Term 3 Catechesis Programme

Aim:

The children learn that even during the holidays, Jesus is with us and wants to continue being our friend.

They will continue doing, all that they learnt during the year.

Prayer Table: more space than usual, will be required

• Bible
• Candle
• Green cloth, folded on it, violet and white cloth
• A picture of Jesus with children
• Statue of Our Lady
• Pictures which remind us of summer – the sea, ice cream, BBQs
• Pictures of children praying (alone, with their family, with others)
• Pictures of creations, a jug of water, white dress, other objects which remind the children about what they learnt during the year

To prepare

• Song: Come follow me
• The colouring page
• Some food and drink so that at the end you have a small party

Prayer

Sign of the cross

Dear Jesus, we are going to finish with our meetings for this year. We have learnt many things about you! You have become our friend. Thank you for all that we have learnt. Thank you for the catechists, for our new friends.

The meeting

Ask the children to tell you what they have learnt and what they enjoyed most. To help them, point to the various objects and pictures used during the year.

During this year, we learnt that Jesus is always with us. He was a young child, who loved to play with his toys, and with his friends, he helps his mother and father, he prayed and listened to his parents reading scripture. We learnt that Jesus wants us to be like him …. So what will we do this summer? Allow the children to come up with ideas.

The parents will be given a note with tips of things they can do during summer … some of these may also be mentioned with the children.

Remember to allow enough time for a small party at the end and for the prayer.

Activity

Give the colouring page to the children

Prayer

Sign of the cross

Jesus we are going to start our summer holidays. It is such a great time, we will go swimming, we will eat icecream, we will learn new things. We want to continue meeting with you. So dear Jesus, we invite you to join us every time we (the children mention various activities they will do in summer, like going to the beach, having BBQs, go to village feasts, Summer clubs, holidays abroad …)

Family time

During this meeting, the children learnt:

• Jesus is always with us, and although we will not meet for catechsis, he wants to be with us during summer

These are some ideas of what you can do during summer, to keep God’s presence visible:

BBQs: look at the creation … the moon and stars … thank God for this beautiful creations, thank God for family, friends and good food

If abroad: look at the creation … mountains, rivers, lakes … thank God for this beautiful nature

Collect seashells, when at the beach. Help the children to clean them. They decide to whom they want to give the seashells .. grandparents, siblings, parents, friends. Before giving the seashell, they hold the shell in their hand and pray for the person they will be giving it to. When they give the seashell, they say, “I choose this seashell for you, and I have prayed for you.”

Read stories from the children’s Bible and allow the children to act them out or say them in their own words. If the story includes water (like the creation story, Jesus’ baptism, the wedding at Cana) play some water games! Children love treasure hunts. After reading a story from the Bible, print pictures of this story (you may find pictures here https://www.freebibleimages.org/). Cut of the pictures and hide them around the house, let the children find them. When they find them they may arrange them in order and retell the story.

In summer there are many feasts, tell the children the stories of the saints whom their feast is being celebrated

Children love to sing, search on youtube and find Christian songs for the children to listen to, many have actions included

Take the children to church with you. If abroad or on holiday, do not forget Sunday mass (wherever possible)

Allow the children to help in the house, let them be responsible for their pets – even Jesus helped his parents

Help them to remember the prayers that they learnt: the sign of the cross, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, the Our Father. Pray before meals, before going to bed, when they wake up.

In the room where they met for catechesis, there was a table with the Bible, a candle, and other things, which helped to remind the children what they were learning about. Allow the children to have a prayer corner in the house, allow them to decorate it as they wish. Use this corner for family prayer and where to read from the Bible.