We are beginning our Christmas break following our classes this week (Tuesday, Dec. 13th). Traditionally, the last class before Christmas is set aside for a lesson about the Nativity story and a party in each class. This year I wanted to gather the children together for the story, and I decided to use one of my favorite videos for the entire group. The video is from the NEST Family Entertainment "Animated Stories from the New Testament" series, (and I highly recommend the entire series!) and it is called "The King is Born." I really like this video because it covers the annunciation through Mary and Joseph being warned to flee into Egypt, and it is only 30 minutes long. It does a good job of showing Herod's interaction with the magi, too. In any case, it is enjoyable for the children to see the story that keeps the focus on the reason for the season! :-)
You can find information on this video series at: http://www.nestfamily.com/
I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I will be back to update the blog for our first class of the new year, which will be January 10th. Peace!
About Me
- Jenifer Truitt
- I am creating this blog at the urging of some friends and family members who are not only interested in the outcome of my attempted climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro, but also want to know more about my year-plus preparation for this amazing trip. Jambo!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Saint Nicholas: Dec. 6, 2011
What a stroke of luck to have our PSR classes on the Feast day for Saint Nicholas! This mini-lesson is a no-brainer! :-) Of course, I will repeat the lesson on Sunday, the 3rd week of Advent, but the kids won't mind ... who wouldn't love a lesson about the real Santa Claus?
Obviously, with elementary children, teaching about St. Nicholas is a very tricky prospect. I know that as a Mom I would be furious if my children were led to believe that Santa isn't "real" before it was time, so my main goal was to be extremely careful in this lesson's wording. No saying that Nicholas "used to live" or "died", etc. Not with young children. So what I did was tell them that I would be sharing with them the TRUE story of how St. Nicholas got his start, and that how he went from that beginning to the magical man that he is now, I'm just not sure -- we just don't always know how magic works. ;-)
Opening Song: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High (focusing on the lines: "You came from Heaven to Earth", which is what we celebrate at Christmas)
The lesson went as follows: Boys and girls, today, Dec. 6th, is a REALLY special day for our church. You know that in our Catholic church we celebrate special feast days for Saints? Many, many calendar dates are special because they honor certain Saints. And today is one of those dates, honoring a saint that I *bet* you all know... would anybody like to guess what Saint we are honoring today?! (Take guesses; in my parish they got it right on the first guess!) RIGHT! It is the feast day for Saint Nicholas!! Who has ever heard of him? Ahh, yes... and some of you probably call him by another name - what is that? Yes! Santa Claus! Well, today I want to tell you a story about Saint Nicholas. I have here a book called "The Autobiography of Santa Claus." Do any of you know what an autobiography is? (Generally, 3rd - 5th graders probably know. Allow one to tell you). Right! And this book is Santa telling all about his life. It's a big book with lots of words, really for grown-ups, and I have really loved reading it! But there is a part of this book that can also be found in many other resources about Saint Nicholas, and it tells the story of how he got started with his giving habits. Would you like to hear this real story? OK, then, here goes!
(The following story comes from the web site http://www.stnicholascenter.org/. I am copying it for you exactly as they have it there, but I added lots of details as taken from the book "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" by Jeff Guinn. It's a great book! You will want to tell this story with clarification and embellsihments too, but keep it 'real'. )
The real Santa lived a long time ago in a place called Asia Minor. It is now the country of Turkey. His name was Nicholas.
Nicholas' parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. He went to live with his uncle who was a priest.
Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money. He had three daughters who were old enough to get married. But in those days young women had to have money in order to get married. This moeny was a "dowry" and it was used to help the new family get started. If you didn't have dowry money, you didn't get married.
This family was so poor they had nothing left to eat. The daughters were going to be sold as slaves because they couldn't live at home any longer. They were very sad. They wouldn't be able to have families of their own. And they would have to be slaves - no longer able to decide where they would live or what they would do.
The night before the oldest daughter was to be sold, she washed her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then all of them went to sleep - the father and the three daughters.
In the morning the daughter saw a lump in her stocking. Reaching in, she found a small, heavy bag. It had gold inside! Enough to provide food for the family and money for her dowry. Oh, how happy they were!
The next morning, another bag with gold was found. Imagine! Two of the daughters would now be saved. Such joy!
And the next night, the father planned to stay awake to find out who was helping his daughters. He dozed off, but heard a small "clink" as another bag landed in the room. Quickly he jumped up and ran out the door. Who did he catch ducking around the corner?
Nicholas, the young man who lived with his uncle. "Nicholas, it is you! Thank you for helping us -- I hardly know what to say!" Nicholas said, "Please, do not thank me - thank God that your prayers have been answered. Do not tell others about me."
Nicholas continued helping people. He always tried to help secretly. He didn't want any attention or thanks. Years passed and he was chosen to be a bishop. Bishops look after their people as shepherds look after their sheep. And that is what Nicholas did. When there wasn't any food, he found wheat, so no one went hungry. He always helped people in troubel. All his life Nicholas showed people how to love and care for each other.
(End of text from http://www.stnicholascenter.org/)
So, boys and girls, Nicholas loved Jesus SO SO much -- that is why he started giving to people! He wanted to help them like Jesus would! Today I have a special present for each of you. (Teachers hand out prayer cards which were counted out prior to class. This is a prayer card from Autom company number MC537. It is an image of the familiar Santa Claus kneeling before the baby Jesus in a manger. ) Have a look at this beautiful picture of Saint Nicholas kneeling before baby Jesus. I want you to keep this card close by during this season to remind you that he would be very, very sad if he thought that all boys and girls were wanting was for Santa Claus to come and that they weren't remembering that it is Baby Jesus's coming that makes Christmas so special and important! You've probably heard the saying, "Keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas... and that's what Saint Nicholas wants us to do, too! Can we keep CHRIST in CHRISTMAS? Yes! VERY GOOD!
This lesson went over very well, and it avoided any question of whether Santa is real now, etc. Good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at jtruitt@stolivers.com!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Living Advent Wreath Lesson
Opening Song: We used "He Reigns" again... same as last lesson. (See post 11/17).
Today for our lesson I wanted to teach the children some of the symbolism of the Advent wreath. I decided to use students to create a living wreath, and so I contacted a local t-shirt printing business to ask them if they had some old t-shirts that they could donate to me in green, pink, and purple. I was lucky to receive 8 dark green shirts, 3 purple, and one pink -- all that I needed!
Before the lesson started, I selected several little kindergarten and first grade students, gave each one a green shirt and instructed them to put it on over their clothes. I told them I would call them up when the time was right. I then looked for some taller 3rd and 4th grade students to give my purple and pink shirts because I wanted the candles to stand taller than the wreath.
