What about Christmas carols during Advent?

My catechist's guide recommends that I start my last 2014 class — the third Sunday of Advent — with "Christmas carols playing, and encourage the kids to sing along. Oh, and wear reindeer antlers or a Santa's cap." I'll pass on the get-up — as if we can't trivialize this season enough? The suggestion to play Christmas carols doesn't feel quite right to me.

Our Advent Masses stick closely to Advent hymns during Advent — and I like this. Growing up on auto-pilot, the cultural norm is to sing Christmas songs during Advent and maybe sing (or, mostly, listen to) Christmas song or two on Christmas day, and then on St. Stephen's day we strike up the marketing machine for New Year's Eve paraphernalia? How can we prepare our souls the longing of for His coming if we don't call to mind that ancient period before God came to earth — and then relish His birth, and all that it means?

Anyhow, I'd like for my class to follow suite with the Advent season, and stick to Advent songs. Unsurprisingly, I had some difficulty finding Advent songs my students might know. Here's a few that I like — any suggestions?

Winning and Losing, the Nativity — Class for Dec 7, 2014

Winning and Losing, the Nativity

Class for Dec 7, 2014

• Summaries:
• Book 1, Lesson 9; "Winning and Losing" 

• Students discuss their experience winning and losing
• In accordance with our faith in Jesus Christ
• Game prep for discussion of the Beatitudes
• Students to read biblical passages of embodying God's Word
• Challenge to create ways they can live Gospel values
• Help to realize that true happiness comes from our relationship and need for Gof
• Learn that charity is self-giving

• Book 2, Lesson 3, "The Birth of Jesus"

• Game; "Prayer, share or dare" light-hearted questions about Christmas, and perform fun and silly Christmas-related dares.
• Assemble an angelic conference which explores alternatives to how the Second Person of the Trinity may have become human.
• Reflect on the significance of how Christ was born
• Students to reflect on their understanding of Christmas 
• Reflect upon Jesus' humble birth and how this helps us understand our relationship with God.
• Grapple with challenging questions about how we celebrate Christmas

Class prep:

• Set up Computer LCD
• Rearrange class to accommodate TV
• Write on paper: advent party next week
• Does anyone have food allergies? 
• Distribute books and bibles
• Pencil and lined paper
• Make a line on the floor with tape

1. Quick Start Activity (while kids come into the classroom) 6:40 - 7:05
1. Write on the board:
1. What is your favorite memory of winning?
1. What happened?
2. How did you feel?
2. What is your worst memory of losing?
1. What happened?
2. How did you feel?
2. Game Show Catechism 7:05 - 7:20
3. Welcome and Opening Prayer 7:20 - 7:25
1. We are in the Holy Presence of God
2. Prayer
• Jesus, all of us want to win. You have shown us that if we want to win what is really important you have to lose what is not important. To gain eternal life we have to give up our own lives. You have shown us that sacrificing ourselves for others is the true path to happiness because when we give to others we also receive, Give us the courage to lose ourselves so that we can take her place in heaven, which you have won for us. Amen.
3. Discuss the winning and losing warm-up
4. Forced Choice 7:25 - 7:35
1. Object: find where you stand on a particular topic
2. Example play
1. Left side: hamburgers, right side: Hot dogs
2. Go fast, don't think about it
3. A few more test runs
1. Cereal or waffles
2. football or basketball
3. Spider-man or Aquaman
4. For real now
1. easy / hard
2. happy / sad
3. pain / pleasure
4. hungry / full
5. crying / laughing
6. excluded / included
7. praised / insulted
5. Afterwards: 
1. Who had difficulty? 
2. What was difficult?
6. Pick a few pair — explain your choices
7. Explain: we avoid painful choices and seek pleasurable choices. Jesus taught us;
1. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
8. Read Luke 6:20 - 26
1. Our choices are great than an immediate thought of good and bad — which is why we need prayer
5. Winners and Losers 7:35 - 7:50
1. Point at the crucifix — would someone who never saw a crucifix before think Jesus "won" or "lost?"
1. This isn't about how YOU see it — how "fresh" eyes would
2. This was a difficult problem for early Christians
1. Read 1 Corinthians 1:23
3. Why is this difficult to grasp?
4. As the 3 questions on pg 108
5. Offer:
1. Losing isn't always losing
2. Winning isn't always winning
3. Tom Sawyer: manipulating based on "winning" and "losing"
4. Are we always "winning" when we think we are?
6. The Birth of Christ 7:50 - 8:05
1. We've spent some time on "won" and "lost" Now consider Christ's birth:
1. Born in a dirty manger and cave, with a feeding troff as His crib
2. What do we know about a God who comes to us in such a humble way?
3. What does that tell us about who God is?
4. What if God's coming had been "majestic"
5. What do we learn from this how we should celebrate Christmas?
6. Volunteer reads Page 111
7. I'll read Page 47, #5's bullet points

