| Christ Jesus, the Way
Home and Family
What is My Child Learning?: First Grade
Unit 1
Chapter 1 God's Good World
Your child is celebrating the goodness of God's creation. God created all living things and all God created is good. The sacredness and uniqueness of all human persons are to be respected and valued. Your child is learning that he or she is good and that a very important part of God's goodness lives in all his children. Human beings are made in God's image and called to holiness by the example of Jesus. Your child is discovering that we need to take care of the world and all that is in it. What steps are you currently taking to help preserve God's beautiful world for future generations?
Chapter 2 I Have a Family
Your child is celebrating that it is a gift to be a member of a family, and that God calls family members to love one another. God wants each of us to feel loved and appreciated within our families. Your child is being reminded that family members do good things for one another. It is within families that children learn and develop moral values and a sense of commitment and responsibility. What are some challenges that you and your family face in living your faith in today's world?
Chapter 3 God Sent Jesus
Your child is learning about the Holy Family — Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The parents of Jesus encountered not only the joys, but many of the difficulties experienced by ordinary families in raising a child: finances, negative influences, and endless hard work. Yet, Jesus thrived under the guidance of his family. Your child is being invited to look for the good things in your family, the things that bring happiness and peace. Your child is being reminded that we are all loved by God and by our family. What similarities do you see between the Holy Family and your family? What differences? What steps can you take to be more like the Holy Family?
Chapter 4 The Holy Spirit
Your child is learning that the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' followers and filled them with courage, strength and happiness. The Holy Spirit helps us all to do good things and to serve others. Your child is being introduced to the mystery of the Holy Spirit's presence by using the images of wind and fire, as found in the story of the Pentecost in scripture (Acts 2: 1-13). How have you been changed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?
Back To Top
Unit 2
Chapter 5 Listen to God
Your child is learning that the Bible is God's Word. Using an Old Testament and a New Testament story, your child can form an idea of what the Bible is. These stories reveal God's love in action. Your child learns that God speaks through the Bible. Your child will discover that through listening to Bible stories he or she will learn about God's love for all people. What favorite Bible story would you like to share with your child this week?
Chapter 6 Pray
Your child is exploring more about prayer as a way to talk to God. Your child is learning that there are five different types of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, petition, contrition, and intercession. Your child is learning to become more comfortable with praying anytime and anywhere in words and actions. Your child is learning and practicing the Sign of the Cross. How do you show your child the importance of prayer in your family life?
Chapter 7 Praise God
Your child is learning about the joyful feeling of praise. All children enjoy being praised. The idea that God might also enjoy praise seems natural to children. Your child is also learning that praising God is more than just words. Your child is encouraged to think of good actions that praise God. Your child will learn that when he or she praises God with good actions, the goodness of the Creator is revealed. What good action can you do this week to show praise to God?
Chapter 8 Thank God
Your child is learning about prayers of thanksgiving. Children enjoy being thanked because then they know that they have done something good. They know that God does good things; so thanking God seems natural. Your child will learn the importance of thanking God for all of creation. Your child is also invited to thank God for another gift, the people who help him or her each day. How can you help your child show gratitude to others this week?
Back To Top
Unit 3
Chapter 9 So Sorry
Your child will learn to celebrate his or her ability to say the healing words I am sorry when he or she does hurtful things. Your child will also learn the difference between an accident or a mistake and a purposeful choice that is hurtful. These are important foundations for conscience development. Without them, some young children are not able to develop morally. How have you experienced the forgiveness of others?
Chapter 10 Forgive
Your child is learning to celebrate his or her response to Jesus? invitation to forgive others. Forgiving a hurt is not easy for any of us. Forgetting the hurt may be even harder. This lesson provides many hurting and healing stories that your child can relate to and remember when something hurtful happens to him or her. How do you express forgiveness to others?
Chapter 11 Help Others
Your child will learn that God created every person to love others. First graders recognize love when people help them. Your child will begin to recognize that when he or she does helpful things he or she shares God?s love too. By hearing the story of the Good Samaritan your child will hear about God?s love in action. Because your child understands the feeling of wanting someone to help the hurt go away, your child will like the Good Samaritan, who is a good neighbor. What have you learned about the experience of helping someone who was in need?
