Stories from the Field Archives - Page 39 of 61

Putting the Kids to Work

A while back, I posted about a very good book I read – Dedication and Leadership (Douglas Hyde) – and how, back in the day, the Communist Party experienced success by employing strategies which included the following: putting demands on their own people (expecting a “heroic” response); deliberately and immediately sending new members into action; developing new leaders. Douglas Hyde, a convert from Communism to Catholicism, strongly recommended that the Catholic Church employ many of […]

“I Pray for All Those Affected by the Government Shutdown.” – 6th Grader Prayer Intention

Joe Paprocki

Who says that kids don’t know how to pray? Not me! Last evening, as part of our usual opening prayer, we shared prayer intentions (which I usually have the kids write down as soon as they enter the room). One young man shared the following: “I pray for all those affected by the government shutdown.” Wow. There’s someone who is not only in touch with current events, but also knows that these are the kinds […]

Session 3 (10/1/13) – Bible Boot Camp and Intro to the Rosary

Joe Paprocki

For this evening’s session, I have two main things planned: complete the “Bible Basics Learning Stations” that we started last week introduce the Rosary as we begin the Month of the Holy Rosary (PowerPoint presentation) I’ve created a Mysteries of the Rosary Note-Taking Sheet for the young people to use during the PowerPoint presentation. It’s always a good idea to have students doing something so that they don’t think they are passively sitting back and being […]

Pics from Bible Basics Learning Stations

Joe Paprocki

Here are some pics from Monday’s Bible Basics Learning Stations (notice how there’s one boy in each group: divide and conquer!). Also, as much as possible, I avoid having kids sit at desks so it doesn’t feel like school. They are still carpet-crawlers at heart!

Summary of Session Two (9/24/13) – Mass and Bible Basics

Joe Paprocki

First of all, thanks to those folks who were concerned because they thought I actually flew home from Italy to teach my class and then fly back! I guess a few folks missed my emphasis on the word VIRTUAL in reference to the pilgrimage to Italy! I’m not on the actual pilgrimage but am conducting a VIRTUAL pilgrimage so that we can, in some small way, share in the experience of those pilgrims who actually […]

Session Two – September 24, 2013: Mass and Bible Basics

Joe Paprocki

Wow! I had to rush home from my VIRTUAL Pilgrimage to Italy to get ready for my class tonight! Thankfully, cyberspace was pretty clear so I made good time! This evening will be my 2nd class with the 6th graders at St. Cajetan. One new feature that the parish is trying this year is to bring the young people to church once per month for Mass. This is a wonderful way to initiate young people […]

First Session for 2013-14: Off to a Great Start!

Joe Paprocki

I couldn’t be happier with how my first session went last evening, thanks to a great group of kids, a highly organized DRE, and a wonderful aide (my wife!) I ended up with 9 students having lost one boy and gaining one girl, so now, I have 6 girls and 3 boys. They come from 5 different schools but have “traveled” together through religious education at St. Cajetan for 6 years and have a great […]

Ready….Set…GO!

Joe Paprocki

I’m all set for my first session tonight with the 6th graders at St. Cajetan Parish! I have 9 students so far, 5 girls and 4 boys. I’m blessed this year to have my wife Joanne working as my aide! As always, meet me back here tomorrow to get the summary – the good, the bad, and the ugly – of my teaching experiences! Here’s my lesson in a box! How did your first lesson […]

Looking Over My Teaching Space

Joe Paprocki

I had the opportunity today to get into the room in which I’ll be teaching 6th grade religious education this year! It is on the 2nd floor of St. Cajetan school…a nice spacious room with carpeted floor and dry erase boards! I’m looking forward to my first session this Tuesday evening!

Let’s Help a Colleague: Project Based Learning for Confirmation Prep

Joe Paprocki

I received the following email from Tom, telling me about his idea of doing a “project-based” approach to Confirmation preparation. Here’s how he describes it: Hi Joe, It was great to meet you in Winnipeg last month; your visit got me thinking about our parish’s catechetical confirmation prep. The candidates are in Gr. 9 (or as you folks say, ninth grade). I’m looking at implementing project based learning at the core of the […]