Here at All Saints Play, we love bringing you authentically Catholic tools for your homeschool. Our Bible Memory Flashcards and Catechism Flashcards & Charts have been a popular element in our Little Lessons: Catholic Preschool Curriculum, and we are excited to offer them as individual downloads in our shop- so that even more families can benefit from them!

In this post, I’ll be describing a little bit about the products and sharing some helpful tips for how to use them in your home.

These can be used as part of your homeschool, sacrament prep, or simply as enrichment for your family. They can easily be adapted for age and whole family learning!

My kids genuinely love these flashcard sets. They're often the ones to bring them out, asking me to go through them together. One way my family likes to use them is to bring them out at dinner time as a conversation starter-the kids love to be quizzed, and even our two-year-old loves to shout out the answers! My favorite benefit has been the questions and thoughts my children share as a result of using them. Diving into meaningful topics can be challenging for some kids (and some parents!), but these cards have been a wonderful ice breaker.

📖Bible Memory Flashcards

This set of 29 full-color flashcards span the major events and characters of salvation history from the Creation of the World through Revelation. Each one contains a corresponding illustration and direct quote from the RSV- Catholic Edition.

Ways to Use Them:

• Teaching Tool: If your child is new to some of these stories, these cards provide a starting off point to dive into some of the most essential stories of our Faith. Make sure to go at your child’s pace, depending on age and familiarity with these stories, it may be best to introduce them one at a time.

• Reading the Bible: Pairing these cards with coordinating Bible Story is a great way to learn the stories and foster an early appreciation for Scripture. While any Catholic Bible will do, we recommend the My Catholic Children’s Bible as it contains all the stories in the same order as the flashcards. For older Children, this can also be a good time to start reading directly from the Bible.

• Lectio Divina: Take some time to pause for a moment after reading the Bible story or memory verse and encourage your child to talk to Jesus in their Heart. We like to close our eyes, try our best to be still and quite, and set a timer for 1 minute.

• Guessing Game: Especially if your child is already familiar with some of the stories, encouraging them to guess the events or people from the illustration is a fun way to introduce and review these cards. This is my own children’s favorite!

• Memory Verse: God’s word is life-giving. Memorization keeps these words close to our children’s hearts and minds, and gives them a foundation to rest on as they learn and grow. These cards include one direct quote from the word of God that speaks to the heart of each story and is manageable for young children to memorize. Practice saying the Verse for an individual card together for a few days in a row, you’ll be surprised how quickly your child has it memorized!

• Time Line: Have your child practice putting the cards in chronological order. You can separate these into smaller more manageable segments if needed, such as Old and New Testament, or in sets of 5 or 6.

• Narration: Have your child tell YOU about the flashcard - they can retell the story or you can prompt them with a question.

• Family Conversation Starter: I have been blown away by the questions and thoughts that my children have expressed through using these flashcards. It can sometimes be hard to jump directly into these important and heartfelt topics for some children (or parents!), but these have served as a really nice icebreaker! Bring them out at the dinner table and see where the discussion goes!

• Memory/Go ‘Fish’ Games: Print off 2 copies of these card and you have matches! You can use them as you would any memory game or go fish deck of cards.

This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, feel free to have fun with it and come up with your own ways to use them with your family!

📑Catechism Flashcards & Charts

This Set includes:

• 45+ Catechism Q&A flashcards

• Charts on:

  • The Beatitudes

  • The Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit

  • The Seven Sacraments

  • Theological & Moral Virtues

  • Acts of Mercy

  • Things You See at Mass

  • Mass Scavenger Hunt (Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms)

     

✝️The Flashcards-

The Flashcards contain 2-3 questions each, which have been thoughtfully arranged by subject matter. Each question is taken directly from The Baltimore Catechism, and has a full-color illustration that coordinates.

Ways to Use The Flashcards:

• Start Slowly: Introduce them one at a time and read the Questions and Answers to your child. Answer any questions they may have, and feel free to elaborate if they want to go deeper.

• Encourage Recall: Over time, begin to ask them the questions and allow them the chance to answer. They may do this word for word or by paraphrasing. You can tailor this to their age or ability.

• Reverse the Question: As a form of review, you may find it helpful to switch it up and ask your child the question in reverse. This can be a good gauge for if they are merely memorizing the words or learning the material. For example, instead of asking ‘Why did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?’ as printed, you could ask from re-wording the answer ‘What did Christ institute to unite us to Himself and nourish our soul? - Answer: “The Eucharist!”.

• Independent Study: If your child can read independently, have them study a card at a time. Its a nice bite-sized chunk that won’t feel overwhelming. You can even have them ask YOU the questions and tell you if you got them right (kids LOVE this!).

📝The Charts-

Ways to Use the Charts:

• Add to your morning menu/basket: Include a chart in your daily routine to familiarize your child with the Beatitudes, virtues, and more.

• Dry-Erase: Laminate the charts or place in a sheet protector so your child can trace or circle items with a fine-tip dry-erase marker.

• Display them: Frame the charts or tape them at eye level for easy reference and reading throughout the day.

• Mass tools: Use the ‘Things you see at Mass’ and ‘Mass Scavenger Hunt’ charts to help your child prepare for Mass- or take them along and check off items during the liturgy!

Already have Little Lessons?

These resources are included and scheduled throughout the curriculum, so you are already set!

We recommend laminating the flashcards to ensure that they withstand long-lasting use. If you don’t have access to a laminator, you can also print on cardstock.

Ready to get started? Grab your downloadable Bible Memory Flashcards and Catechism Flashcards & Charts today and enjoy meaningful, faith filled moments with your kids.

Already using them? Tell us how they’re working in your home-we love hearing your ideas!