PA R E N T C O N N E C T I O N
NIHIL OBSTAT Rev. Msgr. Robert Coerver Censor Librorum IMPRIMATUR † Most Reverend Kevin J. Farrell DD Bishop of Dallas
C on te n ts Welcome
1
God’s Gift of Family
2
God’s Gift of Self
4
God’s Gift of Life
6
God’s Gift of Love
8
May 3, 2010 The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that the material reviewed is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those granting the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed. Copyright © 2011 RCL Publishing LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information or retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher.
Send all inquiries to: RCL Benziger 206 East Bethany Drive Allen, TX 75002-3804
God’s Gift of Community 10 Between Parent and Child....................................... 12 Christian Living......................................................... 14 Glossary..................................................................... 15
Toll Free 877-275-4725 Fax 800-688-8356 Visit us at www.RCLBenziger.com 20655 ISBN 978-0-7829-1505-1 (Student Edition) 20665 ISBN 978-0-7829-1515-0 (Parent Connection) 20685 ISBN 978-0-7829-1535-8 (Teacher Edition) 1st printing. Manufactured for RCL Benziger in Cincinnati, OH, USA. June 2010.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Excerpts from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition © 1993, 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality (8 December 1995). Excerpts from Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes (7 December 1965). Excerpts from John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio (22 November 1981). Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church © 1994, 1997, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
PHOTO CREDITS Cover: Comstock/Punchstock; page 1, Tim Pannell/Corbis; 2, Image Source/JupiterImages; 3, Strauss/Curtis/Corbis; 4, Tim Pannell/Corbis and Jupiterimages/Gettyimages; 5, Alistair Berg/JupiterImages; 6, Jack Hollingsworth/JupiterImages; 7, Dianne Fiumara/Gettyimages; 8, Hill Street Studios/Gettyimages; 9, Nick White/JupiterImages; 10, Southern Stock Corp/ Corbis; 11, Fotosearch; 12, Jupiterimages/Gettyimages; 13, Ben Moon/Gettyimages; 14, Tim Pannell/Corbis; 15, Tim Pannell/Corbis.
Welcome to RCL Benziger Family Life! You are a family! Your child is a gift from God—and a great responsibility. During these important growing-up years, you are the most important influence in your child’s life. Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Exhortation On the Family, challenged families to become what they are— “a community of life and love.” He invited you to wrap your child in the love of Christ, so that your son or daughter will become a follower of the Lord. You only have to think back as far as your last family argument to know that it isn’t always easy to be a community of love. You can use all the help you can get these days to be a Christian family. The Church supports you, and your parish or school chose RCL Benziger Family Life to be a part of that support. In the weeks ahead your child will be learning more about the skills and virtues of Christian family living. This booklet will help your child to make the connection between what was learned in the classroom and living it at home. Your role is to do what you already know how to do best—be a good parent. You will be asked to share your own faith and values with your child in informal and enjoyable ways. The first five sections in the Parent Connection correspond to the five themes in your child’s book. Read through these materials. Throughout this booklet you’ll find ideas to help you to better understand and communicate with your child. You will also find simple explanations of the Church’s teaching with regards to living a healthy and holy family life. You will also learn new ways to create family experiences that your child will remember for a lifetime!
“
Family, become what you are . . . a community
”
of life and love.
Pope John Paul II, On the Family 17
www.RCLBFamilyLife.com Introduction 1
Your Child Is Learning In God’s Gift of Family, your child is learning the following concepts.
Family Ties 3 Family attitudes, values and
traditions influence us. 3 Some qualities of a healthy family are good communication, loyalty, responsibility and companionship. 3 You belong to the human family, and to your parish family.
Family Feelings 3 Jesus invites us to respond
to our feelings with respect and patience. 3 All forms of family violence are unacceptable. 3 The Church supports all families and desires to help those in trouble.
God’s Gift of Family Connecting with Your Child Fifth-graders are bundles of energy, normally self-confident and enjoyable to be around. Remember that fifth-graders still need concrete examples to help them understand. They like to do things in groups and seek strong role models. They have a clear sense of justice and value specific rules. This is also the age when some children try to talk their parents out of extra curricular activities. Realize that children who engage in positive pursuits typically have less interest engaging in inappropriate behaviors. This is an age when you do well to spend time with your child and provide close supervision. Remember that at around this age many children are first exposed to pornography, especially online and unsupervised. Know what your child looks at online and on TV. Monitoring and filtering what they see can help keep them safe. At this age, children develop interests outside the home. Their peers can exert a great influence on them. Your child has likely or will encounter other families whose structures and values may differ from your own. Help your child respect the diversity in other families and maintain pride in the uniqueness of their own family. Ten and eleven year olds still want to be close to their own families. They are still listening to you. The following suggestions might help keep them listening: 3 Make time for them and welcome their friends into your home. 3 Share your faith and values with them. Help your child deepen
their relationship with Jesus. 3 Plan family outings together. 3 Be a good role model in moral living and pray with them.
Managing Feelings Your child’s emotions may erupt when their ideas conflict with your own. It can be difficult to express feelings appropriately. Some people are expressive; others are reserved. Yet everyone can learn to express their feelings well. Encourage your child to express their feelings appropriately. Listen carefully to what is said, check to make sure you understand what was said before responding, and express your own feelings and ideas to your child with respect and calmness.
