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MaryM
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| Posted: April 04 2009 at 2:11am | IP Logged
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Mary, I'm so glad you posted the link to Kimberlee's blog - what a beautiful idea to involve little ones in the rosary!
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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Why do I have the idea that they'd become missiles at my house   I love the idea though.
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CathinCoffeland
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Melanie- your blog post made my day! Somtimes it is nice to know that it is not just your own kiddos , it sounds so much like our family rosaries- (but with my ds there would have to fireball noises)
Mary G thank you for the post, Kimberlee's roses are lovely- I cant crochet but maybe somthing in felt hmmm
We use juice lids and yes Jodie the have become missiles on ocassion-well more like fisbees  .
and of course teething rings too, Here is an old post showing the work.
A really big rosary
God Bless-Maggie
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Gratiae ut Deus
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Don't know if I will add anything new to this discussion, but we too struggle with our family Rosary. It doesn't stop us from doing it every day at around noon. My husband was the one who suggested we do it during his lunch hour to avoid the crabies we would get at night so close to bed time. So far it has worked fairly well, but we still have the younger ones that have a hard time sitting still and focusing. I'm glad that Mary G. posted the link to Kimberly's post at Pondered in My Heart blog! I saw this when Elizabeth Foss linked over to it from her blog and LOVED it! I have made 3 roses so far (I'm a slow crocheter  ) any way I believe the crocheted roses along with the cards Kimberly made to go with each mystery is just what my littlest ones needed! I'm so excited! May God bless you in your efforts and know that your not alone!
KellyGratiae ut Deus
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MaryM
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| Posted: April 08 2010 at 1:11pm | IP Logged
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I started a separate thread in the picture book forum on this book, but wanted to share it here in this old thread as well since it fits so well as an idea for praying a family rosary with children.
Life of Jesus: An Illustrated Rosary - Mary Billiingsley
It is an illustrated rosary mediation for children. Mary Billingsley has an interesting illustration style. She takes everyday objects and constructs a still life picture then paints it in gouache. I makes for very interesting pictures but memorable. You can read what Fr. Groeschel says about it in his forward to the book here. Each page spread consists of the illustration on the left and a full page narrative from scripture of the mystery, interspersed every couple of lines with a break for the appropriate prayers (Our Father, Hail Marys and Glory Be).
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Maggie
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Becky,
In our home school group, one of the moms prints off Rosary coloring sheets for the littles. One of them has beads that a child can theoretically color each time a Hail Mary is said. Mine just scribble furiously and are done in a few minutes. :)
Sometimes, we truncate the Rosary and just say an Our Father,, Hail Mary and Glory Be for each decade...when we get together with other families for dinner+Rosary, we do the whole thing, but we have the littles lead decades...we have even had 2yos help with this...Ithink the kids like being the leaders/ :)
Mine are almost 3 and 5, too...and are rambunctious to say the least...but we were at a talk last night by a very holy priest...and it really confirmed the importance of family prayer, especially the Rosary.
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Christine
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We pray the Family Rosary each night with littles included. Starting around age three, our children have usually been able to start leading some of the prayers. My husband typically starts the Rosary and then the children and I take turns leading a decade. Occasionally, one of the children will begin the rosary. The younger ones will sit in our lap, lie on the floor and fall asleep, or play quietly.
With some of our children (four and up) we have sometimes needed a little extra motivation to help keep them quiet. In these instances, we have dimmed the lights and lit a candle for each child. If the child prays nicely (or remains somewhat quiet and respectful), then when we are finished they get to blow out their candle. I can only remember one or two occasions when a child could not blow out their candle. It's a great motivator when necessary.
The little ones who are playing learn the prayers of the rosary very quickly when they hear them each night. We follow the Rosary with the children saying individual prayers. All of the children, ages 2 or 3 (depending on the child) and up, say their prayers out loud after the rosary.
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I think to start small with little ones who have trouble with the wiggles is the best, like others have suggested. Then you are able to work your way up. this is how we do in training our Littles to be quiet in Mass, by starting in the home where a little gentle discipline can train them.
Thankfully dh is a great leader in training the Littles to be quiet and still for prayer. We start with them learning to sit quietly for our 20 min. prayer time in the evenings, which the twins now do well almost every night (with the ocassional night of loosing it because they're overtired ). Because dh has trained them for quietness in this shorter time, they are now able to be almost completely quiet at Mass.  I can finally be in church again!
We do our Family Rosary with the four of us who are old enough walking in order around a "track" in the living room. It keeps the kids attention, and we all get our daily exercise. The nice thing is the Rosary is the perfect time frame for a walk. The first section before the decades, gives the perfect amount of time for a "warm up" and the end part beginning with the Haily Holy Queen is the perfect "cool down", (both sections are a little longer than usual with petitions, Litany of Saints, etc.) We also sing a decade in Latin ocassionally that my dh learned on a Pilgrimage out East, which the kids love. I know this doesn't really work for a large family. I'm dreading the day we have too many to do this because it is the only way I fit in exercise and keep down the "baby weight". This started with me just walking while the children sat on different chairs or couches. But since dh has been home everyday, he decided to walk too, and to include dc. It also makes the Rosary go by much fatser, not in a disrespectful way, but that it keeps a focus that makes the time fly. We chgange the direction each decade, which helps give more muscles a work out.
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Marcia
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I made a Rosary Box for my kids
Rosary Box
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LeeAnn
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We use many of the suggestions mentioned already. We only have one under 5 (he just turned 4) and sometimes we help him lead a decade, but a lot of the time he is squirmy though. Some times he will fall asleep while we are praying, other times he will just sit in my lap. One idea I have read about but haven't tried is bringing in a high chair or carseat for the littler ones to sit in during longer prayer times like the rosary.
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Christine
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Christine wrote:
The little ones who are playing learn the prayers of the rosary very quickly when they hear them each night. We follow the Rosary with the children saying individual prayers. All of the children, ages 2 or 3 (depending on the child) and up, say their prayers out loud after the rosary. |
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In my rush to get the laptop turned off last night, I did not explain this very well. I am sorry for any confusion. After we finish the Rosary, the Hail Holy Queen, St. Michael prayer, Novena to the North American Martyrs, etc., my children pray personal prayers. These prayers are probably similar to those that other children might say kneeling by their bed. Most of my children begin, "Dear Jesus". They pray for immediate family, relatives, priests, friends, special intentions (i.e. "for Mommy that she has twins or triplets"), and things that are happening in the world. They also thank God for everything. Having the children say these personal prayers, following the rosary seems to help keep the younger ones focused and make them feel special. My youngest son loves to pray the rosary, due in part to the fact that he gets to pray on his own at the end.
Praying the family rosary really is an opportunity for us to model and help our children learn appropriate Mass behavior. It is also a great way for us to honor Christ and His Mother.
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Topic: Family Rosary for little ones?
