Author | |
SeaStar Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 9068
|
Posted: Sept 07 2015 at 11:09am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I will be teaching grade 7 catechism at church this year.
The theme of the year is Discipleship. The text I was given to work from is Grade 7 from the "Finding God" series, which I am finding a bit cumbersome to work from. Fortunately it is only a base text; I am free to make it work in whatever ways I can.
So, I am looking for ways to illustrate what discipleship looks like.... I plan to use the Champions of Faith dvd and also Matthew Kelly's cd "My Spiritual Journey".
I am looking for other dvds, cds, music or even youTube clips that will speak to 7th graders about our faith. Any suggestions are welcome!
__________________ Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
|
Back to Top |
|
|
SeaStar Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 9068
|
Posted: Sept 08 2015 at 11:34am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Bump- anyone?
__________________ Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
|
Back to Top |
|
|
anitamarie Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 15 2008
Online Status: Offline Posts: 819
|
Posted: Sept 08 2015 at 12:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I personally think that a big part of discipleship is attaining the virtues of Christ. The book Growing in the Virtues of Jesus might be a good resource. CHC recommends it for Seventh Grade, as well.
I don't know if this is what you had in mind, but it is the first thing I thought of.
What do you mean by discipleship? What does that look like to you?
I have a friend who made an acrostic of the word disciple to flesh out what that meant to her and teaching her chilldren.
|
Back to Top |
|
|
JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline Posts: 12234
|
Posted: Sept 08 2015 at 1:34pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Here's a definition I found...
Discipleship means following Jesus rather than accommodating oneself to the demands and pressures of civil society.
With this definition.. I would want to teach that questions are ok.. that what's important is what we do with those questions.. do we listen to those who are anti-Catholic or anti-religion or do we go to the Church and find answers to our questions there.
Also community.. it's really hard to stand alone against society and so being a part of the Church community is very important.. and how can you foster that.. not just friendships between children but a connection to the Church community as a whole.
__________________ 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
|
Back to Top |
|
|
SeaStar Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 9068
|
Posted: Sept 09 2015 at 5:51am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thank you. ladies, for your input!
Some of the kids I will be teaching will only be there as a requirement for confirmation. They might not have had any religious education since FHC. So, I am looking for ways to help them reconnect with the church community and God.
I am looking for real life examples of discipleship to inspire them- spotlighting saints and different people (in history and in modern times) who have been bold for Christ, who have gone against the norm of the times, etc.
I want them to understand that disciples are real people, today, not just saints on holy cards. I would like to explore how to become a disciple, touching on prayer, the Bible, service, courage , and focusing on God's way, not the world's way. I want to stress that they can have a real relationship of their own with God.
I will have a variety of learning styles in my class, so I am looking for audio and video resources, as well as games and projects. Each class is 90 minutes long.
The text I have been given, Finding God (from Loyola), makes my head spin. There is soon much information for each session, and to me it seems like it is all a jumble that has to be picked through... there would be no way to cover it all in a single class.
Is the Growing in Virtues book fairly user friendly? I see that it is 200 plus pages.... more of a resource for me than the kids.
I have the Catholicism dvd series by Fr. Barron to use in addition to the resources I have already mentioned. There are some really good segments in that I will be able to use.
I guess, most of all, I want the kids to walk away with a sense of how much God loves and cares for them, and how dynamic our Catholic faith is... or can be.
__________________ Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
|
Back to Top |
|
|
anitamarie Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 15 2008
Online Status: Offline Posts: 819
|
Posted: Sept 11 2015 at 6:51am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Have you looked atAblaze and Radiate.
Saints and Social Justice might be a little above them, but maybe could be a resource.
What about some of Matthew Kelly's videos? Could you use some of the ones from Decision Point? Not necessarily all of them, since it isn't a Confirmation class.
I do think the Virtues book would be a resource for you to help them understand holiness as part of the calling.
Good luck and thank you for being a Catechist. That is a lot of work and very under-appreciated.
|
Back to Top |
|
|
CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline Posts: 6385
|
Posted: Sept 11 2015 at 7:28am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Some of the ideas in this thread might be helpful, Melinda. I know you posted on it, but I wasn't sure if you'd revisited it. The "Chosen" program from Ascension Press seems ideal for your situation.
Also, some of the materials in the Virtues in Practice program might be helpful. They are free.
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Aagot Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 06 2010
Online Status: Offline Posts: 649
|
Posted: Sept 11 2015 at 9:01am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I would use Chosen. It is well done and will reach everyone. There area two silly sections that drove me crazy but I am over it. Lol
It really tied up all the loose ends
This is really your one stop shop as far as confirmation prep, discipleship, evangelization, inspiring saints and heros, covering all the basics etc. the only issue is, will they cover the cost? The dvd is great but the book is important too. Not sure if your church would buy one for each kid. I did not need the teacher or sponsor books.
I have also used Catholicism. And it is good but not as "all encompasing" . Are you needing to piece this together your self or will your church buy what you need?
|
Back to Top |
|
|
SeaStar Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 9068
|
Posted: Sept 11 2015 at 11:11am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thank you for all these wonderful suggestions!
At our church, Confirmation prep starts in 7th grade, goes through 8th, and then Confirmation is in the fall of 9th. The prep includes a special Confirmation series outside the normal faith formation classes.
Our church does have the Chosen program and uses parts of it for the Confirmation series, but I don't know which parts. However, I could get a hold of a copy and use at least some of it. I also found several of the episodes on Youtube for free. I would just buy my own copy, but it is so darn expensive. I am on the hunt for a used version.
I also found Altaration from Ascension press that looks promising, and again. my church has a copy (though no one has ever watched it!). I would be the first to view it, amazingly. But I am picking it up on Sunday and will also see at that time if I can get Chosen.
If I could do confirmation prep at home with my kids, I would definitely go with Chosen, but the church here is not going to make that easy for me. But since I am going to teach 7th, and I know the woman teaching 8th, I am OK with that. I also like that the church is giving me a lot of freedom to tailor the program as I see fit. Also- I think it's not a bad idea for my kids to get to know the other kids they will be receiving this sacrament with.
Anyway- I am off to look at Decision Point and all the other suggestions.
Would you all pray for me? I don't want to scare anyone away in my enthusiasm
__________________ Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
|
Back to Top |
|
|
SeaStar Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 9068
|
Posted: Sept 11 2015 at 11:19am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I did manage to pick up a copy of the Catholicism dvd set on eBay pretty cheaply last week
The church here also has a copy, but I don't feel like I can keep the whole set checked out all year to use at my leisure..
__________________ Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
|
Back to Top |
|
|