Faith: Class for November 23, 2014

Lesson 7 Responding to God (Chapter 7)

Very cool — using reveal.js for my slides now

• http://kyleskrinak.github.io/catechism/11-23-14/#/

Objectives

• Faith is a gift from God we can accept or reject
• Experience faith in the three elements of belief, trust and actio
• Faith is our response to the truth that God made known to us through Jesus Christ

• Handout 7-A "A Coded Word Puzzle"
• Handout 7-B "Biblical Role Models for Today's Faithful"

Class Preparation

• Write "Please complete the word puzzle on the handout."
• Distribute 7-A handout, pens and pencils

Possible videos

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sn8l2n7TGE

---

6:45 - 7:00 Class arrives
7:00 - 7:15 Game Show Catechism

Opening Prayer : 7:15 - 7:25

• Read Page 76, "Faith is Doing" James 2:14 - 17
• Faith without Works Is Dead
  14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,[a] if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
• Offer students to volunteer when they demonstrated their faith in God
• Pray
• Father, we come to you as faithful people. Help us to overcome the obstacles that keep us from doing what we believe. Give us the strength to trust you and respond to your call. We know that saying we are Christians is such easier than acting like Christians. Please give us the courage to live as Christians. Amen.

• Today's class is on Faith and how faith leads us to God

Blind Faith

• Hide a Bible in the room
• Pick two volunteers to leave the room (to find the hidden Bible)
• Form three groups
• One group ALWAYS gives true instructions
• One group ALWAYS give false instructions
• One group gives both
• The first volunteer looks for the Bible
• The second volunteer looks for the Bible
• The group switches roles
• Discuss
• What was starting the search like?
• How did you feel?
• Why did you choose which group to guide you?
• How did you feel when you found the Bible?
• Leads to next activity

Faith Believing, Trusting and Doing

• Review 7A handout answers
• "Our bodies often reflect what is going on inside."
• Faith, our focus today, has three required elements:
• Believing
• Trusting
• Doing
• Describe Faith
• 
  

Learning from the Giants of Faith

• We'll be learning from the Giants of Faith
• Using handout 7-B
• Divide up
• Read and make up a play on the readings
• Groups perform skit
• Discuss
• Where do you see believing, trusting and doing in these skits?

Closing Prayer

 

Class for November 16th, 2014

Two lesson plans in one class

Lesson 6: God's Plan for Salvation

Lesson 10: Salvation History

Game Show Catechism: St Mary's Press has a PPT/Keynote presentation — I like this, and I'm using it.

• Noted: the size of my class makes many of the SMP-designed activities impractical to do — it is simply too disruptive for my classes' size and the smallness of our room.

We're covering two somewhat incongruent lesson plans this weekend:

• Our journey toward salvation as a challenging and mysterious path for which we can rely on God for guidance
• Express how God has led his people in the biblical events of salvation history
• Identify the flawed biblical people of faith who rely on God
• Explain how God has acted through events 
• Explain that God works through good and bad events

---

Class

6:40 - 7:00 Activity sheet "Called by God" match the verse with the description

• We'll need Bibles and the activity sheet

7:00 - 7:15 Game Show Catechism
7:15 - 7:20 Opening Prayer

• Father, throughout history you have guided us to bring about our salvation. You have given us a Covenant with Abraham, the Ten Commandments, the prophets; your only Son, Jesus Christ, His mother Mary, the Apostles, Scriptures and the Church. Yet, we still struggle to listen to you. You always forgive our wrong choices and you call us back home to You. You have made us good and to desire You. Please be patient with us. Give us the faith to trust You and follow Your will. We love you and we are thankful for all your blessings. We lift up this prayer in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

7:20 - 7:25 Today's overview — explain to class

• Salvation history: God's plan and our failed attempts to follow it.
• God is present and active working to unite us to Him

7:25 - 7:45 Mine Field (God's guidance in Salvation History)

• Go to the large hall with the class
• Pick 6 volunteers form into 3 pairs
• Lay down colored sheets on the floor
• Each pair gets a chance to guide one person through, only by speaking
• BOOM goes everyone else when a sheet is stepped on
• Reflect — ask the three blindfolded students to explain
• What did it feel like walking through the mine field successfully?
• What did you do to get through successfully?
• What was difficult?

