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CatholicMom.com
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Books by
Paul S. and
Joan E. Plum
Teach Me about a Church Inside & Out: Discussions and Activities
for Children |
 Catholic
Mom Book Spotlight Thirty Years of Creating
Quality Catechetical Resources
Joan and Paul Plum, I Am Special and IAS Marketing
Related Resources:
An
Interview with Paul and Joan Plum
About the
Authors - Paul and Joan Plum
Teach Me about a Church Inside & Out: Discussions and Activities for
Children
The History of IAS and the Plums' Work in Creating
and Publishing Catechetical Resources
IAS MARKETING was originally formed in 1976 under the name I AM SPECIAL in
order to publish and sell a teaching manual entitled I AM SPECIAL. This
manual was authored by Joan from lesson plans she had developed and used in
1974 and 1975 to teach religion to her kindergarten class at St. Margaret
Mary School in Milwaukee, WI and to coordinate religion programs for
preschoolers on Sunday mornings at Our Lady of Good Hope Parish in
Milwaukee, WI.
The idea to publish her program emerged in 1975 after several local parishes
indicated an interest in her materials and subsequent research showed a
growing interest for an economical Sunday School manual. At that time only a
few Catholic parishes in the United States had organized programs for that
age group and there were only a few detailed instructional guides and/or
programs available for purchase.
From the start of the business in January 1976 though December 1979 close to
1,000 manuals were sold by mail order to Catholic parishes and schools
throughout the United States and Canada.
In 1978 a copy of I AM SPECIAL was sent to a Catholic publishing company,
Our Sunday Visitor Inc. (OSV) for review. Although initially not interested,
OSV contacted us the following year, 1979, and invited us to consider
revising the teacher guide and expanding the program by developing an
activity book for the children.
In the spring of 1980, the revised and expanded I AM SPECIAL Kindergarten
program was published and marketed by OSV. The growing success of this new
program and the increasing demand to provide organized religious instruction
for early childhood age children, triggered demands for the development and
subsequent publication of additional programs: a Preschool II edition for 4
to 5 year-old children was written in 1982 and a Preschool I edition for 3
to 4 year-olds was published in 1984.
In 1985 I AM SPECIAL became a licensed trademark of Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
For that reason, and also to expand the company's activities into other
product support areas, the name of the sole
proprietorship was changed from I AM SPECIAL to IAS MARKETING.
From 1980 to present the following religious programs and materials were
designed, developed, and produced in whole or part by Paul & Joan Plum under
the name IAS MARKETING for Our Sunday
Visitor Publishing:
Religious Education Programs
•I Am Special – Kindergarten, 1st , 2nd, 3rd , 4th, & 5th Ed. (1980, 1986,
1991, 1996, 2001)
•I Am Special – Preschool (4-year-olds), 1st , 2nd, 3rd , 4th, & 5th Ed.
(1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2003)
•I Am Special – Preschool (3-year-olds), 1st , 2nd, 3rd , 4th, & 5th Ed.
(1984, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005)
• Parent Letters from Your Parish: Birth to 3 yrs. 1st , 2nd, 3rd Ed. (1994,
2001, 2004)
Teacher Support Materials
• I AM SPECIAL film-strip & video-strip series •15 music albums (Tape and
CD)
• I AM SPECIAL balloons • T-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons, bags
• 4 Growth Charts designs • 3 Activity Folder designs
• 6 Buttons designs • 5 Activity Posters
• 15 Sticker designs • 6 Flannel-board story books
• 6 Children’s story books (soft and hard cover) • Teacher Orientation Video
• 8 Learning Puzzles designs
Teacher/Parent Support Books:
- Flannel-board Series A, B, & C (Spanish/English)
- Flannel-Board Stories: A Collection for Young Children, Series I, II,
III
- Prayer Celebrations for Young Children
- Teaching Tips for Early Childhood Religious Ed.
- I AM SPECIAL Fun Book
- Family Moments
- Peter’s Family and Friends
- Kelly’s Family and Friends
- Teach Me About God’s Creation
- Teach Me About the Life of Jesus
- Teach Me About the Mass (Spanish and English editions)
- Teach Me About Prayer
- Teach Me About Mary
- Teach Me About Saints
- Teach Me About the Church (Assembly Kit)
- Teach Me About a Church Inside and Out
I AM SPECIAL programs and support materials are currently being sold
throughout the United States, Canada, and in several English speaking
countries and military bases around the world. Additionally, the Teach Me
About Series has been translated for use in Sweden and Finland. Since 1980
over 136,000 teacher manuals and over 2.6 million copies of the I AM SPECIAL
children activity books have been sold.
In 1992 research and development began by IAS Marketing on a new program
designed for parishes to keep in touch with young parents who have children
from infancy to age 3. Launched in January ‘94, this program is called
Parent Letters from your Parish. The 3rd edition of this program was
released in the Fall of 2004. Sales thus far have exceeded 100,000 copies.
In January 2006, IAS Marketing will celebrate 30 years in the writing and
publishing business.
Related Resources:
An
Interview with Paul and Joan Plum
About the
Authors - Paul and Joan Plum
Teach Me about a Church Inside & Out: Discussions and Activities for
Children
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