Chapter 12 Pray for Others
Your child will learn that God invites us his people to pray for others. However, first graders still tend to think in family, not global terms. Their immediate concerns are themselves, their pets and the people in their immediate family. Your child may ask God to help your family members get along, or they may ask for a new bicycle or a trip to the amusement park. Your child will be encouraged to extend his or her prayer concerns to the whole world. Your child will learn that he or she can ask God to help people all over the world. Your child will learn that God listens to all prayers. What areas of need will you include in your prayers today?
Back To Top
Unit 4
Chapter 13 Baptism
Your child will know that Baptism welcomes new members into God's family. Your child will learn that Baptism is a sacrament of welcoming children into God's family. Your child probably knows stories of his or her own birth and baptism. Your child may have witnessed baptisms during the celebration of the Eucharist in the parish community or been a part family celebrations of baptism. What does your baptism mean to you today?
Chapter 14 A Parish
Your child already knows that he or she belongs to a family. Your child feels loved and cherished, valued and respected by his or her family. But as your child grows, his or her world will expand, and may reach out to other groups and individuals for support. In this chapter your child will be introduced to a family larger than his or her own --- the parish family. In what ways do you find comfort and support in your parish community?
Chapter 15 Leaders
In this chapter, your child will learn about Church leaders: The parish priest, the bishop, and the pope. Your child will first learn about family leaders. Then your child will meet Moses. He or she will read a short story about how he led God's People out of captivity in Egypt. How do experience God's call in your life today?
Chapter 16 All Are Welcome
In this chapter your child will learn about the central theme of Jesus' teaching: that God invites all people to be part of his kingdom of peace, love and compassion. Many Scripture scholars have written books and monographs about this kingdom. Many pastors and bishops have preached about it. All of these people tell us that the kingdom is now and that it is yet to come. God's People help bring about this growth. What are you doing to build God's kingdom in your everyday life?
Back To Top
Unit 5
Chapter 17 We Worship
In this chapter your child will discuss the sights, sounds, tastes, touches and smells at church. He or she will talk about gathering with the Church family each Sunday for Mass and how the celebration begins with the Sign of the Cross. What makes Sunday Mass important to you?
Chapter 18 Bring Gifts
The reason for worship is to give God thanks and praise. Every good gift is from God. In this chapter your child will be talking about thanking and praising God at Mass for the great gift of life and how Jesus is God’s greatest gift. How is your child a gift to you from God?
Chapter 19 The Lord's Prayer
Of all the formal Christian prayers, there is no doubt that the best known and most often repeated is the Lord’s Prayer. The Church family prays this prayer at every Mass. In this chapter your child will learn that Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer and that it teaches us how pray in deep relationship with God. What does it mean to you when you pray “thy will be done” in the Lord’s Prayer?
Chapter 20 Holy Communion
We celebrate Sunday Mass in memory of Jesus. In this chapter your child will discover that Jesus gave himself to his friends at the Last Supper. He blessed bread and wine, announced that these were his Body and Blood, gave them to his friends, and asked them to drink the cup in memory of him. Since that time his followers have continued that ritual. What does receiving Holy Communion mean to you?
Back To Top
Unit 6
Chapter 21 Jesus Gives Life
This chapter explains that Jesus died on the cross and rose to new life. Your child will be learning how Jesus shares this new life with him or her. The text of your child’s book does not use the word resurrection because it may be too difficult for first graders. Instead, it simply states that Jesus rose from the dead. What significance does faith in the resurrection of Jesus have for you?
Chapter 22 Know Jesus
This chapter recalls five Bible stories that will help your child remember God’s love: the creation story, the birth of Jesus, the Good Shepherd story, the Good Samaritan, and the parable of the great feast as the kingdom of God. Throughout this year your child has learned about God through creation, from Jesus, from the Bible and from other people.
What can you tell your child about the presence of God in your life?
Chapter 23 Love Jesus
Throughout the Gospels we hear the command of Jesus to love one another, to care for the poor and lowly, to comfort and forgive, and to serve and look to the needs of others. Jesus asks this of his followers, not only through their words but by their actions as well. In this chapter your child will learn more about sharing God’s love. He or she will discover that by doing good things, God’s love is put into action. How did your actions show God’s love today?
Chapter 24 Serve Jesus
Jesus shared God’s love with others and asks all Christians to do the same. This chapter sums up the major idea that your child has been learning all year: that he or she serves God and shows God’s love by helping others. What are some of the challenges of serving God that you face?
Back To Top
|
