No, everything will not be about religious ed or my classroom.
Pinky promise.
So onto a new topic: Wedding Planning.
Bogner Girl Wedding #1 is making a fast approach in less than a month. Bogner Girl Wedding #2 planning is also in full swing, as evidenced by the engagements pics I got in my email today. I thought that some of you might like to see the loveliness of my sisters.
Here are Steph and Steve, pictures taken by Judd, their Best Man.
And here are Em and Luke's pictures, just taken by Steph, coincidentally their Matron of Honor. (Apparently it is good to pick talented people for your wedding party so they can do stuff for you for free share their God-given gifts to make your wedding extra special and personal.)
My life seems to run in themes. Do you ever notice that in your own past as you look back? I don't really plan it ahead of time, but I can very specifically identify a common theme running through pieces of my life, tying experiences and people and events together.
For example, there was a year that I could entitle "The Year in Which Katie Had NO Idea What She was Doing."
There was another year that I would call "Stretching Roots I Already Thought Were Deep."
And there was the year most definitely named "Hitting My Knees."
Another one seemed to center around "Finding New Friends in the Saints, Past and Present."
Considering that I see themes in my life, it should come as no surprise I tend to have cutsy themes in my classroom, parties I host, etc. Setting up for a new CCD year is no exception.
This is my fifth year as the DRE at my church. Crickey- 5th? When did that happen? I have had a theme each year, and the decorations, newsletters, celebrations, etc. all center around a particular verse or topic. They have gotten better as time has gone on, if I do say so myself.
Year 1- I am the Vine, You are the Branches (John 15:5)- Clearly a classic, but I didn't do much by way of creativity
Year 2- Love All, Worship One (Matthew 28:19-20)- Lots of fun world decorations- flags, maps, verses relating to God loving the whole world and the Great Commission. This was the year that we started adopting an international orphan as a CCD program.
Year 3- Beautiful are the Feet that Bring the Good News (Romans 10:15)- Lots of shoes hanging from the ceiling, a shoe drive for Soles 4 Souls- the kids remember this one and still talk about it.
Year 4- All the Saints Greet You! (2 Corinthians 13:13)- We painted murals of favorite Saints on the Walls, had all kinds of Saints activities, highlighted Saints at our parish celebration, etc.
This year- My Soul Magnifies the Lord! (Luke 1:46)
"My soul magnifies the Lord" is the first line from Mary's song of praise called the Magnificat. It is a beautiful prayer thanking God and adoring Him for who He is and what He has done. I chose this as the theme this year because I thought it would be not only a good time to talk about Mary's role in the plan of Salvation, but how she can be a model for us in God's plan for our lives.
She did not "expand" God, or "make" God, or "plan" God. She could do nothing to add or subtract from God's greatness. But her yes to the angel Gabriel allowed God to become Flesh. The God of our ancestors become One among us, one that we could see, touch, and hear. Through her yes, Christ became more apparent to the world around her, not through any of her own power, but through her humility. The word magnify is so fitting, because just like a magnifying glass, she did not change Christ, she just made it easier to see him. We plan to use this idea this year to help teach the kids about how they can become like a magnifying glass of God's love to the world around them.
Our classes are in the downstairs, so I always like to do something fun in the wide hallway that make a memorable first impression. Here is this year's view:
I like how it is almost as if the kids are being wrapped in Mary's mantle as they enter the downstairs hallway :)
Here's one of our main bulletin boards:
A poster colored by the preschool class:
Giant rosary, made of pool noodles, idea from Catholic Icing:
Giant Miraculous Medals hanging from the ceiling, idea also from Catholic Icing:
This was the take home on the first day of CCD. We talked about the theme, and I gave them a kid friendly version of the paragraph above. Hopefully it serves as a reminder of the theme...
They sure seemed to like them, big kids and little kids alike.
Oh, and the JJ Heller song above? The Youth Band has been working on it all summer, and it is going to be the meditation song at all of our Children's Masses. I can't wait for the first one!
I am excited to see what this year will bring, and I thank God for the order of His Creation and how themes hold us all together :)
If you haven't read my post from a few days ago, you should know that I LOVE, L-O-V-E, my new job. So, I'd like to take you on a tour of my classroom.
If you go back here, you will get a bit of a before shot.
Here are some current pictures with a bit of commentary:
I'm running with an owl theme. They are so cute, and the kids love them. I can use corny sayings like "Whoooo's Ready for some KnOWLedge?" and they laugh. Plus, I am using "Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom" as our theme verse for the year, it all flows together nicely.
