Children Archives - Catholic Blogger Network

Children Learn From Your Example

Posted:November 18, 2015 by Virginia Lieto

Children Copy Us

Children mirror what they learn from adults and older siblings in their lives. So, just what is it that you are teaching the children in your life? Are you teaching them, by your example, how to grow in virtue? Or, are you teaching them the very things that you don’t want them to become? In essence, do you practice what you preach? Or, is it more of a “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality around your house?

On my blog, I write about the virtues for adults, to benefit not only the adults, but the lives of children. My blog teaches you as an adult, how to embrace and practice virtue; so that you can be good role models for the children in your lives. If, as adults, we do not embrace and practice virtue, then how can we expect our children to grow in virtue? Read more…

Teaching Our Children to Pray

Posted:March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 by Nicole Ernest

During Lent we are taking time as a part of our homeschooling to focus on the three areas of Lenten focus: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. The first area that we have been focusing on is PRAYER!

First of all, at the beginning of Lent we all learned The Lent Song from Catholic Icing. We love it because it was easy to learn and explains the meaning of Lent in easy ways for kids to understand!

“Prayer, Fasting, and Alms Giving,

We are meant, to repent.

40 days of sacrifice,

Being super, extra nice,

This is Lent. This is Lent.”

(Sung to the tune of Frere Jacques)

Our Regular Prayer Schedule is woven within our homeschool and daily schedule. It usually looks like this:

Morning:
- Mom: Daily Readings, Spiritual Reading and Journaling (Usually about 30 minutes, hopefully before the kids wake up!)
- Family: Morning Offering and Learning about the Saint of the Day (usually at the breakfast table)
Afternoon:
- Angelus at Lunch Time
- Decade of the Rosary with Holy Heroes CD’s after Homeschool and Nap Time
Meal Times:
- Prayer Before and After meals
Evening/Bedtime:
- Our Father/Hail Mary/Glory Be
- Prayers of Intention
- We are also adding the Daily Examen and Learning the Act of Contrition

Continue reading more HERE!

Nicole Ernest is loving living out her vocations as a Catholic wife and mother. Nicole resides in Nebraska with her husband and their lovable, energy filled boys. Nicole shares about living the liturgical year, homeschooling and marriage/ family life at her blog Children of the Church. Nicole is thrilled to be a part of Catholic Blogger Network!

Sing the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary with children

Posted:February 25, 2014February 18, 2015 by Monica @ Catholic Bloggers Network

Back in Advent, Dan and I sang The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came as part of our Evening Prayer. It struck me how perfect this hymn was for teaching children about the Annunciation. I conceived the idea (yes, that’s a pun) of teaching children the meaning of the mysteries of the Rosary through song. Here it was I came up with for the Joyful Mysteries.

My primary goal in our Contemplative Homeschool is to teach our children how to grow in union with God. Christian meditation is a vital part of that process, teaching all of us to listen to God’s voice in the Scriptures, and to ponder His character in order to love Him better.

The Rosary provides a bridge between the vocal prayers we learn as children and more mature mental prayer. Through the Rosary, we meditate on the most important mysteries of our faith.
Many people have created ways to share the Rosary with children. In Singing the Rosary, I have the following goals:
leading children to see the Rosary as a means of meditation, so they are not just trying to concentrate on the words of the vocal prayersteaching them in detail about each of the mysteries, so they have plenty to meditate onlimiting the number of prayer repetitions until they understand what the Rosary is for
Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

Meditation for kids: the thankful leper

Posted:November 27, 2013February 18, 2015 by Monica @ Catholic Bloggers Network

Instructions for Parents I recommend that you meditate on Luke 17:11-19 in your own prayer time before presenting it to your kids. If you’re not sure how to do this, look at last Thanksgiving’s meditation. Talk to the Lord about it from your heart. Ask Him to teach you to be truly grateful, and to lead your children towards thankfulness.

Next, read and discuss the passage with your children. Use your favorite children’s Bible. Define any words they may not know. (I have highlighted some words in the meditation you may want to define before praying with them.)

Choose one or two of the optional activities at the end of this post to help them dig deeper into the meaning of the passage.

Finally, read the meditation aloud to them, pausing for several seconds to a couple of minutes after each of the first two paragraphs. Ask them to repeat the final prayer after you, sentence by sentence.
This meditation works best with children ages seven to ten. For younger or older children, see the variations. It is especially appropriate for those making their First Confession this year.

Read the meditation at Contemplative Homeschool.

Teach your kids the one thing necessary

Posted:July 26, 2013February 18, 2015 by Monica @ Catholic Bloggers Network

Are you teaching your kids to do mental prayer? I’ve written about this in the past with a few examples of kids’ meditation s. Today I’m sharing with you a meditation for kids about… mental prayer.

You may want to print this out.

1. Read aloud to your children Luke 10:38-42, using your favorite children’s Bible. This is the Gospel from last Sunday, so they should recognize it.

2. Study the painting above. (It’s Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, attributed to Georg Friedrich Stettner). Ask them to identify the people in the painting. Discuss the painting in this manner: “Martha and Mary are both holding something. What do you think those objects are? What does each represent? (Mary is reading the Bible. This represents meditating on Sacred Scripture. Martha is holding a duck, symbolizing being busy with household tasks.) Who are the other people in the picture? What are they doing? How many people appear to have been listening to Jesus? (Only Mary does.) Does Mary look disturbed by what Martha is saying? (No, she looks peaceful.)

3. Discuss: Why do you think the artist filled the foreground of the picture with food? (To show how much work Martha had to do or had been doing.) Do you think Martha was doing something important? (Yes, Jesus and His disciples needed to eat.) What could she have done differently so she could sit and listen to Jesus too? (She could have made a simpler meal.)

4. Remind your children of the Feeding of the 5000. How much food did Jesus need to feed all those people? (5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.) Do you think Martha needed to work all day to cook for Jesus? (Probably not, because He could have fed them miraculously, as He had done before.) Why do you think Martha was working so hard? (She was probably trying to show Jesus how much she loved Him by making Him a great meal.)

Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.