Last night, music took center stage in my session as we we explored the Psalms! We focused especially on the myriad of feelings that are expressed in the Psalms and used contemporary music to capture some of those same feelings. Our emphasis was on the notion that we can talk to God under ANY circumstances and in ANY mood. Since last week was a snow day, not all of the kids remembered to bring in […]
Tonight’s session will focus on the Psalms and how they represent prayers for every occasion and emotion. I enjoy this session because it gives me the opportunity to incorporate contemporary music into the session. This year, for the first time, I am also having the young people bring in songs that they have selected (although with last week’s snow day, I wonder how many will remember!). Anyway, here’s the plan: Session 18 – The Psalms […]
For many Catholics, the thought of being called upon to lead a spontaneous prayer can darn near bring on a panic attack! Never fear! Our Judeo-Christian heritage provides us with a simple formula to follow that will guide you in organizing your thoughts into a cohesive, intelligent, and heart-felt spontaneous prayer. First, take a look at his prayer offered by King Solomon (2Chronicles 6:14-17). At first, it looks like a lot of words, however, we’re […]
For some years now, I have been a fan of Stephen Colbert, host of “The Colbert Report” (pronounced Col-behr Re-pohr) on Comedy Central. Colbert makes no secret of his Catholicism and uses his show, from time to time to do some unconventional catechizing. Below is one of my favorites Now, America Magazine has done a feature on Colbert titled “Truth and Truthiness: What Catholic catechists can learn from Stephen Colbert.” In short, the article emphasizes how Colbert […]
So, this past Tuesday, I asked my sixth graders to dream of what it is that they would do if they could be king or queen for a day. The purpose of this was to introduce to them the concept of the Kingdom of Israel leading up to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God. I was blown away by their responses! They were not only imaginative but also very caring and Gospel-centered! In fact, […]
Last evening was thoroughly enjoyable and, for the most part, very effective, as we focused on David as shepherd and king who points the way to the Good Shepherd/Christ the King. I decided to give the technology a rest since I’ve been using PowerPoints and videos a lot in recent sessions. Instead, I went all out on props which the kids loved. 6th graders are very much into this kind of theatrics! Here is one […]
Tonight we will be focusing our attention on David: shepherd and king who points the way to Jesus, the Good Shepherd and Christ the King. Here’s the plan. David: Shepherd and King BIG IDEA David: shepherd and king, points the way to Jesus: the Good Shepherd and Christ the King PRELIMINARIES (15 mins) Return corrected Ten Commandments quizzes. Opening procession to set up prayer table Opening prayer ritual ENGAGE (20 mins) Invite volunteer to come […]
Our session this past Tuesday (Jan. 14, 2014) was very enjoyable and was a study in contrasts. I actually began the session (after preliminary chit-chat and our opening prayer ritual) with a guided reflection in which I invited the young people to talk with Jesus about what they have learned in the first half of the year. The kids were amazingly quiet! It was a very prayerful experience and, in all, lasted about 15 minutes. You […]
Here is my lesson plan for this evening! Tuesday, January 14, 2014 BIG IDEA: “Remember all my commands!” Scripture: Numbers 15:37-41 Learning Outcome: As a result of this session, students will be able to recall and articulate the major concepts covered in the first half of the year, especially the Ten Commandments Preliminaries/Engage (20 mins) As they enter, have the young people write down one thing they remember learning during the first half of the […]
As it turns out, our session was canceled last evening due to the extreme conditions here in Chicago. Thankfully, temps are on the way back up to more normal frigid Chicago standards! In the meantime, I took the opportunity to look ahead and rearrange the schedule a bit, and I see that after we review next week, we’ll be ready to begin exploring the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel, beginning with a couple of […]
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