Teaching Skills Archives - Page 21 of 39

Spiritual but not Religious – Love Jesus but Hate Religion

More and more today, we hear people saying that they are spiritual but not religious, meaning that they believe in God but choose not to encounter him within the context of the institutional church. One young man has chosen to post a video on YouTube in which he recites a poem about how he loves Jesus, but hates religion. I applaud him for taking the initiative to talk publicly about his faith. I couldn’t disagree more […]

A Sign of the Times

Joe Paprocki

Here’s a good example of how times have changed and how catechists need to be aware of how kids will respond to something. As I was observing a second grade class last evening, the catechist was asking the kids to name the 7 Sacraments and giving them clues to help them recall each of them. When it came to the Sacrament of Matrimony, the catechist offered a clue inviting the kids to complete the sentence […]

Tim Tebow, Sports, and Prayer

Joe Paprocki

Sports is HUGE with kids, so no doubt, kids are interested in the success of Tim Tebow and all the talk about the “miracles” associated with his success, including yesterday’s stunning overtime victory in the NFL playoffs. In case you’re not up-to-date on the whole Tebow phenomenon, here’s a quick summary. For kids, the question that the whole Tim Tebow experience raises is whether or not God answers our prayers when it comes to things […]

More on the “Coach Approach”

Joe Paprocki

The other day, I posted on the parallels between coaching and serving as a catechist. That stirred up the following conversation between a DRE and one of her catechists who is indeed also a coach. Enjoy! Hi Joe! In response to your latest Catechist’s Journey email, I asked one of my catechists if he saw a connection between coaching and being a catechist. Scott coaches basketball and then “cleans up” and comes to teach […]

The Catechist as COACH

Joe Paprocki

I’m always amazed at how many men I see coaching their kids’ soccer, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and even lacrosse teams! And yet, so few men feel called to serve as a catechist when, in my mind, it is another form of coaching. Perhaps too many men view being a catechist as a feminine/nurturing role that they are not comfortable with. Fortunately, a growing number of men are discovering how to serve as catechists in […]

A More Worshipful Catechesis

Joe Paprocki

The General Directory for Catechesis (#85) tells us that the most effective catechesis takes place within a climate of prayer. With that in mind, I constantly urge catechists to do all they can to make their sessions resemble going to church more than going to school. We do this by incorporating the language of liturgy—a language of mystery that includes sign, symbol, and ritual—into our catechetical sessions. Following is a template that I offer to […]

5th Anniversary Celebration – Guest Blogger #5: William O’Leary

Joe Paprocki

Today, I’m featuring William O’Leary as the 5th guest blogger for the 5th Anniversary celebration of my blog, The Catechist’s Journey. William, who lives in Kansas City, Kansas, with his wife and 3 children, blogs at Catechesis in the Third Millennium. William works at the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park as the Director of Religious Formation, a program with approximately 1,000 students. He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville where he received a BA and MA in […]

5th Anniversary Celebration – Guest Blogger #4: Marc Cardaronella

Joe Paprocki

As we continue to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of my blog, The Catechist’s Journey, here is another guest blogger. Marc Cardaronella is the Director of Religious Education for Holy Cross Church in Champaign, IL. In a former life, he was a Naval Aviator but gave that up for a less thrilling and infinitely more satisfying career working for the Church. He has a Master’s Degree in Theology and Christian Ministry with a specialization in Catechetics […]

5th Anniversary Celebration – Guest Blogger #3: Lisa Mladinich

Joe Paprocki

To help celebrate the 5th anniversary of my blog, The Catechist’s Journey, I’ve invited a number of people to be guest bloggers here over the course of a week! Today, I am featuring Lisa Mladinich, a Catholic wife and mother, catechist and workshop leader, and the author of the popular booklets, “Be An Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children,” and “Be an Amazing Catechist: Sacramental Preparation” available from Our Sunday Visitor. She is the founder […]

5th Anniversary Celebration – Guest Blogger #2: Jared Dees

Joe Paprocki

To help celebrate the 5th anniversary of my blog, The Catechist’s Journey, I’ve invited a number of people to be guest bloggers here over the course of a week! Today, I’m featuring Jared Dees, the creator of The Religion Teacher, where he shares practical resources, activities, lesson plans, and teaching strategies for catechists and Catholic school religion teachers. He is the Digital Publishing Specialist at Ave Maria Press, where he manages websites, eBooks, and eTextbooks. He […]