This is one very orthodox priest's approach to the catechism .... for adults! When it comes to the kids, I would recommend the Baltimore Catechism. In fact, regardless of what they are teaching in CCD, spend some time with your children using the BC. It is timeless!
One of my favorite tv sitcoms is 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. In one episode, Allie, the daughter, asks the mother 'Where did we come from?'. Debra, the mom, interprets this question to mean that Allie is ready for the 'birds and bees' lesson. She chooses her husband to deliver it and preps him with books, charts and the proper pronunciation of the anatomically correct words. When Ray sits down with Allie, she tells him she already knows about sex because they taught that in school. What she wants to know is this: "If we are all going to Heaven, why are we here?"
After breathing a huge sigh of relief, Ray attempts to begin an answer but realizes he has no clue. Making some lame excuse to go downstairs, he gathers his wife and parents together and asks them. No one has an immediate response. The grandmother suggests they pull out the Bible but they can't find the answer there either. In utter desperation, Ray picks up the phone and calls the Catholic pastor. He gets the answering machine and leaves a cryptic message that ends with "please call asap".
Having been educated with the Baltimore Catechism, I laughed my head off. Chapter 1, Question 1 is: Why did God make us? Answer: A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.
You can share this precious teaching with your children at this link .
I’m going through the Baltimore Catechism again with my 2nd and 1st graders this year. I think it’s a wonderful thing to have the basics memorized. It’s not complete knowledge of the Catholic Faith, of course, but everything there is correct. We get religion books from the Seton School, and these are very informative. Also, their English and Spelling books have Bible or Catholic history themes.
One of my sons was evicted from 4th grade R.E. because he knew everything already (not as bad as it sounds - the teacher has become a good friend of ours, but she realized he was bored except when she talked about her life in Spain.) At our catechist training last week, the director said, “You don’t need to worry about your students’ knowing more than you do ...” and then she looked over at me and said, “Unless you have one of the Tax-chickadees, and then you can call their mother and she’ll tell them to shut up.”