How are we going to cover the curriculum??

Ugh, I just realized that since we had class cancelled last week due the first heavy snowfall, we will only have one real class before the end of the year!!  My DRE just informed me that half of our first class in December will be devoted to St. Nicholas (watching a movie), I kindly asked her to excuse our Second Grade Sacramental Class from the movie.  I will have my students put their shoes outside the classroom door but we need to start covering the material in our St. Joseph First Communion Catechism books (I love those books simple, beautiful, and sound Catholic teaching).  I was so hoping to teach sin and the types of sin before Christmas.  What about those Breaking Bread books I snagged from the recycle bin, oh and the liturgical year starting, and don't forget Advent!!  So much and so little time.  My DRE then informed me the second class in December will be devoted to the practice for the simple Christmas show, then the third class is just a movie night since so many students are traveling for Christmas.  Oh my word don't volunteer catechist have any say in when and what is being taught in Religious Education programs?  I have decided instead of complaining I need to get PRAYING for the Holy Spirit to rain down upon me and my class and help me efficiently plan the rest of the year with my little students.  We have all these hopes to make a memorable life changing happy memory for our students as they prepare for their First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion but this is a very big task that we can not do on our own or with the help of a DRE it has to come from God. 

Loving Bishop Sheen!

Check out this awesome site from my dear friend the super duper Catholic currently stationed in San Antonio!  This site is awesome!

http://looktohimandberadiant.blogspot.com/2013/09/sacrament-symbols.html

Use those old Missals!!

Today is Christ the King!  Our Church is preparing for a new year with the coming season of Advent.  As our Catholic Community asked each person to pull out the old missal books and deposit them in the recycle bin an idea came to me... collect the old Missals and use them with my First Communion Class!  Students LOVE getting things to keep during class. I collected enough Missals for each of my students and when we start to work on the parts of the Mass I will pass out the old Missals and let my students flip through the pages and learn how to use the Missal.  We can also use the Missal to work on Bible verses, Mass responses, liturgical year colors, Holy Days of Obligation, prayers, and so much more!!  I love when things can be used again and again for free!!

Christ the King is coming...

I'm getting excited for the Advent season but first we must celebrate an often overlooked Holy Day...Christ the King!  Here is Chris Stefanick's post to get you in the mood!

Lesson Planning sheet

For all the military Religious Educators I wanted to share my planning sheet.  No matter how much I have surfed the internet I could not find a planning sheet that worked for the hour long weekly classes we have as RE teachers. I tried to jazz it up from the sheet from the AMS.  I find that planning helps immensely improve all lessons and keeps a teacher on track.  We have so much to cover and so little time with our students.  The Standards that each grade level must cover can be found at http://www.milarch.org .

I love this site!

http://catholicblogger1.blogspot.com/

I just downloaded the Ten Commandments Game and the Baptism Game for my Second Grade RE class!  I think the kids are going to love doing some hands on learning.  This site offers so much for catechists! 

Add your ideas!

Religious Educators,
Please share your ideas on what you have seen that works for your RE program.  We have all seen effective and ineffective teachers and RE coordinators.  Please share your ideas that helped, worked, or were just fun for your chapel community.  We recently renamed our program to ROCK-Religious Organization for Catholic Kids.  I pirated the name from my civilian parish in Florida.  We had an awesome Religious Coordinator who I will not name but thank God that he put her in my path.  So many people work tirelessly for our children and the Lord spreading our Catholic faith in new and inventive ways!  If only we could all share these ideas for free!

Ah... the Military Life!

  I have been a Catholic all my life but I did not really get to KNOW my faith until I had my children.  Since I was married to my husband 16 years ago, I have also been married to the Air Force.  This Air Force life has helped me grow in my faith because my Catholic faith is the one constant, the one absolute truth and home away from, through all these years of travel and family separation.  No one knows the difficulties of military life until they have live it.  I have been an Religious Teacher for the past 13 years and I have seen a lot. From Vandenberg to Albuquerque, to England, Florida, and now Minot, we have seen a lot.  Recently, I worked for 18 months as the Minot AFB Catholic Coordinator, learning the job as I went. I would love for there to be one site where we military Catholics, could go to find support and ideas as we grow in our Catholic faith.  There is nothing like the military chapel where everything must be hidden when not in use. I don't think civilian Catholics know that the crucifix must be rolled, turned, or hidden behind drapes as soon as Mass ends.  That our tabernacles are hidden in small Blessed Sacrament Chapels and our Religious Education spaces are set up and taken down every time they are used.  Military chapels must always be "neutral" when they are not actively being used.  I understand why and I support the reasons but having to do this every day can give us many challenges that other Catholic Churches do not have.  I hope my fellow military Catholics share their experiences and ideas so we can make all of our lives easier and more fruitful as we grow in our Catholicism!

Extras

Helping Military Catholic Religious Educators!

As military Religious Education teachers we have to deal with a lot of factors other civilian RE teachers do not.  Due to the new Catholic Religious Education curriculum and standards, I wanted to start a blog to help Catholic Religious Educators find resources to help them in their classrooms!