• Read "Salvation History" on 63 

7:45 - 7:55 Abridged Human Bingo

• Write on the board the names of people who have had a positive impact on your lives
• Then write 5 events that had a BIG impact on your life
• Discuss
• Our history, and others, are important. It forms us into who we are now.
• God is active in our lives and actively forming what happens.
• The Bible is Our story of our salvation history
• We each have our own story as well. God is alive and active in our lives right now.
• Revisit the events listing
• How was God active in each event?
• Is it easy to find God? Hard? Why?
• My own example of God's participation in my life
• My friend Jim helping me back to my faith

• Read "Live It!" on page 69 

7:55 - 8:00 Do's and Don't of evangelization

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMLYBvmMbPE&feature=share

8:00 - 8:05 Closing prayer

•  Read the closing prayer on page 121. 
• Allow a few to respond for painful or joyful events from their lives
• Pray the conclusion 
• and the Lord's prayer

When is a week off from prep not a week off from class?

This week, St. Andrew's will be hosting ValLimar Jansen. This will be a; "A three-night mission to celebrate God’s love and mercy for us, and to embrace our call to discipleship." Who is she? From the OCP "Spirit and Song" page; "Blessed with an extraordinary voice, ValLimar Jansen is a highly regarded singer, cantor and recording artist. She is also a college professor, a leader of worship and prayer and a workshop presenter at conferences across the United States."

So I'm looking forward to her presentation tonight — and, well, I've also enjoyed a week off from class prep. I appreciate seeing how others pedagogically present the faith, too. Now, to get started on my Game Show Catechism questions for next week…

The Human Person

Overview

• We're in the Image of God
• How Original Sin affects us all since Adam and Eve
• Reunite with God through the Body of Christ

Prepping the Dadechist:

Fr. Barron on Original Sin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdmsnbz1-EE

The on-line Catechist's handbook, here.
…and the return of Game Show Catechism

PPT file for the class is here.

Students should be able to

• Discuss what it means to be made in God's image
• Explain and understand Original Sin and how it affects us
• Understand what it means to be, and act as, a member of the Body of Christ

Materials and Prep

• Newsprint
• Markers
• Flashlight

Preparation

• Form small groups of 3 - 4 kids. We need an one outline per group.
• Write "Body of Christ" on the top. Note this outline is for later.

Welcome and Opening Prayer

• We are in the holy presence of God
• Pray
  
  
  
  
• Today's lesson is about YOU.
• Why did God make me to be?
• Why do I not act as I should sometimes?
• What is the purpose of our lives

We are like God!

• Volunteer reads "Think About It" on page 56
• Ask for examples of how we're like God
• Ask for examples of how we're different
• Make the following points
• We're all made in God's images, so we're to love one another as God loves us
• Being good isn't doing good. We can choose to do wrong. Even when we
• sin, however, we remain an image of God, though we must seek the healing
• of Reconciliation.

The Effects of Original Sin

• Darken the room with a candle or flashlight
• Gather the students standing into a circle
• I'll read from a list. If good, one large step forward. If bad, one large step backwards. The list is balanced towards sin to better separate the students.
• Read from the list 
  
• Follow up
• Think about what just happened
• How was it when you started?
• When I read a sin how did it affect your relationship?
• When I read a good dead, how did it affect your relationship?
• Christine reads Genesis 3:6-19

• Describe Original Sin
• Before Original Sin, we were in communion with God and his creation
• Adam and Eve's original disobedience is why we call it original sin.
• We are born with Original Sin
• We do not know how Original Sin is passed down
• Through Christ and His Church and Sacraments we may be healed of Original Sin

Being the Body of Christ

• Class reads the beginning of Chapter 5
• BEFORE READING: Listen for how God works to help Steven in the story
• When we do God's will we become God's instrument
• Point to the St. Teresa of Avila prayer — Volunteer to read
• What does she mean by "Christ has no body now but yours?"
• Explain we can come to or return to God at any time. We can overcome temptation and live as the Body of Christ.
• Have each team mark up the outline of how we can help each other as the Body of Christ.
• Each team present their drawings and ideas.

