Updates from Catholic Kids Bulletin: Seven Quick Takes #11

1. I'm hoping, hoping, HOPING to get a year's worth of the bulletins ready so I can sell them as a giant bundle. I know that there are some of you who would like to get everything organized/copies/sorted/folded, etc. without waiting for the end of the month. Would you rather have a school year set (August/June), or a set for the calendar year, or a church year set? I'll need some prayers for extra motivation to get this to the top of the priority list if I want them done by August!

2. Students love to have choice in their day. This prayer PowerPoint is a great way to give them choice when leading prayer. My students read a bible passage, ad-lib an ACTS prayer, choose two formal prayers for the class, then lead a litany of saints. Each class seemed to choose a favorite prayer, and a favorite saint. One class prayed to Saint Joan of Arc every day (and one kiddo called her JoAnn EVERY TIME), another to Saint Juan Diego, and one class even prayed to Saint Joseph of Cupertino consistently. I just loved that the little 6th graders could remember his bizarro name! Are there any other key prayers that I should add to the PowerPoint?

3. I have a very fluid student body at my school. For some students, this is my 3rd year as their teacher, but for many students, this is their first EVER religion class. I'm going to try a progressive and independent lesson format this year. The students will start with lesson 1 (ACTS prayer, bible basics, etc.), then progress at their own speed through the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism and a bible study. (Does this sound insane? I'm worried that this will implode...too much stress during summer break!) Anyhow, I'm going to include these handwriting pages along with the lessons so the students will earn the real words of each prayer. Hopefully it will also help their handwriting, because some of that chicken scratch is illegible! Has anyone used the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism...will beginner students be able to understand everything?



4. The bulletins for next week feature Saint James. The church I attended in high school had a statue of Saint James out front. He was standing in this ridiculous pose, and my youth group thought it was hilarious to pose like Saint James, by Saint James. I was obviously really cool. Anyway, the coloring page for next weekend includes a strangely posed Saint James. Any ideas why the sculptor would have designed it this way?

5. I've been reading Charism and Culture by Dr. Cook and while it's not the most interesting book that I've read this summer, it's given me quite the to do list of goals for this fall. I can't seem to keep my mind on the book because I start planning and plotting how I'll improve my classroom culture this year. What charism do you want your students to exemplify?

6. I've also been reading two other books that I must recommend. Nudge and 10 Christians Everyone Should Know. I haven't finished either, but I've learned a ton in the first 2 chapters of each.

7. I'm searching for more teaching blogs to follow...since I have so much downtime to fill...ha! A quick blog post is my favorite way to recharge. My favorite catholic mom blogger posted this weekend the first time in FOREVER (a quick Frozen homage)! Any recommendations from you wonderful folks?

Linking up with Kelly for 7QT!