Session 1: Made to Love
Learning Prayers by Heart
Help your child to memorize the Sign of the Cross, Our Father (Lord's Prayer), Hail Mary, and Glory Be. You can find the words to each by clicking the button below. Here are some tips:
- Practice when you are driving in the car together (on the way to/from church or elsewhere).
- Memorize in lines and chunks. Say a line out loud and have your child echo it. After a while, move to longer chunks.
- Find a song that puts the prayer to music that they like.
Examining Our Consciences
An examination of conscience gives you a structure to reflect on your recent actions and consider when you may have sinned, especially before receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Click the button below and talk through the process with your child.
Saying "I Love You"
If you don't already, start a practice of regularly telling your child (out loud) that you love them, perhaps at bedtime or when they leave for school.
Think about your own childhood. Could you have used more reminders that you were loved? If so, you can be intentional about doing that more often for your kids. If you’re worried it will become rote or they’ll sigh or roll there eyes or say with exasperation, “I know, Mom/Dad” keep doing it so that they’ll never doubt it at a later time.
If these words don’t come naturally to you or they sound surprising or even awkward coming out of your mouth, trust that they will be food for their souls, even if they don’t show it in the moment. If you need to, ask God to help you express your love more regularly.
If you were fortunate enough to know, without a doubt, how much your parents loved you, set yourself the goal of giving your children that same conviction by reminding them often (with words as well as actions.) Sometimes as adults we think our kids understand will understand love them from all the caretaking we do (driving them places, fixing meals, doing their laundry) but that doesn’t always translate for them as much as hearing the actual words “I love you” or “I love you and you can’t do anything about it!”
We will never be perfect parents and there will come some nights or mornings when things have gone badly between us and our kids, but if we are in the habit of reminding them daily that we love them, (no matter the mood in the house at the time!) we will help them to understand God’s unconditional love.
Pencils of Affirmation
Amanda Cox, an elementary teacher in Beaumont, Texas, posted on Facebook about pencils in her classroom and watched as people shared the story over 400,000 times:
Today I was running low on pencils so I asked all of my kids to pull out any of my pencils that they had in their desks.
I had one student ask me if he could keep his pencils that his mom gave him for school. Of course, I said yes. He then said, “well, I guess I’ll give you a few so my classmates can have them too.” I thought nothing of it and took the pencils that he handed me.
When I was sharpening them, I noticed writing on a few of them. I then realized that my student’s mother took the time to write on his pencils. I asked him if he would mind showing me the rest of them.
What I read melted my heart:
- You are so talented.
- This will be a great year.
- You are creative.
- You are phenomenal.
- Never give up.
- You can do this.
- You are knowledgeable.
- You are a math whiz.
- You are intelligent.
- Proud of you everyday.
- I love you.
- You have a brilliant mind.
- You are wonderful.
- You are a problem solver.
- Follow your dreams.
- You are perfect.
- I am proud of you.
- You will change the world.
- You are amazing.
- You are the best.
- You are important.
This probably took his mom a few minutes to do yet it lit up his whole day at school. He wasn’t embarrassed that his mom wrote on his pencils. Thanks to his mom, he was reminded of his self worth and wanted to share the same feeling with his classmates.
THESE are the things that we should be reminding our kids (both parents AND teachers). Imagine the look on a child’s face when they are reminded that they are important, talented, loved, knowledgeable and so much more. Help them know that someone believes in them and is proud of them in everything they do.
Even if you think it is cheesy or you don’t have enough time or that you will have little impact, remember that you may be the only one telling and reminding them these things and EVERY kid needs to know their value. This is why I teach. ❤
—Amanda Cox