Letter to CCD Parents


Dear Parents, 

Thank you for making the commitment to your child's religious education.

The 1st grade class is the basic foundation to prepare the children for the 2nd grade class, which is the class that culminates with First Communion. I am traditional, conservative, and will not stray from the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. I use a variety of props, methods, and activities to try to teach that message.

The class may go by various names -- "Faith Formation" or "CCD" (for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) -- but it is a basic Catholic catechism class.

Please know that I do NOT present or say anything to your child that would not pass muster of the Catholic Church. There are no "secrets" in the class. No information is withheld from parents. If your child should say something in class that I suspect you would want to hear, I will share that with you. ... Over a hundred years ago, my grandmother taught in one-room school houses in rural Indiana and rural Saskatchewan. My values are about the same as hers were, and that's how I teach and speak to children. ... For 75 minutes each week, your child will have safe space with basic old-fashioned values.

Your child will be told this by me:
"I promise you that I will not lie to you about anything. In this class, you may ask any question, and I’ll answer it the best I can. You may disagree with me. You must behave and be polite, but you may disagree. If you have a question that I cannot answer, I shall direct you to your mom or dad, or to a priest."

I will not lie to your child -- not for any reason. Children need honesty. I am trying to teach your child that God exists and that Jesus is our Saviour. If I lie, even about the trivial, why would a child believe me?

Understanding what is happening at Mass can be difficult for a child. There is an excellent video at
Formed.org. You can find it by signing in at Formed (for free). It is a 30-minute video. Please watch this video with your child:
The Mass: A Life-Giving Prayer

The Archdiocese has specific religious education goals for 1st graders. You can find a synopsis of those goals at the class web page, which can be found here:

The children will learn five prayers: Sign of the Cross, The Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Grace Before Meals. There are about two dozen words that the children will learn over the year. They will learn the Creation Story, the Noah's Ark story, the story of the Annunciation, the birth of Jesus, and the death and resurrection of Jesus. They will learn about some saints (and your help will be needed with this).

I'll be using the textbook, with supplementation from other sources. At the class web page, you can see the class calendar, with information for each class session.

In addition to the textbook, I'll use videos produced by a company called “Adventure Catechism.” Each video lasts about seven minutes, and children enjoy them.

There will be some coloring sheets, a few craft projects, and planting crocus bulbs at the church. When Advent starts, each class session will include reading a children’s version of the Gospel reading from the previous Sunday. The class will include some art by old masters, some geography, some history, some Latin, and some cookies. Each child learns differently, and the intent is to offer the message in many forms, with the hope that Jesus' message will reach each child in one way or another.

Most weeks, your child will have homework, and your help will be needed. The children need to learn about saints; this year, they will learn about 24 saints. I have written short biographies and have found matching coloring sheets. Your child will come home with "saints sheets" -- two sheets of paper. There will be a coloring page and a short biography for you to read to your child. Each biography can be read to your child in less than two minutes. Having mom, or dad, or grandma, or big brother or sister read the story will mean more for your child than having the story read as one more little segment of the CCD class. Encourage your child to color the picture. Talk with your child about the saint; put your child's saint drawing on your refrigerator for the week and mention the saint throughout the week. At the class website, there are links to videos for the various saints. The videos are short, less than 10 minutes. Let the saints come alive for your child.
HINT: If you save those stories and coloring sheets, by the end of the year, your child will have his own book of saints. At this link there is a pdf file with all saints biographies and coloring sheets for the first-grade year:
First grade saints

You are welcome to email me: 
alicemariebeard@gmualumni.org
You are welcome to phone me: 301-493-5832 (landline, no text).
During class, in case of an emergency, normally I'll have a cell phone in my pocket. I shall share that number with you privately.

A parent is welcome to visit the class at any time, without notice. However, you must remain quiet, not interfere with the class in any way, and stand (or sit) to the side.

By way of introduction, I was born in 1950. Since 1982, I have lived a mile from de Chantal. I have been married since 1974. My children are grown; they went to Wyngate Elementary and did religious education at de Chantal. I was an at-home mom as my kids grew up. Additionally, and almost incidentally, I have a J.D. from George Mason U. and am a member of the D.C. Bar. My undergrad is in political science, and I did grad school in journalism. Decades ago, I taught quadratic equations to people preparing for the GED exam. When my children were young, I ran Camp Fire groups (like Scouting) for ten years. I have written a few published law review articles, and I have done massive amounts of genealogical research. 

What I'll be doing during this school year will be serving as your child's religious education teacher.

Please know that I prepare for every class session; I never "wing it." I try to change what we are doing about every 10 minutes; that is the typical attention span for these little ones. My intent is to do what I can, within my abilities, to deliver Jesus' message to your child.

Please communicate to your child that, yes, what will be happening at CCD is a real class. It is not play time, and it is not daycare. I will do my best to teach your child. At the same time, please understand that, if your child does not want to be there and balks at being there, I cannot change that, and I also cannot deal with it. God has given everyone the gift of free will. I am not able to force a child to cooperate with the process of learning.

Sincerely,
Alice Marie Beard

HOME
1st grade CCD, 2022-2023