I started the lesson by asking the students what they noticed different about the decoration in our church last week (when we didn't have class due to Thanksgiving) and this week. Right away they pointed out that there is an enormous wreath hanging on the wall of the sanctuary. I asked them if they knew what it was called, and they called out, "Advent wreath!" I then continued: That's right! It's an advent wreath. And today I wanted to teach you a little lesson about the advent wreath and what it symbolizes or stands for. I have enlisted the help of some volunteers to come on up and help me to teach this to you, so could I please have the boys and girls who are wearing the special green t-shirts I gave you come forward? (I then asked them all to join hands and make a large circle). Here is our advent wreath, boys and girls! Now, would someone please tell me where this wreath begins? Hmm... nobody knows? Well, then, let's try to see if someone can tell me where it ends? What? Is this little girl the end? No? How about this boy? No! Well, you are right: this wreath has no beginning and no ending. And do you know what? That represents something for us: it represents God and God's Love and Jesus's Love. Do you know that God has no beginning and no ending? He always was, and he will always be. And it's the same way with his love for us... always was, always will be. So, the reason we use a wreath at Advent is to symbolize no beginning and no ending, just like God. Now, we have our wreath: what is missing? ("Candles!"they call out). You're right! How many candles? (4!) Ok, then, could I have my four candles please come forward? (I have the four students in the purple and pink shirts come forward, go into the center of the wreath and position them appropriately.) Now we have our four candles: three purple and one pink! Let's take a look at each candle and see what they mean. The first candle we lit last weekend. (As I say this, I took a headband out of construction paper on which I had attached an orange paper 'flame', and I place it on the head of the first purple-shirt child). This first candle is called the PROPHECY candle. Can you all say that big, long, million-dollar word: PROPHECY? Very good. Now, let me explain what a prophecy is. Have you ever heard about people who "know the future" or are "psychic" or even called "fortune tellers?" Well, there were people back in the Old Testament times who could foretell the future, and we called them prophets. These prophets, especially one named Isaiah, always told that there would be a messiah coming - a savior coming. And who is the Messiah? (Jesus!) Right! So we light the first candle, called the prophecy candle, to remind us that the prophets told us that our Messiah, Jesus, would be coming! One more time, what candle is this? (The prophecy candle!) Very good!
So this week it is time to light the second candle. (Put the flame headband on the second child's head). This candle is called the LOVE candle. That's an easy word, so you say it: LOVE candle! Now, there is nobody on this earth, and there never will be, who loves you as much as God loves you. He loves us SO MUCH that he came as Jesus to live among people on Earth and to die on the cross for us. That is LOVE! Raise your hand if God loves you! That's right: every single hand in here is raised high because God loves you so, so much! So, this week's candle is what? The LOVE candle!
Now, next week is my personal favorite candle - it's the PINK candle, and we call it the JOY candle! (Place headband 'flame' on child's head). That's another easy one to say, so let me hear you: JOY candle. Now, why are we so full of joy next week? Is it because the priests are going to be wearing pink? Haha! Of course not, even though they will be wearing pink, but the joy is that it is getting really, really, really close to CHRISTMAS! The JOY candle reminds us that we only have one more week to go, and then it will be time to celebrate the birth of our savior! I know that you all just love Christmas, and I know that you feel the JOY about that too, so next week when we light this pink candle you will all remember that it's the Joy candle because Christmas is almost here!
Finally we have our last purple candle. This candle is called the PEACE candle. (Put headband 'flame' on child's head). Let me hear you all say, "PEACE!" (Here I hold up two fingers in the sign of Peace and I say it with a voice kind of like a rapper says, "Peace-out." The students have fun imitating that kind of PEACE with their fingers). That's right. It's the PEACE candle, because it comes the week before the Prince of Peace is born. Have you ever heard Jesus called the Prince of Peace? That's another of the names we call him: Prince of Peace, Messiah, Emmanuel ... and of course Son of God! So when we light this last candle on the Advent wreath, it's time to really take a deep breath, relax, and experience the peace of this holy season, because Jesus is coming next week!
OK, so let's review this: Candle one is the? (prophecy candle!) And candle two? (love candle) Candle three is? (The joy candle) And last of all, candle four is? (Peace candle!) VERY GOOD!
Do any of you have an Advent wreath in your homes? I do too! At my house we light the Advent candle at our dinner table each night. And instead of saying grace before meals, we sing a special song as we light it. I want to teach that song to you today, and maybe you can teach it to your family to sing when you light your Advent wreath. It's called "Come, Come Emmanuel." Remember, Emmanuel is another way to call Jesus, so we are asking Jesus to come when we sing that song. (I use the song Come, Come Emmanuel by Steve Angrisano. I just teach them the refrain singing acapella, have them echo me line-by-line, and then put it all together while we sing and light the advent wreath that is on the stage).
Closing Minute To Win It: I used the game "Christmas Ball" found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYI078KqIN4 To choose my contestant today, I asked the boys and girls to remember our last lesson about "Whatsoever you do for the least of my people" and asked if any of them had done anything in the time since our last gathering to help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.
It was really a fun, great lesson this week! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at jtruitt@stolivers.com!
Today for our lesson I wanted to teach the children some of the symbolism of the Advent wreath. I decided to use students to create a living wreath, and so I contacted a local t-shirt printing business to ask them if they had some old t-shirts that they could donate to me in green, pink, and purple. I was lucky to receive 8 dark green shirts, 3 purple, and one pink -- all that I needed!
Before the lesson started, I selected several little kindergarten and first grade students, gave each one a green shirt and instructed them to put it on over their clothes. I told them I would call them up when the time was right. I then looked for some taller 3rd and 4th grade students to give my purple and pink shirts because I wanted the candles to stand taller than the wreath.
I started the lesson by asking the students what they noticed different about the decoration in our church last week (when we didn't have class due to Thanksgiving) and this week. Right away they pointed out that there is an enormous wreath hanging on the wall of the sanctuary. I asked them if they knew what it was called, and they called out, "Advent wreath!" I then continued: That's right! It's an advent wreath. And today I wanted to teach you a little lesson about the advent wreath and what it symbolizes or stands for. I have enlisted the help of some volunteers to come on up and help me to teach this to you, so could I please have the boys and girls who are wearing the special green t-shirts I gave you come forward? (I then asked them all to join hands and make a large circle). Here is our advent wreath, boys and girls! Now, would someone please tell me where this wreath begins? Hmm... nobody knows? Well, then, let's try to see if someone can tell me where it ends? What? Is this little girl the end? No? How about this boy? No! Well, you are right: this wreath has no beginning and no ending. And do you know what? That represents something for us: it represents God and God's Love and Jesus's Love. Do you know that God has no beginning and no ending? He always was, and he will always be. And it's the same way with his love for us... always was, always will be. So, the reason we use a wreath at Advent is to symbolize no beginning and no ending, just like God. Now, we have our wreath: what is missing? ("Candles!"they call out). You're right! How many candles? (4!) Ok, then, could I have my four candles please come forward? (I have the four students in the purple and pink shirts come forward, go into the center of the wreath and position them appropriately.) Now we have our four candles: three purple and one pink! Let's take a look at each candle and see what they mean. The first candle we lit last weekend. (As I say this, I took a headband out of construction paper on which I had attached an orange paper 'flame', and I place it on the head of the first purple-shirt child). This first candle is called the PROPHECY candle. Can you all say that big, long, million-dollar word: PROPHECY? Very good. Now, let me explain what a prophecy is. Have you ever heard about people who "know the future" or are "psychic" or even called "fortune tellers?" Well, there were people back in the Old Testament times who could foretell the future, and we called them prophets. These prophets, especially one named Isaiah, always told that there would be a messiah coming - a savior coming. And who is the Messiah? (Jesus!) Right! So we light the first candle, called the prophecy candle, to remind us that the prophets told us that our Messiah, Jesus, would be coming! One more time, what candle is this? (The prophecy candle!) Very good!
