Household Theology Press

Start here

Pick your child’s age below. Each path names one catechism, the printables to use with it, and the guide to read first. Ten minutes a day is enough. Ages are rough guides: a child who reads early can move up, and an older child who is new to this can start with the shorter answers.

What should we do with a two- to four-year-old?

Teach the first few answers of the Catechism for Young Children by saying them together every day. A toddler can answer “Who made you?” with “God” long before reading. Keep family worship to about five minutes, with a short Bible story, one song and a short prayer, and do not expect stillness.

  1. Begin with question 1, question 2 and question 3. Ask them at meals, in the car and at bedtime.
  2. Print the first ten memory cards for the parent to hold; little ones like to see the card.
  3. Read family worship with toddlers.
  4. Add a new question only when the last one comes easily, perhaps every week or two.

What about ages five to seven?

Take one question of the Catechism for Young Children each week, following the weekly schedule: hear it, say it, trace it, review it, recite it. Children this age can trace the copywork pages, which ties memory work to handwriting. Keep the old answers alive with a few cards each day.

  1. Use the one-page weekly schedule and read the guide that explains it.
  2. Print copywork for questions 1 to 10 and the matching cards.
  3. Read how to memorize the catechism with children.
  4. Start family worship if you have not yet.

When is a child ready for the Shorter Catechism?

Most children are ready for the Westminster Shorter Catechism once they read comfortably, often around age eight. Take one question a week. Read its Scripture proofs together, talk through the note for parents, and use the discussion questions. Children who learned the Catechism for Young Children will recognize many answers.

  1. Start at question 1: “What is the chief end of man?”
  2. Print cards for questions 1 to 10 and copywork for questions 1 to 10.
  3. Keep the weekly schedule on the fridge. At one question a week with review weeks, the Shorter Catechism takes a little over two years.
  4. Read what a catechism is and why Reformed families use one.

How do we use it with older children and teenagers?

Older children can do more of the work themselves. Have them read each answer’s proof texts and say in their own words how each passage supports the answer. Use the discussion questions as real conversation, and let copywork serve as handwriting practice. Teenagers can also compare catechisms and read older explanations.

  1. Work through the Shorter Catechism, one question a week, with the proofs.
  2. Read the comparison of the Shorter, Heidelberg and Baptist catechisms.
  3. Look at the books for parents and older readers in the resource directory.

What if we have children of several ages?

Teach together, then split for practice. At the table, everyone hears the older child’s Shorter Catechism question and the younger child’s question from the Catechism for Young Children. Little ones answer theirs, older ones answer theirs, and each child does the copywork that fits. Engles wrote his catechism to lead into the Shorter Catechism, so many topics line up.

  1. Keep one weekly rhythm for everyone, using the printable schedule.
  2. Print each child’s own cards: Catechism for Young Children and Shorter Catechism.
  3. Read the first-year plan for a new homeschooling family.

Printed from https://householdtheologypress.com/start-here/ · Household Theology Press · free to copy for home, church and co-op