"Teaching Children the Faith" by Marie Taylor (CatholicMom.com) Copyright 2016 Jason Taylor. All rights reserved.

So here I am, sitting with my feet up at 2:00 in the afternoon, sipping a cup of decaf in the quiet of my living room. A welcome treat for a mama of 3 year old twins and a 16 month old who thinks he’s 3. I am also 24 weeks pregnant with another set of twins, hence the decaf.... You would never know that our morning began at 5:15 am with a cry of “Mommy! Pee!!!” to which my husband responded, bless him and got up with all three who were now wide awake and ready to go.

It’s a busy life with these little ones and while “it’s a good thing you’re cute” is my secret mantra, I love every precious moment of it. Even the moments that don’t feel precious at the time. Like yesterday during Mass. After an experience like that, the question on my mind is “how can I teach these kids to behave during Mass?” but maybe I should really be asking “how can I teach them to appreciate the Mass?” I know they have the attention span, energy level, and self control of 3-year-olds. I know that it will be years before they are mature enough to comprehend what is really happening during Mass. For now we are happy if they stay in our pew, whisper and make an attempt at prayer.

We want to teach our kids about the faith that we strive to practice (however imperfectly) in our daily lives. Our twins are now at a stage where they are smarter, more curious, and asking questions. As parents of little people, we are looking for resources to help us teach them to love the faith. Admittedly we need to get some more religious books for little children and books are always a hit in our house. We also watch tv in moderation (usually so I can make dinner) but Catholic programming for kids is limited, and Catholic kids' shows available to stream on demand are essentially non-existent.

[Tweet "Coming soon: @opusjoyous #Catholic TV for kids. Help our @kickstarter campaign!"]

"Teaching Children the Faith" by Marie Taylor (CatholicMom.com) Courtesy of Opus Joyous. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

My husband has been producing media for 20 years now and has always felt called to produce a Catholic series for kids. He’s been brainstorming ideas all this time. The Catholic world needs more quality media for kids. Let’s be honest, they’re used to the number of options and production quality on Netflix, Paw Patrol being our current favorite. And since in our lives, there is never a dull moment,  we are producing a video series for kids called the Opus Joyous Show, that will be available for online streaming and on dvd. It’s an imaginative show that incorporates original music and solid catechesis into an exciting storyline. All we need is a little more funding to get things rolling. You can visit our Opus Joyous kickstarter page to learn more. Our goal is for kids to be as excited about Catholic shows as they are about Paw Patrol. And even though they’re all good pups and they saved the day, I’d much rather have a more prayerful song running through my head over and over as I fall asleep.

 

"Teaching Children the Faith" by Marie Taylor (CatholicMom.com) Copyright 2016 Jason Taylor. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2016 Marie Taylor

About the author: Marie Taylor is a mother of 3 with twins on the way. She and her husband, Jason have been married for 4 and a half years and live in a small town in Ontario, Canada. Jason has been producing Catholic media for nearly 20 years and Marie is was an RN until they started their family and she became a full-time mom and part time NFP instructor.