How to Talk to Kids About Death and How to Pray the Rosary

October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. I didn’t grow up praying the Rosary. My earliest memory of being aware of someone praying it was seeing my mother carry one in her pocket in my adult life. Here is the short version of how I came to pray the Rosary, and the graces it brought our family at the end of my mother’s life.

If you are new to praying the Rosary, Holy Heroes has a new app that has beautiful Rosary meditations for free! We love playing it in the car and praying as we drive.

We also have All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day coming up at the end of this month. Read on for my thoughts and ideas about the holy days, and how we can gently talk to kids about death during this time set aside by the Church.

October is Dedicated to the Holy Rosary

Here are some other ideas to learn about and pray the Rosary this month:

Praying the Rosary with Kids

• Use St. Ignatius’ guide for praying the Rosary as a family
• Here are my tips or praying the Rosar0y with kids, and a free printable to create their own Rosary book to help them meditate on the mysteries.
• Our Lady gave the Rosary to St. Dominic. Read about the amazing story in this picture book.

How to Pray the Rosary

• Another great resource for adults to learn about the history of the Rosary, including0 where it came from and how to pray it, is this book by Gabe Castillo.

The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is October 7th

• Lastly, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosay is October 7th. Here are some fun and prayerful ideas to celebrate the feast. 
• Pray the Divine Office (especially on October 7, Our Lady of the Rosary’s feast day).

Preparing for Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls

The special and holy Hallowtide triduum will start on October 31st. Here are ways we observe each day as a family

Catholic Halloween

• What is the significance of these 3 days? How can we observe them in a holy way with kids? Should Catholics even celebrate Halloween? Find out here!
• Catholic Halloween decorations anyone? If you have a scarecrow and some fabric scraps and old (or new) wood planks, you can evangelize while keeping these days holy and fun.
• Read our favorite Halloween kids book (it’s Catholic!)

Memento Mori: Talking to Kids About Death

• What happens to our bones when we die? I love doing seasonal science activities with my kids. Here is a fun one to go with the Hallowtide triduum.
• One last thought: do you find it hard to talk to kids about death? It’s not always the most fun topic, but as Catholic, we know that our death is actually a new birth. Here are gentle ways to discuss death with children over the Hallowtide triduum.