10:48am | IP Logged
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Yes - CCD; around here they call it "Faith Formation".
At my current parish we have done the home study option (because the curriculum they use is lame!). I am changing parishes and its another diocese. For my son, 6 grade, I am going to try the classes there but supplement at home. I have mixed feelings about it but will give it a go.
I
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JodieLyn
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We do family stuff at home and CCD at the Church, high school uses Life Teen (neat program).
Even if I decide to supplement specifically the information from the Church (it's usually pretty good) I think that the community portion of going to the classes is good for the kids..
Of course the community aspect is only with a decent program.. if the information is too weak and wishy washy, it can cause more problems than it's worth.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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guitarnan
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Our parish requires class attendance for sacramental preparation (FHC, Confirmation). We have done everything else at home, and I wish I had fought harder to do Confirmation prep at home as well. The teachers are lovely people, but my teens were bored in Confirmation class because they already knew 90% of the information being taught, while some of their classmates didn't even know some of the basic prayers.
If I were to do it again, I would have asked more people about the course content and then gone back to the DRE to discuss the possibility of doing home study plus the required retreat/group activities.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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jawgee
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An exception was made to allow us to homeschool our kids' Faith Formation because the FF classes are held during the mass time at our church!
Our church uses Faith and Life. It is definitely thorough and complete, but it is so dry. My oldest did FF through the church for the first several years, and I didn't feel that the curriculum was alive or thought-provoking. It was a standard textbook/workbook setup. Some people liked it. I didn't so much.
This year is the most fun we've had with Faith Formation at home! We don't have a structured program, it's all very fluid. I have to share, though, because I am so pleased with how this year is going.
-my two sons both earned three patches for scouts in the Footsteps of American Saints program.
-we are using the weekly lesson from Pflaum Gospel Weeklies each week to break open the Gospel reading for the kids. We simply read and discuss. I really like it for my kids, and I'll definitely continue using it next year. Our homeschool group did a group buy, so it only cost $11 per student for the year!
-as part of Classically Catholic Memory, the kids memorize information from the Baltimore Catechism. Also, they've memorized some scripture, some events in church history, and some church prayers in Latin.
-We are studying Ancient Egypt for History this year, and as part of that we have been reading through Genesis and Exodus alongside our history readings. We loosely use the Genesis through Deuteronomy handbook from SCM as a guide.
-we memorize scripture verses weekly using the Scripture Memory System as outlined on Simply Charlotte Mason.
-we use the student planners from Pflaum, which are lessons in themselves! They are full of so much information about our faith. We don't use them in-depth. I just ask my kids to do the one short activity in their planner each week. Otherwise, they just notice some of the facts and information in the planner from week to week.
-finally, we read various living books and do crafts to celebrate liturgical seasons.
This year is the first year that our faith is really built into everything else we study. It's not an independent "subject" to complete, but an array of materials and ideas that come alive as we study our various subjects.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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kristinannie
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I send my kids to faith formation. My son is getting his First Communion this year and my daughter will have hers next year. Our church uses Faith and Life which is a solid program which I find to be just fine. My kids enjoy the fellowship with other children from church. I think it makes them feel connected to the church as well.
There are not many homeschooling families in our church and I am not sure what the policy would be if I pulled my kids. That said, I like having them go. They really don't learn much because we do religion at home and most of the other kids really don't know anything about their faith so they really just give the basics and do a lot of crafts.
I would pull my kids in a minute if they were using a questionable curriculum. I was faith formation coordinator last year and quit this year because the new priest forced me to use a terrible program. I would never send high school kids now. However, he left Faith and Life in the elementary and middle school classes so I will continue to send them. I don't feel guilty when we miss Sunday classes though when we are sick or out of town. 
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mariB
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Our parish/diocese requires our kids to attend the faith formation classes. We homeschool so we incorporate learning about our faith through domestic church activities, catechism, and the Bible at home.
This year I was asked to teach the 3rd/4th graders at our church and I am loving it! It has been a real blessing to me.
All the volunteers for the faith formation classes put so much time into their lessons...it made me appreciate all that they have done over the years.
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marib-Mother to 22ds,21ds,18ds,15dd,11dd and wife to an amazing man for 23 years
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Misty
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We teach at home, including for sacraments. I only had to meet with our parish youth director and FF director prior to show them what I would be teaching. Then when there are group activities for 1st Communion, penance or confirmation we get a letter letting us know when to come and be there. This has worked out well and has been a wonderful mix for us and our church. I know many parishes that are not as accommodating around here and don't allow home school families any option other than the parish programs.
The main reason we decided to do it from home was travel, gas, time frames and issues we were having with the public school kids (as our parish has a school attached) and their attitude/mouths they were obvious each night as we went to pick our children back up. I know we are protective but I felt it was over board and they were very accommodating so it worked out for us.
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Misty
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SeaStar
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We were able to do all our FHC prep at home. We know our DRE at church well, and she had my kids in the Good Shepherd atrium for years.
For confirmation, though, we would most likely be forced to attend the program at our church, which is two years. I have very mixed feelings about that- I don't feel like the faith formation program for older kids at this church is rock solid. The DRE for that likes co-ed lock-ins, etc. I would have to attend all the meetings with my kids to see what exactly is being taught and how.
I would almost rather have my dc receive confirmation as adults than have them sit through classes that I think are not appropriate. I would not hesitate to pull them out if needed.
Otherwise, we do faith formation at home. For the past three years we have used Family Faith Formation, the program from St. Paul's in MN. It has been great- so thorough and not dull at all. It runs K-8.
This year during Lent I have been reading The Faith Explained, which I have had on my shelf for years but never paid much attention to .
I am finding it a fantastic read- I use little tidbits from it every day in talking to my kids about the faith. I could totally see working through this book- read and discuss- with my kids when they are teens. It's very readable, and Fr. Trese gives great examples.
Plus, it is all so interesting (to me, anyway). I never realized that even after you have died you can still receive the Anointing of the SIck. Fr. Trese explains well why this is possible. Also, he walks you through how and why things like anger and small insults are breaking the "thou shalt not kill" commandment. I can then turn around and help my kids understand it better. 
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JodieLyn
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What ages is your Confirmation? we do 6th and 7th grade here so they're not into the "youth program" (which is Life Teen and excellent) yet.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Misty
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Penance and 1st Communion are done in 2nd grade. Confirmation is done 9th-10th grade. Although, again for us they let us do the program in one year after talking with me. So my son will make his confirmation this year in 9th grade. We were also able to meet all the requirements with no problem that the director has issues getting his 2 year students to accomplish.
Our parishes here in MN seem to vary greatly from being confirmed in 8th to not getting confirmed until 11th. Whe are your parishes having the kid confirmed?
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Misty
Mom to ds16, ds15, ds13, ds11, ds8, dd6, dd4
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ekbell
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Our parish just has brief eight week sessions for sacramental preparation as the local Catholic schools and/or parents are expected to provide the solid grounding.
Our parish is a fairly busy one so scheduling more time for children's lessons would be difficult particularly as they strongly encourage parental involvement.
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folklaur
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We ask each child what they want to do for the upcoming year. Since we have the option of doing it at home, sometimes they choose that. Other times, they enjoy going and being in the class. Depends on the age and child's temperament, mostly.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Tell me about your faith formation. . .
