All Else Confusion

Labels: Boston sports

The novelty has worn off - though I never really liked it to begin with. What's the fun in watching Bartolo Colon swing and miss three times after Lugo just hit a double to put runners on second and third? I love how all the fans cheer louder and louder at every strike - as if they were actually fearing that he might get a hit. Every year this time, I can't wait to get back to "normal" baseball.

Labels: baseball

My co-worker's wife was a Montessori teacher and so I've been learning a little about the Montessori method. Thus far I really like what I've discovered. So, as I've been trying to figure out how to make our Religious Education program better, I've been wondering if it would be possible incorporate aspects of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd into what we're already doing. Right now we're using the Faith and Life Series from Ignatius Press, which I like, but there are still several problems with it. The biggest problem is that the series is really designed for a 5 day a week religion class, not an hour a week CCD class. So, we've begun to the process of weeding out the books and trying to give the teachers specific guidelines as to which chapters we really want to cover. It's slow going - we're only focusing on grades 7 and 8 (the Confirmation years) at the moment. However, I also want to do something with kindergarten and first grade as I don't think that they benefit from the books. What is the point of giving text books to children who can't read? That's where the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd comes in.

I don't have any trained Montessori catechists, so I'm looking for ways to incorporate hands on, Montessori type activities with the typical Religious Education format - once a week, for an hour. In doing some research I found the Home Catechesis Manual by Moira Farrell which is designed for homeschooling moms who don't necessarily have a background in Montessori. I also found a nice blog called Wildflowers and Marbles that had some good suggestions and further resources to check out. Finally, I found some great books through a friend (though they're not Montessori) that teach children about the Mass and about making little acts of love for Jesus. So, I'm slowly trying to pull all these pieces together into something that my untrained catechists can teach comfortably, that the children will enjoy, and most importantly that will build devotion in the children. If you have any experience with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd or building a CCD program for kindergarten and first grade, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Labels: CCD, DRE

Congratulations to Sister Agnes Marie of the Eternal High Priest of the Carmelite Sisters of Buffalo who made her Final Profession this past Saturday. I knew Sister Agnes Marie 8 years ago in Worcester, right after she had graduated from Christendom College. At the time she was Teresa Gallagher and was working for some other Christendom graduates in the area. I had just moved back to the area after living in Europe. Together, with a small group of friends, we started the first Young Adult group at St. Paul's Cathedral. I'm so happy to see her looking so radiant and joyful!

Labels: personal