Instead of doing one long tour of the church with students, think of doing a church tour in pieces. Let students get up close and personal, asking questions about the place we celebrate our faith and sacramental life. One way to do this is to visit the church during the different seasons of the liturgical year or before special feasts. For All Saints Day, look at the images of the saints in and around the […]
When children visit a church, they may see sculptures, paintings, objects, and gestures new to them but steeped in Church tradition. Help children begin to understand the Catholic imagery around them with this month’s downloadable activity, “Find the Signs and Symbols in Your Church.” Use the worksheet in the context of a classroom visit to the parish church, or invite children to complete it independently on Sunday. If children visit different churches throughout the year, […]
One of my favorite days of the year is when I lead second-graders on a church tour as part of their preparation for First Eucharist. I like to show them and their parents things in the church they might never have noticed or things they may see all the time but not fully understand what they are or why they are there. Before one such tour last spring, I launched into my usual welcome speech. […]
In these last segments of Catechists in Action with Katie Elwood’s 2nd grade class, we observe her pastor, Fr. Hyland, taking the kids on a tour of the sanctuary and sacristy. Watch for the following: Fr. Hyland shows the children the sacred oils and relates them to the sacraments One of the children blurts out “Oh yeah, we talked about that in class!” when Fr. Hyland mentions the Anointing of the Sick Fr. Hyland patiently […]
In these segments of Catechists in Action, we watch as 2nd grade catechist Katie Elwood takes her children (along with the other 2nd grade classes) to the church for a tour led by the pastor, Fr. Hyland. In the first segment… Katie leads her 2nd graders into the church and has them bless themselves with holy water Fr. Hyland welcomes the children into the sanctuary Fr. Hyland explains the baptismal font to the children httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DaOnTT1o7I […]
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