Faith Formation at home, what do you recommend?

[coopnann]

I have decided our girls, ages 5 and 8, will be learning faith formation at home, instead of going to class at church this year.

Was wondering for those who do this, what books, study, curriculum, or materials have you liked?
One will be the year after receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion.

Thanks!

 

[Corki]

Our parish provides families who want or need to home school Religious Ed, the Faith and Life books. The material is solid and the activity book is very easy to implement as a parent.

 

[Ignatius]

I have decided our girls, ages 5 and 8, will be learning faith formation at home, instead of going to class at church this year.

Was wondering for those who do this, what books, study, curriculum, or materials have you liked?
One will be the year after receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion.

Thanks!

I would look at some of the Catholic home schooling material.

 

[pianistclare]

Your Diocese should have at least 5 or 6 approved curriculums. You should also let the pastor of your parish know that you are doing this. He will advise you about any mandatory retreats, o supplemental materials you may need. He also needs to be aware so that your children will be included in the big celebrations, unless you desire a private First Communion, which you will arrange with him anyway.
In my Archdiocese, people may homeschool for Religious Ed, but not for Confirmation prep.
Call the Diocese to inquire what is necessary so you don’t run afoul of their guidelines.
Having said that, there are many great homeschooling options, as well as traditional textbooks available. As DRE, I supply our homeschoolers with their material, after they select what they want to use. It’s something the parish offers for her people.
I also meet with the kids quarterly to make sure they are on track for their grade levels, or beyond.
Good luck!

 

[Joannm]

In our diocese homeschooled religious ed kids have to use the same materials the parish uses for religious ed. The kids have to be periodically evaluated to make sure they are learning the material. They have to participate in all extra activities such as retreats, prayer services, masses, etc.

Homeschooling is not allowed in sacramental preparation years except for extraordinary reasons. When I started working as DRE in our parish there were quite a lot of parents homeschooling for religious ed. What I found out was that for many of them this was acway out of having to go to religious ed. When I tested them, a large majority knew nothing, indicating that the parents were being negligent. Now I have gone from over 300 homeschooling parents (out of 1400 kids) to around 15. I interview the parents first and remind them that they must attend catechist meetings and meet with me periodically.

Just a note, because of a number of reasons, all our 1st graders ( about 200 over the 1400 in our regular program) are taught by their parents at home, but they have regular assignments to complete and have 4 in parish parent/child sessions and the parents have 4 additional sessions. If the don’t complete the work they can’t move on to level 2.

We also don’t allow private First Communion ceremonies.