The Lure of Technology

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 […]

A Video Examination of Conscience

In preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation next week, I did a little exploring on YouTube for a video examination of conscience. Here’s one that I found that’s not bad. I plan to search for more. If you know of a good one, please share!

Catechists in Action – Marge Introduces the Theme for the Session

In this segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz introduces the theme for the evening’s RCIA session (Human Dignity), drawn from Practice Makes Catholic. Watch for the following: Marge nicely ties in the theme for the evening, human dignity, with the Gospel reading just reflected on (the Man Born Blind). Marge describes how I introduce the theme of human dignity in Practice Makes Catholic by talking about a song from the musical Chicago: Mr. Cellophane to emphasize […]

Video Contest!

Where do you find God? Loyola Press is asking students, teachers, and catechists to showcase the inspiring and sometimes-surprising ways they experience God’s presence in their everyday lives through the Finding God Video Contest, an original multimedia project. Schools and parishes who submit videos are eligible to win the following prizes: First prize: School- or parish-wide adoption of the new edition of Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts(grades 1–6) Second prize:$1,000 Loyola Press product […]

5th Anniversary Celebration – Guest Blogger #7: Jonathan Sullivan

Today, we feature the last in a series of guest bloggers as we celebrate the 5th anniversary of my blog The Catechist’s Journey. You may have heard me make mention of Jonathan Sullivan before and I’m delighted to see that he is indeed making an impact on the national scene as he will be one of the keynote speakers at the NCCL Conference in 2012! Jonathan currently serves as the director of catechetical ministries for […]

My First Catechetical TweetUp!

At the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, I attended an informal conference within th conference. It was called a TweetUp and it was organized by Jonathan Sullivan, the Director of the Catechetical Office in Springfield, IL. It was simply a gathering of Catholic bloggers and Twitter users -an opportunity to meet one another and compare notes and share stories. It was a lot of fun and very informative. Now, I guess I should start using […]

Keeping Time the Catholic Way

In my new book, Practice Makes Catholic: Moving from a Learned Faith to a Lived Faith (Loyola Press), I talk about keeping time the Catholic way. In other words, by paying attention to the liturgical calendar, we remind ourselves that time itself is sacramental, revealing the presence of God in each moment. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase that a person “is living on borrowed time.” We use this peculiar phrase when referring to someone […]

Using SKYPE in Catechesis

My friend Victor Valdez, a DRE in Mountain View, CA, sent me this link about an 8th grade language arts teacher in Iowa who invited his students to select a name from the CNN Heroes finalists so that he could arrange for them to speak with him or her using SKYPE. Eighth Graders Learn Big Lessons from CNN Heroes Assignment Victor astutely suggests that this would be a great idea for a religious education class in […]

I Need Your Input

For my next lesson, I plan to show my class some kid-friendly, Catholic Web sites where they can learn about the Catholic faith. I’m looking for Web sites that are appropriate for intermediate grade kids (grades 4-6), are interactive, and invite kids to learn about and practice the Catholic faith. I have a few in mind already, but I’d like to know what sites you know of and would recommend. I look forward to your […]

Testing the 4th Grade Waters

As part of my lesson this past Monday, I wanted to emphasize how human beings are the greatest part of God’s creation and I wanted to incorporate the use of the Internet in my classes for the first time. I located a brief YouTube video that shows images of babies growing in the womb. I made sure that the video did not have any images relating to the act of sexual intercourse or the fertilization […]

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