These online resources can inspire and help:

VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO YOUR MINISTRY: 

This video from the Archdiocese of Chicago will inspire you no matter where you're called to be a catechist.  It's worth your 8 minutes to get the overview and inspiration of this challenging and rewarding ministry. 
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So you've answered the call to be a catechist.  This 10-minute video, with catechetical author and practicing catechist Joe Paprocki, will support you with the best reasons to do well in this ministry: 
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This 10 minutes from Our Sunday Visitor addresses your spirituality as a catechist, and calls you to recognize that every person you minister to is a beloved child of God: 

ESSENTIAL TIPS ONLINE FOR YOUR MINISTRY:

This video of a webinar takes an hour, but if you are teaching children, it will be worth your time to get you set up for the year. Your ministry is to be warm and welcoming, active and engaging, prayerful and oriented towards justice and compassion. Noted author Kathy Hendricks will lead you to examine the essential elements of catechesis and the rationale behind them, along with strategies for creating an artful, empowering, and inspiring environment in which to draw children together to learn, practice, and express their faith. 
GET PRACTICAL tips from Loyola Press and Joe Paprocki, nationally known catechist and writer who gives good, usable advice: 

CLICK HERE for "Help! I'm a New Catechist! Where Do I Begin?" 

CLICK HERE for "Nine Tips for Asking Questions"

CLICK HERE for "Top Ten Little Things That Can Make a Big Difference for Catechists." 

CLICK HERE for "Skills, Tips, and Practical Advice for Preparing the Learning Environment." 
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CLICK HERE to get "11 Tips for Catechists".
How to respond when a child arrives with unexpected news, joyful or sorrowful? HERE are some tips from Building Faith. 
How to respond to some behavior issues? HERE are some tips from Building Faith. 
How to reach children at their development levels? HERE is a guide from Building Faith. 
How to manage the group when they get to know you well enough to push your buttons? HERE are "After the Honeymoon is Over" tips from Building Faith. 
Everyone learns a little bit differently.  Keep different learning styles in mind as you develop your sessions.  HERE is a page on "Using Multisensory Activities in Catholic Religious Education Classrooms," from Sadlier Religion. 
Catechist Stream is a new series devoted to catechists that addresses current catechetical issues, events, and strategies. Being a Catholic catechist is about being faithful disciples who often “swim upstream” in their efforts to share the countercultural message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Catechist Stream helps you to become more informed and prepared to swim upstream!
Edutopia has short, readable articles on easily implemented strategies for leading learning groups. 

CLICK HERE for "9 Strategies for Getting More Students to Talk." 

CLICK HERE for "Designing Lessons to Boost Student Engagement." 

CLICK HERE for "Welcoming Students with a Smile." 

CLICK HERE for "4 Ways to Get Students Moving in Class." 
PRAYER is essential to our ministry.  CLICK HERE for a brief article by Jared Dees in Catechist magazine on integrating prayer into sessions so that we transform not just the head but the heart too.  
And be certain to CLICK HERE for lots of tips on the Prayer page of Catechist Cafe. 
MISSION is essential to our ministry.  CLICK HERE for an article by Maureen Crowley Heil in Catechist on engaging children in mission. 
COMMUNITY is essential to our ministry. 
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The Directory for Catechesis (a document of the whole Church, worldwide) provides religious educators, teachers, and catechists with the goals and essential elements of catechesis, and its role in the Church's mission of evangelization.  Your parish probably has a copy of this directory.
The Directory tells us: 
"The faith is professed, celebrated, expressed, and lived above all in community.  'The communitarian dimension is not just a "frame," and "outline," but an integral part of the Christian life, of witness and evangelization.'" (Directory for Catechesis, paragraph #88) 
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REFLECTION: How can you connect the individuals you are catechizing to your parish community AND how can you connect your parish community to the individuals you are catechizing? 

Materials that can help: 
(CLICK HERE to see if we have them in the diocesan library to reserve materials.)

