The Ten Commandments for young children
Posted on: 5 June, 2011
Last year we made our own “tablets of stone” for Shavuot. I printed them, the children coloured them in, then we wiped them over with a wet teabag to give a mottled, old appearance before adding some flowers and stickers. (Above is my daughter’s artwork.)
As a learning exercise, I included the first 10 letters of the Hebrew alef-bet ( this is how the commandments are represented in our synagogue) with the number associated with that letter, and the pronunciation of the letter.
My daughter was only 3 when I did this activity. She a sweet little soul and I was (and still am) happy to wait until she is older before I introduce the concepts of murder, adultery and so forth, so I also re-wrote the commandments in child-friendly language, as follows:
1. There is only one God.
2. We should not make pretend gods.
3. God’s name is special.
4. Remember Shabbat is a day to rest and say thank you.
5. Listen to your parents and take care of them.
6. Do not hurt other people.
7. Love and look after everyone in your family.
8. Do not take things that belong to other people.
9. Do not say things that are not true.
10. Be happy with the things that you have.
Here’s a copy of Tablet 1 and Tablet 2, or if it’s easier, here are both on one A4 page: All 10 commandments
3 Responses to "The Ten Commandments for young children"
23 May, 2012 at 5:54 am
Just saw this. Perfect timing. I think we’ll be using it for a Shavuot program at shul. For sure I’ll be using at home, and we’ll either do the teabag staining or a crayon rub. Thank you for posting both versions!
[...] can read my version of the 10 Commandments, rewritten for children, here. We did the same craft activity again this year, but I revised the printout (download it here) so [...]
26 March, 2012 at 7:16 am
Thank you so much for posting! I’ve been looking for something like this for my children to create and post so that they have a daily reminder of what is most important. Thanks!