The Faith and Life series of grade school religion texts is superb. The original version, published jointly by Catholics United for the Faith and Ignatius Press in 1987 under the direction of Msgr. Eugene Kevane, was designed to apply the best pedagogical methods to the teaching of orthodox Catholicism.  At that time many unorthodox texts had been adopted for use in "progressive" parishes and dioceses. These texts, issued by publishers which had formerly been true to the Faith, supplanted the old catechisms and religion texts to the point that religious education in many places became very weak. (Today we frequently meet young Catholic mothers who lament how poor their own instruction was, even in Catholic schools.)  CUF and Ignatius Press decided to make available to Catholic educators a new series which would be more attractive than the old catechisms but which would be true to the Faith. The result was the Faith and Life books.  The books were issued in revised editions in 2003 and 2004, incorporating editorial and artistic improvements.  The Faith and Life books are very popular in Catholic home schools. 

Each grade book incorporates prose text, appropriate catechism questions and answers (referenced to the Catechism of the Catholic Church), vocabulary and prayers. Many masterpiece art works are reproduced. (Some parents use the series as a basis for art appreciation classes.) In addition to the basic text, each grade has a student workbook and an extensive teacher's manual and resource book. The text can be used alone but we highly recommend the student workbook as it contains exercises which reinforce the lessons.  The teacher's manual is expensive but it is a gold mine of help and ideas.