So this week it is time to light the second candle. (Put the flame headband on the second child's head). This candle is called the LOVE candle. That's an easy word, so you say it: LOVE candle! Now, there is nobody on this earth, and there never will be, who loves you as much as God loves you. He loves us SO MUCH that he came as Jesus to live among people on Earth and to die on the cross for us. That is LOVE! Raise your hand if God loves you! That's right: every single hand in here is raised high because God loves you so, so much! So, this week's candle is what? The LOVE candle!
Now, next week is my personal favorite candle - it's the PINK candle, and we call it the JOY candle! (Place headband 'flame' on child's head). That's another easy one to say, so let me hear you: JOY candle. Now, why are we so full of joy next week? Is it because the priests are going to be wearing pink? Haha! Of course not, even though they will be wearing pink, but the joy is that it is getting really, really, really close to CHRISTMAS! The JOY candle reminds us that we only have one more week to go, and then it will be time to celebrate the birth of our savior! I know that you all just love Christmas, and I know that you feel the JOY about that too, so next week when we light this pink candle you will all remember that it's the Joy candle because Christmas is almost here!
Finally we have our last purple candle. This candle is called the PEACE candle. (Put headband 'flame' on child's head). Let me hear you all say, "PEACE!" (Here I hold up two fingers in the sign of Peace and I say it with a voice kind of like a rapper says, "Peace-out." The students have fun imitating that kind of PEACE with their fingers). That's right. It's the PEACE candle, because it comes the week before the Prince of Peace is born. Have you ever heard Jesus called the Prince of Peace? That's another of the names we call him: Prince of Peace, Messiah, Emmanuel ... and of course Son of God! So when we light this last candle on the Advent wreath, it's time to really take a deep breath, relax, and experience the peace of this holy season, because Jesus is coming next week!
OK, so let's review this: Candle one is the? (prophecy candle!) And candle two? (love candle) Candle three is? (The joy candle) And last of all, candle four is? (Peace candle!) VERY GOOD!
Do any of you have an Advent wreath in your homes? I do too! At my house we light the Advent candle at our dinner table each night. And instead of saying grace before meals, we sing a special song as we light it. I want to teach that song to you today, and maybe you can teach it to your family to sing when you light your Advent wreath. It's called "Come, Come Emmanuel." Remember, Emmanuel is another way to call Jesus, so we are asking Jesus to come when we sing that song. (I use the song Come, Come Emmanuel by Steve Angrisano. I just teach them the refrain singing acapella, have them echo me line-by-line, and then put it all together while we sing and light the advent wreath that is on the stage).
Closing Minute To Win It: I used the game "Christmas Ball" found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYI078KqIN4 To choose my contestant today, I asked the boys and girls to remember our last lesson about "Whatsoever you do for the least of my people" and asked if any of them had done anything in the time since our last gathering to help feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.
It was really a fun, great lesson this week! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at jtruitt@stolivers.com!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Christ the King Video 11/13/11 at OneTrueMedia.com
This is the slide show I created for use with the Christ the King lesson.
Feast of Christ the King
Opening Song: I decided to use the kids' version of "He Reigns" as found in the LifeWay VBS "Pandamania" from Summer 2011. The song is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwM6meAVWqc Before teaching the song and the motions, I briefly went over what the word "reigns" means and how it applies to Christ the King. (I also explained what the phrase, "It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation" means). It's a quick and easy song, and fits the occasion very well!
Lesson: For this week's lesson I wanted to focus on the Gospel reading with the mandate from Christ to take care of "the least of my people." To do this, I created a video slide presentation with 12 different pictures of Jesus and 13 pictures of people who were hungry, homeless, in poverty, etc. I found all of the images by using Google image, then saved them onto my computer. I then utilized a web site called One True Media http://www.onetruemedia.com/ which creates music videos out of material that you upload. I arranged the photos so that they alternated between Jesus and the person in need. The end result is posted as a part of this blog page, and you are welcomed to view and/or use it.
I told the children that I would be playing a video for them, and that I would like them to count how many times they see Jesus in the video. (Obviously, virtually everyone is going to count 12). When the video is finished, I ask for answers from about 5 different children, and when they each give the incorrect answer, I told them that I would be giving them a hint. I asked them to listen to the story that Jesus tells us in the Gospel this Sunday, and then proceed to read the selection from Matthew 25: 31-40. I find that the version listed at Pflaum's web site is the most easily understood and child-friendly version, found here: http://www.pflaum.com/readings/ After sharing the reading, I summarize: So, this is what Jesus is telling us -- that all of these people who are in need are really HIM! Helping the hungry is helping Him! Helping the thirsty is helping Him! (etc.)
I then discuss with the children the fact that we are coming into the holiday season and that there are many, many people who will not be able to afford a big Thanksgiving dinner or lots of presents under the Christmas tree... maybe can't even afford a Christmas tree! We have many opportunities to help through our parish, and I go over each of those with the children (food pantry, giving tree, etc). I encourage them to talk it over with their family and think about how they might do what Jesus tells us: help the "least of my people" whenever we can, as much as we can.
I then play the slide show again and ask the children to count the number of times they see Jesus, and that I will let the first person to answer correctly be my contestant for "Minute To Win It" today! This time, of course, I get closer guesses to the right answer! :-)
For our MTWI game today, I chose "Tea Party". The blueprint for this game is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioGaJYZ4XkQ It was an easy one to create, but a lot of fun watching the child try to win!
As always, please feel free to email me directly at jtruitt@stolivers.com if I can answer any questions or share any material with you!
Lesson: For this week's lesson I wanted to focus on the Gospel reading with the mandate from Christ to take care of "the least of my people." To do this, I created a video slide presentation with 12 different pictures of Jesus and 13 pictures of people who were hungry, homeless, in poverty, etc. I found all of the images by using Google image, then saved them onto my computer. I then utilized a web site called One True Media http://www.onetruemedia.com/ which creates music videos out of material that you upload. I arranged the photos so that they alternated between Jesus and the person in need. The end result is posted as a part of this blog page, and you are welcomed to view and/or use it.
I told the children that I would be playing a video for them, and that I would like them to count how many times they see Jesus in the video. (Obviously, virtually everyone is going to count 12). When the video is finished, I ask for answers from about 5 different children, and when they each give the incorrect answer, I told them that I would be giving them a hint. I asked them to listen to the story that Jesus tells us in the Gospel this Sunday, and then proceed to read the selection from Matthew 25: 31-40. I find that the version listed at Pflaum's web site is the most easily understood and child-friendly version, found here: http://www.pflaum.com/readings/ After sharing the reading, I summarize: So, this is what Jesus is telling us -- that all of these people who are in need are really HIM! Helping the hungry is helping Him! Helping the thirsty is helping Him! (etc.)
I then discuss with the children the fact that we are coming into the holiday season and that there are many, many people who will not be able to afford a big Thanksgiving dinner or lots of presents under the Christmas tree... maybe can't even afford a Christmas tree! We have many opportunities to help through our parish, and I go over each of those with the children (food pantry, giving tree, etc). I encourage them to talk it over with their family and think about how they might do what Jesus tells us: help the "least of my people" whenever we can, as much as we can.
