Four ways to keep your children’s RCIA catechesis from boring your kids to tears

7 thoughts on “Four ways to keep your children’s RCIA catechesis from boring your kids to tears”

  1. I’m a big fan of games and use them a lot with my group. We have used memory to learn all the “stuff” you see in church, you only get to keep the matches if you can name them or describe when they are used. I have a series of cards to go with the Bible stories we cover and we see which group can put them in order the fastest. And jeopardy is great for reviewing lot of stuff.

    1. Rita Burns Senseman

      I agree, Karen. Turning learning into a “game” makes it so much more fun! I know my daughters love doing jeopardy type games.

  2. I teach 6th graders. To keep them engaged on a dark Wednesday night I ask them constant questions, and encourage them to tell the stories, identify characters, & draw conclusions.

    Like so:

    “Hey it’s February. I notice there’s more daylight now when y’all get dropped off, why is that?

    The days are getting longer?

    Yes, the Sun is up more. It’ll be Spring soon, and the days…lengthen [on the board]. English-speakers once called this time of the year the “lengthen season.” Now watch the Magic Finger (I erase letters in lengthen so it says len-t-en); what does the Church call this season?

    Umm…Lent?

    Yes, why?

    Because the days lengthen!

    Yes, so Lent is short for…

    ..Lenten…

    yes, which is short for…

    lengthen!

    Yes. Y’all are too smart. Sometimes we say Lent, sometimes we say Lenten season. ¿Quién aquí habla Español?

    Me!

    Honorary son, what’s Spanish for Lent?

    Cuaresma [on the board].

    How many days is Lent, Cuaresma?

    Forty.

    How do you know?

    Because cuaresma is like the word for forty.

    Which is?

    Cuarenta [on the board].

    Yes; y’all can see how Spanish tells us Lent is 40 days long. Class, what’s up with 40; why not 38 days, or 43 days?

    Because Jesus was in the desert for 40 days!

    Yes, and the Israelites…

    were in the desert for 40 years!

    Yes, good. Forty is an important number in the Bible; there are more 40s in the Bible than we have time for. Now, if you’re in the desert like Jesus or the Israelites, are you having fun?

    I don’t think so.

    Right, being in the desert involves discomfort, suffering.

    1. Rita Burns Senseman

      Christian, what a fun and interactive idea! I love the word game! Plus, it teaches us English-speakers a little Spanish.

  3. Wow! Christian, I love the sample dialogue in your post. I too have a bilingual setting, and I love the way you integrated the Spanish into the lesson instead of just straight translating. As I write this, another part of my brain is buzzing with how to apply your ideas to my class!

  4. Rita Burns Senseman

    Christian,
    Thanks for the suggestions on ways we can make Spanish part of the “fabric” of our sessions. And, it’s great to go back to your post from Feb 2012 on
    Cuaresma.

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