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marianne
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 10:50am | IP Logged
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I saw the other thread and read it with interest. My kids do NOT like CCD. We originally wanted them to do it, just to have that one hour a week in a classroom setting and have a "community" experience as they prepare for FHC and all that. But they complain every week that it is boring and when I look at the materials, I can see exactly what they are saying. Dd spent 5 weeks learning about the Holy Spirit and doing coloring pages and worksheets on that one topic.
I have several concerns though - I was not raised Catholic and I would need help teaching religion topics to them in any in depth way. I love the look of the new Catholic Mosaic book that is out - how do you order that? Are there any other recommendations for elementary school? We read the Bible every day, but other than that? My other concern is time - we are
s t r e t c h e d as it is in our school time and more added into our homeschool day might put us over the edge. Is CM time consuming? Thanks for the advice.
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 11:32pm | IP Logged
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CHC has a wonderful First Communion Prep and a good 3rd grade year too - activities and Faith and Life. I found all their hands on suggestions helpful. It doesn't take a ton of time. And - based on dc ages, you could probably do the same year with both the two oldest. The rest will learn all they need from Bible stories, celebrating the liturgical year with all (many suggestions in CHC stuff for this) and listening in.
CHC is not terribly burdensome, and not too time consuming.
I'm sure there are many other suggestions from other folks. A bunch of people have great ideas on notebooking - I just haven't been up to that yet.
Janet
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Dawn
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| Posted: June 22 2006 at 5:03am | IP Logged
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Marianne, I know how you feel about the CCD program. My oldest (11 today!) did grade 2 and I pulled him out halfway through 3rd because I was so unhappy with the program. We used CHC materials (and others) to incorporate religious ed. into our everyday studies at home.
That was at our old parish. We are at a new one, and have homeschooled CCD so far, but did sign up our older two for the fall, mainly because 2nd grader will be making his FHC and I'd like him to know the group. The 11 yo is really eager to get to know other kids in our parish. So we'll see how it goes.
I actually don't plan to change a thing we do at home ~ we'll still continue our religous studies and faith formation and celebrating the liturgical year. And Cay's book will play a central role in all that. (By the way you can order it at Hillside Education.)
This year I look at CCD as a social thing, but if I find the same problems as I did during our last experience I wouldn't hesitate to pull them out.
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Dawn
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| Posted: June 22 2006 at 5:06am | IP Logged
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I just re-read your post, and realized you were asking about fitting religious ed. into your homeschooling schedule. And here I babbled on about our CCD experience. 
As Janet mentioned, there are many folks here with great ideas. I will try to post again with more relevant thoughts! 
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: June 22 2006 at 7:15am | IP Logged
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Marianne,
I found the Faith and Life series great for FHC prep!! We also used the St. Joseph New Baltimore Catechism. Ds went to RE for half of first grade and it was a good experience using Faith First. Though, I don't enjoy using FF at home. I find it a little watered down and F&L is just easier for me to do with him--seems like a shorter lesson, they get to the point quicker and he enjoys it.
We moved half way through his first grade year in January. It took us a long time to find our church home here so I kept him with me, learning as usual. We finally found our parish, the month before his FHC.
Because he was doing his FHC early(October) and not in our new "home" parish he went through MANY interviews(our new church here, the First Communion church there, pastor here, RE Director here-sigh)to make sure he was ready. He was so prepared people were impressed. I was impressed.
I think you can do it. I didn't learn much during my RE experiences and am learning right along with my kids. Faith and Life has short lessons, we do them once or twice a week during breakfast. We also do the activity book. Ds enjoyed the coloring pages(as did dd who is 3 and loves Mary-she colored all the Mary pictures:), word searches, comprehension questions, puzzles, last week he enjoyed drawing his own monstance :) Other mornings during the week we read MagnifiKid or saint stories. It has been so much fun to grow in our faith together.
Good luck to you!
Anne
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 22 2006 at 12:35pm | IP Logged
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Being a convert doesn't put you at any more disadvantage than most of us that were born Catholic. I know I knew less than most converts when I started teaching mine. I grew up in the aftermath of some of the silly experiments and my religious ed was - "Jesus loves you - be nice."
