| Focus of the Program |
Living the Good News
Overview for Parents
We welcome you and your children to another year of faith formation. Our parish
will be using the Living the Good News curriculum because it is: Experiential, Learner-centered, and Lectionary-based.
Experiential The best learning is engraved on the five senses. It appeals not only to the
intellect but to the whole person. In the gospels, we see how Jesus taught, and
he was probably the greatest teacher of all time. He told stories; he did not
lecture. He healed by touching people with mud and saliva; he washed the feet
of his disciples. He invited people to imagine the lilies of the field and the
birds of the air. He asked his disciples to remember him through a meal. Thus,
he appealed to hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell. The sacramental tradition
continues this approach. We experience the sacred through what we can sense: the
music of hymns or chant, the touch of an embrace or the feel of oil on the skin,
the sight of art, stained glass or sculpture, the taste of bread and wine, the
smell of incense and flowers. What we understand and remember best is the message
directed at the total self: body, mind and soul. For this reason, your child will
experience a variety of activities in religious education, such as drama, music,
art, roleplaying, baking, timelines, charts, visual reminders like place mats
or bookmarks, murals, puppets, masks, costumes, puzzles, maps, dance, outreach,
games, sculpture, mobiles and mime.
Learner-Centered A learning style is a personal window on the world. It determines how we think,
make judgments and experience people and events. While most people use various
styles, we tend to favor one throughout a lifetime. Can you identify your child’s
learning style? If you have several children, each one can have a different style,
and none of them will necessarily be the same as your own. The three styles are:
auditory—learning by hearing and speaking
visual—learning by seeing
kinesthetic/tactile—learning by moving and touching
As the year unfolds, see if the activities your child talks about most can help
you to identify their learning style.
Lectionary-Based Christians have always gathered on Sunday to hear God’s word. The lectionary
continues this tradition by choosing common Bible readings for Sunday that are
heard by many Christian denominations throughout the world. The calendar of readings
follows the life of Jesus, focusing on his birth, death and resurrection in the
first half, and in the second, his actions and teachings. The lectionary covers
the most significant parts of the Old and New Testaments every three years. There
are several reasons why we use the lectionary for faith formation. First, it
leads us to the essence of our faith, our relationship with Christ. Religious
educators have only a limited time with their learners, so they want to make the
most of it, concentrating on what is most important to our faith: the stories
and teachings of Jesus. Second, it enables all age groups of our parish to study
the same content together. Furthermore, it unites us with people all over the
world who are focusing on the same readings at the same time. Third, we know that
as a Christian community, our basic beliefs flow from our scripture and liturgy.
The gospel challenges us to work out ways to apply it to our daily lives. After
we gather for the Eucharist, we take what we have received in church out into
the world. As we do, we find that our doctrine, our sacramental life and our commitment
to outreach all flower from the word of God. |
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