Back to School

The summer break will be over for us this week. Classes at the high school began Monday for Sarah and Matt. Remy's first day of his last year in college began today, and Chris flies to Oklahoma City on Friday before heading back to the seminary the next morning.  


Things will be quieter at home during the day, but I expect the level of school-related activities  evenings and weekends to rise. For example, band activities include 10+ football games and 9+ band contests/festivals/performances, all before the Christmas break. Then there's the work Chuck and I will do as Co-Treasurers of the band boosters this school year. Yes, a husband and wife team now manage the budget for a band booster organization! 


We may be busy now, but our time raising kids is winding down. I'll be teaching religious education classes next month and hopefully, for years to come, after being away from it for several years. I'm looking forward to using my gifts of teaching, writing, and crafting to lead young people closer to God as I enter the next phase of my life.






 

Silly Bands for Christians

My copy of RTJ's Creative Catechist arrived in the mail last week! It's a great magazine for religious education teachers, who will be back in the classroom next month. An article I wrote for a game using "Faith Bands," the Christian version of Silly Bands, appears in this September issue.

Here's another game using Faith Bands(TM) for kids ages 8 and above. It's a simple 10-20 minute activity that promotes visual learning, reinforces biblical teachings, and requires team cooperation. Players may sit on the floor or stand behind a table.

Classroom set-up:  Floor mat or table for each team.

Supplies needed: Two or more packs of Faith Bands bracelets (12 per pack, 1 pack per team).

Object: Be the first team to arrange your set of 12 Faith Bands bracelets in the order pictured on the reference guide in the pack.

Rules:

1.       Divide the class into teams consisting of three to four players.

2.       Ask your students to provide the meaning of the symbol associated with each of the 12 Faith Bands bracelets in the pack. 

3.       Empty pack of Faith Bands bracelets in a heap, one heap for each team.

4.       Distribute reference guides, one for each team.

5.       Teacher announces start of game.

6.       Team members assemble Faith Bands bracelets from heap in order pictured on reference guide.

7.       Game ends with first team to finish.

8.       Team placing the most bracelets in the correct order pictured on the reference guide wins.
 

Copyright ©2011 Esther Locascio. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

Summer Activities

          It's hard to believe summer band practice at the high school starts next week for my kids! It means the first day of school is right around the corner, and there's so much to do before then. For instance, my daughter needs to finish the first half of her online Spanish I class. She would've been in class from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. had she gone to summer school, but then she wouldn't have had much of a summer break. The online class is a lot like homeschooling because she can study at her convenience. On the down side, learning a foreign language can be a most difficult thing to do without the benefit of a live teacher. I've been helping by giving her a list of things to study in each chapter, such as vocabulary words, verbs, and phrases. That means reviewing the chapters myself!

 

July Devotion

In the Catholic faith, every month of the year is dedicated to a special devotion. For the month of July, this special devotion is to the Precious Blood of Jesus. Our Lord and Savior shed his blood for us for our redemption. His blood cleanses and purifies out of love, opening the door to eternal life in Heaven.

The link to a great blog and pictures:

http://stjudemonastery.blogspot.com/2009/07/month-of-precious-blood.html

June News

We're ready for rain after day after day of sunny blue skies... The water patrol is out looking for violaters of stage 2 drought restrictions. Lawns can be watered only once a week, and there's no watering on weekends!

School's out, and Matt will be a senior and Sarah, a sophomore next year. The last year of high school is full of activity prior to graduation. Mom and Pop will be busy, too, as volunteers for the Band Boosters.

The study guide for "The Haunting, Ebram's Story" is still a work in progress, but it's a very exciting time! The Catholic Writers' Guild (CWG) is working hard for its members, and I'm on the publicity committee as a crew member, helping compile a list of media contacts. 

An upcoming event sponsored by the CWG and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN) is the Catholic Writers Conference, scheduled for August 3-5, 2011, at the Scanticon Hotel Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA. Here's a link with more information: http://www.catholicwritersconference.com/ 

News

While working on a teacher's guide for The Haunting (Ebram's Story: 1), I've restrained myself from placing a lot of emphasis on its religiosity due to the separation of church and state found in public schools. But now that the book has been awarded the Catholic Writers' Guild Seal of Approval, I'm revising it to emphasize its Catholicism and Christianity after all. Exhilarating...and humbling! :o)

May

May is the month of Mary, and a website with lots of information about the history and meaning of this special dedication and tribute to Our Lady is: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/05_1.cfm.  

Mary Gardens are a special way to honor Our Lady, and I found a picture of such a garden on this website: http://www.sjtbcc-vt.org/Mary's%20Garden.html.