Things an eighth grader should know before confirmation

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Not sure this is the right place to put this, but…

I want to make sure my eighth grader is adequately prepared to enter the confirmation program. What should she know about the faith in order to pass the entrance exam that she will be required to take since she was not allowed in the Faith Formation program in seventh and eighth grade?
 
I didn’t realize there was an exam to take for those who couldn’t go to CCD/RE? There is a lot covered in just the 8th grade year preparing for confirmation at our church. We go over the entire life of Christ, from his birth to his Ascension. We teach them about the Holy Spirit, about the church, about faith. I guess the other question would be: has she had any CCD? Does she know simple prayers like the Hail Mary, Our Father, etc. Can she say a rosary? Does she know what the sacraments are, and what they symbolize? A basic understanding of the Magisterium, the scripture, etc is important as well.

A heavy emphasis on the fact that she is deciding to follow Christ, that as a person entering the confirmation program it is about her deciding to respond to the call and live her catholic faith, while also receiving a renewed and full grace that continues from baptism via confirmation, is also important. I would probably also cover all the sacramentals and what they are, what they represent and how to use them. (She likely knows a lot of it on the surface, for instance Holy Water fonts etc, but if she hasn’t been to class a lot it would be good to practice them with her and the prayers so she can join in when the class/if the class does them.)

In our particular program having a decent knowledge of where in the bible some books are helps as well. Simply knowing that if they ask someone to open the bible to Luke that it’s in the New Testament and near the front as a gospel etc. A simple overview of the layout of the bible, what the old testament is, what the new testament, what epistles are, etc also helps.

You probably will want to actually contact your Director of RE and ask her/him directly. He or she will be much more familiar with what confirmation program they are using and what sort of information you can help your child learn up front. They may even have a packet or something they can give you to help out.

Good luck, and my prayers are with you 👍

P.S. A quick overview of the liturgical seasons (Easter, Passover, Christmas, Ordinary time, etc) will help her understand many of the questions. Knowing that Lent is about 40 days of fasting and why, et al. I’m sure she knows most of this, but it really helps in the lessons to be familiar with those particular seasons and their biblical correspondence (at least in our program.)
 
  1. All the the common prayers from memory: Prayers of the Mass (the response prayers); the Prayers of the Rosary ( which covers many common prayers ) The prayer for the confessional. These are not typically taught in Confirmation with the assumption they arrive with this knowledge, but increasingly - given many parents time constraints and lack of personal effort the kids do not even know the basic prayers. Eventually, Father declared that no one would be confirmed if they could not recite their prayers.
  2. Understand the seven (7) Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which they will receive with the Sacrament. The Bishop or Pastor may question the kids regarding this core instruction in a special session a day or two before the Sacrament - verbal quiz. Focus on understanding how to explain what each child receives with each Gift. This meet & greet and verbal quiz is also the time when the child may be challenged to say a prayer from Memory.
  3. Confirmation also obligates each child with two responsibilities: First to defend their Faith and second to Evangelize their Faith. Given their youth, I always used St. Francis of Assissi and his disciple St. Anthony of Padua to teach the kids “how to” evengalize. Study those two saints for the “how to”, it is clear and obvious once you discover it.
  4. Good Works: Each child will be tasked with completling a “project” which should reflect a “good work”. This is usually with the whole class, but may be broken down into smaller groups. Ensure your child knows the necessity of “good works” as being part and parcel to their faith.
 
Why was your girl excluded from parish program in grades 7 and 8. What alternative catechesis did she receive?
 
gatward said:
Not sure this is the right place to put this, but…

I want to make sure my eighth grader is adequately prepared to enter the confirmation program. What should she know about the faith in order to pass the entrance exam that she will be required to take since she was not allowed in the Faith Formation program in seventh and eighth grade?
Click to expand...
What entrance exam?

talk to the religious education director at your parish.
 
In the parish where i work, there is also a basic catechism assessment for potential candidates who have had little or no formal catechism ( demonstratable homeschool IS formal catechesis.) That way, our confirmation prep team can assume a basic understanding of the faith amongst their students and teach appropriately.

If a just-showing-up potential candidate cannot demonstrate a knowledge of basic catechism, s/he is placed in level 7 which is a very strictly doctrinal year.

Unless there is some special need. Which is why i asked about history.
 
gatward said:
Not sure this is the right place to put this, but…

I want to make sure my eighth grader is adequately prepared to enter the confirmation program. What should she know about the faith in order to pass the entrance exam that she will be required to take since she was not allowed in the Faith Formation program in seventh and eighth grade?
Click to expand...
Entrance exams? I’m not sure what you mean.
 
ahh, now I gotcha. It’s less of an ‘entrance exam’ as a placement test. To see if they are ready for confirmation or need the basics first. We have something similar at our parish.
 
Our problems boil down to a personality clash with the very inexperienced Director of Religious Education and my daughter. The seventh grade instructor was not prepared for class which irritates my child. My daughter is extremely smart and has been in Faith Formation since she was three. We never had any problems with her in Faith Formation. She had become frustrated with the program because they never taught anything new and even the assignments were the same each year. During the summer she had started reading a lot of Catholic authors on her own (Karl Keating, Scott Hahn, The Faith of Our Fathers), which made her increasingly disillusioned with the instruction offered in our parish. Because she refused to read an assignment out loud that had been posted on the wall for a month that only she was required to read she got in trouble. We had her apologize to the instructor but when she refused to hug the teacher she was informed that she was not welcome any longer and would not be allowed to be confirmed when she was old enough.

Now they’ve modified the program so if a student hasn’t been enrolled in a formal program for their eighth grade year they can’t enroll in the confirmation class. When I discussed this issue with my priest, he assured me that he would stand by me and make sure she was confirmed when it came time. He also gave me permission to give her Faith Formation at home. We used the Our Life in the Church curriculum, and we assumed that she would be able to enroll in the confirmation program. However, our priest is being transferred this summer, and I want to make sure that there are absolutely no excuses for them to deny her entrance into the program.

I know this sounds unbelievable, and maybe I just misunderstood, but after this we started having problems with our other children enrolled in the program, which has never happened before. It was so bad we had to take our son to another parish to make his First Communion, with the priest’s permission.

Thank you so much for the replies, we appreciate the advice. 🙂
 
It sounds like she’ll be just fine with any exam she may be asked to take.
 
Because your daughter has received formal catechesis at home it’s fair for you to ask the dre to demonstrate a standard. If your formally catechized dsughter has to take an assessment, it’s fair to ask if the other candidates do. And if they do, it’s fair to ask what is the lowest acceptable grade amongst her peers.

If you’d been catechizing at home without your pastors knowledge or approval, or if you’d simply skipped a couple years of catechism, my suggestion would not apply. But you operated under approval, therefore whatever standard is applied to your daughter should be applied to her parish- catechized peers.
 
Ask you pastor to write a letter stating that he has given permission to have your child receive confirmation and put the parish seal on it. Then when the new priest comes you have the letter to show him. If the new priest gives you problems contact the diocese. We have kids receiving Confirmation who in no way are as knowledgable as it appears your child is.
 
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