mlgbug Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 so i read to the kids from the childernsl Bible every evening. Gabriella is soo into the stories.....is there a study / activites to go along with the bible? or like one week we do say Noah, are there stydy guides and activities that can go with it? knwim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillary in KS Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 You know, 4 is so little. We didn't use any sort of curriculum for them. When my dc were that age, we read daily from "Leading Little Ones to God." During the afternoons/ snack time I would read a Bible story while the boys snacked and/or colored a Bible picture. The only "teaching" I did was to ask them questions about the story to make sure they were following. I tried hard to get them to focus on what the Bible account taught us about God. What did we learn about God from Noah's story, etc. But at this age, you're really just trying to teach them about God, His love for them, and to instill a love for His Word in your children. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahv Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 There are alot of free coloring pages type of activities online. A google search would find alot, I think. I've seen quite a bit in my searches, although haven't saved sites. I think MFW Kindergarten has quite a bit of Bible woven right into their curriculum. I like what I've seen so far. Also Heart of Dakota curriculum is centered around Bible study for their early years as well. These programs would give you plenty of activity for Bible learning, I'm sure. Also, a Sunday School curriculum would have lots of activities to go along with bible stories. I know that Abeka has a new Sunday School program, or you could go with your denomination's chosen SS materials. Child Evangelism Fellowship has beautiful materials and activities to go with their materials. They are more non-denominational in their teachings, too. Here is a link to their site: http://cefonline.com/ They have preschool materials as well as older materials. They also have object lessons. In fact, just a general object lesson book would be fun to go through. HTH. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 At this age I wouldn't worry too much about an activity. However, when my dd was that age I wanted activities for her, so I made them a variety of ways. Most days we would read her Bible story and then I would draw her a picture to color or direct her to draw a picture or cartoon, or we'd make something related to the story. For example, we might make a fish out of paper plates just to not be coloring every day, or we might use paint one day or glitter another day. Simple, easy. Another option would be to go to your local Christian bookstore OR look on CBD (Christian Book Distributors) for some general coloring/activity books related to Bible stories. It's not a perfect match for every story, but you'll find much of what you want or need in such a book. http://www.christianbook.com/ Your other option would be to do the youngest level of Explorer's, which does have simple worksheets for young children. They are good worksheets. However, for most 4-year-old children I think coloring pictures and making simple crafts is of more interest (and more memorable) for them. http://www.explorerbiblestudy.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlgbug Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 wow i thought there was so much more. Like Catholic schools....i know me neice is in 1st , which my dd even though 4, she isnt far behind academically and she has her religion book with stories, questions, ect.... something like that even....what they learn in church school... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 wow i thought there was so much more. Like Catholic schools....i know me neice is in 1st , which my dd even though 4, she isnt far behind academically and she has her religion book with stories, questions, ect.... something like that even....what they learn in church school... If you want a more formal curriculum, I can recommend Explorer's or Rod and Staff. I have directed church children's programs for many years, and have trained teachers on how to teach Bible for many years. I also worked in Christian publishing for seven years--some of those years were with a major curriculum publishing house. It's my opinion that most churches--Catholic, Protestant, or otherwise--make the process waaaay more complicated than it needs to be, and the material that is taught is often dumbed down as well. The result is that the great truths of the Bible become diluted and crowded out. For little ones (pre-readers) I recommend keeping it simple. Read Bible stories, pray together, memorize a verse here and there. It's fine to respond to the Bible story with a coloring page or craft of some sort but not necessary. A daily devotional in this manner need only take 15 minutes. It's easy, it's within their attention span, and keeps the process both steady and joy-filled. For early readers I recommend more of a question-answer process, and I really like the way the Explorer's curriculum goes about it. My own ds does a similar Bible study that I wrote--he answers questions every day for a week with my help, then meets with his father for prayer and a bigger discussion. As his reading endurance and fluency builds, I will ease off helping him day to day. Even so, his Bible homework takes just 15-20 minutes a day. In a nutshell, I like to teach middle schoolers HOW to study the Bible--the students I have had learn how to create reports, write Bible study questions, make maps, character studies, and much more. Then as high schoolers they can use their skills to study the great themes of the Bible using adult level materials. At these stages their daily Bible work is more like 45 minutes a day, with older high schoolers going longer at times. At the high school level I advocate separating a daily, personal devotional time as separate from academic Bible research/learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlgbug Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 is there a book of devotionals for children? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 If you're looking for something free, there's some good activities here http://www.dltk-bible.com/ I used to use their materials when I taught the beginners bible class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 is there a book of devotionals for children? There are tons of them. I have used them here and there, but the bulk of my Bible teaching for children has been straight from the Bible. With my own two kids, we took two years to read through Egermeier's Bible Story Book. Then in second grade they plug in to more of a Bible study similar to what Explorer's has to offer. (I have used Explorer's with my own kids as well as materials I wrote myself that are very similar to Explorer's.) One other option to consider would be joining either Bible Study Fellowship or Community Bible study. Both offer wonderful, meaty, daily homework assignments in addition to the weekly meeting. I have seen and used the children's programs for both groups and have a high opinion of their materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Do you belong to a church? If so, ask for a listing of what they are talking about in Sunday School. My kids to Sunday School, Children in Worship (the kids' worship service while the adults are in big church), and AWANA. I got a copy of the schedule from each of those. We spend Mon & Tues on the AWANA story, Wed night at AWANA, Thur & Fri on the SS story, and Sat & Sun on the CIW story. The first night we read the story and review the facts. The second night we review the story and talk about what it was like to be there. ("How do you think Jesus felt when Satan offered Him the world if He would worship Satan?" "How do you think He felt when he was out in the desert for 40 days without food?" Etc.) Before we had AWANA, we just stretched out the church stuff a little longer. Spent 1 day reading from one kid Bible, another day reading from another, etc. Just making sure they understood the story well before they went to church so they would get more out of the church lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 For Catholics, I love this series: http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/Religion/ForLittleOnes/WhoAmIReligionSeries/product_info.html I use this series (although my girls are older now) along with Bible readings. The Catholic Heritage Curricula website above also has many other things for your Catholics. We have tried several others and this has been the most popular with my girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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