Are there any CCD teachers here?

[TexRose]

For a while now I have been getting these feelings of wanting to be a CCD teacher. I have also been wanting to join the choir at church. God is really moving in me.
How hard is it to teach the children? Are there classes i’d need to take? Help me please. Thank you in advance.

 

[Brenda_V]

Your own diocese and Parish will have it’s own requirements for being a CCD teacher. I don’t find it hard when I work with the under 9 age group. I don’t do that well with the mid-schoolers.

You will probably need to take a “sexual abuse awareness” class before being allowed in the classroom.

Talk to the Director of Religious Education (DRE) of your Parish and go from there .

Of course, Puzzleannie will know more as she is a DRE.

Brenda V.

 

[TexRose]

Thank you! I’ll call her tomorrow. I’d like to teach the little ones too. My 8 yr old and my twins keep telling me to teach. lol I’ll find out what else I need to do.

 

[TexRose]

For a while now I’ve been wanting to be a CCD teacher. I have also been wanting to join the choir at church. God is really moving in me.
How hard is it to teach the children? Are there classes i’d need to take? Thank you in advance.

 

[puzzleannie]

hi the mods have us CCD/RCIA types stashed on the evangelization forum, so start your search there under CCD, PSR, RE or similar topics. Bro SFO is our fearless leader and what he says, goes. I am not a DRE altho that is my job title, I am actually a CRE–Catechist Runs Everything.

If you have been feeling your are being called as a catechist, you probably are. The next voice you hear will be the Holy Spirit, but he may not sound like a dove or a strong driving wind, but he may sound and look very much like a little old lady in tennis shoes who runs your parish RE program, or like your best friend who has been teaching for a while and is asking for your help, or like your own child who is beggin you to teach his class. He may speak through any of them, or through a bulletin announcement calling for volunteers.

I can think of no better way to learn more about your faith than to teach others.

Talk to your DRE because many parishes have training sessions and orientations for new volunteers in the spring or summer, and you will feel much more confident with that support. You will have to take a child safety orientation of some kind, submit to a criminal background check and/or fingerprinting.

Your parish or diocese will offer ongoing formation and training to help you. You may be expected to work toward certification–whatever requirement the diocese has, usually 100 hours of training over several years.
those programs may range from excellent, to okay but I already knew that, to lame, to downright dangerous. come here for questions or clarifications.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

 

[TexRose]

puzzleannie! Thank you! Your response moved me to be teary. Wow! I got chills when I read your response about the holy spirit and it speaking thru a child or another person.
I will
I’ll definitely call my parish tomorrow.

 

[Alison]

Hi Tex Rose,
The last thing I ever wanted to do when I reverted to Catholicism a few years back was to teach catechism. It was because I had a child’s knowledge of the faith and was in need of much catechism my self. Without ever knowing about my conversion to the faith, my previous Pastor asked me to help with catechism. I initially thought that I would be serving drinks or refreshments during the sessions but little did I know that he intended me to teach. And so, with much fear and trembling I decided to acquiesce. I am glad I did because it was God’s way of teaching me the essentials of the faith by teaching others! So I would say, the way to prepare for teaching catechism is to ask your parish for the catechetical material that they have used in the past and read it so that you can later share that with others. Love,

-Alison

 

[ricmat]

For a while now I have been getting these feelings of wanting to be a CCD teacher. I have also been wanting to join the choir at church. God is really moving in me.
How hard is it to teach the children? Are there classes i’d need to take? Help me please. Thank you in advance.

I teach a 1st year confirmation class (age 15/16), a second year class (16/17), and a Church History class for post confirmation kids. The kids are generally “not inspired” religiously, but they are either interested, or pretending to be interested, or sleeping during class. That’s actually not bad (see below). Most of them don’t want to be there, unlike many in RCIA for example.

I also taught a 9th grade class for a half year and subbed for an 8th grade class once. You’ll spend most of your time yelling at the kids to be quiet. If you lose their attention for even a millisecond, you’ll have 15 different conversations going on in the classroom and spend 15 minutes regaining control. It helps to have a bull whip, chair, air horn, and 3 ring circus. AVOID THIS AGE GROUP AT ALL COSTS IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY!!!

I’ve heard from others that anything below 7th grade is a pleasure to teach.

And in any case, although it’s useful to know “everything”, you really only need to be one chapter ahead of the kids.

 

[eliza3b]

I teach my 5th grader’s CCD class (home group) and my 3rd grader’s class, also a home group. I volunteered through my parish’s religious education office. I had to take a class called “Protecting God’s Children” in order to teach. I was given lesson plans and a teacher’s manual from the DRE and I also attend a couple of group classes a year with fellow CCD teachers.

It’s been great for me to relearn faith with my children. They attend a wonderful public school and it’s important for me to keep them in the faith.

Good luck!

 

[Unfinished]

I teach 4th grade CCD.

Honestly, I don’t like it much. I am just no good at teaching children. I would much rather teach RCIA. I either feel like I am speaking above their level, or I don’t feel like I am teaching them anything. (Which is even HARDER because in 4th grade I get questions like “Jesus is God??” all the time).

But a lot of other people love it.

Didn’t mean to bring in the negative, but that is my two cents.

 

[mommyof4]

Well, in my parish the first thing to being selected is that you pass the warm body test.

We also have to have a background check to make sure you aren’t a pedophile.