I then play the slide show again and ask the children to count the number of times they see Jesus, and that I will let the first person to answer correctly be my contestant for "Minute To Win It" today! This time, of course, I get closer guesses to the right answer! :-)
For our MTWI game today, I chose "Tea Party". The blueprint for this game is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioGaJYZ4XkQ It was an easy one to create, but a lot of fun watching the child try to win!
As always, please feel free to email me directly at jtruitt@stolivers.com if I can answer any questions or share any material with you!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wrapping up October and New Roman Missal lessons
Over the last couple of weeks we have had a bit of a jumbled schedule in my parish, including one week off for our local "Fall Break", so my group gatherings have been a little bit out of order; however, it is worthwhile for me to share here, at least in summary, what I have done to wrap up our preparation for the New Roman Missal changes.
I decided to bring in a "special guest" to help our children learn the new music that is coming with the changes to the Mass. Our parish has elected to use the Mass of St. Ann by Ed Bolduc, which you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL4nRwlIHnk We are phasing in the music slowly over the course of the next few months, starting with the Holy Holy Holy, the Memorial Acclamation, and the Great Amen. The leader of our Life Teen music group is an amazing musician and a very "cool" young man that I knew the kids would love to hear sing and play guitar, so it is he who came to our group gathering. Line by line he taught the songs, then we all sang them together. The kids enjoyed it as much as I expected that they would!
Finally, I felt that we were ready to review all that I had been going over with the children during our group gatherings, so I decided to wrap it up with a competition of JEOPARDY. For this, I use the Jeopardy Gaming System which is available through a company called Educational Insights (example found here at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-7910-Classroom-Jeopardy/dp/B000EEX7FM ) With this system, you can create your own questions and answers, and it plays out like a real game of Jeopardy, complete with buzzers and an electronic scoreboard. To make this fun, I decided to use catechist/student teams. I started by telling the students that we were going to play, and then asking them to nominate, by pointing, clapping, yelling, etc... to their catechist, if they wanted their catechist to be my contestant. That led to lots of fun and noisy competition, but I did select three catechists and asked each of them to select a student to play with them. I now had three teams of two ready to play. I had created the following four categories: Opening Rites, Reading Time, Liturgy of the Eucharist, and Music. There were 5 questions under each category with ascending "dollar" values, and then the game ended with a Final Jeopardy question. If you have any interest in the exact questions I created, I am more than happy to send them to you; simply email me at jtruitt@stolivers.com any time! My contestants all received prizes for their efforts, with a special prize going to our winners. It was a lot of fun for the players, as well as for the audience cheering them on. All in all, I have to say that the children of St. Olivers are probably better prepared for the upcoming changes than most of the adults in our parish! :-) Stay tuned as we will now move on to other group gathering topics! Thanks for reading!
I decided to bring in a "special guest" to help our children learn the new music that is coming with the changes to the Mass. Our parish has elected to use the Mass of St. Ann by Ed Bolduc, which you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL4nRwlIHnk We are phasing in the music slowly over the course of the next few months, starting with the Holy Holy Holy, the Memorial Acclamation, and the Great Amen. The leader of our Life Teen music group is an amazing musician and a very "cool" young man that I knew the kids would love to hear sing and play guitar, so it is he who came to our group gathering. Line by line he taught the songs, then we all sang them together. The kids enjoyed it as much as I expected that they would!
Finally, I felt that we were ready to review all that I had been going over with the children during our group gatherings, so I decided to wrap it up with a competition of JEOPARDY. For this, I use the Jeopardy Gaming System which is available through a company called Educational Insights (example found here at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-7910-Classroom-Jeopardy/dp/B000EEX7FM ) With this system, you can create your own questions and answers, and it plays out like a real game of Jeopardy, complete with buzzers and an electronic scoreboard. To make this fun, I decided to use catechist/student teams. I started by telling the students that we were going to play, and then asking them to nominate, by pointing, clapping, yelling, etc... to their catechist, if they wanted their catechist to be my contestant. That led to lots of fun and noisy competition, but I did select three catechists and asked each of them to select a student to play with them. I now had three teams of two ready to play. I had created the following four categories: Opening Rites, Reading Time, Liturgy of the Eucharist, and Music. There were 5 questions under each category with ascending "dollar" values, and then the game ended with a Final Jeopardy question. If you have any interest in the exact questions I created, I am more than happy to send them to you; simply email me at jtruitt@stolivers.com any time! My contestants all received prizes for their efforts, with a special prize going to our winners. It was a lot of fun for the players, as well as for the audience cheering them on. All in all, I have to say that the children of St. Olivers are probably better prepared for the upcoming changes than most of the adults in our parish! :-) Stay tuned as we will now move on to other group gathering topics! Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Lesson for Sunday, Oct. 16th
This week I am continuing to build upon the lessons on the New Roman Missal changes.
Our opening song is a favorite of the children (and me!): Lord, I Lift Your Name on High. (It doesn't really have anything to do with "change", but I wanted to sing it this week!) I like the video found at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYBUGhWQdLA These are the same hand motions we use, more or less.
To begin the lesson, I told the children that I wanted to tell them a story about some people that lived at the same time and in the same place as Jesus. The story went as follows:
Back when Jesus was alive, the place that he lived had some different kinds of people living there. One group that lived there was the Jewish people, called Jews. Will you say that? (Jews). Jesus himself was a Jew. The Jews lived in this area for a long time, but another group of people came in and fought a war with the Jews. These people were called the Romans. Say that: (Romans). Now, at this time, the Romans had won the control of the area where Jesus lived, and so the Romans were in charge of everything. The Jews DID NOT like those Romans, and especially did not like the Roman soldiers who bossed them around, made them pay taxes that they didn't want to pay, and things like that. In the same way, the Romans really DID NOT like the Jews. They did not think they were as good as the Romans, and so they picked on those Jews and talked bad about them a lot.
Well, there was one Roman soldier that I want to tell you about today who really did something unbelievable. This Roman soldier, called a Centurion, had a servant who was also his friend. This servant became very suddenly sick - very sick - in fact, so sick that he was going to die. This made the Roman soldier very, very upset. His servant needed a miracle if he was going to live. Well, the Roman Centurion knew that there was a Jewish man, called Jesus, who was very special. Jesus was rumored to be able to perform miracles, and so the Roman decided to go see him. I want you to watch this video of whath appened next!
Show the video clip from NEST entertainment called, "Lord, I believe" which is about 2 minutes long and shows the centurion going to Jesus and begging for his servant to be healed. When Jesus says he will come to the centurion, the response is, "Lord, I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof. But if you only say the word I know my servant will be healed." The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH3xLRapUMw After showing the clip, continue to explain:
Now, this was just amazing that a soldier, who didn't even like Jews, had enough faith in Jesus to call him "Lord" and to believe that he could heal the servant. But did you hear what the soldier said when Jesus told him that he would come heal the servant? The soldier said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and I know my servant will be healed." Does that sound familiar to you at all? Yes? Remember last week I showed you how we are going to have something new to say at Mass? Let's review all of those new things we are going to say, and when you hear something that sounds like what the Roman soldier said, I want you to raise your hand.
