Tracking Catechism Questions

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I think I've tried a lot of tracking methods in the short few years I've been working on catechism stuff with my kids.  It has been a pretty big stumbling block for the perfectionist in me when I get stuck on how to track them instead of just working on the questions.

I tried marking them in the little book I mentioned in a previous post with the date they knew it and their first initial. This was simple, but I just didn't love it because 1. they couldn't see the progress and 2. sometimes I lost the book (mommy brain!). I should have probably also gotten a second book for my second kid, but alas, poor not-first-child-problems. Now, I just keep this book around or even in my diaper bag.

I do know a lot of people use this method and it works for them. Also, the publishers of the book recommend you let the kids color in the numbers (which are outlines) when they complete them, so that's another option. 

At one point, I wrote a bunch of the questions and answers on index cards and with sticky tack had one closet door in the bedroom be "Questions I Know" and one be "Questions I'm working on." I did like how visual this was; it made it very easy to incorporate it throughout the day since they were always in front of us. It also made it super simple for both my husband and me to know what questions we were doing.  I may go back to this, but it didn’t look as cute as I wanted it to and as I started doing it with two kids, it would have been too much to have all the questions on cards for each kid. Now that I have three kids, I can only image the insanity! But perhaps, cuter hand-written or printed out versions would be nice when we're working on questions as a group. Look for future posts about that!

(Note: The links to Amazon in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

Right now, we're using a simple printable you can grab here (I’ve since updated it to make it better for you from the picture in this post!) with stickers. I love these stickers from Amazon because you get over five thousand little stickers for such a good price. Seriously, you could get through the catechism 33 times with these stickers and still have some to spare.

Catechism Songs - Part Two: First Bible Truths

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Today, we're looking at another collection of songs with the Children's Catechism questions and answers. The album is called “First Bible Truths” by Family Devo. My kids love these songs! I will admit they qualify as stop-and-have-a-dance-party type songs. They advertise them as "not your normal cheesy, kids Christian music..." and I think they really deliver on that promise. In addition, there is also quite a variety (listen long enough and you'll even hear some rap!). 

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Where the Ask Me Whooo series of songs are just the catechism questions with answers and proof texts from Scripture, First Bible Truths are more individual songs. So they add some additional wording to fill out the songs more than purely being a memory tool.  

The album contains 9 songs covering the first 21 questions of the First Catechism. If you're goal is to get the first few questions down or you want to review them, this is a great resource. 

These are only available as digital downloads. You can purchase it from either Amazon or Apple.

If you missed yesterday's post where I wrote about the general benefits of using music to learn the catechism, make sure you check it out as it applies to this album too!

Thanks for being an early reader of the blog! I plan to have a Resources tab up soon where I'll link all the best resources on one easy-to-find page.

Catechism Songs - Part One: Ask me Whooo

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Disclaimer: We do not recommend letting babies listen to music with noise cancelling headphones, but it sure is cute!

Disclaimer: We do not recommend letting babies listen to music with noise cancelling headphones, but it sure is cute!

I'm so excited that I get to start sharing about songs and books to help teach the Children's Catechism! If you haven't read the earlier posts about why teaching the catechism is a good idea, I hope you can take a little time to scroll through the blog.

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I knew the very first post had to be for our favorite resource for the Children’s Catechism! It is the Ask me Whooo collection of three albums (available on both CD and audio downloads). 

If you want to get the catechism into your home (or car or wherever), this is the first and must have. It is the most comprehensive and matches the wording and order of questions exactly as in the versions I've been linking most often on this site. When people tell me that they don't know about these songs but taught the catechism or are trying to, I'm always shocked! This is a great place to start and then to go back to for those times when you get "stuck". I know other people love these too because after I launched the blog last week I got two text messages asking if I knew about these songs!

Diana Beach Batarseh has put all of the children's catechism questions into song form. Each track has one to three questions, so that they can be repeated, especially some of the shorter answers. Then at the end some of the proof texts are read by children.  It is an extremely easy thing to just put on and listen to (and by that I mean, it isn’t as annoying as some of the songs my kids like but to be fair, it does qualify as "kids music" in my book) in the car, while doing chores, while coloring, whenever you feel like you could sneak it in!

Click on one of the album images to listen to a sample of the songs on Amazon (on a tablet or computer, they should display on the right and on a mobile device, just keep scrolling below the post content). Or there is a link to listen on Apple music too.

