Encouraging parents in their efforts to raise their children to be enthusiastic servants of the Lord.
After numerous trips to Christian book stores, I finally found the perfect transition “Bible” for her. The Student Discovery Bible: A Journey Through God’s Word (Thomas Nelson), pulls over one hundred stories directly from scripture. What I really liked about it, was that in the margins it provided definitions for key vocabulary words, answers to common questions, archaeological discoveries and cultural and historical notes.
Continue reading Transitioning Your Child to Independent Bible Study
I began reading a Bible story to her every day when she was an infant. I can picture sitting in the rocker holding her before she could even sit up on her own and reading the Bible story to her. I used the Baby Bible Storybook by Robin Currie and Cindy Adams. You can choose any baby or toddler Bible, but preferably one with lots of bright pictures and few words. (I have not really found them to be inaccurate, but you may want to read through it quickly to make sure that there are no glaring errors.)
I have a confession to make. My family is addicted to zoos and aquariums. We enjoy seeking out new ones when we travel. We have ridden a camel, fed a giraffe and touched sharks, sting rays, sea squirts and numerous other slimy and furry “critters”.
We live in Atlanta, home of the fantastic Georgia Aquarium. My daughter and I love to go there and just soak in the wonder of their largest tank. It houses several whale sharks (they grow to be the size of a bus) and thousands of other fish, rays and sharks. They have a classical music piece playing in the background that was especially composed for the exhibit. I always feel so close to God in that room. As my daughter and I sat there a few weeks ago, I realized she has probably heard the same dialogue from me a thousand times.
Over the years, I have had numerous discussions with parents about what to study with their children when they start asking questions about baptism. A few years ago, my own daughter began showing an interest in baptism. Over the course of a week, I wrote a study as we talked about what she knew and what concerns she and her friends had about baptism. I based the lessons not only on scripture, but on the common questions she and her friends had on the subject.
Over time I have lengthened the study. I did this for two reasons. One to provide meaningful support activities for parents to use to help their children grow spiritually either before or after their baptism. The second reason was to provide a subtle way for parents with children who really aren’t ready for baptism to continue the dialogue with their child over a longer period of time. The leader’s guide gives you guidelines about shortening the study for children who are ready and lengthening it for children who are not quite ready. The leader’s guide also has additional scriptures that can be used with children who need further study in a particular area.
I am making this available here for free to any parent who may find it helpful. May God bless you as you study with the children in your life.
I went to the school supply store (I believe you can find them in office supply stores also) and found a spiral notebook that has story paper in it. The top of the page is just white space and then there are a few lines in the last third to use for writing.
During sermon time, whoever was helping her “take notes” would draw pictures about the story or theme of the sermon. My daughter could then spend the rest of the sermon coloring and adding to the drawings if she knew the story.