That being all clear, you’re qualified to teach CCD.

I have taught it off and on for several years. I really like it, but it can be very challenging. The kids usually don’t want to be there. Parents aren’t always very supportive, either. It can be tough. But I like trying to form relationships with the kids, and doing my best to teach them about the faith.

If you feel this is your calling, I wish you all of the best, and God Bless!

 

[puppylove]

This is my third year in teaching CCD. My first year I taught 8th grade and last and this year I have taught the 6th graders. I am giving it up because my teenaged dd plays softball and I am unable to attend her games which are usually on Mondays which is when I teach religion. I plan on perhaps changing to 11th grade next year because that is where my dd will be and their classes are on Sundays, but once she finishes I’m not planning on teaching since I have a 22 month old who needs my 100% attention. I felt called to do this myself some 3 years ago.

 

[TexRose]

I talk to the DRE and she said that I was calling just in time. She said that there will be an ethics class this coming Monday and then they’ll do a background check on me. After that, she said she’d like for me to assist in one of the classes so that eventually I can become a teacher.
I’m excited! My kids are too!

 

[asquared]

we take pity on our new volunteers and ask them to assist an experienced catechist for a year before they venture to take charge of a class on their own. But it does happen that sometimes we throw the newbies off the deep end, why that always seems to happen with 3rd grade (like it did for me) I have no idea, but she has been very good natured about it and is doing great, and even wants to come back next year, God bless her.

 

[kage_ar]

In my 3rd year of teaching CCD to 5th graders - I love it!

This is DH first year, he has 7th graders.

Best advice given me from a vetran teacher was to begin each class with a decade of the Rosary. It makes a big difference.

 

[tptram]

…
I also taught a 9th grade class for a half year and subbed for an 8th grade class once. … AVOID THIS AGE GROUP AT ALL COSTS IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY!!!
.

LOL, I teach grade 7 and know the feeling.

to the OP, to quote JP2 “Be not afraid!!!”
sign up and grow

Tak

 

[fnz2thrght]

Well, in my parish the first thing to being selected is that you pass the warm body test.

We also have to have a background check to make sure you aren’t a pedophile.

That being all clear, you’re qualified to teach CCD.

ha! same in my parish. lol

This is my first year teaching 1st graders. I wasn’t even supposed to teach but my son has a medical condition and so I need to stay close by, so I was planning on just staying around every week and helping in the office but on the first week the DRE said “how about if you just help out in the class” uggh. So that’s where I am. My co-teacher is pretty much out to lunch as far as teachings of the church. (I’ve posted a few times about her) but anyway, I felt that it was my duty to at least give these kids a good start with ccd. They’re little. Most do not go to church. The least I can do is at least give them something that may carry through. Who knows.

But other than the fact that our ccd is at 8:30 on sunday morning I don’t really mind it.

 

[RoseMeg451]

I am a teacher for a 10th grade confirmation class and a 3rd grade class. Before I moved, I was involved in LifeTeen at the church I was at, so I really wanted to get involved with the high school age kids. I love my 10th grade class. They are about to get confirmed, and they are such a blessing to me. I really did not want to teach 3rd grade, because littler kids really intimidate me. But my sister’s class needed a teacher, and my mom didn’t want to do it, so I “got stuck with it.” I’m so glad I did! I have learned so much from these little kids! It amazes me how much they know about the Catholic faith! No matter how much I put into my classes, I also seem to get more out of them.

When I first got involved with ccd and working with the youth, I really did not want to do it and was scared. But the youth minister stood up in front of the church and welcomed anyone who was willing and able to come help with the youth, and God called me to go talk to him, despite my fears, and I am so glad for that! I will definitely be continuing as a ccd teacher past this year!

 

[Reportmom]

Yes, I am a Faith Formation teacher for 5th graders and this is my first year. The only regret I have is that I didn’t start teaching sooner!!! It has made such a difference in my life, my families life and the lives of the kids I teach. Teaching has been a very rewarding experience. I have also just returned to the church after a short absence for no particular reason. I decided to dive right in and get very involved in my church “family” and have been blessed. I do not consider my self a “Holy Roller” rather than a mom who has been moved by the Spirit to teach. I really think I found my area of helping out to keep our kids into their faith. Love it!!! The kids love it they look forward to my class after a long day at school so that says something for itself. Don’t you agree? Good luck and get your feet wet. All the materials you need are provided from the church. You take it from there. Remember, the main goal is to keep the kids in their faith and keep it fun.

 

[ncgolf]

I teach 8th grade and as some have stated earlier … it is tough but more than most groups they need it all the more.

Believe me … you can make a difference as reading what happended to one of our students. This particular girl was more wordly and less interested in reliogion than most. Her background from a divourced home, a newer dad and a pregnant mom made for some definite issues in her young life. She even was given some one on one moral discussions with one of the female teachers.

Well the next year she went to the Confirmation retreat in which they all sit in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, closed their eyes and reflected. Later they had to write about their retreat experience and she wrote that during the reflection time she felt Jesus next to her, holding her and that she had never felt so loved in all her life. It was so powerful and real that she broke down and cried and sobbed for quite a while. She said she finally understood who and what Jesus and the love of Christ was … it became more than an idea. The Church finally began to make sense.

For 8th grade we are merely planting the seed for some later experiences but nothing begins without the seed.

Go for it.