Articles by Cindy Coleman

About Cindy Coleman

Cindy Coleman is a second-grade catechist and VBS leader at both her home parish of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer in Montgomeryville, PA, and at St. Jude Parish in Chalfont, PA. She has been a catechist for over 25 years. Cindy is also the co-coordinator of her parish’s Liturgy of the Word with Children. Among her other parish activities, she is excited about the new WINE (Women in the New Evangelization) group she just started at her home parish. She is married to Ron and the proud mother of Matt, who just graduated from the University of Notre Dame.

stained glass of the Resurrection - detail of the Glorious Mysteries - image by Daniel VILLAFRUELA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection and Hope in the Darkness

Cindy Coleman

We reflect this Easter season on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. One way of praying that has been very fruitful for me is Ignatian contemplation, which is a way of praying with my imagination. I envision myself as being present inside a story from Scripture, participating in it as it unfolds. When I contemplate the Resurrection, there are so many different scenes and people that fill my mind. Jesus’ Resurrection remains the focus, of […]

stopwatch - image by Memed_Nurrohmad from Pixabay

An Icebreaker for Remote Learning Sessions: The One-Minute Challenge

Cindy Coleman

Like many catechists, I have had the novel task this year of teaching faith formation remotely. My students are second graders preparing for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Late last summer, when we were told that we would be moving to remote learning, I spent hours watching webinars on remote catechesis, viewing videos from teachers on distance learning, and joining in teacher Facebook groups for online teaching. I was grateful to find the template […]

Leading Guided Reflections with Second Graders

Cindy Coleman

I’ve shared before how I introduce my second graders to a variety of prayer experiences. However, my favorite prayer experiences with them are guided reflections. In a guided reflection, I lead the children step-by-step to imagine meeting Jesus, talking with him, and listening to him. I’m thankful that my God’s Gift books include guided reflections paired to several of our lessons. Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts also includes guided reflections at every grade […]

Bible Bell Work

Cindy Coleman

I always have “bell work” for children to begin as soon as they arrive in the classroom. These are short activities that engage early arrivals as the rest of the class arrives during the first 10–15 minutes. While students are doing their bell work, I can take attendance, check homework, hand back completed work, and attend to other tasks, like notes from parents. One of the easiest forms of bell work I have is Bible […]

Simple Classroom Review Games

Cindy Coleman

Using games in my faith formation class brings an element of fun that results in both engagement and positive responses from the children. At the beginning of almost every session, one of the children will ask, “Are we going to play a game today?” My answer is often “Yes.” Any catechist can take a simple list of questions or vocabulary words and use these for classroom review games with little or no preparation. I like […]

Fidelis, the Advent Angel

Cindy Coleman

Celebrating Advent with my second graders is a combination of traditional elements—such as praying around an Advent wreath—along with visits from Fidelis, our Advent Angel, and performing Advent acts of kindness. We start sessions with a short prayer service around the Advent wreath on our prayer table. The prayer service includes a Scripture reading, intercessions, and singing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Since we can’t use lit candles, we tape a paper cutout of a […]

All Saints Day Celebration

Cindy Coleman

My favorite session of the year is our celebration of All Saints Day on the class preceding November 1. It combines storytelling (one of my favorite ways to catechize) and direct instruction with a dose of games that make for excitement on the part of the children. With this session I’m hoping to leave some knowledge about saints and also a positive association with the fun games. I also use this opportunity to get parents […]

calendar planning - image by Olga Oginskaya from Pixabay

How a Yearly Calendar Helps Me as a Catechist

Cindy Coleman

When I start seeing back-to-school sales I know it’s time to put together my yearly calendar for planning my upcoming year as a catechist. When I first became a catechist, I just flowed through the year with no overall plan. I would read over the next lesson in my teacher guide several days before an upcoming class and then present it from the book. That was not my best effort, and I remember scrambling at […]

woman sitting on bench - text of quote: "It is good that we ask questions about our faith, because in this way we are pushed to deepen it." -Pope Francis in On Faith

Asking Questions About Our Faith

Cindy Coleman

Questions are important, but I have never been someone who asked questions. Rather, I have always been eager to answer questions. Whether in a classroom as a child, in college, or as an adult, I readily raise my hand to answer an instructor’s question. I am always ready to answer Jeopardy questions aloud to my television, respond to questions in Facebook groups, or join my friends on most Tuesdays for our weekly trivia quiz night. By […]

Introducing Children to the Blessed Mother

Cindy Coleman

Throughout the faith formation year, I devote part of my lessons to introducing the children to the Blessed Mother. Whenever I teach about Mary, my goal is for the children to know that: Mary is our mother; Mary is our best model of faith; and Mary said yes to God, and we can say yes to God too. My lessons on Mary are based on the liturgical year. I begin in October, which is dedicated […]