Monday, June 16, 2008
Montessori Catechesis
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Did Mary suffer labor pains?
Last night in my CCD class, one of the girls asked me if Mary suffered labor pains. She often asks these great speculative questions, and I don't want to discourage her. It was a great opportunity to encourage my students to apply what they've learned to a theological question. Of course, they were annoyed that I didn't just give them an answer! But I've been trying to teach them to think through their answers. I don't want them to just be able to parrot a catechism.
The argument went like this:
One girl: "God created woman to have pains in labor so if Mary didn't have pain that wouldn't be REASONABLE" (I've been emphasizing that God is reasonable and doesn't contradict himself.)
Second girl: "But, Mary's child was special so it would make sense if she had a special labor."
Me: "Mary is the Immaculate Conception. Conception means beginning - for people it means the moment when they begin. Immaculate means spotless, pure. That means Mary's beginning was spotless, not stained by sin."
One boy: "The effects of Original Sin are suffering and death."
Second girl: "So, if Mary didn't have Original Sin, she also didn't have the effects and didn't suffer."
We never got to a decision about whether or not Mary suffered labor pains, but I'm excited about the conversation. They were really thinking!
The discussion turned out to be very timely with the recent screening of The Nativity Story. Check out this review by American Papist and this discussion at Fr. John Zuhlsdorf's blog.
The argument went like this:
One girl: "God created woman to have pains in labor so if Mary didn't have pain that wouldn't be REASONABLE" (I've been emphasizing that God is reasonable and doesn't contradict himself.)
Second girl: "But, Mary's child was special so it would make sense if she had a special labor."
Me: "Mary is the Immaculate Conception. Conception means beginning - for people it means the moment when they begin. Immaculate means spotless, pure. That means Mary's beginning was spotless, not stained by sin."
One boy: "The effects of Original Sin are suffering and death."
Second girl: "So, if Mary didn't have Original Sin, she also didn't have the effects and didn't suffer."
We never got to a decision about whether or not Mary suffered labor pains, but I'm excited about the conversation. They were really thinking!
The discussion turned out to be very timely with the recent screening of The Nativity Story. Check out this review by American Papist and this discussion at Fr. John Zuhlsdorf's blog.
