One of the great features of the Religion-in-Life Curriculum is the wealth of resources it offers, but at the same time, there are ways you can take advantage of what it has to offer without spending a fortune.  Here are some possibilities:

• Use just the textbooks as readers…or use just the readers in your language arts curriculum.
• Use one grade level for multiple children (i.e. if you have a 7 year old and a 9 year old, try using the Second grade curriculum for both).
• Keep in mind that many of the resources are used for more than just one year.  For example, the books Practical Aids for Catholic Teachers and A Child’s Garden of Religion Stories are used throughout the first four grades.  So purchases for one year can often carry over to the next.
• For this same reason, you can always start out with the bare minimum now, and add more resources next year, or as time and budget permit.
• Lastly, you can find many of the teacher resources online for free.

The Religion-in-Life Curriculum was created at a time when the standard First Communion age had not yet been set at Second Grade.  The instruction for Sacramental preparation forms a separate complete unit which is contained in the First Grade Teacher’s Manual.  However, the teacher has the option to use it at any time in the First, Second or Third Grade. 

Because this series was published in the 1930s, long before the reforms of Vatican II, the sixth grade textbook, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, teaches the Tridentine Mass, AKA the Traditional Latin Mass or Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

One of the main focuses of this textbook is to teach students how to effectively use a hand missal. Because of the way it is structured, it will not be possible to create an adapted version for the Mass of Paul VI, AKA the Novus Ordo or Ordinary Form.  Such an endeavor would require creating an entirely new textbook.