Most Christian kids get very little exposure to the Jewish holidays. Passover of course, because of its ties to the Resurrection and our communion service. If you live in a diverse area, your kids have probably been exposed to Hanukkah also. The rest seem to be a jumble of difficult names and cultural practices which have little meaning to the modern child.
Yet our kids can learn so much from these holidays. These holidays were originally designed to point the Jewish people back to God and remind them of everything God had done for them. More importantly, every holiday points to Jesus. We are not bound to celebrate them any longer, but understanding them and their original celebrations will give our children a richer sense of heritage and appreciation for God’s Plan.
Did you ever stop and think about how many times stars are mentioned in the Bible? Of course there is the creation of the stars, then Abraham being promised as many descendants as the stars and of course the star that led the wise men to Jesus. Those aren’t the only times God sued stars to teach His people something. Stars are actually mentioned several dozen more times in the Bible.
People often ask the best way to encourage their children to begin reading the Bible independently. The first thing to do is to make sure your child has a Bible that is accurate, but still easy to understand. The best one I have found so far is the NIrV version. It’s written on a third grade reading level, but is a translation and not a paraphrase (which can be very inaccurate in my opinion). Until recently, it only came in covers appropriate for young children, but I noticed the last time I was in the bookstore it now comes in covers for adults and even has a student study version.
Summer mornings in many households are much more relaxed than during the school year. Kids (and even parents on occasion!) may get to sleep a little later. Breakfast may be out on a deck or patio and eaten slowly while enjoying the beautiful weather. Many days may have no schedule at all, with family members playing outside, enjoying hobbies or reading fun books.