Called to Be a Catechist : Your Practical Guide
edited by Cullen W. Schippe
This 43-page booklet gives brief but meaningful chapter on: On a Mission; Developing a Catechetical Spirit; Know Your Faith; Know Your Students; Keep Learning Active; and Develop Practical Habits.
The Confident Catechist : Strategies for the New and Not-So-New Volunteer
by Lee Danesco.
​This 70-page book contains chapters: A Winning Beginning; Finding Your Focus; Making the Most of Motion; Questions, Questions, Questions; Holding Their Attention; Guests Are the Best; Teach Me a Story; And Now Let Us Pray; Session Savers; and Leading by Following
How to Be a Great Catechist
by Judene Leon Coon
This 130-page book (with lesson plans in the appendix) give us: Preparing the Way of the Lord; Communicating the Message; Fitting into the Whole Picture; Using Your Time Wisely; Putting It All Together; Being Creative with Scripture; Joining with the Parish Family; The Dilemma of Discipline; and much more! 
The Catechist's Toolbox : How to Thrive as a Religious Education Teacher
by Joe Paprocki
​Build your skills and confidence with the right tools! This 130-page collection of methods, techniques, and tips provide on the job training for any new catechist.
Includes: Selecting Learning Activities; Preparing for Things That Can Go Wrong; Adapting to Learning Styles and Special Needs; Looking to the Bible for Vision; Smoothing Out Discipline Problems; Assessing Progress; and more!
Beyond the Catechist's Toolbox: Catechesis That Not Only Informs, But Also Transforms / [Book]
by Joe Paprocki, DMin.Joe Paprocki,
This handy pocket-sized book has step-by-step book practical techniques for how to teach a 75-minute catechetical session. 
The Catechist's Backpack : Spiritual Essentials for the Journey 
by Joe Paprocki and Julianne Stanz
​While there are many books about what catechists should know and what they are to do, there is very little on the idea of being a catechist. This 105-page book gives catechists the resources that speak to the spiritual dimension of their call to share the Catholic faith. Chapters include: Radical Reliance on God; Commitment to the Church; Openness to the World; Devotion to Mary and the Saints; and more!

​Resources from Catechist magazine: 
​(Some may be available to borrow from  the Diocesan Library, CLICK HERE to check and reserve materials.)

The current issue and years worth of back issues of Cathechist magazine are in the Library.  Filled with practical ideas and spiritual nourishment, the magazine is a great kick-starter to get your ideas flowing.  
CLICK HERE to find articles online.
The Catechist publisher, Twenty-Third Publications, also puts out these 50-page booklets in the series,
​"Called to Be a Catechist." 
​They are short, but convey meaningful content and opportunity for reflection.  You can borrow them from the Library.
The Vocation of the Catechist: Inspiration and Professional Growth. (2017)
From learning what a catechist is expected to do, through how to keep students engaged and enthusiastic, from deepening one’s own faith to imparting a sense of mission to those you teach, there is a wealth of information here.
Celebrating the Sacraments
(2017)
Chapters: Re-instituting Sacramental Living; Baptism and Confirmation; Eucharist; Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick; Matrimony; Holy Orders; Everyday Sacramentality
Communicating the Faith
(2017)
Chapters: God's Methodology and Pedagogy; Catechesis and Divine Methodology; Learning Through Human Experience and Discipleship; The Christian Community, Family, and You; Memorizing or Learning by Heart; Commitment and Apprenticeship; Means of Communication: Media Spheres
Fostering Spirituality 
(2017)
Chapters: Spirituality and Religion; Schools of Spirituality; An Introduction to the Great Spiritual Classics; Spirituality and Popular Culture; Spirituality and World Religions; Spiritual Heroes for the Twenty-First Century; Pathways into E-Spirituality
Pondering the Parables
​ (2017) 
Chapters: Rediscovering the Parables; Responding Creatively to the Parables; How to Read, Reflect On, and Pray the Parables; The Parables of Jesus in Mark and Matthew; Casting Down and Raising Up in Luke's Parables; Introduction to John's Figures of Speech; The Parables of and in Our Lives
The Role of the Catechist
(2016)
Catechesis: Sources, Nature, and Purpose; Promoting Knowledge of the Faith; Liturgy and Sacraments; Moral Formation in Christ; Praying with Christ; Life and Mission of the Church; Christians in Society

From the "Essential Catechist's Bookshelf"
(CLICK HERE to check if available in the diocesan library, then reserve materials.)

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