Growing Up Catholic has three key elements:
(1) A fully reproducible and beautiful learning guide for the
parents and kids. We tested this learning guide with eight, nine and
ten year old children & their parents, offering them a choice between
Growing Up Catholic and three of the leading conventional
sacrament prep books. We invited them to spend a little time with each
and then tell us which one they liked the best. Growing Up Catholic
was chosen first by 82% of the people we asked. Why?
  • They liked that it wasn't "another book we have to read." Parents
    expressed a lot of frustration with being handed a book by parish
    leaders and told to "go home and do this." They found Growing
    Up Catholic's coaching much more palatable.  
  • They liked the coloring and activity pages very much! (They're
    eight or nine years old, for Pete's sake!)
  • They liked the Bible-related activities very much - especially the
    Bible stories told in their own words.
  • They liked how, in each lesson, we gradually explain each of the
    Rites of Reconciliation and Eucharist in their own language.
  • But most of all,they liked how their parents helped
    them on each page.

(2) A web site loaded with parent/guardian information and
background. Growing up Catholic depends on the parents or
guardians of the child. No matter how well we do as a parish, the kids
still learn at home by watching and listening to their parents. Many
parents really aren't deeply enough connected to their own faith to
guide a child. So on this web site, we provide them with a roadmap:
  • What prayers should a child know by heart?
  • What is the meaning of the symbols, in plain English? What signs
    of faith, sacramentals, and other Catholic things do we need in
    our home?
  • What if one of the parents is not Catholic? How do we bridge
    multiple faiths and cultures?
  • Using plain English, what is the background from the Catechism
    of the Catholic Church on the various things a child should learn?
  • Pod casts, presentations, and hundreds of downloadable
    resources by leading Catholic theologians and presenters - all
    from our partnership with MyCatholicVoice.com.
  • Click here to see the home page for First Reconciliation or First
    Eucharist for the parents.

(3) A fantastic package of tools for you as the parish leader!
When you buy Growing Up Catholic for your parish, you pay a fee
based on the number of children in your program. For that single small
fee, you get
  • The children's text pages for 6 sessions. These sessions can be
  • Used in parent-with-child learning at the parish or in
    neighborhood clusters
  • Used in parent-with-child learning at home
  • Used in a combination of these two
  • Or even used in traditional classroom settings where the
    teacher or catechist substitutes for the parent most of the
    time
  • You get the "parent coaching pages" which are just fantastic.
    It actually helps parents learn how to best guide their child item-
    by-item through each session.
  • You get the "parish leader's guide" to help you organize the
    program.
  • And you also get a "catechist's guide" to help your catechist or
    teacher guide the parents to form their own children.
  • You get all of this in full color, gorgeously designed, artfully
    created materials - all for the very low price of $4.35 per student.
    You have to admit, this new approach is not only a sure way to
    form children for a lifetime of faith, but it's also inexpensive.
    Click here to ORDER.
But that's not all. We also provide FREE and unlimited
telephone or e-mail support and backup by our Team. We will
even attend your staff or committee meetings by conference call. To see
more features, click here.







How to get organized
for Sacramental Formation
in your parish.

The Letter you send to
households,
inviting them to take part. This is the
PDF version. The Word file comes
with the program CD.

The registration form for
Growing Up Catholic. This is sent
with the above letter.

The scope & sequence for
Growing Up Catholic: Eucharist

The scope & sequence for
Growing Up Catholic:
Reconciliation

The scope & sequence
for Growing Up Catholic
Confirmation
in restored order

The complete
Leader's Guide.
Download it free of charge here.

The Rite of Enrollment for
those taking part in the formation
process. This is meant to be used at
Sunday Mass.

A special note about
separated and divorced
parents
and the unique needs which they and
their children have. This note also
addresses other out-of-the-norm
domestic situations.

A liturgical year plan
for introducing the Growing Faith
Project over three years as part of
your adult formation.

Notes for the Pastor
& Liturgical Leaders
to help everyone understand the role
of liturgy more fully.
What You Need
to
Organize in
Your Parish

Parents who are not Catholic
Some suggestions about how they can
take part in
Reconciliation Formation
Eucharist Formation
Confirmation Formation

Household Bible Study
Here is an easy-to-use, downloadable
Household Bible Study. 18 sessions in
all. Each has a 5-page worksheet that
you all can share. All they need is your
own Bible.

Just Living
Simply. Sustainably. In solidarity
with the Poor.
This is a 14 step process on the web
site which walks them through a series
of household exercises leading to a life
more in keeping with Gospel values.
Exciting but challenging!




Click on the items below to find more
information

Catholic Prayers
with which every child should know
by heart - or at least be familiar!

Special Prayers
for the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Special Prayers
which Catholic children should know
when praying with Mary

Catholic Words
An illustrated glossary.

Catholic Teaching
about the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.

Catholic Teaching
about the Sacrament of
Eucharist.

Catholic Teaching
about the Sacrament of
Confirmation.

The Catholic Catechism
in plain English
Parents have to buy this, but it's work
their investment. It helps them be fully
confident and able to teach their child
well.

Daily Faith Sharing
A guide to how to do it based on the
readings from each week's Sunday Mass

Resources galore!
We've chosen a few resources we
think every Catholic home should
have in it. Use this as your check list.
Some of these things you have to buy.
Others are free.
What we provide
to parents
To review a FREE sample
of one session of the
Formation for First Holy Communion
Click here for the Child pages.
Click here for the Parent pages.
Click here for the Catechist pages.