Coming this Fall: The Family Rosary

I doubt we're alone in having failed to build a habit of saying the rosary as a family. I have high hopes of changing that come fall. Last year, we sometimes said a decade of the rosary on Friday mornings, but I think it will work better as part of our evening routine, especially if we say it in the living room with Kansas Dad when he's not teaching.

October is the month of the rosary, so my goal is to start our new habit by the first full week of October. In the beginning, we'll say just one decade each evening, but eventually I'd like to increase that to a full rosary. I'm just not so sure how the little ones will handle that. Just last week, another reader at  Faith & Family linked to a wonderful post at Pondered in My Heart that complemented what I had already been considering.

I've printed out the Rosary cards Kimberlee recommended on card stock (the same place I found Stations of the Cross cards, which I've also printed for use next Lent). I trimmed them a bit. Kimberlee put paper on the front for each group of mysteries, but I decided to be a little easier on myself (because cutting paper is so demanding). I colored a little square on the backs of the cards and wrote the number of the mystery in the square. These are in the pile of things to laminate for next year. I've found having pictures for the kids can be a great asset when trying to keep them still and focused, so I think these cards will be especially useful for First Son and First Daughter.

I also put flowers on the hobby store list, ten red roses and one white rose. We have lots of baskets around, but I may just use piles or something. I think moving the roses around will be wonderful for Second Daughter. (I briefly considered trying to remember my crochet skills to make the roses, but decided that could be a task for next year.)

I still needed a few resources, though, since we're just starting out as a family and Kansas Dad and I have never had a habit of saying the rosary ourselves. I copied the mystery pages from Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church onto card stock, double-siding them so each group of mysteries is on a single page. We'll laminate these and read them aloud before beginning the decade.

Finally, I printed out this complete description on how to pray the Rosary all on one page, on card stock of course. We'll also laminate this so it can handle daily use a bit better. I think it will work well to take turns reading with First Son. Sometimes he can announce the mysteries for us and sometimes he can use this page to start the prayers.