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Kathryn
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| Posted: July 20 2012 at 11:38pm | IP Logged
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So we've floundered in any "formal" religion study in a consistent day-to-day text, reading, workbook etc. We've done some BC, some daily Bible readings, Saint stories, at one point we did Seton Religion (they did F & L when they were at the church school but that was 4 years ago). DD has read a ton of "Catholic" stories but again, that doesn't really feed the history and growth of our faith and their knowledge.
So, I guess assuming I can make our day start with religion and considering they've not spiraled up from some of the F&L or Seton books, what should I do for my 6th and 8th grader this year to really immerse them more in the teachings of the faith? I really like the idea of them having to do something every day but we've always done Religion together but I think that's the problem in that we get in a time crunch and I can't offer one on one "Religion" to each child at their level. Is it ok for them to have a workbook to read and answer some questions even as dry as it sounds? Should I have them do their own workbook in say F & L or Seton or BC each day? If so, should I start at their current grade level?
Thanks,
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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guitarnan
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| Posted: July 21 2012 at 12:23am | IP Logged
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It's definitely okay to go with F&L workbooks; we found that the textbooks covered a lot of important material in a very concise way, so if your children are reasonably close in ability/understanding, you could read the lessons in one F&L book, use workbooks and add in Bible readings and saint stories to add a living learning component. (Bible could be the Sunday readings, study of a particular book of the Bible, readings from Magnificat, etc.)
If you're studying history of a specific place or period, tying in saint stories from that place or time can really bring history alive. There are lots of old threads here on 4Real that could help you find resources.
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jawgee
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| Posted: July 21 2012 at 5:24am | IP Logged
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Here are some things we've done and some things I'd like to implement in future years:
-right now my kids are doing Faith and Life online. F&L is a requirement for our parish's Faith Formation program.
-we start our day with Living Faith Kids, although at that age they may want to switch over to Magnificat or something like it.
-my older two are doing the Footsteps of American Saints patch program with scouts, but the program is open to anyone.
-we choose different saint biographies for different times of year, too. My 10YO especially loved The True Saint Nicholas last year.
-Next year I am planning to do the Great Adventure Kid's Pack. I did the Bible Timeline last year at my parish, and I love that they have a kids' version available.
-we memorize one passage from scripture each week. I find, in my Magnificat, a reading that will be in the upcoming Sunday's mass, and we work on that throughout the week.
-The Prove It! series looks excellent. I've had the chance to flip through a few of them and plan to use them when my kids are a little older.
Hope that helps some.
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Monica
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amarytbc
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| Posted: July 21 2012 at 9:48am | IP Logged
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Really ponder your goal for these children before you pick material, because a lot of material lends itself to q/a and it sounds like that is what you might need this year. I reached a decision when I realized our dd, who is 11 and has been exposed to the lives of the saints, BC, apologetics and adult catechesis for years, really needed something geared more to her age that would allow her to integrate what she knew. I also wanted something more formal and that would fit easily into lesson plans because we have a lot of running to do this coming year. I finally settled on:
-Faith and Life 8
-DYOCC study of Acts (which fits well with the theme of LF8)
-Virtue study, probably using CHC virtue tree which is in their middle school plans.
This would work for a 6th and 8th grader.
Her older sister is also sheiscatholic so I'll be using some of her videos that focus heavily on either devotional or doctrinal themes. 11 dd is in one of the videos that, while not doctrinal, is very funny. I'll link it below
How Not to Act in Church
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SallyT
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My older son did the CHC Virtue Tree (on his own) two years ago, in 7th grade, and liked it very much. We have also loved the Prove It! books in middle school -- they're "officially" geared toward high-schoolers, but easily accessible and attractive for teens and tweens, and in one sense I think they fit better for this age group, as a stepping stone to more serious and in-depth study (via Didache books, saints' writings, &c) in high school.
I would also think F&L would still be more than appropriate for this age. My kids use it in our parish Faith Formation program, and so I tend to use other resources at home, but of course the whole series is excellent.
I also wouldn't overlook the possibility of using the Liturgy of the Hours with kids this age -- not all the hours, but perhaps starting the day with Morning Prayer and ending at bedtime with Compline (if you don't do these things already). Praying the Psalms, and praying with the Church, is a beautiful discipline and participation in the life of the Holy Trinity, and this would be an ideal age to introduce that (again, if you haven't already).
Sally
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Aagot
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Sally,
Would you say the book " growing in the virtues if Jesus" is appropriate to just hand to a 7th grader or did you feel the "viitue tree" (part of the chc plans) is essential to the sucess your son experienced. I guess I am just trying to understand what was included in "the virtue tree".
Thanks,
Aagot
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Religion for Middle Schoolers
