Now that my blog is coming up on its 2nd anniversary, it’s time to give my site a little “face-lift!” In just a few days, you’ll notice that Catechist’s Journey has a new look to it while maintaining the same quality content that you’ve come to enjoy. In addition to the new look, my blog will also be integrated into the new Loyola Press Web site www.loyolapress.com. For the past 7 years, I have had […]
It’s hard to believe that we are already moving on to the 3rd unit of our text book this year – Church history. The challenge, of course, is making history relevant for kids. I’ve always been a bit of a history buff (In college, I double-majored in theology and history!) and I feel that history provides us with many lessons for life. Perhaps the best image that I can think of for approaching the concept […]
Several weeks ago, I was interviewed by Frank Morock for Catholic Bookmarks Radio (sponsored by the United States Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops) about my book A Well-Built Faith. That interview is now posted on the USCCB web site and the link is provided below. You’re welcome to listen if you have a chance. Program 845 By ccc@usccb.org (Catholic Communication Campaign) Interview with Joe Paprocki, author of “A Well-Built Faith,” A book to help Catholics […]
I hate the phrase “catch-up” catechesis but you know what I’m talking about…kids who come to R.E. programs having missed some years of R.E. and having missed reception of First Penance, First Communion, or Confirmation. Think this is a small problem for DREs? Think again. I recently asked a number of DREs to share some thoughts on this issue and here is a glimpse of what I got. You’re welcome to add your thoughts and […]
I’m still interested in hearing more suggestions about how kids can evangelize (in the spirit of St. Paul) in practical everyday ways…see my post from yesterday. We have to find ways of helping kids to be authentic evangelizers and Christian witnesses. One thing they fear greatly is being stereotyped. They don’t want to be viewed as a type of “Flanders” – the character from The Simpsons who (along with his kids Rod and Todd) is the […]
Lots of people have been asking me about resources for the Year of St. Paul to use with kids. To be honest, most of the resources I have come across are simply books or articles. Good stuff, but not a lot about activities we can do with kids. Lo and behold, this coming Monday, the chapter I’m teaching is about Peter and Paul telling the world about Jesus! So now I’m searching far and wide for something […]
Last night, we spent the evening getting to know Jesus better. Here are some highlights. First we had a fire drill..all went well. I began by playing our “song of the week” – Shania Twain’s “Wanna Get to Know You.” (see yesterday’s post for some of the lyrics) I talked about how 2 people in love want to get to know one another and explained that this is our theme for the evening: we want […]
This week’s “song of the week” for my 8th graders is a song from Shania Twain titled, Wanna Get to Know You. As we focus tonight on getting to know Jesus: his world, his words, his miracles, his people, and his death and resurrection, I thought this song would be appropriate. Here’s a sampling of some of the lyrics: I don’t wanna hurry I wanna take a lifetime to memorize your face Wanna know you […]
I mentioned yesterday that I was preparing 5 learning stations on Jesus to use this coming Monday. The 5 learning stations are the following: The world of Jesus The people of Jesus The words of Jesus The miracles of Jesus The death and resurrection of Jesus I’ve drawn these 5 categories from the book Jesus: A Gospel Portrait by Fr. Donald Senior (Paulist Press, 1992). They are available in PDF format. Click on each of […]
I am preparing 5 learning stations on Jesus to use in my next session. The 5 learning stations are the following: The world of Jesus The people of Jesus The words of Jesus The actions of Jesus The death and resurrection of Jesus I’ve drawn these 5 categories from the book Jesus: A Gospel Portrait by Fr. Donald Senior (Paulist Press, 1992). I plan to make these available as PDFs for anyone interested. First, I […]
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