Teaching Kids The Ten Commandments | Printable Memory Game

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The ten commandments are the basics of our Christian faith. Once you can believe the overwhelming truth of Genesis 1:1, the ten commandments are kind of like step two in the being-a-Christian handbook.Teaching them to my kids is a natural step in my opinion and I’m hoping this little game will make it easier and fun for them to learn.

My first obstacle in creating this activity was that my kiddos can’t read yet, so I created images to go with each commandment. The fact that they’re in emoji form is a fun and kind of silly bonus. Even though some of the images still have some small words on them, they’re pretty intuitive and Squeaks understood the connection right away.

It’s super easy to use. It’s set up just like my Shapes Matching Game and Paint Splash Color Matching Game. Velcro for the win! Plus I’ve included an answer key so you can double check that the icons for each commandment are in the correct order. I printed mine directly on the back of our game. Then just laminate, cut out the icons, add Velcro dots and let the learning commence!

I kind of had to think through my explanations on a few of the commandments before I even started the game with Squeaks. Explaining concepts like adultery and coveting to a four year old takes some forethought.

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Here’s how I explained each of the ten commandment:

1. Do not have any other gods before me.

I love how easy this is for a child to accept. No other gods? No problem. It’s totally logical to them. Of course once I explain that anything can be a god, it gets a little more complicated, but Squeaks was still 100% on board. We have always tried in our family to make it very clear that God is in charge. “Mom and Dad get their rules from God, He put us in charge, but we have to do what He says just like you do. God comes first.” So explaining this first commandment was not a stretch for Squeaks.

Commandment number one: There is only one God.

2. Do not make idols of any kind.

This one I explained by telling the story of Moses going up the mountain to get the commandments from God only to come back down and find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf instead of God. “They made a gold statue and then worshiped it. That would be like you drawing a picture and then saying your picture was your god. Can your picture be god? Even if it’s really pretty? Even if it makes you feel good to love that picture? Your picture can’t love you back, can’t help you, can’t get you into heaven. It can just be a pretty picture.”

Commandment number two: There can’t be two gods, so don’t try making any.

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3.Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

This one is pretty simple to explain. “We don’t say bad words. God’s name is very special so we only use it in love. Some people say it when they are angry, or surprised, like OMG! God doesn’t like that. He wants us to remember how important and powerful he is, so we need to be careful with his name.”

Commandment number three: The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. The three names in the trinity.

4.Remember to observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy.

“God rested on the seventh day after he made the world. He wasn’t tired, he just wanted to enjoy what he had made. God wants us to enjoy his creations too, so every Sunday we go to church to learn about Him and we spend time with Him.”

Commandment number four: We go to church on the Sabbath and keep that day holy because that’s what the Sabbath is for.

5. Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long full life in the land the Lord your God will give you.

The only commandment with a promise attached. It’s kind of the “because-I-said-so” commandment. As a kid you get annoyed that your parents tell you what to do, then as a parent you understand why. Because we want our kids to live a full and long life! Simple. “God is our Heavenly Father. He made us, loves us, and chose us to be in his family. He also chose Mommy and Daddy to be your parents, and we chose you to be our daughter (yay adoption!). God put us in charge because he knows we love you and want what is best for you.” Of course as parents we strive to set a godly example so that our children respect us easily. We want our kids to want to honor us. Sometimes easier said than done but we certainly try.

Commandment number five will keep you alive!

6. Do not murder.

Squeaks hasn’t experienced death on a personal level thankfully, and I hope it’s a long time before she does. But death is a concept she can still grasp. Especially when she has a little brother who likes to stomp on the pretty bug she just found. And have you noticed how many Disney movies start with someone dying?! Finding Nemo, Frozen…Thanks Disney. So I pretty much just got straight to the point. “We don’t take away anyone’s life. God decides when people go to heaven.” No need to go into too much detail right now. Things could easily get confusing with the whole death penalty discussion.

Commandment number six: Don’t put anyone “six feet under”.

7. Do not commit adultery.

We’re keeping this one pretty vague for now. “Mommy is married to Daddy so I can’t be married to anyone else. God made us to be together.” Next subject.

Commandment number seven: (for use in later years) Lust is one of the seven deadly sins…You get where I’m going with this.

8. Do not steal.

Another pretty simple one. “If it’s not yours, don’t take it.”

Commandment number eight: Aladdin stole bread and got caught by the guards. He got in trouble for what he ate.

9.Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

“Don’t lie. If we lie people can’t trust us. If we want to show people God’s love, we have to be trustworthy.”

Commandment number nine: (This ones a stretch.) People say cats have nine lives but that’s not true.

10. Do not covet your neighbor’s house.

Coveting is a pretty easy concept for kids to understand, especially kids with siblings. You always want what the other person has. Lately I’ve been asking Squeaks “What’s more important to you, your brother or the toy?” This has helped put things into perspective a bit for her. Or “Do you see how happy that toy is making your brother? It makes us happy when people we love are happy!”

Commandment number ten: On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you want ____?

All-in-all I think Squeak grasped the ten commandments pretty well. She’s really absorbing the information quickly. I’m looking forward to practicing more with our game. I’m actually even learning too! I see lots of interesting conversation in our future and I love watching her process the information. Plus hearing a four year old nonchalantly say “we don’t kill people.” It might just be me, but I can’t help but giggle a little.

Check out this website to see where I got most of the mnemonics I used for each commandment. Very helpful!