Tuesday, September 22, 2009

my favorite kids Bible studies

I am often asked what my favorite Bible studies are for kids. I thought I would post it here as a resource for others when someone is looking for ideas of how to share God's word with their kids.

I believe that you can start this habit early with your kids. Time with God can and should be part of our every day life with our children. When my kids were just toddlers/preschoolers, I found a great devotional. We even used it in pre-k and kindergarten.This is still my favorite book for little ones. We read ours MANY times (even broke the binding). It uses real life stories to help kids learn to obey and have a heart for God. It is not a Bible story book, but more situational. We used ours as part of our story time in the evenings. To help the kids stay engaged, you hunt for "Nightlight" a little glow worm on each page. You can order it from Amazon for about $10 new (HERE).


We have also tried the God and Me devotionals HERE (for girls - the boys version is Gotta Have God HERE).
These are also situational books for kids. They break them down into different age levels, 2-5 year olds (can't do with out parents help), 6-9 year olds (my older kids have even done these) and then 10-12 year olds. They also have a second book for each of these levels (like God and Me 2). My girls are old enough to do these on their own and we have done several of them.There is a little story, a verse or passage to read, questions to answer and then some kind of activity or craft. My kids have really enjoyed these. If you are looking for something that your kids can do on their own to start the habit of alone time with God each day, I would recommend these. Also about $10 each and you can find them on Amazon or in some Christian book stores. I also get these at homeschool conventions and have found them at yard sales or Goodwill.



My all time favorite is the Precepts for kids series (HERE or HERE). I have shared about them several times before (HERE). But it is worth mentioning again. This year we are studying the names of God (God, What's Your Name? - HERE) and we have all really enjoyed the study. These are a bit more advanced. Even though they say they are for kids 8-12, I really couldn't see my 8 year old doing these on her own. We do them together for group study time.

These books teach your child (and you too) to study God's word. How to really study scripture at such a young age. What a fantastic thing. We read the bible passage, mark the text, and answer the questions. We work through these slowly and don't ever do a "days lesson" in one day. We usually take several days to accomplish the lesson. I usually do the reading and they do the writing. I absolutely love these books. I can see older kids (older than 12) still benefiting from them.

Just wanted to share some of the tools we have used to hide God's word in our hearts. I have been recently challenged of how purposeful I need to be to do this with my kids.


You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.





6 comments:

Kara said...

We have also done the God and Me devotionals. I'm glad you mentioned the Precepts ones because I am having Kendra and Philip start the same one. It's good to know from you how much you accomplish each day. I wasn't sure how much to tackle each day. I just received the books in the mail a few minutes ago and was thumbing through them. This is great timing.

DebiH. said...

Thank you for sharing these! We also love the "nightlight" Bible. When Abby was born 8 years ago, Hannah, then 3, would sing the nightlight song from the Bible to her. It has stood the test of many years as a favorite and we are still using it with our little ones. The devotional books look great, I'll look for them! Our girls have been in Awana for many years and the Awana books are great for Bible memory too.

Cristy said...

Thank you for sharing. We are doing things a little more eclectically this year. We got a little bored with our bible study, because it was always the same thing, over and over. It's nice to know that there are other options and what they are.

I love the new look of the blog.

Tiffany said...

Thanks for sharing this! I have been looking for a while for a good devotional book for Hannah that she does on her own. I think I'll get the God and Me and I love the boy version too!

Tim and Susan said...

Yes, I agree...I have to be purposeful. Even about praying together or reading aloud a good Christian biograhpy. We are hoping to finish our "How to Study the Bible for Kids" Kay Arthur Precepts books before we head back to Japan. I'll have to buy another one to take back with us.

Oh, by the way we don't do out Bible study every day...unless we have a long break from school. Even just once a week or every once in awhile is better than never!!

Tim and Susan said...

2 of my boys (ages 11,12) have been working on the Gotta Have God devotional books. They are great.