I'm glad that you did. CCD teachers are the last line of defense against banal religious ed. We're homeschooling, and our curriculum is suffused with Church teaching, but, out of respect for our priest, I thought I'd put my girls through CCD prior to receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Sadly, it doesn't seem that a lot has changed since I got the "don't litter" CCD of the early '70s.
Give ‘em just a dose of Hell and hopefully that’ll manage to make an impression. I think that our Lord drops the H-bomb about 50 times in the Gospel. So, it was obviously important to him.
Actually, we used the same publisher at the school that I taught at as we do for CCD at my church, where I teach 5th grade, Burdette-Ginn. It’s kinda’ okay, but there is an unfair balance of “touchy feely” stuff. Almost the type of multiculturalism that keeps my kids out of a public school.
Yes, a bit revised since the “don’t be a litter bug” series of our youth. Now updated with the “be especially kind to minorities” and “it’s okay that our family has just a Mommy”. My eigth graders simply laughed at all the heavey-handed pandering!
If you’re homeschooling I’d have to think that you’d be familiar with Seton Press. I think they are published out of Christendom. Good stuff, whether you’re using them to teach art, history and/or reading. If you’ve not heard of these books simply pick-up one of the “Reading for Young Catholics” for whatever level your girls are at:
www.setonbooks.com/curriculum.php
Good luck with the homeschooling.