Focus of the first grade year: God loves us. Jesus teaches us about God's love, and we have the Holy Spirit to help us. Through the sacraments, we belong to the Church, and we learn to celebrate and live our faith through the Mass.

NOTE: Teacher prepared a detailed lesson plan and script for every class. After each class, a link to the script for that class was added on this page. This allowed parents to know everything presented, and it allowed parents to review with their children if desired.

Coloring sheet: Guardian Angel stained glass (new stained glass window at church)

CLICK for larger view.

SCRIPT for class.

SCRIPT for class (text and graphics)
LESSON AT YouTUBE (voice and graphics)

SCRIPT for class (text and graphics)
LESSON AT YouTUBE (voice and graphics)

SCRIPT for class (text and graphics)
LESSON AT YouTUBE (voice and graphics)

SCRIPT for class (text and graphics)
LESSON AT YouTUBE (voice and graphics)

SCRIPT for class (text and graphics)
LESSON AT YouTUBE (voice and graphics)

PLEASE NOTE: The above links are offered for parental review; not all of the videos are appropriate for a young audience. Watch the videos; get the information so that you can use your words to talk about the saints with your child or grandchild. If there are two videos, generally, "video #2" is the child-appropriate video. Please watch any video before you decide whether you want your child to see the video. Some saints suffered much pain on earth.

The children were given coloring sheets and small biographies for those saints for at-home coloring and reading. At Confirmation, a child selects a saint's name. Thus, over the next several years, children will need to acquire some familiarity with saints and their stories. The collection of small biographies that the children were given can be read HERE.

angel: Invisible being that is a messenger of God.
Annointing of the sick: Sacrament where priest prays for the Holy Spirit to comfort sick person.
Baptism: First sacrament we receive; it makes us members of the church.
Bible: Name of holy book of God's word; it tells us about God and God's teachings for us.
Blessed Trinity: Also "Holy Trinity." Belief that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God in 3 persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Catholics: People who believe Jesus is the Son of God, and who celebrate the seven sacraments, and who follow the Pope as their religious leader.
Christ: Name for Jesus that means "God's chosen one."
Church: All of the people who have been baptized in the Blessed Trinity and who believe in God.
church: A church building where a group of people gather o worship God.
Confirmation: sacrament that strengthens us with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Create means "to make."
creation: Everything that God made from nothing.
epiphany: the moment when you finally understand something clearly.
Epiphany: Christian holiday in honor of when the magi arrived in Bethlehem to honor the child Jesus as God's chosen one. Twelve days after Christmas, and the last day of the Christmas season.
Eucharist: Sacrament where we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus.
faith: Gift from God that helps us to believe in God; God's greatest gift to us.
Gospels: Four books in the Bible that tell us about Jesus's life: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
grace: God's life and love that He shares with us.
heaven: Life with God forever
Holy Orders: Sacrament in which a baptized man becomes a priest (or bishop or deacon)
Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Holy Spirit: 3rd part of the Blessed Trinity. The Holy Spirit guides us to do what is right.
Holy Trinity: Also "Blessed Trinity." Belief that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God in 3 persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus: God's son, sent to us by God.
Last Supper: Final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. The disciples are the people whom Jesus chose to teach his message.
Mary: Jesus' mother. Also called "Blessed Mother" and "Virgin Mary."
matrimony: Sacrament where a baptized man and baptized woman become husband and wife.
missionary: Someone who goes out to share the story of Jesus with other people.
parish: People who worship at a specific church building and who are led by a priest.
penance / reconciliation: Sacrament where we receive forgiveness from God for our sins. We can receive that sacrament when we go to Confession.
people of God: Another name for the Church (meaning all of the people who believe in God and who have been baptized).
prayer: Talking and listening to God. We talk and listen to God because God loves us.
sacraments: Special signs that bring us God's grace: Baptism, Penance (Reconciliation), Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick.
sin: Choosing to disobey God. Doing something wrong on purpose.
the two Great Commandments: Love God. Love your neighbors.

Opening Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful. Light the fire of your love in them. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Closing Prayers (2):
(1st)
The Our Father.

(2nd)
Saint Michael the Archangel, please defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke the devil, we humbly pray.
And do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits,
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen

1st Communion, May 2021, at de Chantal -- Group 1 (9:30 a.m.)
1st Communion, May 2021, at de Chantal -- Group 2 (11:30 a.m.)
There were two 1st Communion services in 2020 because of government-mandated COVID space-use restrictions.

Every Mass at de Chantal since March 29, 2020

FORMED -- This online site is free. Select de Chantal parish and give your email address. You can find excellent videos for children by signing in, selecting "Movies," then "Kids." The "Brother Francis" series is especially good for young children.