I reviewed last week's power point (see blog for Oct. 9) with the students, and of course they all raised their hand at the appropriate time.
I then used this to lead into introducing our Prayer Honor Roll for this year. Prayer Honor Roll is something I use to have the students memorize appropriate prayers for their grade level. I will expand on that in another blog post very soon.
This week we wrapped up the lesson with the Minute to Win It Game "Junk In the Trunk." The blueprint for this game is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZEAEvIq4Y8 This week I selected my contestant by putting three vessels on the altar: a coffee cup, a drinking cup, and a chalice. I asked who could remember from last week's video about changes what these items on the altar have to do with the changes that are coming. The selected volunteer came up and correctly identified that they were all kinds of cups, but one is called a chalice. We reviewed that "chalice" will replace "cup" in the Eucharistic prayer. As a bonus, I asked if he remembered the Latin word, calix, but he didn't! (However, an audience member did!)
If you have any questions about this lesson or need more information, please contact me at jtruitt@stolivers.com! :-)
Our opening song is a favorite of the children (and me!): Lord, I Lift Your Name on High. (It doesn't really have anything to do with "change", but I wanted to sing it this week!) I like the video found at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYBUGhWQdLA These are the same hand motions we use, more or less.
To begin the lesson, I told the children that I wanted to tell them a story about some people that lived at the same time and in the same place as Jesus. The story went as follows:
Back when Jesus was alive, the place that he lived had some different kinds of people living there. One group that lived there was the Jewish people, called Jews. Will you say that? (Jews). Jesus himself was a Jew. The Jews lived in this area for a long time, but another group of people came in and fought a war with the Jews. These people were called the Romans. Say that: (Romans). Now, at this time, the Romans had won the control of the area where Jesus lived, and so the Romans were in charge of everything. The Jews DID NOT like those Romans, and especially did not like the Roman soldiers who bossed them around, made them pay taxes that they didn't want to pay, and things like that. In the same way, the Romans really DID NOT like the Jews. They did not think they were as good as the Romans, and so they picked on those Jews and talked bad about them a lot.
Well, there was one Roman soldier that I want to tell you about today who really did something unbelievable. This Roman soldier, called a Centurion, had a servant who was also his friend. This servant became very suddenly sick - very sick - in fact, so sick that he was going to die. This made the Roman soldier very, very upset. His servant needed a miracle if he was going to live. Well, the Roman Centurion knew that there was a Jewish man, called Jesus, who was very special. Jesus was rumored to be able to perform miracles, and so the Roman decided to go see him. I want you to watch this video of whath appened next!
Show the video clip from NEST entertainment called, "Lord, I believe" which is about 2 minutes long and shows the centurion going to Jesus and begging for his servant to be healed. When Jesus says he will come to the centurion, the response is, "Lord, I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof. But if you only say the word I know my servant will be healed." The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH3xLRapUMw After showing the clip, continue to explain:
Now, this was just amazing that a soldier, who didn't even like Jews, had enough faith in Jesus to call him "Lord" and to believe that he could heal the servant. But did you hear what the soldier said when Jesus told him that he would come heal the servant? The soldier said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and I know my servant will be healed." Does that sound familiar to you at all? Yes? Remember last week I showed you how we are going to have something new to say at Mass? Let's review all of those new things we are going to say, and when you hear something that sounds like what the Roman soldier said, I want you to raise your hand.
I reviewed last week's power point (see blog for Oct. 9) with the students, and of course they all raised their hand at the appropriate time.
I then used this to lead into introducing our Prayer Honor Roll for this year. Prayer Honor Roll is something I use to have the students memorize appropriate prayers for their grade level. I will expand on that in another blog post very soon.
This week we wrapped up the lesson with the Minute to Win It Game "Junk In the Trunk." The blueprint for this game is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZEAEvIq4Y8 This week I selected my contestant by putting three vessels on the altar: a coffee cup, a drinking cup, and a chalice. I asked who could remember from last week's video about changes what these items on the altar have to do with the changes that are coming. The selected volunteer came up and correctly identified that they were all kinds of cups, but one is called a chalice. We reviewed that "chalice" will replace "cup" in the Eucharistic prayer. As a bonus, I asked if he remembered the Latin word, calix, but he didn't! (However, an audience member did!)
If you have any questions about this lesson or need more information, please contact me at jtruitt@stolivers.com! :-)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Lesson for Sunday, Oct. 9th
Now that the students know that change is coming to our Mass, this week I am going to get a little bit specific about some of the changes.
Opening song: Your Life Will Change (see blog last week for link)
Minute to Win It Game: I decided after last week's lesson that I am going to actually hold off on doing the MITWI game until the *end* of our group gathering time. I discovered that the kids are so excited about it, that to do the MITWI first is sort of like putting the climax of the group gathering time at the beginning. Beginning this week, I am going to let the children earn the MITWI by being good listeners, participating in the lesson, etc. In other words, it is the carrot I will dangle in front of them to get cooperative behavior! :-) Anyway, this week I promised them we would do the "Face the Cookie" challenge, wehreby a student will be selected to move a cookie from the forehead to the mouth without using hands. There are two videos to use with this, one being the typical blueprint video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBqnIJV8dws and the other being a video of a young man actually accomplishing the task: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X21KGnaeJS8 (Note: I am only going to require one cookie instead of three, and will use Nilla wafers.) Again, this portion of the gathering time will be at the end.
After our opening song, I will quickly remind the students that our last lesson told us that change was coming. Today we will be getting more specific about that change, and I'd like to start by having two of my friends explain it to you a little bit! (Show video from Life Teen's web site called ismasschanging.org . The link is: http://www.ismasschanging.org/ and you will download the video for middle school youth. It works fine for the elementary students!
After the video, I will tell the students that we are going to look a little bit more specifically at some of the words that WE will be saying differently. To do this, I will utilize and talk through a power point presentation which I have created. The power point link is here: https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AcXPFwPkrCrJZHN3MjkzOF8yNWIyODMyZms&hl=en_US Please email me if you'd like me to send it to you directly. My email is jtruitt@stolivers.com .
There will not likely be time for a closing song this gathering, so after Minute to Win It, I will dismiss the children with our standard "GOD IS GOOD.... ALL THE TIME" echo!
Opening song: Your Life Will Change (see blog last week for link)
Minute to Win It Game: I decided after last week's lesson that I am going to actually hold off on doing the MITWI game until the *end* of our group gathering time. I discovered that the kids are so excited about it, that to do the MITWI first is sort of like putting the climax of the group gathering time at the beginning. Beginning this week, I am going to let the children earn the MITWI by being good listeners, participating in the lesson, etc. In other words, it is the carrot I will dangle in front of them to get cooperative behavior! :-) Anyway, this week I promised them we would do the "Face the Cookie" challenge, wehreby a student will be selected to move a cookie from the forehead to the mouth without using hands. There are two videos to use with this, one being the typical blueprint video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBqnIJV8dws and the other being a video of a young man actually accomplishing the task: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X21KGnaeJS8 (Note: I am only going to require one cookie instead of three, and will use Nilla wafers.) Again, this portion of the gathering time will be at the end.
