October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary in the Catholic Church. One of my goals for our homeschool this year is to pray the rosary at least once a week. I thought this special time recognized by the Church would be an ideal time to begin!
As a Catholic convert, it took me a bit of time to truly appreciate the meaning and value of praying the rosary. When I went through RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), I was a bit overwhelmed with all that I needed to learn (and I had a very supportive, helpful class with teachers who were true blessings!). Honestly, I was more concerned about doing something wrong during Easter Vigil (when I was accepted into the Catholic Church) than I was about learning to properly pray the rosary. (Gee, I hope that doesn’t come across wrong…I was just really nervous!)
Once the adrenaline slowed down after the rush from becoming Catholic, I continued my studies about my newly adopted faith. I was quite eager to memorize new prayers and learn as much as I could about Mary and all the Saints.
One practice that I had always wanted to learn yet continued to baffle me was praying the rosary. I knew what the beads meant. I knew that mysteries were involved. But, I just did not know how to put it all together!
After much practice and help from a pamphlet distributed during RCIA, I began a daily practice of praying the rosary. I found this practice so helpful as a young mother. Praying the rosary while rocking my little ones was such a comfort!
My boys know that I try to pray the rosary daily-even if it’s just one decade! The biggest help with this practice has been, of all things, an app! I have tried several but my favorite is Rosary Guide.
I wanted to pass this precious gift of Catholic prayer to my boys. I have tried several different ways to teach and help them learn how to pray the rosary.
We practice and say each of the prayers of the rosary during our Morning Gathering. The boys have not had too much difficulty thus far with memorization and explanation.
We have run into trouble when we have to string the prayers together…lots of fidgeting and loss of attention. I would give up in frustration before even finishing a decade!
I realized that I needed to come up with a hands-on way for my boys to learn and practice the rosary. I had tried the snack approach-cereals or other treats to lay out and then eat. While those ideas are wonderful, they just did not work for this hungry bunch of boys!
[bctt tweet=”Get your FREE Rosary Playdough Mats (instant downloads!)-great for home & CCD!”]
I created these playdough mats to use with my boys while we pray the rosary for:
- hands-on
- visual
- teaching tool
- introduction to rosary (first decade)
- complete rosary (to use as a goal!)
Along with 2 free printable rosary mats, I included the amazing DIY playdough recipe that I have used for many preschool, Religious Education, and family activities. This recipe makes a large batch of playdough-enough for at least 12 kids! (My mom, retired Kindergarten teacher, passed this tried-and-true recipe along to me).
These playdough mats would be great to use at home or for Religious Education classes (CCD). Bear (4) also suggested using these free printables for coloring or stickers!
I chose to laminate our rosary playdough mats to resue and for greater durability. I plan on printing off a few extra copies for coloring and stickers (need to keep Bear happy!). Click on image below to get your rosary playdough mats!
Let me know how you will be using these Rosary Playdough Mats! If you have other ideas on how to use, I’d love to know!
THIS IS GENIUS!!!! I’m going to try this with my 1st grade CCD class!!! Thank you so much for the free download!!!!