Kid’s Bible Time Recommendations
Here is a list of our favorite kid’s Bible time recommendations! Before beginning any devotional or Bible teaching, I want to remind you that as we teach our kids character we should recognize that is a response to who God is rather than about instilling good morals. The goal of teaching and encouraging good character in our children should first be rooted in worship of who God is, rather than behavior modification.
These devotionals have brought much delight to our family. In homeschool we often use the verses listed to include reading that verse. We will also work on memorizing it, and then it will be used as copywork. This naturally folds in that same verse or concept several times in the week.
I highly recommend learning new hymns alongside Bible Time. Taking the time to look up who wrote it will give your kids heroes to anchor their faith. I love examples that show how a life of faith can look. Don’t forget to add the poets and composers to your timeline.
For Beginners
The JEsus Storybook Bible
We started reading this kid’s story Bible to our oldest the day we brought him home from the hospital. As new parents this book came highly recommended. What I’ve loved about it is it shows kids the big picture story of the Bible from beginning to end. Several of the stories made me see the gospel all over again so beautifully that it brought me to tears… Well, that could have been the postpartum hormones too.
The one drawback I have found with this book is the author takes creative liberty. I’m personally pretty cautious about the way I phrase Bible stories. I don’t want to overlay modern thinking and culture onto ancient people. The few times this book does it I’ve just re-phrased as I read or skipped it.
What Every Child Should Know About Prayer
I thought teaching kids to pray would come naturally as they heard us pray. Our first was a bit bashful though, so it was hard to get him to realize that he could pray too! We used this book to help create a culture of family prayer. The lessons are so short we didn’t mind reading them before the meal. Then we used the “I Can Pray” section and each went around the table repeating the prayer.
We only got halfway through the book, before both the boys we had at that time were begging to be the ones who prayed!
God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook
The author of this book, Carl Laferton, wrote one of my other favorite Easter books “The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross.” He does a great job of taking Bible truths and making them simple for children. The lessons are very short, which is good for tiny attention spans. We’ve recently picked this one up to read, since we’ve read our others to death and needed something new.
School Age Kids
The Ology
I read this book to my kids when they were in Kindergarten and Second grade. There are probably some concepts that went over their head, but I loved that it provided a step-by-step walk through the basics of theology in simple language. We will probably read it again a time or two. It also is rooted in a story, and is beautifully illustrated!
Our 24 Family Ways
This is a great way to help your kids start reading from the Bible. It’s laid out in a 5 day a week format. Each lesson has starter questions, a passage to read, an application, and a time of prayer. It’s short and simple enough not to be overwhelming, but deep enough that many ages could get application from it. We are using this for my preschool, second, and fifth graders this year for school Bible time.
Why this list isn’t longer
I think sometimes when reading blogs people throw out too many ideas. I don’t really want a list of every resource you own, just the ones you love. So these are our top resources for right now! I’m guessing as the kids continue to age this will evolve, but for now, these are the stand-bys.