After our opening song, I will quickly remind the students that our last lesson told us that change was coming. Today we will be getting more specific about that change, and I'd like to start by having two of my friends explain it to you a little bit! (Show video from Life Teen's web site called ismasschanging.org . The link is: http://www.ismasschanging.org/ and you will download the video for middle school youth. It works fine for the elementary students!
After the video, I will tell the students that we are going to look a little bit more specifically at some of the words that WE will be saying differently. To do this, I will utilize and talk through a power point presentation which I have created. The power point link is here: https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AcXPFwPkrCrJZHN3MjkzOF8yNWIyODMyZms&hl=en_US Please email me if you'd like me to send it to you directly. My email is jtruitt@stolivers.com .
There will not likely be time for a closing song this gathering, so after Minute to Win It, I will dismiss the children with our standard "GOD IS GOOD.... ALL THE TIME" echo!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Group Gathering for Sunday, Oct. 2nd: Begin New Roman Missal Prep
Now that we have a couple of weeks of classes under our belts, it is time to start preparing the children for the switch to the New Roman Missal coming in November! I am taking several weeks to try and break down the "why" we are changing and the "how" we are changing into the most basic, kid-understandable elements. This is how this week's group gathering will go:
Opening song: Your Life Will Change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwTTU7eIw5Qv=CwTTU7eIw5Qyoutube.com/watch?v=CwTTU7eIw5Q This is a great song from an old VBS that has very easy motions to learn.
Minute to Win It: We will review last week's lesson about the parable of the two brothers. I will seek an audience member who can summarize the lesson, and especially the point that it isn't what we SAY that really matters, it's what we DO and how we ACT that shows we are Catholic Christians. The person who summarizes last week will be invited to play the game called "Penny Hose." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXb2rY_Zv9M As usual, if the task is successfully completed the contestant will win a "big" prize, but will win a small prize for at least trying.
Mini-Lesson: This lesson is strictly going to focus on "change." I will begin by having teachers give each student a sheet of paper on which I have pre-printed the Staples Easy Button image on one side and the Mr. Yuck Green Frown Face on the other side.
. 
I will tell the children that I am going to talk to them today about CHANGE, and we are going to think about and decide whether or not we think change is easy or difficult. I will proceed as follows:
I will tell the children that I am going to talk to them today about CHANGE, and we are going to think about and decide whether or not we think change is easy or difficult. I will proceed as follows:Boys and girls, I am going to say a kind of situation that involves CHANGE. If you think that making that kind of change is easy, I would like you to hold up your sign with the EASY BUTTON showing. If you think that the kind of change that I mention is not too easy, then I want you to hold up the Mr. Yuk face. Everyone ready? Ok! Here we go! First of all, it just changed seasons last week from Summer to Fall. Was that change to Fall last Friday an easy change or a hard change? (pause - comment on signs, which will most likely all say 'easy'). Yes, I think changing seasons is easy, but there is something that happens along with seasons changing sometimes, and that is the Daylight Savings Time change, where we either lose an hour or gain an hour. What do you think? Is Daylight Savings Time an easy change or a hard change? You've got the idea, now! Let's go through a bunch of them. I want you to vote by holding up your signs, and you can look at each others', but let's keep our voices out of it so we can hear each question. Here we go:
Eating your favorite food?
Giving up your favorite food for Lent?
Learning a new language?
Getting a haircut?
Outgrowing your clothes to a new size?
Finishing school in May and going to the next higher grade?
Going to a new school?
Getting a new coach for your sports team?
Moving to a new state?
Moving to the North Pole?
Getting a new pet?
Having a pet run away or die?
VERY GOOD! We saw lots of examples of EASY changes and lots of examples of tough changes today. Some changes we know are coming, don't we? Like we know the seasons are changing; we know that we'll be going to the next grade, etc. But some changes we can't prepare for, like if our pet suddenly ran away from home? I want you to use your sign and answer this question for me. If you think it is easier to deal with changes that you know are coming, show me the easy button, but if you think it is easier to deal with unexpected changes that come, like a tornado wiping out a house, hold up the Mr. Yuk. I agree with all of you who think change is easier to handle when we know it is coming and can plan for it!
I want to ask you another question. If you like to deal with change by having others who have to deal with it too, like if you get a new coach on your team and everyone who plays on the team has to get used to that coach, you will show me the easy button. If you would rather be all by yourself to deal with change, and have nobody to talk about the change with, show me the Mr. Yuk button. I agree with everyone who is holding up the easy button: I think it is much easier to deal with change when we have others that we can talk about it with.
WELL... there is a reason that we are talking about change today. It's because there is a big change coming to our Mass! It is something that has been planned for a long time, and the change is going to start in November, so we have some time to get ready for it. I want to show you a video clip about the changes coming, and so get ready to read along with what it says...
(The Words of the Mass Are Changing Video)
So, you just heard all of those people talk about the change that is coming, and whether or not they like change and how they get redy for it. Whether we like change or not, we ARE having a change to Mass, and so we ARE going to get ready for it. And I am counting on you, boys and girls, to help your parents to prepare for the change by talking to them about everything that YOU learn about the changes. Since most of your parents don't go to a religous ed. class, it will be up to you to help your family prepare. Can you do that?! Can you DO THAT??!! All right!!!
Next week we are going to have a look at what is changing about the Mass, and we are going to start to learn some of the new things. This week I want you to start to prepare your minds for the change that is coming, ok?
Since you are going to be messengers of these changes, helping others get ready for it, I think that is kind of like letting your light shine before man, and doing a good deed. So let's close with our Let Your Light Shine song! GOD IS GOOD!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sunday, Sept. 25th Group Gathering Lesson
Parable of the Two Brothers: Sunday, Sept. 25th - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Opening Song: Ha La La La (Same as last week - see 9/18 blog notes for link)
Review of Last Week: I will start our class by asking who remembers what Jesus taught us last week about what is fair and what isn't fair... if they can summarize for us the Gospel that we talked about. The first student who is able to give some sort of a synopsis of last week's class will be invited up to play a "Minute to Win It" type game. Today we will play "Sharp Shooter", where a student takes aim with rubber bands at playing cards set up with clothes pins. You can find and download the blueprint for this game at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksr2JPk2MnM . I use a 60 second timer for the countdown that can be downloaded at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq25cELZozU . If the student completes the task in 60 seconds, he will win a "big prize" of a notepad and pen... if not, the "small prize" is a fun-sized bag of M&Ms.
Mini-Lesson: I will have pre-chosen two children from among the early arrivals to be my helpers for a skit that we will present, and will assign them their roles. The stage will be pre-set with a television and video game. Both children will be sitting in front of the TV, pretending to play the video game. On the opposite side of the stage I will have a broom set up, along with some random objects (toys, papers, etc) to make the area look messy. The skit will proceed as follows, with me playing the mom:
Mom: Kids, the playroom is pretty messy! I need for the toys to be picked up and for you to sweep up the floor of all of the cookie crumbs. Will you please take care of that?
Child 1: Ok, mom! I'll be there in a minute!
Child 2: Awwww, come on, Mom! I am in the middle of a good game! Why do you always make me stop my FUN and do work for you?! I don't WANT to pick up right now! I'm staying right here!
