Page 6 - LC Advent and Lent

Introduction
Learning centers are one means for helping parents and other adults get involved in the religious formation of children in non-intimidating and practical ways. Many parents are eager to learn more about their own faith and want to hand that faith on to their children, but they don’t feel they have adequate training or enough information to do so. Yet parents share their faith best through example, family rituals, and conversations. Learning centers can help them extend this process. This practical method of faith sharing can be used with almost any doctrinal content when pre- sented in an age-appropriate manner with sensitivity to various learning styles.
So here parents are provided the opportunity to complete hands-on tasks, have discussions/ conversations about their faith with their children, and reinforce material that is addressed in their children’s textbooks.
Learning centers offer creative and interactive ways to do this. Plus they are flexible. Parents can choose a convenient time to visit the center with their children and work at their own pace. It usu- ally takes about two hours to thoughtfully visit the sessions and complete the activities. Learning centers also give the director of faith formation an opportunity to observe parents, children, and other adults working together. This can help him or her determine which learning centers are most beneficial in the learning process.
A few practical points:
• If possible, before families visit the individual learning centers, review briefly with them the
sheet of directions they will find at each center, which list the church teaching, the goal of the activity, and directions.
• Make copies of the short suggested readings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and have them at the appropriate centers so those who wish can read them.
• Makecertainthateachcenterhasallthesuppliesneededandenoughofeachsupply.
• AteachcenterhaveaBiblewithamarkeronthepagewheretheappropriatepassageforthat center can be easily found. (You might want to use a child’s version of the Bible for these readings.)
Special thanks to Carol Mercord, Religious Education Director at St. Joseph Parish in Prescott, Wisconsin, who continues to give her support, help, and advice in developing these centers.
Also thanks to Diane Wengelski at St. Bridget’s Parish for her suggestions about how to use the learning centers.
And special thanks to my nephew Nathan for his computer savvy. 1
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