Saturday, January 12, 2008
RCIC
I taught my first RCIC class last Wednesday night. In our parish, RCIC is a class for children over 7 who need to be baptized, for children in 3rd grade or above who need to make their First Communion, and for high school students who have not yet been confirmed. Because of the great disparity in ages and sacraments for which the students are preparing we've separated the high school students from the rest of the class with another teacher. So, I have close to 10 students ages 7-13 to prepare for baptism, Penance, First Communion and Confirmation. We have to go over Confirmation with them also because any child baptized over the age of reason receives all the Sacraments of Initiation together (something I learned at my new job).
I was a little nervous before the first class because I've never taught children this young before. Usually I teach middle school or high school. But, the class went really well and the children really seemed to enjoy it. In fact, as they were leaving the classroom, one of the boys said, "That was kind of fun!"
There are no texts for an RCIC class, so I'm having to make up things as I go along. With some help from our textbook series Life in Christ, the 1st and 2nd grade DVD's from the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, and what materials I've been able to find on-line, I've been able to put together something. This week we discussed sacraments and the story of Adam and Eve in preparation for talking about Baptism next week. I think that their favorite part was discussing Original Sin. Modifying an idea from the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, I used 2 empty, clear tumblers to signify us and filled them with water from a big pitcher to show people filled with grace. When we talked about Original Sin, I had them dump the water back into the pitcher. Then I asked them to give some grace to another student. Of course, they couldn't.
So, we'll see next week how well they retained this lesson. Next up - playacting a baptism.
I was a little nervous before the first class because I've never taught children this young before. Usually I teach middle school or high school. But, the class went really well and the children really seemed to enjoy it. In fact, as they were leaving the classroom, one of the boys said, "That was kind of fun!"
There are no texts for an RCIC class, so I'm having to make up things as I go along. With some help from our textbook series Life in Christ, the 1st and 2nd grade DVD's from the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, and what materials I've been able to find on-line, I've been able to put together something. This week we discussed sacraments and the story of Adam and Eve in preparation for talking about Baptism next week. I think that their favorite part was discussing Original Sin. Modifying an idea from the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, I used 2 empty, clear tumblers to signify us and filled them with water from a big pitcher to show people filled with grace. When we talked about Original Sin, I had them dump the water back into the pitcher. Then I asked them to give some grace to another student. Of course, they couldn't.
So, we'll see next week how well they retained this lesson. Next up - playacting a baptism.
Labels: RCIC