Mom: (Shrugs shoulders and walks away)
Children continue to play for a few seconds.
Child 2: Come on, Mom needs us to clean up. We'd better do it!
Child 1: No way! If I stop now I will lose the high score! I'm not going to do it!
Child 2 gets up, goes and picks up the mess and starts sweeping.
Child 1 continues to play the video game.
That will end the skit, at which point I will summarize what happened and ask the students what they think: which child did the better thing? The one who was polite to the mom and said he'd do it, but then didn't ... or the one who back-talked his mom, but then did what she asked? I will point out that neither one of them was a really good example, but that Jesus has something to say to us about that. I will then read to them the Gospel for 9/25, which can be found at http://www.pflaum.com/readings/sept_2011/sept_25.pdf . We will teach that Jesus is telling us that it is fine to say you are a Christian, to say that you love God, etc., but if you don't ACT like it, you're not doing the right thing. It's much better to ACT like that Christian person and to let your good deeds shine.
Closing song: Let Your Light Shine Before Man - found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZMMz5uJKkQ&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLAA76858E183053E1
The kids love this song! The motions are very easy.
If you have any questions about this lesson, please feel free to contact me at jtruitt@stolivers.com !
Opening Song: Ha La La La (Same as last week - see 9/18 blog notes for link)
Review of Last Week: I will start our class by asking who remembers what Jesus taught us last week about what is fair and what isn't fair... if they can summarize for us the Gospel that we talked about. The first student who is able to give some sort of a synopsis of last week's class will be invited up to play a "Minute to Win It" type game. Today we will play "Sharp Shooter", where a student takes aim with rubber bands at playing cards set up with clothes pins. You can find and download the blueprint for this game at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksr2JPk2MnM . I use a 60 second timer for the countdown that can be downloaded at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq25cELZozU . If the student completes the task in 60 seconds, he will win a "big prize" of a notepad and pen... if not, the "small prize" is a fun-sized bag of M&Ms.
Mini-Lesson: I will have pre-chosen two children from among the early arrivals to be my helpers for a skit that we will present, and will assign them their roles. The stage will be pre-set with a television and video game. Both children will be sitting in front of the TV, pretending to play the video game. On the opposite side of the stage I will have a broom set up, along with some random objects (toys, papers, etc) to make the area look messy. The skit will proceed as follows, with me playing the mom:
Mom: Kids, the playroom is pretty messy! I need for the toys to be picked up and for you to sweep up the floor of all of the cookie crumbs. Will you please take care of that?
Child 1: Ok, mom! I'll be there in a minute!
Child 2: Awwww, come on, Mom! I am in the middle of a good game! Why do you always make me stop my FUN and do work for you?! I don't WANT to pick up right now! I'm staying right here!
Mom: (Shrugs shoulders and walks away)
Children continue to play for a few seconds.
Child 2: Come on, Mom needs us to clean up. We'd better do it!
Child 1: No way! If I stop now I will lose the high score! I'm not going to do it!
Child 2 gets up, goes and picks up the mess and starts sweeping.
Child 1 continues to play the video game.
That will end the skit, at which point I will summarize what happened and ask the students what they think: which child did the better thing? The one who was polite to the mom and said he'd do it, but then didn't ... or the one who back-talked his mom, but then did what she asked? I will point out that neither one of them was a really good example, but that Jesus has something to say to us about that. I will then read to them the Gospel for 9/25, which can be found at http://www.pflaum.com/readings/sept_2011/sept_25.pdf . We will teach that Jesus is telling us that it is fine to say you are a Christian, to say that you love God, etc., but if you don't ACT like it, you're not doing the right thing. It's much better to ACT like that Christian person and to let your good deeds shine.
Closing song: Let Your Light Shine Before Man - found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZMMz5uJKkQ&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLAA76858E183053E1
The kids love this song! The motions are very easy.
If you have any questions about this lesson, please feel free to contact me at jtruitt@stolivers.com !
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunday, Sept. 18th Group Gathering Lesson
Ok! Here we go!
As promised, this blog is going to primarily chronicle what I do as a group gathering mini-lesson for students to help kick-off weekly PSR classes in a fun way. If you are new to the idea and/or the blog, please take a look at the side-bar on this page and read the introduction to the book I am working on. That will bring you up to speed on what I am doing and why I am doing it.
In my parish, we have classes on Tuesdays and Sundays. We use the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies curriculum, which prepares children for Mass by centering the lesson around the Gospel. Therefore, when we have class on Tuesday, we are preparing for the upcoming Sunday. When we have our gathering on Sunday, we are addressing the Gospel for that very day.
So... this first post addresses the Gospel for Sunday, September 18th. (Note: The group gathering mini-lessons will not always focus on the Gospel, even though class always will).
This week is our first class. The gathering time will be as follows:
Opening Song: Ha La La La (A Welcoming Song). Find this song on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ba94WT7Uxk This is a great song for the intro, because the children get to shake hands, pat backs, and slap high-fives to each other during the song. It's also super catchy and fun to sing!
Of course I will be welcoming the children back after a long summer with no PSR classes, and will take a few moments to see what fun things they did over the summer.
We will then move into a mini-lesson on the upcoming Gospel, which is the parable of the workers in the vineyard. You can find a child-friendly copy of this Gospel at http://www.pflaum.com/readings/sept_2011/sept_18.pdf .
I am going to start by seeking a volunteer, saying, "I would like three volunteers to come up to the stage and do a task for me. If you do the task, I have a prize for you. Who would like to come up?" When the volunteer is selected, I will ask him/her to please do 25 jumping jacks. When he is starting, I am going to ask a second volunteer to do 10 jumping jacks, and while that one is starting I will ask the last volunteer to do one single jumping jack. When they are all done, I am going to announce that they have each earned a prize, and I will give each of them the same prize: a kid-sized bag of M&Ms and thank them for what they have done.
I will then turn to the audience and re-cap what has just happened, then ask if it is fair that each of the children got the same prize. I will solicit responses from the audience, finding out why they think it is or isn't fair.
I will then continue, "In the Gospel this coming Sunday, Jesus has a story to tell about what is and isn't fair, and I would like for you to listen to the story." The Gospel will then be read to the children.
When the Gospel has been read, I will continue with the lesson based on the suggestion from a wonderful web site called www.sermons4kids.com . The basic script is as follows: "What is the point of the story that Jesus told? The point is that there are some people who trust in Jesus and serve him all the days of their life. What is their reward? Their reward is eternal life in Heaven. There are other people who live most of their life in sin. They don't serve the Lord at all. Then, just before their life comes to an end, they put their trust in Jesus and accept him as their Savior. What is their reward? Their reward is the same as one who as served the Lord all their life -- eternal life in Heaven. We all think of Saints as people who were just perfect and behaved exactly the way God would want them to behave every single day of their lives. Some Saints did really live close to that good, but did you know that some of the great Saints were actually pretty bad sinners before they turned their lives around and became Saints? We might not think it's fair to those who were good all the time, but if we got what was fair, none of us would go to Heaven. The Bible says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' That means that every single one of us in here today has sinned, and if God was only being super fair and taking people who never sinned to Heaven, lots of people would never get there! I don't know about you, but I am glad that God doesn't give me what is fair, but gives me His love and forgiveness, even if that might not be what I deserve! You know what this means... this means that GOD IS GOOD! (And the children at my parish know to call back: ALL THE TIME!)"
