This Week in Religious Education Class…
Week 6
Grade 1
This week our Fantastic First Graders reflected on the Church and the Feast of All Saints. After
working in our textbooks, we heard about a special saint named Saint Patrick. We heard a story
about this follower of Jesus and we made a puppet. Ask if you child can tell you who St. Patrick
was.
We also prayed a litany of saints. We talked about how saints are an example of how to love
God in our everyday lives. We ask these holy people to pray for us. They pray alongside of us
to God, our loving Father.
We finished up with assigning a Bible Buddy who brought home a bible storybook. Enjoy
reading the stories together and remember to bring it back next week.
Grade 2
This week our Super Second Graders took a break from their Reconciliation books. We
discussed the celebration of All Saints. In class, we learned about Mary, the mother of Jesus.
She is the first saint. We heard a story about Mary and made a saint puppet. We also have a
special prayer that we say to her called the “Hail Mary.” We practiced this prayer in class. I
encourage you to practice at home as well.
We finished the class by praying a Litany of Saints, asking the saints to pray for us.
Grade 3
Our Terrific Third Graders discussed the Communion of Saints. Jesus and the saints are example
of how to live a holy life. Our children learned about St. Francis, a wonderful man of God. Ask
your third grader to tell you why he is a saint. We heard a story about St. Francis and made a
saint puppet.
We finished the class by praying a Litany of Saints, asking the saints to pray for us.
Grade 4
Our Fine Fourth Graders also discussed the Solemnity of All Saints and saints as friends. Each
child received a one page biography of a saint. He/she read the biography and completed a short
saint report. The saint reports will be complied into a book which will be added to the St. James
25 Anniversary time capsule. Ask your child which saint he/she learned about and to name a
fact about the saint.
We finished the class by praying a Litany of Saints, asking the saints to pray for us.
Grade 5
The First-rate Fifth Graders continued their unit on the sacraments. This week, our discussion
and activities covered Reconciliation. We explored the importance of forgiveness.
To reinforce our textbook materials, we played a game of “throw Your Sins Away.” Ask your
child how the game worked. We also had a cut and paste activity of the steps of Reconciliation.
The children continued in their Sacrament Booklet working on the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Grade 6
The Supreme Sixth Graders explored the Solemnity of All Saints and we examined St. Therese
of the Little Way as a model of faith. After completing our textbook material, we viewed a
Youtube clip on St. Therese and discussed her “little ways.” Ask you son/daughter to explain
what is meant by that. We also had a craft experience of making Good Deed Beads.
We finished the class by praying a Litany of Saints, asking the saints to pray for us.
Grade 8
Our Excited Eighth Graders gathered for a lesson on the creed. Our creed is a statement of what
we believe. Our icebreaker activity allowed each group to build a structure from drinking straws
and tape. We learned that it is important to have a solid, strong foundation. The creed is our
Catholic foundation.
The youth rotated to three different activities in which they examined the Creed and its
importance. At one rotation, we matched the creed to what it meant in common words and we
viewed a video. We also made a magnet that had a symbol of following Christ. It will serve as a
reminder that we also follow Christ.
Our second rotation gave our 8th graders the opportunity to write their own creed. It sounds
much easier than it was. Our third rotation offered a historical perspective on the creed. It also
allowed us to examine our personal characteristics.
We completed our evening with a Layered Prayer. Each young person began a prayer and then
passed it on to another in the group, who added to it. Each person offered another “layer” of
prayer. The completed prayers were returned to the original owner. We recapped our evening
by hearing the Creed put in our own words.
The kids have an amazing amount of energy and are actively engaged in learning about their
faith. The Table Parents are building those faith relationships with our children. I look forward
to the evening spent with your amazing children!