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!
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!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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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