Teaching Religious Education Class Dilema

[arkenbergcn]

I am a first time R.E. teacher for the kindergarten class at my parish. It is common practice in our parish to hold hands during mass when we recite the Our Father (although I do not). One of the first things that I am to teach the kids is the Our Father and Hail Mary. There are times when we will go to Mass as a class and I am concerned with what to do when reciting the Our Father when the children have been taught this from their families. I realize that this practice is not in the rubrics. If I am going to teach kids, I really want to teach them according to the rubrics of the Mass. Any suggestions on how I could tactfully handle this matter would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[puzzleannie]

This is what I do, when we pray OF in a group and some children start holding hands, we tell them, that is fine in this group, if you want to do it, but remember when we say this prayer during Mass there is nothing in the instructions that tell us to hold hands so we should not do it. If you see other people doing it, do not criticize them, or worry about it, because maybe it is a custom where they come from.

 

[Corki]

Are you teaching the Our Father or are you teaching them about the Mass?

With the Our Father, I have found it is adviseable to teach it as a prayer just like the Hail Mary, Glory Be etc. Otherwise, the kids try to add " for the Kingdom etc." and leave off the Amen.

I don’t hold hands either in a parish where almost everyone else does. But in CCE, especially with small children, we sometimes hold hands to pray. I don’t have a problem with hand holding - just with the innovation being forced on the Mass.

With older kids, I tell them that in some other parishes there is no hand holding at Mass, which is true for most of the parishes near us, and that it is never required.

 

[fellowChristian]

I teach K-8. When I teach a prayer I start with

Let us pray

(I tell the children when they hear that, they should bow their heads and keep their hands together in prayer.That way when ever they hear the priest at Mass say “Let us pray” they will learn that no matter what, bowing your head and placing your hands together you can’t go wrong.)

 

[jmcrae]

I would just tell them, “You don’t have to hold hands with each other if you don’t want to, during the prayer.”

If you phrase it exactly like that, the majority of them will decide that they don’t want to.

 

[Sr_Sally]

I teach K-8. When I teach a prayer I start with

Let us pray

(I tell the children when they hear that, they should bow their heads and keep their hands together in prayer.That way when ever they hear the priest at Mass say “Let us pray” they will learn that no matter what, bowing your head and placing your hands together you can’t go wrong.)

Don’t forget that the most common response to that is also to stand! LOL

I also teach the same way. I tell the kids to bow their heads and put their hands together (either palm to palm or with interlocked fingers–however they want). The main reason for that in class is that it helps them focus. They aren’t as likely to be squirming, giggling, etc if they have their hands together and their heads down.