What is the best way to teach a four year old the Our Father and Hail Mary?

Question

My son is turning four this October and my husband is deploying for
Iraq for the second time this December. We are moving back to
California during the deployment where my son will finish out his
preschool year at a catholic preschool. One of the requirements for
"graduation" is that they learn the Our Father and Hail Mary.
Although my husband and I are both Catholic I have not thought about
teaching him these prayers so young. Does anyone know of a good way
to help me start teaching him? I don't want him to start school and
be behind the other students.

My son is turning four this October and my husband is deploying for
Iraq for the second time this December. We are moving back to
California during the deployment where my son will finish out his
preschool year at a catholic preschool. One of the requirements for
"graduation" is that they learn the Our Father and Hail Mary.
Although my husband and I are both Catholic I have not thought about
teaching him these prayers so young. Does anyone know of a good way
to help me start teaching him? I don't want him to start school and
be behind the other students.

*We are Catholics and I really don't need an comments of negative nature if you don't have any tips then please do not respond thanks.

Answer 1

Try finding these prayers set to music. The Our Father should be relatively easy, the Hail Mary might be a little harder. It is easier to learn to "sing a song" then "recite verses", especially for a four year old. But it also helps with grown ups as well. I easily learned the books of the Bible and the Divine Mercy Chaplet when I heard them to music.

On a personal note, I think it's great that you love your child so much to teach him how to pray to our Father and our Holy Mother. The Bible says to train a child in the way he should go so that when he is older he will not depart from it.

God bless you and your beautiful family.

Answer 2

If your son hears you (and your husband, when he's not deployed) praying these prayers every day, he'll pick them up in no time. At this age, they learn very quickly! After he's taken it in for a while, try saying (for example) "Our Father, who art in ..." and pause to let him pick up on "Heaven". If he does, then you can say the entire prayer like that together and it will help him to learn. The key is to do it every day, and more or less at the same time, so it becomes something he looks forward to doing with you.

Another way is to let him sit with you while you say a decade of the rosary -- you could get a child's one for him to hold, too.

Answer 3

Listen to all the folks who are honestly trying to give good advice.... do it by repetition. Just say it a couple times a day, in the car, at bedtime, whenever, and before you know it, he'll have it done pat!
My grandchildren have known more than a dozen blessings and prayers IN HEBREW since they were about 2 1/2 each!!! Oh, and for the naysayers, yes they know what each one means in English. They are now 3, 5 and 11- the 11 yr old is proficient in reading Hebrew and can actually chant all the blessings already. So, you just keep at it and while he's memorizing them, you can- in simple language- tell him what they mean to you. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Why not just show your four year old how much you love and care for him?
THAT is something he will understand and remember. If that was what religion was really about, children might be less likely to rebel against it when they are older.

My parents are Catholic. They didn't fail in teaching me Catholicism. But they did fail in teaching me to stand up for myself, love myself, and have confidence in who I am. I had to learn that on my own. It made my life a lot more difficult and for awhile it made me hostile towards the Catholic religion. I know better now and I have forgiven my parents, who only did as they knew best.

My hope is that you can do better than they did.

Answer 5

don't listen to those who say your 4 yr old wont understand and that that is abuse...when I was 4 or 5 I knew that prayer was a form of talking to God (and I knew who He was too) and I actually asked my mom to teach me those prayers. She would write it down for me to read and she would pray with me..I knew how to read at that age, don't know if thats the case with your child, but reciting the prayer with your child every day/night should help

Answer 6

He is too young to understand what it means, and will be for several years. I suggest that you talk with the teacher and explain to them that you want your child to learn the prayer so that it is special and meaningful, not just something to memorize.

Answer 7

use it in a ritual comforting situation. say oner with him when he is hurt, before you kiss the booboo all better and say the other at bed time before his bedtime story. You could also say a prayer with him for his daddy to keep him safe. repetition is the key

Answer 8

why teach a child to memorize a prayer.Tell him to pray what's in his heart !
God knows your child's heart when he says a prayer for the safety of his dad as he heads into a dangerous place.

When your child really wants something,does he memorize what he is going to say,he just asks !
That's how we should pray to God.

Answer 9

my daughter has said prayers like glory be, hail mary, our father with her children the youngest is 2 they know the prayers now,

Answer 10

I agree with Vivi.....that's how I learned and how my kids learned....by small phrases and repeating YOU. There's a lot of good answers here and as always, several against.