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 […]
Last night, I gave a presentation to a small group of Confirmation students and their parents at a suburban Chicago parish. The kids sat as a group and the parents were scattered around them in the church. My presentation was on Living the Mass. I thought the kids were very well behaved and I complimented them on their behavior, especially after a very long day. Afterward, when talking to the DRE, I repeated that I […]
Last night, we had an extraordinary evening viewing a segment of Jesus of Nazareth. All of the 8th graders (5 classes) met in one of the parish “halls” – about 65 kids, 4 or 5 aides, and 5 catechists. Here are the details: the DRE had arranged the seating to form 5 “pods” so that each class was slightly separated from the others. This proved very helpful in keeping the kids focused and preventing them […]
I had a wonderful weekend meeting with about 450 catechists in Chicago (How ya doin?) and Austin, Texas (Howdy!)! At the Chicago Catechetical Conference on Friday, I spoke to a group of about 200 (mostly Catholic school teachers) about 5 steps to dramatically increase their students’ Bible IQ. I then jumped on a plane and flew to Austin, Texas to do a couple of workshops (about 125 at each one) on the Language of Mystery – […]
I enjoyed the morning at the Chicago Catechetical Conference at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. I did a Bible workshop for about 200 Catholic school teachers, catechists, DREs, etc. We had a good time and it was great to strategize ways to build up our kids’ knowledge of the Bible. Now, I’m off to Austin, Texas, to speak at their Catechetical Conference on Saturday. The topic: The Language of Mystery! Have a great weekend!
I’m preparing for a presentation I will give at the Chicago Catechetical Conference this Friday morning – my topic is “5 Steps to Increase Your Students’ Bible IQ Dramatically.” Lo and behold, I find that the bishops at the Synod focusing on Scripture have something to say about the “secret” (I hate when they use that word!) for getting young people to read the Bible. Rather than the “secret,” I think what they are talking […]
In honor of Columbus Day, we have no religious education classes tonight, so I thought I would just mention a few odds ‘n ends. Over the past few days, I’ve received emails from catechists in Indonesia, the Philippines, and a number of states all over the U.S. It’s always amazing to realize just how much we catechists from all over the world share in common. Yesterday, my wife and I went to Mass at the […]
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