"Rules" from Ch 3 of Our Different Gifts: A Catechist's Guide to Using Multiple Intelligences in Faith Formation

Chapter 3: Making the Religious Education Classroom Friendly to Multiple Intelligences (pp 33-41)
 
Hopefully, you have had moments of great enthusiasm for sharing your precious faith with your child.  If you haven’t, that can make your efforts to comply with the homework and curriculum very difficult.  Just for now, act as if you think of this third unit about Jesus, as a great opportunity to help your child come to know “Jesus Christ,” as your and your child’s friend.  So, how can the multiple intelligence idea help you share Jesus with your child?
 
The introduction to chapter 3 (pp 33-34) builds on your willingness and desire to pass the faith to your child.  the seven rules that follow give some hints about how to utilize the intelligences in your efforts.
 
Rule 1:  We’re busy.  Talking about Jesus can be hard to fit in.  “*** What is important is that you try to do something - something small, something large, but something.”***
 
Rule 2:  Any good teacher prepares the lesson.  Read the units and thoughtfully complete the parent pages (in your folder)  before meeting with your child; let them resonate inside of you.  Pray about how to talk about these things.  ***“When we give the materials over to God, God never fails us!”***
 
Rule 3:   Your child needs “insight time” to think about Jesus, miracles and their response to the lesson.  Read the great story on pp35-36 about the mean grandma.  Amazing!  *** “The miracles don’t have to be fancy or to our liking.” ***
 
Rule 4:  Take one risk per week.  Some ideas?  Pray on the way to school.  Download a song that is sung a lot at Mass  Talk about an effort to help the poor.  Share something about your faith.  Nice story about the author’s sister’s death and her response to it.  pp 37-38  *** “Truthful conversation about faith is never easy” ***
 
Rule 5:  Eliminate at least one worksheet per month:  Maybe think of a clever way to teach the chapter, with a story of your own.   *** “Whatever it is, it should show them that what you think and feel about God is important and needs to be shared.” *** (and so is what they think and feel.)
 
Rule 6: Think like your student:  Nice story about “Pencils” on page 39.  Be creative!
 
Rule 7:  Enjoy the ride.  *** “If we enjoy the ride we can laugh together, cry together, create together.  We can see God as a joyful, loving God who is just waiting with surprises for us, surprises that will open our understanding of God a bit more each time. (Instead of a God waiting for us to goof up - that God isn’t who He is.)
 
Such a great ending to this chapter:  The poem on page 40.  read it to see this phrase in context and believe it - about you and your precious child:  “I mean, you’re Really IT”
 
Finally, *** “When we take on opening our hearts and minds to using multiple intelligences … we open our hearts to really being IT for God.” ***
 
I liked this chapter.  It helped my faith grow a bit more today.  
Blessings, Terri

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