Being a Catechist Archives - Page 84 of 142

More Positive Reviews for Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox!

I am grateful for 2 more very positive reviews of Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox, from people I highly respect! First, here’s a review from Jonathan Sullivan, the Director of Catechetical Services for the Diocese of Springfield, IL. He is also the chair of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership‘s Technology Committee and host of the Catechetical Leader podcast. Jonathan is one of the finest minds in the country with relation to the effective use of technology […]

Positive Review of Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox! (Now Available in Spanish!)

Joe Paprocki

I’m always appreciative to learn of a good review of one of my books…here’s one from William O’Leary about my most recent book, Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox. Thanks William! Book review of Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox from Catechesis in the Third Millennium By the way, this book is now also available in Spanish!!! Más allá de la caja de herramientas del catequista Catequesis que no solo informa, sino que también transforma Joe Paprocki, […]

Turning Heads…Literally – Use of Video at Reconciliation Prayer Service

Joe Paprocki

Things turned out very nicely with the use of video at our Lenten Reconciliation Prayer Service last evening. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post (Tonight, I’m the Tech Guy!), I coordinated the use of video for 5 different moments of our Lenten Reconciliation Prayer Service last evening, including images of “Stories of Hope” from Operation Rice Bowl, opening and closing songs, a video examination of conscience and a Powerpoint reflection of images of Jesus while children […]

Tonight, I’m the “Tech Guy!” – Lenten Reconciliation Prayer Service

Joe Paprocki

Believe it or not, tonight I play the role of the “tech guy” for the Lenten Reconciliation prayer service taking place in church! I will be on hand for both the early and the late sessions, manning the laptop and LCD projector for the following video elements included in the prayer experience: showing images of people being served by Operation Rice Bowl as their stories are read aloud opening song (video): Hosea – Come Back […]

6th Grade Psalms

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

The Psalms: The Sound of Music Returns!

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

The Lure of Technology

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

7 Parents Showed Up for Open House!

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

A Lesson Plan on the Sacraments of Initiation

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

Exodus/Passover and the Sacraments of Initiation – Update

Joe Paprocki

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 […]