There are many ways to teach your child about the importance of the Ten Commandments (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm). The best guideline for getting your child interested in learning is to make it fun by playing, games, and crafts. Here are some useful tips on how to help motivate your child to memorize the Ten Commandments through participatory learning.
-It’s all about the love. Try to present the Ten Commandments as God’s love to the world. Although they may seem like restrictions, help your child to understand the loving premise behind the Ten Commandments. For example, you can use visual stimulation, such as drawing and coloring hearts. In each heart you can write a Commandment and let your child finish it with the right words. Make sure your praise your child for their effort in understanding God’s love. Remember, it’s more important for your child to understand each Commandment in their own words rather than literal memorization without true understanding.
-Make memorizing easy. Once your child is familiar with the meaning of God’s Commandments, you can expand their knowledge by helping them memorize it correctly. Children need to be motivated to memorizing and you should make it fun, without making it just another boring lesson. You can use acronyms. For example, start each Commandment with a first letter (“G” for “God” etc) to help your child remember the Ten Commandments.
-Include other kids in playing and learning. You can assign a few Commandments to each child. To memorize it, make a drawing and then present it to the other children explaining what the certain Commandment is about.
-Tactile learning. A tactile way to teach children about the Ten Commandments is using fingers for each Commandment. At the end of a lesson, you can explain to your child how all fingers are united in reverent prayer to God.
-Writing and drawing. These are powerful tools in a child’s learning process. Help them make their own unique Ten Commandments through coloring, puzzles, mazes or crafts which you can later laminate and give to them to use it as a bookmark or a present for their friends, grandparents, teachers, etc.
-Be loving and patient throughout the teaching process. Use your own words to explain the Ten Commandments or Bible verses (http://ministry-to-children.com/30-easy-bible-verses/) rather than simply read texts written in Shakespearean language which is difficult for a child to understand. Make the learning process a pleasant and happy experience. Even if your child doesn’t necessarily understand what the Commandments are about, if the learning process is fun, your child will be motivated to learn about God’s word.