Closing prayer

• Read the "Pray It!" on page 54 together

Oct 19, 2014 : Creation

Oct 19, 2014 : Creation

Summary

This week we'll learn about God's creativity at work in our world and our cooperation in His plan. We covered A LOT last week on the infinite mystery of the Trinity. This week's class is a little less complex, so we'll spend a little more time recapping what we learned last week. Then we'll check out the "how to kneel" youtube video and dive into Creation.

The usual resource prep:

• The teacher's guide is online! At google books, no less. Here.

Objectives:

• Recognize each student has a unique role in creation
• We can follow or disobey God's design in His creation
• God's creativity is living
• Creationism, Evolutionism and Catholic understanding of Genesis

Class setup

1. Per student:
1. Handbooks
2. Bibles
3. Scratch paper
2. Per table
1. Sheets of blank paper
2. Sets of markers
3. Sheets of newsprint
3. On front of classroom
1. Look up and read Genesis 1:1 - 31

Agenda

1. Trinity recap
2. Quick-Start Activity
3. Welcome/Prayer
1. Light candle
2. Prayer:
   
4. The Hairs on Your Head
1. Each student: write down how many on your head?
2. A million? Half a million? Answer: 100,000
3. We are more precious than the entire world (not including other people)
5. God's Gift of Freedom
1. Pass around a rock
1. Where does it come from? What is it made of? What makes up the rock? 
1. Lead the kids to "God made it."
2. How can we use this rock?
3. Can it be used for evil?
4. Read from the Handbook page 45 on Adam and Eve
1. God loves us so much that he let's us choose, even to choose not to love Him back.
5. What's an example of something good someone has done with creation?
6. God's creation: a work in progress
1. 
2. Who remembers the birth of a brother or sister?
3. What is God's role in all this?
1. Creationism, Evolution and… discussion
2. We believe that reason and faith cannot contradict. Creation teaches us religious truths, not scientific truths.
4. Break groups into small groups
1. Read Genesis 1:24 - 2:4
2. List at least five things where Genesis does not contradict science
3. Draw examples of God's creative work happening now
1. Where can you find people working to save lives
2. What natural events bring about new live
3. have one person from group present their work
7. Closing Prayer
1. Everyone turn to page 43
2. A volunteer reads the "Pray It" prayer

Oct. 5th — The Holy Trinity

Oct. 5th, 2014 — The Holy Trinity

Preparation notes: This has been possibly my most difficult catechism class to prep for since I've started doing catechism. As my student's capacity for understanding increases, I'm no longer comfortable with the simple formulations in my materials. Yes, it's a mystery, but we can't understand our faith without spending a deeper reflection on the Trinity. The kinds of exercises my prep book recommends, such as reviewing and chanting the Shema, and collage creation, trivialize the Trinity. That said, I will do a quick review of it — since, though the Shema I can focus on the economy of salvation without saying so. I can cover what the Shema exercise suggests at by merely saying, Matthew 5:17; “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” So, through Jesus, and in the context of this course, we'll be looking at God's Revelation of who He is, through His Son — just who is Jesus? Who is God the Father? Who is God the Holy Spirit? Treacle no more, In say.

I've included a satirical Lutheran video (though apparently routed in Patristics, safely enough, I trust) and an Eastern Orthodox video that recapitulates the Athanaisan Creed. I emphasized this creed too extensively early on — which is part of the learning process of teaching.

Post-class thoughts:

I fear this was too much. I would drop the Shema if I could do this over again. Having the video greatly helped, though I was distracted without quick access to my itinerary. Having my main computer as the AV controller made that a problem. The kids struggled through the crossword puzzle provided with the lesson. I asked one of my students "What was today's essentially about?" "Purgatory and a funny video about a couple of Irish guys." 

Overview:

The Mystery of the Trinity:

The Blessed Trinity is the central mystery of our Catholic faith.
There are three Divine Persons in one God:
The Father,
the Son
and the Holy Spirit.

"Who knows who St. Patrick is? What is he known for? Where did he serve?"

