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Mar 25th, 2025
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 106
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 106 |
To all you creative people out there .... there are lots of ideas on end-of-year ECF activities, but I'd like to hear about what your church does for the BEGINNING of the new ECF year (this is assuming you all take a "break" from ECF for the summer). Any creative or interesting "back-to-school" activities to overcome all those groans and sleepy-eyed kids?
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 106
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OK ...... so where are all the catechists out there? 
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Joined: May 2003
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Dear Mrs H,
At my parish of Annunciation in Homer Glen Illinois we sent our children on a "S.M.A.T." mission. S.M.A.T. stands for special ministries and tactics. We had an obstacle course, bible stories about Cyril and Methodious, and Lunch, and then we sort of explained to the kids what the goal for the year was . The teachers sort of explained what their lesson ideas were in the form of a plan. We gave them a deadline ( the entire ECF season) to complete the mission. It is good for a really good end of the year celebration too.
-Katie g
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Joined: Nov 2002
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Joined: Nov 2002
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This is something my wife & I did when we were teaching at our local RC parish.
We team taught the 1st graders, so one fine fall Sunday, we placed a large roll of news print on the ground and had the children cover their bare feet with poster paint, and walk on the paper.
The resulting foot prints were posted for the entire parish to see and pray for us as we made our journey in to our faith. (I am not quite certain that the pastor has quite recovered yet! )
The children took the message of a journey in faith home so the ENTIRE FAMILY could journey along with us.
If you do this type of project, clear it FIRST(Pastor, DRE, etc.). Then notify the parents to send their child in good play clothes. Stress journeying in faith before the appointed day, with the children.
DO NOT USE TEMPERA !!! It has egg white for a binder, and it will bind with CLOTHES, pavement, etc. Use water based poster paint with liquid dish soap in it (assists in removal of paint.
Just some ideas from the �Walden Pond� school of teaching. (We have 30ish years with Camp Fire (Girls & Boys), Boy Scouts & Religious ED.)
John
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Joined: Nov 2001
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John welcome to the Byzcath Forum!
That is such a cute idea, I could just hear the little ones laughing as they walked on the paper.
Mrs. H
With the older children we tied bracelets with hemp. Using the ball bracelets you see and tying square knots around the beads (our daughter makes wonderful hemp jewelry - so there was experience there) to make a bracelet the kids liked and would wear all year. There were 33 beads on the bracelet, so they were used for teaching the Jesus Prayer, then they always had them before them as a reminder to pray.
Pani Rose
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 106
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Thank you! These are such cute ideas; looking forward to including them. I have one to share courtesy of Father Robert Rankin at St. Melany BCC in Tucson. Take the Feast Days coloring book and a couple blown up to poster size (Kinko's will do it for under $5), then divide the kids into teams and give them a bucket of sidewalk chalk. Have them duplicate the icons on the church sidewalk and give prizes to the best team(s) -- best cooperation, most creative, most use of color, etc.
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