Normally I include a closing song, but I know that we will be running late today since it is our first class and it takes children a while to find their spots, so I will simply conclude the lesson by dismissing each grade level.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments on this lesson! jtruitt@stolivers.com
Peace!!!
As promised, this blog is going to primarily chronicle what I do as a group gathering mini-lesson for students to help kick-off weekly PSR classes in a fun way. If you are new to the idea and/or the blog, please take a look at the side-bar on this page and read the introduction to the book I am working on. That will bring you up to speed on what I am doing and why I am doing it.
In my parish, we have classes on Tuesdays and Sundays. We use the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies curriculum, which prepares children for Mass by centering the lesson around the Gospel. Therefore, when we have class on Tuesday, we are preparing for the upcoming Sunday. When we have our gathering on Sunday, we are addressing the Gospel for that very day.
So... this first post addresses the Gospel for Sunday, September 18th. (Note: The group gathering mini-lessons will not always focus on the Gospel, even though class always will).
This week is our first class. The gathering time will be as follows:
Opening Song: Ha La La La (A Welcoming Song). Find this song on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ba94WT7Uxk This is a great song for the intro, because the children get to shake hands, pat backs, and slap high-fives to each other during the song. It's also super catchy and fun to sing!
Of course I will be welcoming the children back after a long summer with no PSR classes, and will take a few moments to see what fun things they did over the summer.
We will then move into a mini-lesson on the upcoming Gospel, which is the parable of the workers in the vineyard. You can find a child-friendly copy of this Gospel at http://www.pflaum.com/readings/sept_2011/sept_18.pdf .
I am going to start by seeking a volunteer, saying, "I would like three volunteers to come up to the stage and do a task for me. If you do the task, I have a prize for you. Who would like to come up?" When the volunteer is selected, I will ask him/her to please do 25 jumping jacks. When he is starting, I am going to ask a second volunteer to do 10 jumping jacks, and while that one is starting I will ask the last volunteer to do one single jumping jack. When they are all done, I am going to announce that they have each earned a prize, and I will give each of them the same prize: a kid-sized bag of M&Ms and thank them for what they have done.
I will then turn to the audience and re-cap what has just happened, then ask if it is fair that each of the children got the same prize. I will solicit responses from the audience, finding out why they think it is or isn't fair.
I will then continue, "In the Gospel this coming Sunday, Jesus has a story to tell about what is and isn't fair, and I would like for you to listen to the story." The Gospel will then be read to the children.
When the Gospel has been read, I will continue with the lesson based on the suggestion from a wonderful web site called www.sermons4kids.com . The basic script is as follows: "What is the point of the story that Jesus told? The point is that there are some people who trust in Jesus and serve him all the days of their life. What is their reward? Their reward is eternal life in Heaven. There are other people who live most of their life in sin. They don't serve the Lord at all. Then, just before their life comes to an end, they put their trust in Jesus and accept him as their Savior. What is their reward? Their reward is the same as one who as served the Lord all their life -- eternal life in Heaven. We all think of Saints as people who were just perfect and behaved exactly the way God would want them to behave every single day of their lives. Some Saints did really live close to that good, but did you know that some of the great Saints were actually pretty bad sinners before they turned their lives around and became Saints? We might not think it's fair to those who were good all the time, but if we got what was fair, none of us would go to Heaven. The Bible says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' That means that every single one of us in here today has sinned, and if God was only being super fair and taking people who never sinned to Heaven, lots of people would never get there! I don't know about you, but I am glad that God doesn't give me what is fair, but gives me His love and forgiveness, even if that might not be what I deserve! You know what this means... this means that GOD IS GOOD! (And the children at my parish know to call back: ALL THE TIME!)"
Normally I include a closing song, but I know that we will be running late today since it is our first class and it takes children a while to find their spots, so I will simply conclude the lesson by dismissing each grade level.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments on this lesson! jtruitt@stolivers.com
Peace!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Great FREE Webinar!
Tonight I attended a one-hour "webinar" with Joe Paprocki called "Getting Started As A Catechist - Teaching Children of Primary Age." He will be doing intermediate, high school, and even adults in the coming weeks. As a PSR coordinator, you can take away some great tips to share with your new catechists as they get ready to rock and roll this year, and even some for returning catechists. Tonight's event will be available as a re-broadcast via his blog (www.catechistsjourney.com) very soon, and I highly recommend it! Especially important, I think, is his section about how to reach children where they are, which is the high-horse I ride all the time! You just can't overstate the importance of reaching children in a way that is meaningful to them. Check out Joe's blog, and perhaps invest an hour in a webinar! It will be time well spent!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Here We Go!!
This past April, I was speaking with Joe Paprocki, a very well-known author of popular and readable Catholic books such as The Catechist's Toolbox and Practice Makes Catholic. He is also a fantastic catechist, and blogs about his experiences on his site: catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com . I told Joe about my plans to find a way to share what I have learned about a new and super-effective way of getting kids excited about their Catholic faith: using a whole-group gathering to kick-off weekly PSR classes in much the same way a Vacation Bible School session is begun. I've used this method now for three years, and the positive feedback I have received from catechists, parents, and most importantly the kiddos, has given me the impetus to share what I am doing.
My biggest goal is to publish a short book outlining how the program works from soup to nuts. I am covering everything from setting up the gathering space to compiling specific lists of songs, web-sites, skits, etc. This book will take readers from the very beginning up to where I am currently: starting year four of this program. Joe suggested that I also begin blogging right away. It is via this blog that I can share my weekly plans from this day forward, and therefore any DREs or CREs out there looking to implement something new and different can turn here for a possible idea.
Some of you reading this blog will know me from my roundtable presentations at the NCCL conventions of 2010 (Las Vegas) and 2011 (Atlanta). You already know the value of using this style of teaching, and have my handout with some resources listed. I hope that you will find the information forthcoming will be a great addition to build upon what you already know.
My PSR kicks off our 2011-12 year on September 13th and 18th. Look for a new blog post sometime before then to see how I decide to kick-off the year! I look forward to sharing with you, and more importantly, to your sharing with me!
My biggest goal is to publish a short book outlining how the program works from soup to nuts. I am covering everything from setting up the gathering space to compiling specific lists of songs, web-sites, skits, etc. This book will take readers from the very beginning up to where I am currently: starting year four of this program. Joe suggested that I also begin blogging right away. It is via this blog that I can share my weekly plans from this day forward, and therefore any DREs or CREs out there looking to implement something new and different can turn here for a possible idea.
Some of you reading this blog will know me from my roundtable presentations at the NCCL conventions of 2010 (Las Vegas) and 2011 (Atlanta). You already know the value of using this style of teaching, and have my handout with some resources listed. I hope that you will find the information forthcoming will be a great addition to build upon what you already know.
My PSR kicks off our 2011-12 year on September 13th and 18th. Look for a new blog post sometime before then to see how I decide to kick-off the year! I look forward to sharing with you, and more importantly, to your sharing with me!
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