It’s always surprising how much kids learn just from listening. When my daughter was 3, she would walk around belting lyrics from Disney's Frozen, “my soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around…” It's obviously nice to mix it up with some of these songs that serve to teach a bit more truth about our souls (instead of Elsa's).

It is hard work parenting little kids. But it's good work! Having resources like this that you can listen to after a hard day at work or after a long night where the baby was up nursing every two hours can help re-orient everyone back to life-giving truths regardless of how tired and frustrated we may be.  

If you have Amazon Prime, you can listen to all of Volume 1 (which is questions 1-52) for free as part of Amazon Prime Music. If you don't have Prime, you can try it free for 30 days by clicking the ad below.

Or:

Tomorrow's post will be on another album based on the First Catechism!

Why should we use the Children's Catechism?

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If you've gotten here, you probably already think teaching your kids the catechism is a pretty good idea. But maybe not, it isn't very common.

Why Should We Use The Children's Catechism at all? Blog Post from Reformed Mama

Maybe catechism is a word you thought was only relevant to Roman Catholics. Or maybe it simply seems archaic and too "stuffy" when we want our kids to have "free play" and use their imagination to the fullest while they are little. Or maybe you do Scripture memory with your kids and don't see the need for something extra-Biblical.

I'm far from claiming to be an expert on teaching the catechism to my kids but I have already seen how the catechism can really help guide my kids.

First, it's an easy way to weave truth into the hearts of our little ones.  I'm often surprised at how the catechism questions and answers will pop up in our daily conversations, often in ways that make me want to cry tears of joy or laugh at how the minds of kids work!  

Driving around town and seeing a beautiful sunset over the mountains, my daughter has said, "It's so amazing how God made all things."  

Not so long ago, we were having a conversation about how staying with a "babysitter" can be hard since all three kids are usually with me.  We were naming other people that "watch" them and my five year old said, "But you know who always watches us?" (Not so very long pause) "God."  It's not anything crazy, but it's the simple things that our kids can hold on to as truth and that will spark bigger conversations we can have with them.

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Similarly, it gives them a framework for Scripture. The catechism is basically 150 questions and answers that summarize the whole Bible.  It isn't to replace the active Word of God for our kids by any means, but by knowing some of the important questions and answers, it can help them think through stories in a more mature way because they have the doctrine to go with it.  So many families love The Jesus Storybook Bible and for good reason - we love it too.  Every story speaks about Jesus!  

The truths being presented in the catechism allow this same framework to be realized.  When our kids know that everyone is born into sin (questions 35-36) and that the only way to be saved is through repenting and believing in Jesus (questions 38, 50, 55) - it's much easier to point them to always needing Jesus even when they are on their "best behavior" in my eyes.  When so many “Sunday school stories” can challenge our kids to “Be a Daniel”, which usually leads them to either becoming Pharisees or giving up, we’re looking to teach something different.  

I'm not striving for constant outward obedience, asking them to be "good" to make my life easier. Our main goal has to be for them to understand what the Bible teaches to be truth - that we are all sinners and are only saved because of what Jesus has already done for us.

Lastly, I like the catechism because kids love questions. Two year-olds go through days, weeks, even months of responding to everything with the simple question, "Why?". While I might not have the answer for everything, it's nice to have concise answers for some of the Bible-related questions from our kids. In the same way, as kids are soaking up new experiences, they like being able to give an answer to a question that you ask - it's like a game!

What about you?  I'd love to hear! What do you like about using a catechism? Have you gotten a copy of the Children's Catechism I mentioned in the last post?

I've created a helpful resource page on the site for all things related to the Children's Catechism here - be sure to check it out to get a simple list of all the resources to help you teach your kids!

What Catechism and Why?

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What Catechism and Why? Using the Children's Catechism at Reformed Mama

You may attend a church where confessions and catechisms are very common place.  If so, you can probably skip (or skim, it’s not super long) this post.  But maybe you have just heard someone say they are using the catechism with their kids and you're interested.  

Well, where do you start?  

I'm using the Children's Catechism (also sometimes called First Catechism, Catechism For Young Children or some variation of that, each having a few different wording choices and a few different questions and answers) with my kids, which is based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism (something that many reformed Christians hold to).

To read more about the different versions of the children's catechism based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, click here.

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You can get a free download of the children’s version I use on my site here.

A very similar (just slightly updated from the older version I’m using) option is used in many Sunday School curriculum in denominations like the PCA and OPC.  You can find a free versions of it here or you could buy the paper booklet from Great Commision Publications, you can find it on GCP.org, Westminster Bookstore, or Amazon (but it should only be around $2). 

