Photo: Stock Xchng/ Adrian
Do you know that there are actually several things you can do during your religious teaching to make your time more liturgical and practice what we do in church?
The preschool program over at Catholic Icing has a fantastic script which includes several great ideas for doing so while you're teaching. Click the link to check it out and incorporate some ideas into your religious teaching time! (Scroll down the post until you find the script.)
There is a great article at Catechist online that outlines 10 ways to make your lessons more liturgical. The first one is to practice the crossing of our minds, lips, and hearts like we do in church. The Catholic Icing script almost does this (and in a great way), but instead of the heart as the last one, they hold up their palms for all they do. I like it, but keeping with the three that we do in church would help the children to learn it and repeat it effortlessly during the mass.
So here is the script that I put together from these sources to use with Little Bill for his first grade year (which I have printed out and tucked into the front of his Bible for easy use each day):
--> In parentheses is what Bill says.
Good morning, Bill. May the Lord be with you. (And also with you.)
This is the day the Lord has made. (Let us rejoice and be glad in it.)
So how do we start each day? (We start each day in prayer.)
That's right! And how do we start a prayer? (We start a prayer with the sign of the cross.)
You've got it!
{Make the sign of the cross and say the following together:}
Good morning, Jesus.
We live this day for you, Lord.
We ask that you be in our minds {make a little cross on forehead}, on our lips {make a little cross on lips}, and in our hearts today {make a little cross over heart}.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. ---, who ---.
Saint ---, pray for us.
Amen.
Say an Our Father, a Hail Mary, as you learn them, and eventually an entire decade of the rosary together.
{Make the sign of the cross.}
Then at the end of the religious teaching, or whole homeschool day, we end with:
The Lord be with you. (And also with you.)
Our religion class/schoolday has ended for today. Let us go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord. (Thanks be to God.)
