CMR 2010 Q4 Report

AKA: What I Was Up To The Last 3 Months of 2010

This is a calendar summary. Use the links to individual posts if you're curious about a particular item.

OCTOBER

Boot Camp for New Dads (Oct 16)

Community Education Classes (iPhone class Oct 19 & 20 in the 2 districts)

Mundelein Seminary First Year Field Ed Inservice (Oct 27)

NOVEMBER

Chicago Catechetical Conference (Nov 5 & 6)

Boot Camp for New Dads (Nov 13 - inaugural NMNB)

Confirmation Retreat at St Cyril & Methodius (Nov 20)

Youth Group Pop Goes Catholicism Presentation (Nov 21)

DECEMBER

Boot Camp for New Dads (Dec 4)

Pop Goes Catholicism Movie Night (Dec 4, pilot series in Jan and Feb)

Family Faith Weaving Presentation on Gospel of John Chapters 3-7 (Dec 5 & 10)

CMR Project Report: Boot Camp for New Dads

This veteran brought his twins!

The fourth quarter of 2010 brought the beginning of monthly Boot Camps for New Dads coaching for me. I finished my first contract year with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL (and will be rolling right into 2011 with a renewed contract) for bi-monthly classes. Additionally I'm thrilled to announce that I've been invited to bring Boot Camp to New Mother New Baby, a retail establishment in Northbrook, IL. I'll be coaching there every other month as well, the opposite of the hospital classes. Thus, I coached Boot Camps on October 16 and December 4 at the hospital and had the first ever Boot Camp for New Dads at New Mother New Baby on November 13 (from which the pictures in this post were taken).

Boot Camp for New Dads provides men expecting their first child (we call them "the rookies") an opportunity to not only learn about childbirth and baby care with traditional topics and learning but also through discussion with men recently gone through it (we call them "the veterans" who all have babies 6 months of age or younger) who not only share their experience but also their babies. Veterans bring their infants with them to the three hour course and allow the rookies to change diapers, give feedings, burp babies, and generally get a feel for an infant in their arms. For many rookies it's the first diaper they've ever changed or first bottle ever held. Almost exclusively everyone involved finds it a valuable experience. As a stay at home dad I'm obviously committed to being an involved and engaged father. I think it's one of the most important things to foster in men and feel grateful to be able to play a part in helping men begin their fatherhood feeling more confident and comfortable.

A rookie gets some lap practice!

CMR Project Report: iOS Community Education Class

In December I had the opportunity to debut a new class in the community education programs of two of my local high school districts that I called iOS Complete: Getting The Most Out Of Your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Owning all of these devices myself, it was fun to share my knowledge with folks who had bought them but didn't really know much about how they worked or how to use them. The class is introductory, explaining the basic operation of the device itself (from beginner OS navigation and use to acquiring new content directly on the device) as well as how to use iTunes in conjunction with the device.

The class in District 128 was a cozy gathering of a half dozen folk looking to learn more about how to use the devices they owned. It was a nice small informal discussion that mostly answered questions.

The class in District 214, on the other hand, was a large group (about 15, if I recall correctly) that called for a more formal presentation style walking folks through the various elements of the devices step by step. The class was very well received but generally thought too compressed for one 3 hour evening. As such, the community education director and I agreed to break the two parts of the class into two evenings and I'll actually be teaching that two part class next month (April 2011) for their spring semester.

To visit the websites of these Community Education programs visit our CMR Projects page.

Family Faith Weaving Book Link

Hello Faith Weaving Families!

For those of you reading this post who are not part of Faith Weaving, skip to the bottom paragraph for an explanation.

For those of you who are Faith Weaving, thanks for visiting and considering supporting me in this way! If you've never been to this site, please feel free to click around and explore what other pies I have my fingers into: Pop Goes Catholicism, Soul Play, CMR Talks, and CMR Projects.

If you'd like to purchase the book upon which Roz and I are basing lessons this year, use this Amazon link at right and I get a little money back from the sale!

For anyone wondering what the heck this post is about: I write lesson curriculum for 5th-8th grade classes for my parish's Family Faith Weaving family-based religious education program. This year, the monthly catechetical sessions are about the Gospel of John and the program director, Roz, and I are using this book as inspiration for themes and direction for lesson material. For anyone who'd like a beautiful prayerful book walking you through the Gospel of John in a completely readable, relatable way that I'm finding quite moving, buy this book - using this link!

Update on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 10:40AM by Catholic Media Resources

I thought I'd also provide an easy Amazon link (that would also benefit me if you used it!) to the audio bible that we're using for the lessons for Gospel of John.

The link on the left (light green background) is the New Testament on CD.

The link to the right, is the whole Bible on an mp3 CD (not for play in a CD player but through computer or on a mobile device like an iPod).

This professionally done audio version not only includes sound effects and dramatic music but also a cast of over 200 Hollywood actors and actresses providing the different voices of the Bible. A really enjoyable way to experience the Bible.

Update on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 8:14AM by Catholic Media Resources

Since I just used a clip from it in a presentation to the adults of Faith Weaving, I thought I'd also provide an Amazon link to the movie about Jean Vanier for those who might like to learn more and hear more from the man whose book is the inspiration for our lessons this year.

New CMR Project Online: Waukegan to College Promo Video

The excellent community outreach program called Waukegan to College, a part of Lake County United, provides such important assistance to less fortunate students such as tutoring, college application and visitation assistance, as well as mentoring that continues into the college years to make sure that kids don't just get into college but also stay in college.

I learned about it by responding to an article in my parish's bulletin to see if becoming a mentor might be something I could do. While I don't have the time to properly commit to being a mentor right now (doing things like this!), I did volunteer my knowledge of digital media editing and posting online. This overview photo montage is the first result:

You can see my other CMR Projects and if you're interested in getting your organization into digital media or social media online, contact me.