I didn't know the ten commandments, wasn't familiar with the Bible (until I started going to evangelical groups - never actually left the faith but came mighty close simply because I didn't know it). We didn't grow up praying the rosary or celebrating various feasts so this was all new territory for me and I needed lots of help here to rebuild a Catholic culture in my home (still working on it). Catholic schools were not available where I was (and even if they had been most were teaching error at the time or severely watering down the faith). The first life of a saint I read was when I ordered a whole series for my dd just before they went out of print - and stayed up all night reading every one of them. I think my dd was just beginning to read then. I distinctly remember being angry at my "Catholic" college history courses for distorting the history they taught by leaving out everything good about Catholics. I got a typical secular education at a Jesuit institution. I was a very confused young lady for a long time - and determined that I'd at least know what the heck my dc were being taught by doing it myself.
I think a lot of the community aspect in CCD is overrated. The intention is good - but in the process, the truth is turned upside down. If we are connected to Christ the head, then we will be brothers and sisters in Christ and a certain common goal of growing in faith and love will bond us. This doesn't mean we will be bosom buddies with everyone, but we will pray for one another, assist one another, etc.
We can also love and care for one another in many ways - being a joiner, and the social justice projects are fine but without Christ's love as the main reason, they are a bunch of projects for our own ego. If we are not connected to Christ the head, then no amount of "pretend" or trying to force bonding is ever going to work.
Our dd attended CCD for Confirmation Prep. There was nothing horrible - we did our own retreat and the DRE was making a sincere effort to give them meat. However, my dd conclusion: she nicknamed classes the community picnic club because the vast majority of time was spent snacking, chatting (and the girls all were boy crazy), and then when they finally got around to the meat, they had to rush through to get done in time - all the while kids popping up and down to refill their drinks and replinish snacks. The unintended message that came through loud and clear to my dd was that the faith wasn't nearly as important as having a good time with friends and getting to know more people. Same thing happened with practice for Confirmation - where you stood, how the photographer was going to take pics - all this seemed more important than the actual intimate sacramental moment with Christ. Our dd went away wanting nothing to do with the youth group or CCD and was no more bonded with the kids than if she had never gone. She actually was more turned off.
Going to the Confirmation classes wasn't harmful to her short term - but going to classes like this year after year would be harmful. If the important thing is the socializing then to be quite frank about it - the Protestant churches do a much better job with the youth.
We also find that we prefer not to be a part of the larger group - not because of being unwilling to be a part - but because of the experimentation that is inevitably fostered on our dc at these sacramental moments. (Childrens liturgies for First Communion, plays instead of or in addition to homilies, "dance", the focus on staging everything just so instead of on Christ (photographer on the altar, no time planned for dc to prepare for Mass or to offer a thanksgiving after Mass, etc.) So, what I am trying to say is that you shouldn't feel badly if you want to skip CCD even if the content is not bad - there are other subtler messages and we are the ones responsible for making decisions for our children.
Also do not be afraid of not knowing enough - that is the best attitude to approach the whole thing anyways.
You basically learn along with the children - and I think it is one of the reasons God wanted us to homeschool - so I would learn and grow in my faith.
That aspect becomes one of the great joys of teaching the faith. I find my children asking me questions where we have to think, and look for answers and ask questions of our pastor. Their lessons become a mini examination of conscience for me - inevitably I'm teaching something that I just ignored in my own life and my own failings become a part of the lesson. Or I learn for the first time, something I never knew before - like making an offering of myself when the gifts are brought up (first time I prepared a child for First Communion), sacrifice (this was a word deleted from all catechisis for so many years), etc. It is a wonderful journey and I'd rather do less on other things than drop this. If math is a little boring because I'm not a great teacher - Oh well, I try to do better but dc will recover or learn math simply because they make a sacrifice of those noxious math lessons. Because we are learning the faith together, it is always a wonderful journey and supports anything else that is lacking.
Hope I haven't sidetracked your thread too much - but did want to offer encouragement. Teaching CCD at home is a wonderful journey - especially for those of us that didn't grow up in the faith (whether because it was never presented to us properly or because we were not Catholic at the time).
Janet
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Interested in NOT doing CCD