  

Objectives: 

• Identify the Trinity
• Recite the Shema
• Get a sense of the unity, harmony and love in the communion of the Trinity

Materials

• Bibles
• Handout 3-A

1. Quick Start Activity
1. Read from Chapter 3 for those 10 or more minutes early
2. Crossword puzzle — together or alone
2. Welcome and Opening Prayer
1. Light candle while praying "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
2. Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God
1. Think when your family was happy or sad: There is Unity in joy, unity in sorrow.
3. Read the prayer on page 41
4. Three in one, one in three
3. Learning the Shema
1. Chant the Shema
2. What language?
3. Discuss translation
4. Read Mark 12:28 - 30
5. FREELANCE
1. Revelation: God reveals himself to us
2. How does He do so?
3. Someone read Mark 8:27 - 29
4. Who do YOU say that Jesus is?
4. Trinity: Bad Math, But Great Faith
1. Longer statement on the Trinity:

1. Trinity is a mystery that we can not comprehend through human reason but we understand through faith and is best confessed in the words of the Athanasius Creed, which states that we worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance of God, that we are compelled by the Christian Truth to confess that each distinct Person is God and Lord and the Deity of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit is One equal in glory, co-equal in Majesty

1. Start with the In the Name of prayer
2. What is the meaning of the Shema?
3. Are we praying to 3 Gods or one God?
4. 1 + 1 + 1 = ?
5. Read John 1:1-18 — what is being described here?
5. The Community of God
1. The Trinity is a communion
2. Read Page 36 - 37 "The Work of the Trinity" and
3. Page 38 "The Trinity is a Communion"
4. Close with: The Orthodox Trinity video
   

1. Closing Prayer
1. Pray from page 35 of the textbook "Pray It"

September 28, 2014: God the Father

Overview:

• List the qualities of human dads and how this relates to God the Father
• Clouds as a symbol of God
• Jesus fully reveals his Father
• Prayerful exercise towards developing our sixth sense

Objectives: students learn that:

• God is beyond our comprehension
• God reveals himself as truth and love
• God as Jesus' Father, meet God in prayer

This series was awesome for last week's prep:

Agenda

1. Quick-Start Activity
1. 2 Large sheets, outline a person
2. Write The Best Qualities of Human Fathers on the 2 large sheets
3. Front of class: 3 - 5 best qualities of a human father — no repeats
4. THEN: read Chapter 2, starting on page 24
2. Welcome and Opening Prayer
1. Bring lighter for candle
2. Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God
3. Prayer in book, page 30
3. The Cloud of Unknowing
1. What's your experience with clouds? Flying through them? Fogs?
2. The difficulty of grasping the majesty of God
3. Jesus reveals the Father
4. Contest: look up:
1. Exodus 13:20-22
2. Numbers 9:15-18
3. 1 Kings 8:12
4. Matthew 17:5
5. How is God like and unlike a fog?
4. Our Father Reveals Himself
1. Look up Genesis 1:26
2. Who is someone you like?
3. How do you know this is true of this person?
4. Write on board:
1. What has God done throughout history?
2. Simple one-word responses
5. Volunteer to read from page 25
6. Review large sheet from beginning of class
7. God is bigger than just human "male" or "female"
5. Listening to the Father
1. Spiritual exercise, page 34
6. Closing Prayer
1. Volunteer to read "Pray It!" from around the candle, page 25

First Sixth Grade class

Revelation, the Scriptures and Tradition

Sunday, August 21st 7:00 PM

This video was very helpful and inspiring:

Agenda

1. 6:50 - 7:05 Quick Start Activity
1. As students come in, assign them a number, 1 through 4
2. How did you come to know God?
3. Don't use words — symbols only
2. 7:05 - 7:15 Welcome and Opening Prayer
1. "Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God."
2. Prayer on Page 21
3. Any special intentions
4. Today's topic
1. Revelation
5. Some ground rules for class
1. Introduce myself
2. Ms. Scardino introduces herself
3. 7:15 - 7:35 How God Reveals Himself
1. Have the groups from the first activity reassemble
2. Can the non-drawer guess what the artist meant to convey?
4. 7:35 - 7:50 Revealed in the Scriptures and Tradition
1. Things that make you go "hum" How did God perfectly reveal himself to us?
2. True or False? FedEx delivered us the first Bible?
1. How many years was there between Jesus' ascension, and any written record?
2. How did His Gospels get communicated, then? 
5. 7:50 - 8 PM God Reveals Himself to and Through Us
1. What does God reveal to us?
2. How does God reveal to us?
3. Who can participate in God's revealed plan for us?
6. 8 PM - 8:15 PM Closing Prayer
1. First to look up Romans 8:38 - 39 aloud
2. Read "Pray It" from Page 17

Right now, this is the rough outline the agenda proscribes. Still thinking this through.