Each Home Lesson offers parents a great deal of flexibility and a variety of activities. This allows parents, who are the best judges of their children’s skills and attention spans, to tailor lessons to their own family’s needs.
We encourage parents to challenge, but not overwhelm their children. With younger children it is best to approach topics at the most basic level knowing that they will be covered again the next time through the three-year cycle.
Family Formation is designed primarily for use with kindergarten through seventh grade students, but many families get all their children (including preschoolers and high schoolers) involved in doing the Home Lessons. The games, stories, and activities that reinforce each lesson are fun for the entire family, and there are many benefits to having your whole family learn the Faith together.
Parents do not have to be experts in the Faith to use Family Formation. Each lesson is written at an elementary school level and is easily understood by everyone. By simply spending a small amount of time in preparation each week, parents can become familiar with the topic in the upcoming lesson. Additional references from Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are given for those interested in further study of the topic. One of the richest blessings of Family Formation comes as families learn about the beauty and truth of the Catholic Faith together. Many parents have testified to the fact that, through Family Formation, they have come to learn and understand the Catholic Faith for the first time.
Absolutely! All parents are given the graces necessary to lead their children to our Heavenly Father. The additional effectiveness of family-based catechesis is a wonderful blessing to families in these more difficult situations. The clear, simple explanations of the Faith as presented in Family Formation lessons are a great way for a non-Catholic parent to learn about Catholicism and to have their questions answered. Simply use Family Formation in the same way as other families.