Faith and Life. I thought I'd give it another try...but I am not liking it. Jedi is not liking it either. There is no teachers manual, there are no answers. I just don't like it. It's, well, boring. I don't want him to start hating religion. What do you use? What do you like best? What do your kids like best? Do I need to switch back to Seton?Thursday, September 4, 2008
Religion
Faith and Life. I thought I'd give it another try...but I am not liking it. Jedi is not liking it either. There is no teachers manual, there are no answers. I just don't like it. It's, well, boring. I don't want him to start hating religion. What do you use? What do you like best? What do your kids like best? Do I need to switch back to Seton?
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I'm sure that the Faith and Life series isn't the best fit for every family, but they DO offer teacher's manuals. You can check out the website www.ignatius.com
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your search! We like Faith and Life partly because starting with a picture study was a wonderful way for my children to get introduced to the subject matter of each chapter. Also, it covered the basics with lots of wiggle room for supplements like saint stories.
Well, the Baltimore Catechism is a little dry, too, actually. I think one of the best ways to teach your children about their Faith is through stories of the Saints - and expounding upon the virtues the Saints have. Maybe you could read the chapters and retell them to the kids and just have an open forum discussion.
ReplyDeleteI'll pray for you on this!
This year we plan to read each child's Faith and Life book and discuss it a bit. No teacher's manual, no activity book. I am also thinking of getting out the set of Catholic Treasure Box books for my kindergartner. And I will be reading a Catholic children's Bible out loud to all of them.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest also enjoys reading CHCs Devotional Stories for Little Folks to the younger ones.
Next year I am thinking of using that big old hardcover - My Catholic Faith - and reading out loud to all of them.
Otherwise, yes, saint stories and the liturgical year and the rosary are all ways to teach, incorporate and discuss Catholic teaching!
Thank you all, I think it is the workbook that is overkill. Jedi gets bored when it is stuff he already knows. The questions in the workbook are just basically word for word review from the chapter.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for your prayers. Maybe we will just skip the workbook, I know he'd like that! With all the other stuff we do, it should be ok, it just feels like we should be doing more. I forget it is much more than I ever got in Wednesday night religion class!
Ballerina Rosie is liking her first grade one though. I used it for him too and ran into the same problem, but she likes to draw and color pictures a little more than he did.
JOT, yes, I think just the reading the chapters and discussing afterward is what will work best for him...he loves that one on one time anyway.
I'm still open to suggestions!
I think the Seton K & 1st grade religion is okay, but sometimes too many words, no activities, and sometimes over her head. I am glad they added the Jesus and I book to reiterate the lesson and ask comprehension questions.
ReplyDeleteI just got my Magnifikid booklets for Sundays for Mikayla, and they aren't even close to what I hoped for. Probably better for a 8-10 year old - so now what do I do with a paid year's subscription for this church year?
I just love the Catholic Treasure Box books and so do the kids. They are the most helpful lately in teaching morals and values.
Amanda F told me that she found Faith and Life serier to be too dry, and had a good suggestion but I can't remember. Gotta ask her!
I am thrilled with my "A Treasure Chest of Traditions for Catholic Families." It's chock full of ideas that I don't have to come up with. Especially the "Cathletics." Your boy would just LOVE those I think, right up his alley.
Melissa, I know someone who wants the Magnifikids, she saw ours during Mass and asked me about them last week, I told her I'd get her a subscription paper this next week, I can ask her if she wants it, I could deliver them to her if she does.
ReplyDeleteWe're using F&L, but there is a teachers manual (which I don't use, if you'd like mine) and a workbook you can purchase as well. We also use "A Life of Our Lord for Children" for New Testament (I read, Abby narrates) and a book on the saints. I also purchased the Catholic Mosaic for my five year old, and we are doing it all together on Fridays since my kids are all younger. Today we're doing Mother Teresa. It's much more enriching. Personally, I did not like Seton at all, and found it more dull that F&L. My daughter really struggled with it because there was nothing really hands on. Check out the Mosaic. I don't know how old Jedi is, but in the book she talks about how it's geared towards the younger kids (it's by Cay Gibson).
ReplyDeleteWe use F&L and love it. I don't use the workbooks or the teacher's manual. (Ignatius has lots of free supplements for these books on their website.) We just read the chapter, the kids narrate back, and then they answer the questions. Sometimes I'll have them illustrate their narration. We also use Magnifikid, Baltimore Catechism, and Jesus and Me - all on different days. It works for us.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Jamie. How many people out there realize that it is the parents responsibility to teach the faith. Some actually do not.
ReplyDeleteWe use the Baltimore Catechism sometimes. I do some Saint Stories and books and we just read from the bible.
I like to ask the kids why we believe this or that and why we believe in it then I tell my boys to look it up in scripture.
It is the day to day stuff that I love. For example when I comb Colette's hair I sing the Hail Mary. One tiny example. There is just so much out there to learn how to live.
Like you, Jamie, as a mother trying to cram everything into my children my biggest fear is that they will throw it all away.
I really try not to be the too strict overbearing mother....I do not want to be the passive just do what you want mother either. I look for balance. And pray a lot!
We tried Faith and Life for awhile, also and I felt guilty for not liking it because everyone raved about it. The artwork is beautiful, I just didn't find a lot of meat there. We have tried Seton before, too, and while they are jam-packed with good info, some of my kids were overwhelmed with their workbooks. We have also tried CHC's book about the Liturgical year (can't think of the name right now) and that was good. Right now we just read a lot of saints books, go to Mass as often as possible and are involved in a homeschool support group that partakes in a lot of activities that center around our faith. I use a lot of other resources to help us live our faith.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless!
I use F&L 5th & I will for 8th - as recommended by Mother of Divine Grace, the syllabi I use as a base. I have purchased the TM through Sacred Heart books & gifts - it's the best price that I've found. The TM's are expensive, but I need the answers!! We do not use all the workbook pages.
ReplyDeleteFor other grades, we use the Balitmore Catechisms and read bible stories out loud or silently. Some of the bible stories are illustrated in a blank book and then either I or the kids write a little about the illustration at the bottom of the page.
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteWe used Seton last year and now use Mother of Divine Grace which recommends the Balt. Catachism. I have found that after lunch (in our timezone) EWTN kids comes on and they LOVE the tv break and learn a lot. They also like to play on the EWTN kids website. Just some different suggestions to help. :) Heather