Sacramental Preparation
The Religion in Life Curriculum provides maximum flexibility for Sacrament Prep to suit your family’s needs.
First Grade
To prepare younger children, families can use the First Grade Textbook, The Book of the Holy Child and A Child's True Story of Jesus, Book 1.
Second Grade
The most common grade for Sacrament Prep would use The Life of My Savior as its base, with A Child's True Story of Jesus, Book 2.
Third Grade
Those who want their child to begin studying the Baltimore Catechism before receiving the Sacraments can use The Life of My Soul.
Why these Variations?
At the time that the Highway to Heaven series was being developed, the preparation for reception of these sacraments was not yet codified in the way we are now accustomed to. Each diocese and parish did things just a little differently. Some tested each child individually to decide on readiness; some did the preparation in First Grade, others in the Third Grade…and only a bit later did First Communion settle into being a SECOND GRADE THING.
The creators of the Religion in Life Curriculum therefore chose to allow for this flexibility by creating a separate unit for Sacramental Preparation, which can be found in the Curriculum Guide for the First Grade.
Each of the textbooks from First to Third Grade lays excellent groundwork for this Sacrament Prep Unit. First and Second Grade both focus on the Life of Christ, and Third Grade introduces the Baltimore Catechism #1.