And that means it’s time for summer reading! Take a look at our summer reading program for your kids this summer. Also, keep a lookout for our reccommended summer reading booklist. Feel free to leave a comment with any books you think should be added below.
Have a fun summer!
Sometimes when we read through the Bible, it’s easy to miss some of the smaller details that mean so much. Take a minute to look at the reactions different people had to everything that was going on around them. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. Write one reaction in one column and someone else’s reaction in the other. What can we learn from the way these individuals acted?
Modifications
Want something easier for younger children?
Use this activity for stories that are comparing two people or ideas. One example would be the wise man who built his house on a rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Draw a line down the paper and have your child draw a man at the top of each column. Then, as you talk about the story, encourage your child to use pictures to tell the differences between the two. For example, your child may draw a rock and a shovel and a cross to represent doing the hard work to build a house solidly on the rock of Christ. Then, there should, of course, be a stron house at the bottom. The other column would have opposite pictures.
As I mentioned in my post on Creating Space for God, I am going to be posting Bible Study ideas for kids of all ages. In fact, the first one has already been published (you can check it out here.)
I thought it might be nice to put a post up explaining some of the different types of activities I will be posting. Each activity falls into one of four categories: reviewing what we read, studying the passage, applying the message and memorizing the word. Here is a little explanation of each one
Reviewing What We Read
Have you ever read something that went in one ear and right out the other? I know I have. This section is filled with activities that help you stop and think about what you are reading. You may even be surprised how many of the stories you remember several months from now.
Studying the Passage
Reading the Bible and remembering what is says is one thing. It’s another to truly study the stories to try to learn more about what God is telling us. If we study carefully and prayerfully, we can read the same part of the Bible again and again and learn something new each time.
Applying the Message
The Bible is like God’s letter to us. He created us, so it is almost like an owner’s manual and He wants to use His letter to change our lives and bless us. When we read and study the Bible it’s important that we prayerfully ask questions like “What does this have to do with me?” and “What can I learn about God from reading this?” This category gives you some tools to help make the Bible real in your life and the lives of your children.
Memorizing the Word
If we have the Bible available to us, why is it important to memorize the verses? I’ll let the Bible speak for itself on this topic:
“How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.
1With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
~Psalm 119:9-16
This category is filled with activities and ideas to help you and your children hide God’s Word in your hearts.
Do you ever have to take a quiz in school? How do you usually feel about them? Are they too hard? Too easy? Do they ask all the wrong questions?
Well, now you can change all that. It’s your turn to write a quiz.
You’ll want to pull out your Bible and turn to the chapter(s) you just read to find some good ideas for questions.
Try and make the questions hard enough to stump your friends and family.
You can add your quiz to your Bible Study notebook. You can even put the scores people got when they took your quiz.
Modifications
Want something easier for younger children?
After reading with your child ask them basic questions. Here are a few ideas for questions you can ask them:
Want something harder for older children?
Encourage your child to make a really hard quiz that could stump the whole family, then have your child (and your whole family) take the quiz without a Bible open. See how many you can get right.
Have you read Psalm 119 lately? I like to read it periodically to renew my joy in and desire for God’s Word. It is in Psalm 119 that you will find familiar passages like “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (vs. 105). One of the great things about this Psalm is that it reminds me how important it is to read and absorb God’s Word. It reminds me that I should be taking time to study the Scriptures daily.
This is lesson is important for our children as well, but how do we teach it to our children and foster in them a love for God’s word? There are many ways, but today I am going to suggest creating space for God. Usually when I talk about creating space I’m talking about time, but in this case I’m actually talking about physical space.
Set up a desk or a corner for your children - their special nook - where they can come away and spend time with God. Of course you will want a special Bible in this corner and other items that may be age appropriate. Here are some ideas:
There are many more things you could place at a devotional center for your children, but these are just a few ideas to get you started. With younger children you may want to spend a few minutes at the center every day at first to encourage them and to model what they are supposed to do. If you have older children, encourage them to start out spending 10-15 minutes a day at their special spot with Jesus. Before long, you may notice your kids coming here and spending time with God all on their own.
Over the next little while, I will be posting creative Bible study ideas for kids of all ages. Keep a look out for these activities as they can be used for family worship times or as a part of your kids’ space for God.
