Reading the Bible With Kids- Tools and Tips
“Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching." Proverbs 1:8
If we are parents we are automatically teachers.
What do we teach? The word for teaching is the word torah. The same word used for the law in the Old Testament. The torah are the laws, the ways of God. For our kids to know God, we must teach them His character, His ways. His thoughts, His desires. We don’t need to teach the actual law of the Old Testament but the concepts in the law. The Old Testament law revealed who God was. It revealed He was purposeful, merciful, loving, just. The account of creation revealed that He was purposeful, powerful, creative. We have the whole Bible which reveals who God is.
We teach God through the teachings in His book. The root word of torah comes from a word meaning to point. We are to point our kids in the right direction, in God’s direction. One of the best ways to do this is to teach them the Bible, read to them the Bible, and teach them to read the Bible on their own.
Bible reading with your kids is not to be a mandatory, hit them over the head Bible teaching time. But, a time to inspire and equip them to read and discover the truths of the best way to go in life, God’s way.
Here are some practical ideas and tools you can use.
PREPARATION
I usually read or study the parts of the Bible I teach my kids in my own quiet time. Many times what I teach them is just the stuff I have read the month before, the summer before, or days before. I share with them the overflow of what the Spirit teaches me. I use my Bible and my Bible journal notes from my quiet time as I teach them. That way I am not having to prepare certain study or have to do extra work. Just teach them from what you are learning.
PERSONAL BIBLE
From the time my kids are two we get them their own Bible. We read the Bible to them and give them time to ‘read’ or look at the pictures on their own. This establishes the habit and idea that our time with God is personal, and that He wants a relationship with each of us individually. During our devotion time together I have each child hold their own, age-appropriate Bible so they can follow along.
These are my favorite Bibles by age range and why.
My Awesome God Bible Storybook by Mark Steiner for 2-3 year olds.
It has the most stories I have found for younger kids. I literally went through children’s Bibles and counted the number of stories of lesser known characters like Elijah, Elisha, Job, Paul’s letters, etc. This one had the most. Everything points to God as the author, the main character of the Bible.
The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible for 4-6 years olds
Has details that are not included in many children’s Bibles such as prophetic visions like Daniel and the beasts, John’s vision of the throne room with the 4 creatures, Tabernacle furniture, the book of Esther. These are all things a young child is capable of understanding.
amazon.com/Complete-Illustrated-Childrens-Bible-Library/dp/0736962131
First Adult Bible for 6-8 year olds- We gift our children their first ‘adult’ Bible when they finish first grade and are able to read on their own. I like the ESV, English Standard Version because it has simpler language and vocabulary. The Bible has a lot of terms and vocabulary that are not used today. I don’t want them to be overwhelmed with a ton of words they do not know.
9-10 years + The NIV, New International Version or Revised Standard Version, is the next level of text, in my opinion, where the language becomes more Biblical and those harder words are used more. Here they can go beyond reading the stories for themselves but begin to focus on ideas and concepts and the higher level vocabulary.
ASK GOOD QUESTIONS
Goal of Questions: The purpose of questions is not for a discussion.
The purpose of questions is to…
1. lead the student to an understanding of the text.
A good question lays the foundation for understanding. A good question will first ask the basic facts, what, when, who where,? Ask the simple facts to make sure they understand. These are observation questions.
2. lead the student to ideas so that they can formulate their own thinking, belief system, and defense of their belief system based on their understanding of the text.
A good question builds on the basic good questions (listed above) and then asks why? And how? These are interpretation questions: What does it mean? Why would God do that?
A good interpretation question makes you think of things such as...
Motivation- the general desire, willingness, or reasons for behavior.
EX: Why did ?
Purpose- the reason something is done or for which something exists-
EX: Why was David not at war when all other kings were and his army was?
Comparison- finding similarities and differences-
EX: How is grace the same and different in the Old and New Testament?
Evaluation-making a judgement about the value of something -
EX: How important is justice to God?
Discrimination- recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another.
EX: What is the difference between grace and mercy?
3. challenge the students’ every day life and behavior.
A good question leads the student to act. What will you do based on the information? How does this knowledge change your behavior? These are application questions.
WAYS TO KEEP ALL OF THEM ENGAGED
Have something tangible for the toddler and preschooler to hold or touch to remember the story/concept. Sometimes I literally, find something two minutes before the lesson. I keep a paper lunch bag in my desk drawer and pull it out to put our mystery item in. I have accumulated Bible story mystery items throughout the years now. Start a stash if you have young kids for example a toy ladder from an old toy set for the story of Jacob and the ladder, a Christmas angel figurine for any stories with angels, a picture of my wedding day for anything on marriage. Think of things as you read Scripture and keep a list in your journal of things that you can use.
Start simple with the younger kids. Let the older kids help and teach them to ask questions and not just give the answer. When younger ones start to loose interest let them go and have an activity like acting out the story, coloring a picture, making something (more examples below). Then keep going with the older ones into the deeper level.
I ask appropriate questions by age level to keep my kids engaged. I watch for when one of them might be losing concentration and re engage them with a question. Even if you stop the lesson or reading. For example, the little one is starting to get distracted, “Can you remind us what God made on day 1?
Let the kids take turns reading key verses. Have the others pay attention to the one reading.
Acting the story out is great! You are more likely to remember something you do than something you just hear! My boys still remember eating ‘manna’ off the floor when I put out crackers all over the floor one morning.
Have an activity, coloring page, or assignment after the lesson for the younger ones. Then you can continue the deeper conversation with the older ones while they color, act out, or make something. This can be as simple as a picture they draw. You don’t have to prep tons! When we studied Elijah I couldn’t find picture for all of the stories of Elijah. I cut out shapes from construction paper and the boys glued and drew their own pictures for each story. We then assembled a book of Elijah. I bought a Bible coloring book. Then I always have a page ready for them to color when the little ones loose interest. I let them eat crackers after the manna in the desert story. I had them mix flour and oil after the story of Elijah and the widow.
Use the questions from discussions and have older kids write about it. Ask them to make a defense of a concept. We compared the breast piece of judgement from the priestly garments with the breastplate of righteousness in the armor of God in Ephesians 6.
THEMED MEMORY VERSE FOR EACH SECTION/STUDY
I like to have a theme memory verse for each study we do. A verse that would summarize the main idea that we are learning or that would be our theme. It ties all the lessons together. When we studied the tabernacle we used Exodus 25:8 “Let them build a sanctuary for Me that I may dwell among them.” When we studied creation we memorized Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
May you have Abundant Days for His glory and your good,
Kristin Overman