FPO
2 Family Life Grade 5
Wisdom from the Church The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society. Catechism of the Catholic Church 2207
Spend Time with Your Child Here are some tips on how your family can grow in holiness and health: 3 Included in the student book
Hospitality is an important Christian virtue. A Christian family tries to make their home a place where others feel welcome and comfortable. As your child grows older, they may bring more friends into your home. Your child will appreciate the kindness you show to their friends. Hospitality is a special form of Christian witness. It says, “We care!”
Expressing Feelings
3 Help your child make a list of
your family’s special traditions. Together, start a new one, or revive one that seems to be getting lost. 3 When you notice an emotional
Abraham and Sarah, our father and mother in faith, welcomed three strangers into their tent. Because of their hospitality, God blessed them with a child even though Sarah had given up all hope of bearing one (see Genesis 18:2-8). God’s message is clear: Wherever there is generosity of spirit, grace abounds. God’s great idea of bringing people together starts with your family. The Church values the family as an essential community of love. Pope John Paul II called the family the “cradle” through which the Church can enter human life and draw us to God (On the Family 15).
are Family Time pages for each unit. Set aside a special time to review these pages, and give your child the gift of your presence.
change in your child, sit down right then and talk about it. Your child will see that they are important to you. 3 Encourage your child to invite
several friends over for a sleepover or cookout. Help plan an evening activity, and cook a special meal or snack to help everyone feel welcome.
Catechism of the Catholic Church Read paragraphs 1763–1770 to learn
more about the Emotions are part of family life. They let us relationship of feelings know we are alive. Children express feelings and moral actions. all the time. We often say that “feelings just are.” Feelings have no moral character until they result in action. For example, anger can drive one person to violence, and another to work for justice. All feelings need to be directed with love.
RCLBFamilyLife.com Catholic CatholicParenting Parenting101 101 This This section section includes includes more more practical practical advice advice for for parents, parents, health health and and nutrition nutrition tips, tips, parenting parenting skills, skills, and and new new research research in in areas areas of of interest interest to to growing growing families. families.
God’s Gift of Family 3
Christian Living There is a section at the front of your child’s book entitled “The Catholic Home.” It includes prayers, moral principles and actions that flow from Christian living. Your child’s teacher will offer some classroom exercises that reinforce these moral principles and actions. Some of these prayers will also be used in the classroom. However, these prayers and principles will not become a part of your child’s life without your support. Here are some ideas for using these pages at home.
Prayers Formal prayers are an important part of our Catholic tradition. They are guides for personal as well as communal prayer, and contribute to our sense of belonging to the Catholic Church. Help your child to learn these prayers by heart and to pray often. 3 Pray each day for a month at family mealtimes. Let your child refer
to a printed copy of the prayer until they know it by heart. 3 Take a copy of one of the prayers and cut it into strips. Let your
child practice putting the lines of the prayer back in the proper order. This is especially useful with longer prayers. 3 Invite your child to create a personal prayer book out of standard
Your example of Christian behavior will always be the best teacher.
art materials. Include formula prayers as well as personal prayers written by your child. 3 Help your child to see that not all prayers ask for something.
Prayers of praise and thanksgiving are of special value, as well as prayers of sorrow that we express to God for our failure to love as we should.
Family Living You will find a list of moral guidelines in this section. Such lists as the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Virtues guide Christian moral living. These formulas have been taught in your child’s regular religion curriculum as well. Use this opportunity to review and reinforce this teaching. Every child should be able to memorize and recall these precepts of the Catholic tradition. 3 A s a part of a family discussion, ask your child to offer an example
of a particular commandment or beatitude they saw in action during the course of the day. 3 On long trips, play a trivia game using these teachings. List them
in order, leaving out a line or two. Have your child fill in the missing piece. 3 You can create a version of charades in which family members take
turns acting out an item from one of these lists. Above all, model Christian behavior for your child. Your example will always be the best teacher. 14 Family Life Grade 5
Review This Year Summary We have learned about family life this year.
God’s Gift of Family 3 Being responsible to my family and friends shows my obligation to them. 3 God gave us our emotions to use for good in order to strengthen our
relationships, especially in our families. 3 When I show respect and welcome others, I live the virtue of hospitality.
God’s Gift of Self 3 Good and honest communication is a way to strengthen relationships. 3 Puberty is a time of rapid physical, emotional and spiritual growth. 3 Being honest with oneself, others and God leads to healthy relationships.
God’s Gift of Life 3 Human life is sacred and God alone is the Lord of life. 3 God’s plan for human sexuality is expressed through the uniqueness of
each gender. 3 Healthy relationships are based upon accepting the equal dignity of
men and women.
God’s Gift of Love 3 During puberty, friendships may develop with feelings of
sexual attraction. 3 Chastity is a spiritual power that leads to authentic friendships. 3 Marriage is a sacred and lifelong relationship between a man
and woman.
God’s Gift of Community 3 The family is the basic unit or building block of society. 3 Through the generosity of others, all families can be supported
in maintaining healthy and holy lives. 3 Each person has the responsibility to care for what God has
provided for us.
Serve each other with joy and generosity.
20665