Creation Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Catechist's Journey

October 29th Session Summary – Part 1: Questions, Questions, Questions!

Since I have lots to share about my session last evening, I decided to break it up into smaller, bite-size pieces for you this week. Here’s the first installment. Last evening’s session was characterized by questions, questions, questions! It seems that you can’t talk about creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac without a million questions! That’s good, of course, however, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, catechists have […]

They Left Singing!

Joe Paprocki

What a delightful evening last night with my 6th graders! I had an ambitious plan and I am happy to report that it came off without a hitch. When it was all over, some of them even left singing How Great Thou Art! More about that in a second. Here’s the summary: Since I was relying on a number of video segments, I needed to get there early to set up my laptop and projector. That’s […]

Entering the Stories of Genesis (Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel)

Joe Paprocki

For Monday evening’s session, we will begin exploring the stories of Genesis, beginning with Creation, Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel. I’m going hi-tech for this session, showing a number of brief video clips from YouTube. Here’s the plan. BIG IDEA: God creates something from nothing and sin has consequences. Preliminaries (15 mins) Students enter and write down prayer intentions Procession to set up prayer center Opening Prayer ritual Engage (10 mins) Show video […]

Testing the 4th Grade Waters

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

More About Monday’s Class

Joe Paprocki

As I mentioned in my last post, I taught my first 4th grade RE class on Monday and really loved it. Here are some more details about the ups and downs of that first class: I arrived 45 mins early only to find out that the doors don’t open until 30 mins before class begins. I’m such a dork! 🙂 For the early session, the kids kind of straggle in over a 10 min. period […]

My First 4th-Grade Class: I LOVE IT!!!

Joe Paprocki

This evening I enjoyed my first 4th grade religious education class and I have to say that I LOVE IT!!! These kids are so darn cute! I have 16 kids (8 boys and 8 girls) and I have to say that they were really good: energetic, fun-filled, smart, and cooperative. Because of the size of the group and being in a different room that has desks instead of tables and chairs, I chose to seat […]

God Creates the World

Joe Paprocki

So, I’ve been doing some planning for my first class with my 4th graders! Here’s a look at what I hope to accomplish this coming Monday: Theme (from the text book) – God Creates the World My BIG Idea: We Care for God’s Gift of Creation ENGAGE STEP (10-15 min) As the students arrive, I will greet them at the door and hand them a worksheet that invites them to identify the names of some famous beautiful locations […]

My First Session in Review – Conclusion

Joe Paprocki

I’ve summarized the first hour of my first session that took place on Monday evening, walking through the Engage, Explore, and Reflect steps. Now, the conclusion: the RESPOND step. The goal of the last step of the class is to challenge/invite them to a new kind of thinking and living, shaped by the Gospel. I said that we had just reflected on the goodness of God’s creation and that we can trust God to provide […]

More About My First Session

Joe Paprocki

Yesterday, I told you about the first 35 minutes or so of my first session on Monday evening during which time my focus was to ENGAGE the young people. My Engage step normally does not take that long however, being the first night, there was more engaging to do! With the focus on the theme of TRUST, we next moved into the EXPLORE step of the lesson, where we look at the story of salvation […]

Monday is My First Class!

Joe Paprocki

This Monday, September 14, is my first session of the catechetical year with my 8th graders! Yesterday I spent some time shopping for a few more supplies that I need for my room and, in particular, for my first session. I created name tents for my students (index cards, folded in half) that I will place in front of them for the first session to not only assign seats but also to help me use […]