Back on 4/27/10, I received this comment from Michael N.
It seems that Catholic religion textbooks (we use one designed for schools) are painfully bad…to the point of being almost unusable. I think I’d do much better if they just gave me a religious-themed coloring book!
Any websites you recommend for ideas/content (games, songs, prayers, activities, printable sheets, etc.)??
God bless you!
Michael
Although I don’t agree with Michael’s assessment of Catholic religion textbooks (what we need is for catechists to get better training for how to effectively use textbooks), I understand and share his desire for more activities. Well, Michael (and anyone who is looking for activities for their classroom), I just may have found the answer to your prayer. It’s a new product called Expand the Experience. (I personally worked on grades 7 & 8!)
Here’s how it is described:
The Expand the Experience box includes 120 cards, each with an age-appropriate themed activity ready to enhance your existing lessons. We provide a chart with clear directions on exactly when to use the activities within your existing faith-formation program. Making your faith lessons fun and meaningful has never been this easy!
All activities
- fall under one of six themes—God, Jesus,
The Church, The Sacraments, Morality,
and the Seasons of the Church Year. - have clear instructions on exactly when to use
with your faith formation program - include adaptations for two different grade levels
so all children can participate - engage children in active learning to reinforce
faith messages
Talk to your catechetical leader about acquiring a box for your grade level!
Dare I ask if anyone out there has used this product and has an opinion about it? I love Loyola and I hate to stir up trouble, but I would be interested in hearing experiences with the product. I was recently at a the Boston Symposium for Adolescent Catechesis and “experiential learning” was emphasized. I also read the article you posted about technology, Joe. That article talked about how the way young people learn has changed because of this generation’s involvement with technology. We are going to try to incorporate more experiential learning in our program next year.
Hi Mary and thanks for your comment/request. The product is brand-spanking new so there might not be anyone yet who can comment on it but I certainly invite anyone who can to do so!