Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
On Facebook we asked:
How have you taught your pre-schoolers to pray? What was their first prayer? What prayers do they like? What about prayers before bedtime and Grace at meals?
Christina: First we teach the Bless Us Oh Lord, followed by the Our Father, and Hail Mary. The reason for the Bless Us Oh Lord being first, is it is said at meals, so it is said more often.
Shelly: Grace Before Meals, Guardian Angel prayer and Hail Mary. Those are the easiest since we pray before all meals and enter and end our day with the Guardian Angel prayer. We pray the Rosary often, too.
Amy: My children have learned prayer by listening to me say them every day. There is no better teacher (in my opinion) than repetition. My 5 yo loves the Creed and The Lord’s Prayer because we say them every day.
Lisa: When my boys were little we would leave Mass blowing sweet kisses to Jesus in the tabernacle. To this day all three of my boys (18, 15,12) have a beautiful devotion to Eucharistic Adoration.
Michelle: I started with prayer at bedtime when my son was about 3yrs old. He would start to say the Hail Mary with me little by little. Pretty soon he could say it all by himself! The cutest part was one night when we got done saying the Hail Mary…..he wanted to know what kind of fruit was in Mary’s womb!!! lol! I’ll never forget that as long as I live!!
Jessica: My daughter’s first prayer was “Now I lay me down to sleep….” Just from listening to me say that each night with her, she gradually started saying it herself. Now at almost 4, she says that prayer, the prayer to her guardian angel, and most of the Hail Mary before bed….her little brother listens and loudly chimes in with “AMEN!” at the end of each prayer!
Bridget: I prayed aloud every night rocking my son to sleep and when he began to speak, he just knew the words and began to pray along with me. Saying the Rosary as a family is the best way to develop a love of prayer. “When 2 or more are gathered together….”
Christy: My daughter Iris will be in pre-k this year, her first prayer she learned was the Hail Mary at 2 yrs old. Both of my daughters can now say it well in Latin, and teaching them both that to love Jesus in all we do is the BEST prayer we can offer…
Missy: My 5 year old is learning The Guardian Angel prayer, the blessing at meal time.
