10 Commandments. 5 Minutes. {and prep for Sundays}

That list is something all Christians should know, but we didn’t.  By we I mean me… along with the children.  Yes, we could sing The Ten Commandments thanks to Judy Rogers, but we couldn’t say them.  So, this crew decided to take a little departure from verse-a-week memory work to go back to basics. (The children have memorized The Apostle’s Creed, Psalm 23, a small part of The First Catechism, and The Ten Commandments.  The littles have brushed up on The Lord’s Prayer, and the big kids have memorized the first question and answer of The Heidelberg Catechism.)  We are moving back to Bible verses for memory soon!  🙂 Yay!

If you haven’t memorized The Ten Commandments, here ya go!  You’ll know them in 5 minutes– or less!  We continued to get those last ones out of order, until we learned these hand motions!

1.  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  (Hold up one finger for commandment 1, only 1 God, and point up to God. You can also move your finger from side to side and shake your head for “no” other gods.)

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2.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.  (Hold up a finger on each hand for 2nd commandment.  One finger bows down to other as an idol.)

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3.  Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.  (Hold up three fingers for #3 and then put over mouth to not speak!)

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4.  Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.  (Hold up four fingers for #4 and then move to side of face and tilt head as if resting.)

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5.  Honor thy father and thy mother.  (Hold up five fingers for 5th commandment.  Make a spanking motion with your hand! 😉 )

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6.  Thou shalt not kill.  (Hold up six fingers, and then make a stabbing motion with one finger.)

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7.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  (Seven fingers up.  Cross the two fingers on hand back and forth to show mom and dad / husband and wife together forever.)

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8.  Thou shalt not steal. (Eight fingers up for #8 with one hand grabbing and stealing the 3 fingers on the other hand.)

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9.  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.  (Nine fingers up then over mouth again like #3.  This time the hand with five fingers is followed by the hand with four fingers.)

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10.

Hold up ten fingers.  Thou shalt not…

Make a grabbing motion as if taking something from another.

…covet!

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Back in the fall, we started using this little paper to help us better prepare for the Lord’s day, to help us better remember the sabbath and get organized! The children illustrated the things that they need to do to be ready for worship on Sunday mornings, and we hung the pictures in their rooms.  Some Saturdays, they get these things ready before they play.  Some Saturdays, the tasks don’t get done until later.  Either way, it’s better than waiting until Sunday morning… which still occasionally happens here. 😦  Someone recently told me that Satan is always busy on Sunday mornings hiding someone’s shoe!  Ha!

You can click the pictures to print.

Blank chart:

We learned our hand motions for The Ten Commandments by watching this video on YouTube.  🙂

UPDATE:  THE VIDEO IS HERE:

Happy memorizing!