“Please, Mr. Paprocki! Pleeeaase!!!”

I had planned to be a “Grinch” last evening and skip taking my class to the Christmas pageant that the first-graders were putting on. I figured that my kids wouldn’t know about the pageant since I hadn’t said anything about it and I would have one more full session before Christmas break to complete the seven Sacraments. I forgot that many of my students have younger siblings! The first girl that came in asked, “Are we […]

The Healing Effect of Oil

Here’s a little tweak on the part of my lesson scheduled for tonight that focuses on the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and the healing effect of oil. I planned to show the healing effect that baby oil can have on a dried leaf. On my way to the train last week, I picked up a few dead leaves to bring home and allowed them to dry out for a day. Of course they […]

Sacraments of Healing and Sacraments of Service

This coming Monday, December 20, 2010, is our last class before the Christmas break. I’m going to use this session to teach the four remaining sacraments: the Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick) and the Sacraments of Service (Matrimony and Holy Orders). I plan to do 4 simple “demonstrations” to introduce each of the 4 sacraments before we read the text and discuss them. Here’s my plan in detail: Sacraments of Healing and Sacraments of […]

A Mixed Bag

Last evening’s session went well for the most part but was a mixed bag. Here’s what I’m talking about: Because of frigid wind chills, I expected low attendance. Instead, I had perfect attendance! While it’s great that they all showed up, I was thrown off…but that’s my own fault for having low expectations. Whenever I have low expectations, the adrenalin isn’t flowin’ so I felt like I was just not hitting the nail on the […]

Keeping it Simple

I plan on keeping things very simple for today’s class for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, we are experiencing brutally cold weather with wind chills of -20 so I have a feeling I’ll be missing a few students tonight. Secondly, we need time to process last weeks’ learning stations on the Sacraments of Initiation, so I intend to just gather with them on the floor and talk through each of the sacraments, asking […]

Thrown a Curveball

This past Monday, as I prepared to teach my lesson on the Sacraments of Initiation using Learning Stations, I was thrown a curveball. As I entered my classroom to get things set up, I saw that the school teacher who uses that room each day had decided to totally re-arrange the classroom! Yikes! I had been mentally visualizing exactly how I was going to set up my learning stations only to find that the furniture […]

Success with Learning Stations (Sacraments of Initiation)

Last evening’s session featuring Learning Stations on the Sacraments of Initiation was a great success! The kids were highly engaged in an activity that invited them to explore the rich symbols of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. I have a complete summary with more pictures below, but I might add here that the only real drawback I experienced was a lack of time (is that any surprise for a catechist?) to be able […]

Learning Stations Tonight – Gettin’ There Early!

I’m excited about tonight’s class: doing Sacraments of Initiation LEARNING STATIONS as I mentioned last week. I did my shopping over the weekend to get the supplies I needed and have them neatly packed into one bag. I called my DRE, Arlene, to ask about getting into the building a little earlier than usual. I think I’ll need about 45 minutes to get everything organized. I look forward to giving you a full and detailed […]

Learning Stations for the Sacraments of Initiation

This one’s a doozy, folks! Sometimes in my planning, I get carried away and this is one of those times. I’ve put together a lesson on the Sacraments of Initiation that involves Learning Stations for the kids. The lesson requires a lot of preparation on the part of the catechist (and a few expenses) but ends up being an activity in which the kids do all the work which is the way it’s supposed to be! […]

4th Graders Understand the “Darkness”

Last evening, we did an Advent procession (to a recording of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel) in our classroom, carrying all of the objects and symbols needed to set up our prayer table/Advent wreath. With the lights dimmed and the first candle lit, I asked them what is happening this time of the year in terms of light and darkness. Of course they noted that darkness is increasing and the light decreasing each day. I mentioned that […]

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