For teaching young kids as soon as they can talk, this is the most basic catechism with easy, concise answers for memorization.  I also love that there are so many resources (books and music) available to help teach it. There's no re-inventing the wheel here. I’ll be posting some reviews of the many resources that our family has enjoyed. This is a big reason that I also decided to start this blog, to help others who may need to find all these resources in one place!

When my kids get older, we will switch to the Westminster Shorter Catechism for study.  I do think that learning the answers in the children's catechism will make this easier for them then, as they will have an understanding of the foundational doctrine (and wording) and be able to add to it with more detail.  

Before you discount the kids version and jump into the Shorter Catechism for study, the questions and answers in the Children’s Catechism are truly helpful and meaningful. This is not simple stuff.

There are many questions and answers from the Children’s version that I have seen first hand contribute in Bible study settings even with adults. Sometimes having a simple answer is helpful in making sure everyone is on the same page so I would recommend memory of many of these questions to people of all ages, tired moms included!

A good example of this is question 29, “What is sin?” A fourteen word answer - “Sin is any lack of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God.” is helpful!  Then the next two questions go on to define what the two phrases “lack of conformity” and “transgression” mean again in a simple way.  

When we talk about catechisms, these are doctrinal issues simmered down to questions and answers.  The Children’s Catechism we’re talking about on this blog is obviously reformed (for more information about what that means if you’re wondering, you can check out articles like this, or this, or this). 

There are different catechisms used in different churches so you'll want to pick the one that fits with your beliefs or even just pick the questions from a catechism that you want to do with your kids.

Why, hello there!

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So, I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a while but always got stuck at the thought of it not being “good enough”. Well, I realized today (ok, and months ago when I actually wrote the first draft of this post) that I should just take the plunge...

My goal for the blog is: 

A place to share about being a Christian mom and how we learn Scripture and the Children’s Catechism (through activities like reading books, listening to music, doing crafts, and having conversations) with the goal that I can help others also be pointed back (and do the pointing) to the gospel again and again.

While I could doubt myself and be afraid of what people will think, what’s ultimately most important is my kids learning the truths I want them to hold onto and grow in my faith while I teach them! I'm hoping this blog will push me a bit in those things (because that's kind of how I work). The goal is never having a perfect blog or being the perfect mom, because those things are obviously not going to happen.

And when we all struggle with our own weaknesses in parenting, well, what should we be doing? Wallowing in self-pity or seeking our identities in Christ alone, relying on the abundant grace we have, and embracing the day that we have with our kids in whatever our current stage of life may be? I think we know, even though it's hard, it’s that second one.

I hope that this blog can be a place where others (hey, you!) can learn from what we are doing - hopefully some successes but obviously some failures too.  So, here we go!  

Full disclosure, we are all crazy sinners who have received immeasurable grace... I don’t have all the answers, my kids don't know the whole catechism, we all mess up a lot. But when we're pointed back to the gospel, it makes the day that much sweeter. 

Reformed Mama Picture

So who’s all here day in and day out?  There is my spunky 5 year old (Lucy) who knew a lot of the first 30ish questions of catechism when she was 3 but then we took a long (unplanned) break when I had a hard time figuring out how to keep track of what questions we had done and honestly just kind of kept going over the same questions again and again.  Then we have a full-speed-ahead boy (David) who is 3 and does everything with passion - there's no lukewarm with him. And last but not least, there’s the 1 year old (Samuel) who likes to keep us on our toes.

I’m on my second year of homeschooling my daughter, who is in Kindergarten this year.  I love Pinterest (follow me if you’d like!) and seriously, like everyone else, I have found so many great resources online.  We are using a literature based curriculum called Five in a Row and a simple search of “FIAR {insert book name}” comes up with a plethora of blog posts showing you exactly how other families carried out their learning (crafts, meals, printables, field trips, lapbooks, related reading, etc.).  When looking for more resources and recommendations for teaching the children’s catechism, I couldn’t find anything like that! And I did ask around... So here I am!  I've also been truly surprised in quite a few conversations with people I know who have done at least some catechism work with their kids and yet don't know about some of the really amazing resources out there, so that’s where the blog will start - sharing those.

This past week, I've been going back and back to these verses:

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.””
— 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

If you’ve managed to read this far, since this is my first blog post ever, I’d love for you to leave a comment below (even if you’re reading this well after it’s been posted!).  Feel free to just say Hi or let me know what you’d like to see on the blog in the future!  

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