How to pray the rosary

Catechism of the Catholic Church (website of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)

Every Body's Fancy!

I. Knowledge of the Faith
Children should understand that God created all things in the universe and that all of God's creation is good, especially human beings. God made humans in God's own image. God is all-knowing and all-loving. The Holy Trinity is like the three parts of a clover leaf making up one clover: There is one God -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God's son who was sent to teach us how to live as God's children. The Holy Spirit lives in each of us to help us be holy. Mary is Jesus' mother. Faith is a gift from God that helps us to believe in God, and the Church is the community of people who believe in God and who have been baptized.
The Bible tells us about God and God's teachings for us. Within the Bible, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Jesus. The children should hear the story of the Annunciation (when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would bear the Son of God), the story of the birth of Jesus, and the story of the Resurrection of Jesus. The children should hear that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and that Jesus taught us the good news about God's love through His stories and His life, and that Jesus returned to heaven so that the Holy Spirit could come to live in us.

II. Liturgy and Sacraments
The sacraments are special signs that bring us God's grace. Jesus gave us the sacraments. Baptism is the first sacrament that we receive; it makes us members of the Church. Baptism is done with water and with the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation is when we tell God that we are sorry for having done something wrong and when we receive forgiveness. The Eucharist is the sacrament where we receive Jesus' Body and Blood.
The children will be shown how to enter a church respectfully, make the Sign of the Cross with holy water, and kneel to the presence of God in the church. They will be told what some of the main objects are inside a Catholic church: altar, cross, tabernacle, sanctuary light, Easter candle, baptismal font, statues of saints, images, holy water font, Stations of the Cross. They will be taught that there are three main readings at Mass, and that the gospel reading is the third reading, and that, for the gospel reading, we stand and hear the priest read to us God's Word about Jesus. Jesus Christ is present among those who are together for Mass, and He is present in the word of God and in the priest. When the priest blesses the bread and wine, they become the Body and Blood of Jesus. We call that "transubstantiation." The Church year begins with Advent, and there are six seasons in the Church year: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (divided into two parts), Lent, the Triduum, and Easter. After the Easter season, Ordinary Time continues. The priests wear different colors, based on the church season: Advent and Lent are purple; Christmas and Easter are white; Ordinary Time is green.

III. Moral Formation
We all have a conscience, and we live good lives with the help of the Holy Spirit. God made us so that we would do what is right and good because God loves us. God gives us the ability to choose right or wrong, but doing wrong and disobeying God is a sin.
Jesus taught us that the two most important rules are to love God and to love our neighbors. All people are created by God, and we should respect and love all people. And God especially wants children to love their parents and follow their parents' guidance.

IV. Prayer
Prayer is listening to God and talking to God. The children specifically will be expected to be able to recite from memory the Sign of the Cross, the Lord's Prayer (the Our Father), the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

V. Education for Living in the Christian Community
The Church is a community of people who believe in God and who become members of the community through Baptism. A parish is a group of people who worship at a specific church building and who are led by a priest. Jesus established the Catholic Church and gave it the job to spread God's message of love to all people. A saint is a holy man or woman who has died on earth and now lives in heaven with God. There are many saints. One of those saints is Saint Francis of Assisi. We'll talk about him some during this year; he is mentioned in the children's textbook. And we'll talk about other saints.
Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics. Belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the practice of baptism are two things that all Christians share. Jesus would like all Christians to be united.
All people are created in God's image. The Holy Family -- Jesus, Mary, and Joseph -- show us how to love our parents and our family. Every baby is a gift from God that grows inside a mother. As Catholics, we must try to treat all other people as Jesus would have treated them. There are good and kind touches, and there are touches that are unkind and that disrespect the other person. Jesus wants only good and kind and respectful touches.
God wants and expects all people to love and serve God. Some people are called to serve God in a marriage; a marriage is a sacrament between one man and one woman, with the blessing of God. Some people are called to serve God in the Church in a special way: priests, deacons, religious sisters. A priest is someone who has been called by God to serve in a special way and to lead people in prayer and to lead them to do good.

VI: Evangelization and Apostolic Life:
God calls all of us to love and care for all people, especially people who are poor and/or suffering. We care for people of all cultures and colors, at every stage of life. And God wants children to show respect for their parents, their family, and their teachers.
There are other religions where the people believe in God, but they are not Christian. Jesus grew up in a Jewish family. God loves all people, both Christians and non-Christians.
God wants us to share with others the story of Jesus and Jesus' love. God made each person with gifts to share with others and with the world. Missionaries are people who go out and share with others the story of Jesus.