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Lent

Lent 2013: Here Are My 40 Ideas for 40 Days!

Just in time for Lent, here are my 40 Ideas for 40 Days! Special thanks to my colleague Linnette Mathys for getting all of these ready for posting! New this year: each activity can now be downloaded as a Blackline Master in PDF form! See the bottom of each activity for a link to download and print these PDFs!   Also, don’t miss my Lenten Webinar, coming up on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. Click on […]

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Catechetical Leaders

A “Typical” Year in the Life of a Catechetical Leader/DRE

A couple of years ago, I posted a chart outlining the “typical” responsibilities that a catechetical leader/DRE is faced with over the course of a year and I received great feedback and suggestions on how to flesh that out and make it more accurate. I recently pulled that chart back out, did some updating, and invited a few DRE friends to do the same and once again received some great suggestions. Here it is once […]

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Intermediate Grades

6th Grade Psalms

We had a very enjoyable session last evening focusing on the Psalms. In case you missed it, here is what I had planned. The kids enjoyed the opening activity of describing the emotions portrayed in a series of pictures and selecting one that best described how they felt at the moment (they almost all selected the picture that represented being tired except for one very peppy young man who said, “I’m just happy to be […]

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Intermediate Grades

The Psalms: The Sound of Music Returns!

No, I’m not showing the Julie Andrews classic! I’m simply referring to the fact that my session for this evening will include a return to the use of music as a key feature. I’ve done a lot with video this year so I thought it would be a good idea to do something more auditory. For tonight’s session, I’m going to focus on the Psalms. Due to a quirk in the calendar, this is really […]

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Intermediate Grades

The Lure of Technology

I mentioned in my post the other day that I used my laptop and LCD projector to invite my 6th graders to come forward and arrange images in chronological order to tell the Exodus/Passover story and that they did this for the parents who were visiting for Open House. One of the parents attending had her 3rd grade son with her and he was transfixed by the images on the screen. As we were nearing […]

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Miscellaneous

Your Chance to Win an iPad!

Loyola Press is conducting a brief survey to find out more about the needs of your ministry and how we may best serve you. Complete the survey on or before February 1, 2013, to be entered into the raffle. One entry per person is allowed. One lucky winner will receive an iPad! The winner will be notified by e-mail on February 2, 2013. Start Loyola Press Survey

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Intermediate Grades

7 Parents Showed Up for Open House!

Last evening’s session went exceptionally well and thank goodness, because parents of 7 of my 13 kids showed up for the open house! It was a great pleasure to meet so many of the parents and to have the kids do such a wonderful job of showing them what they learned! They did so by first reviewing the Exodus/Passover story – putting in chronological order the pictures portraying scenes from the Exodus/Passover experience ( Exodus/Passover Review […]

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Intermediate Grades

A Lesson Plan on the Sacraments of Initiation

For the past week, while traveling from coast to coast, I’ve been rambling about my lesson for this evening on the Sacraments of Initiation (and a connection to the Old Testament) and posting bits and pieces here and there as I came up with them. Now, I’ve put it all together into a coherent (hopefully!) lesson plan for this evening! Here ’tis: The Sacraments of Initiation Big Idea: We pledge allegiance to God through the Sacraments of […]

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Intermediate Grades

Exodus/Passover and the Sacraments of Initiation – Update

Here is the latest addition to my lesson for tomorrow evening on the Sacraments of Initiation and how they tie-in to the Exodus/Passover story. I developed a chart that the young people will once again need to manipulate (I will do it as a projection but you can use it as a worksheet) to put the correct words in place to show the connection between the Sacraments of Initiation and the Exodus/Passover experience. The chart, when […]

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Comings & Goings

A Shout Out to Brooklyn!

Whereas last week, I was in the warmth of Southern California, these past couple of days, I was shivering in Brooklyn, NY! Luckily, I was warmed by the great folks who turned out last evening for my presentation, 9 Characteristics of Evangelizing Catechesis…about 150 hearty souls! Thanks to everyone for a great evening and special thanks to the staff of the Office for Faith Formation in the Diocese of Brooklyn, headed by Director Ted Musco […]