They loved making these, and I have gotten lots of compliments so far. It sure brightened up the hallway quickly!
It looks a whole lot crazier and smaller when there are 29 little people in those desks, so don't let the empty floor and pushed in chairs fool you.
Gotta love Mother T.
I need to take a better picture, but behind my desk is our "jobs" bulletin board. I told the kids that they might be too old for cutsy school jobs, but the fact of the matter is, I need them- there have to be more hands passing things out, cleaning up, etc. So I have old jean pockets with their names on them and job assignments and group work gets labeled in one place.
Love how these are working out so far- Group "offices". Each bin has commonly needed supplies that can't fit all in their desk. Everything is color coded and labeled, so it all ends up in the same place. So now if we are doing a quick activity that involves use of scissors, I don't have to send them all to their lockers. I set the office in the middle of a group of desks, and they have post it notes, highlighters, a stapler, etc. all at their fingertips. There is not enough space in the room for a lot of traffic flow, so items within arms' reach are wonderful.
I am not sure we have enough books...
Oh, good, there are some more.
I didn't inherit any mailboxes, and they are expensive, so two of these hanging file folder things are going on a test drive. I saw something similar on pinterest, but it needed some adaptation. Once I perfect it, I'll post more details, because I think that something like it could be really useful and inexpensive for a kid's room or home office.
Another whole room shot- but I didn't realize how the curtains didn't show, so I will have to take another picture. The new curtains changed the whole room, which isn't saying much if you remember the old ones. And the kids love them, which is always a plus.
Loving the technology. Ahhhh.
Little faith corner. Note the awesome newly painted file cabinet. Also a favorite item with the students.
Well, I am out of pictures, but the classroom will probably look different tomorrow anyways. So I will leave you with a 5th grade quote for the week.
(Note that I was wearing my hair in a braid. My hair is already a popular topic among the girls.)
In a wistful tone, one of my students said, "Miss Bogner, you look just like a blond Katniss."
If you are not on the Hunger Games train, know that this is very high praise in 5th grade world. :)
Notebooking can be a great way for CCD kids to collect a visual model of what they are learning throughout the year. I think that the short, once a week format of most CCD programs tends to make it tough for kids to pick up where they left off. Notebooking could help. Here are some ideas that could be used for any concept, but all of my examples are about the Creed. I think that it would be kind of a cool way to start the CCD year, with the Creed as a base, and then move on to the curriculum. You could then readily tie the Creed into everything that you are learning.
Click on anything black and white for a printable to get you started.
Start with a good cover. I thought that "I Believe" is a good statement. Then kids can look at their notebook and say that they believe everything that is contained inside. This time, I used a Composition style notebook, but a spiral bound notebook works fine. (I do recommend glue sticks, tape, and staples over liquid glue for obvious reasons. A notebook that ends up only having one page because they are all glued together isn't much of a notebook.)
Add a copy of the Creed, with a twist. Print a copy of this two-page, word by word Creed, have the students cut it apart, mix it up, and see if they can glue it back in order. I don't recommend cutting each word apart unless you have very dedicated, detail oriented students and a lot of time. Instead, cut it into strips, which is much more manageable.
Glue in a KWL Chart, to assess what students know before you begin (Know), as you learn (Want to Know), and as you complete your lesson (Learned).
To make the Creed a little more accessible, you can do a shrinking summary. Hand the kids a large index card and have them write a summary of the important points of the Creed. Then give them a smaller index card and have them par down the summary even further. Finally, have them limit it to only a few words on a post it note or half an index card. It can be very powerful to discover what the key words are that convey the meaning of such a large amount of text.
Try Wordle. I love Wordle. Paste in or type a bunch of text and it randomly creates this cool word art. Students can change the colors, fonts, layouts, etc.
The size of the words is proportional to the number of times the word
appears in the text. On this one, I intentionally made "The Nicene
Creed" large, but the rest of the words help us to see what words are
used most often.
Add some flip books or other fun things. Directions and printable for this one abut tough words in the Creed can be found here.
Add some lift-the-flap-facts about connections between the Creed and Scripture. There is also a blank area for writing notes. You also could add Catechism references.
Finish up the section with a "Yes" flow chart. Since "I Believe" is the theme, have the students add things that they can say yes, they believe.
There are some ideas to get you started, but the possibilities are endless!
