Honey Bee Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I'm curious about how and when your kiddos start reading the Bible on their own. Do they use a devotional or a reading plan. Maybe they use the R&S nurture readers. What are you doing to establish that quiet time/discipleship in your childrens lives? BTW, I've got a 1st (emerging) and 2nd grader (reading on level w/ his VP stuff this year) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I'm curious about how and when your kiddos start reading the Bible on their own. Do they use a devotional or a reading plan. Maybe they use the R&S nurture readers. What are you doing to establish that quiet time/discipleship in your childrens lives? BTW, I've got a 1st (emerging) and 2nd grader (reading on level w/ his VP stuff this year) Thanks! My 18 yo, 15 you and 11 yo, read a proverb each day, plus my 18 and 15 read 1 chapter of OT and one of NT. I start them doing this when they are capable of reading their own Bibles and understand what they are reading. Before that they read Bible storybooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My son reads the Bible on his own...He has his own Bible that he reads and he also has the R&S grade 4 Reader that is very Bible based...He is 10 and started wanting to read the Bible on his own last year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) Melissa, My 8 year old is following a Bible reading schedule contained in the back of the Bible he used for Adventures in My Father's World this year. This is the one! I made a photocopy of the schedule for him. He reads for 10 minutes and then marks off the passages that he read in that time. He also works on his memory verses (Psalm 1 right now). I make him a memory work card and put it in a library pocket that is adhered inside the front cover of his Bible. Then he does copy work in a composition notebook; a couple of lines up to a verse, depending upon length. He is doing Psalm 1 right now. Lastly, he is reading through A Faith to Grow On by John MacArthur. It is perfect for his age/reading level. After he reads the lesson (and looks up the verses that are a part of it) he narrates to me. This is basically sharing some of what he is reading & learning from his devotional. All in all this takes about 20 minutes of his day and is his "personal quiet time" time. I do ask him to pray too :). He professes faith in Christ and so this seems appropriate to require of him . . . it's a process for sure! The nice thing is that he enjoys it and doesn't complain about any part of what he is doing. When he is finished with his reading schedule from the "special Bible" (which we have loved) he'll begin these schedules here and here. I'm trying these "schedules" to better manage what he is reading and avoid the more "scandalous" stories of the Old Testament and the more difficult prophetic books. This is working very well for him right now and is subject to change without notice!! :lol: My 6 year old is reading quite well for his age and I'm pleased with his progress. He WANTS to read through the Bible and we've had him read one story a day in The Beginner's Bible. He now wants to use the same Bible that his older brother is using (he does have one) and I think he can do some of it. We're dealing with that right now. When he read through The Beginner's Bible he narrated to me by telling me what the story was about (basically, the title) and two or three things (facts) from the story. It took about 5 minutes TOPS and was just right for him developmentally :). I think my preference is for him to read through The Jesus Storybook Bible next. That is a fun Bible story book and both of the boys would enjoy it. It may be an interlude for DS8 when he's finished with his current reading schedule. :) Edited March 9, 2011 by abrightmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My ds(7.5) reads out of a NKJV bible for his weekly memory verses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Good question :001_smile: My oldest five kids read their own Bibles in the mornings, usually before breakfast. Dd8 has just read through Mark and has now started on Genesis. Dd10 is reading through Matthew at the moment (I think...), dd12 is reading Matthew as well, and the older two are using some of their SL Bible materials as well as their own choice of Bible books to read through. I like to draw a distinction between what is 'required' as Bible study for their school work and what is 'devotional' and relationship building between them and God. The older kids choose to do their own readings as well as their SL studies because they understand this difference.... so I'm pleased with that. I still read Bible with ds6 because his reading is not good enough to do it on his own yet. As for establishing that habit in their lives, when my older kids were younger, I would intentionally set aside a time in the morning for individual Bible time and we would all go to a quiet spot in the house to have time with God while I would read to the youngest. The habit has really grown from there, I guess. As each child became a 'reader' they blended into the 'have your Bible time before breakfast' routine. I have generally found that my dc prefer to just read the Bible than to follow a devotional. They didn't really like the gimmicky pop-culture style that some kid's devotionals can have. But that was just their preference - I'm sure there are some who gain a lot from having a devotional. Dd14 is using a devotional now that is written for women and she seems to enjoy that. We also have a family Bible time at breakfast where we read and discuss more discipleship and character issues, pray for each other etc. I believe it has to be so much more than a school subject if it is to be part of their lives. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristiana Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) Just recently we have started having personal scripture study time, all at the same time, at the beginning of our school day. 15 minutes generally, and both my 7.5 and 10 yos are currently reading the New Testament (KJV) on their own. I will read to my 6yo in the Scripture Readers published by our church at some other point in the day. Although I'd really like to do better at having my own study very first thing in the morning, right now I do my own study at the same time as everyone else so I set the example of prayer and scripture study. My goal is to get everyone in the habit of personal study first thing in the morning on their own, but we're starting the habit together for now. And it's been a wonderful start to our day! We also do group scripture study as a part of school, usually after personal study time. We also memorize scriptures and I make sure everyone understands what they mean so they can internalize them. Edited March 9, 2011 by Kristiana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Bee Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 I believe it has to be so much more than a school subject if it is to be part of their lives. HTH Yep, that's what I'm wrestling with. I really want my kids to fall in love with the Bible and I want to give them enough without it being "just a subject" or beat to death. Then of course there's the actual "doing" which I am looking forward to doing more of! Melissa, My 8 year old is following a Bible reading schedule contained in the back of the Bible he used for Adventures in My Father's World this year. This is the one! I made a photocopy of the schedule for him. He reads for 10 minutes and then marks off the passages that he read in that time. He also works on his memory verses (Psalm 1 right now). I make him a memory work card and put it in a library pocket that is adhered inside the front cover of his Bible. Then he does copy work in a composition notebook; a couple of lines up to a verse, depending upon length. He is doing Psalm 1 right now. Lastly, he is reading through A Faith to Grow On by John MacArthur. It is perfect for his age/reading level. After he reads the lesson (and looks up the verses that are a part of it) he narrates to me. This is basically sharing some of what he is reading & learning from his devotional. All in all this takes about 20 minutes of his day and is his "personal quiet time" time. I do ask him to pray too :). He professes faith in Christ and so this seems appropriate to require of him . . . it's a process for sure! The nice thing is that he enjoys it and doesn't complain about any part of what he is doing. This is great stuff! I really feel this is weakness right now for us. I'm glad I asked this Q. When he is finished with his reading schedule from the "special Bible" (which we have loved) he'll begin these schedules here and here. I'm trying these "schedules" to better manage what he is reading and avoid the more "scandalous" stories of the Old Testament and the more difficult prophetic books. This is working very well for him right now and is subject to change without notice!! :lol: I just looked up these schedules today! Great minds must think alike. :D My 6 year old is reading quite well for his age and I'm pleased with his progress. He WANTS to read through the Bible and we've had him read one story a day in The Beginner's Bible. He now wants to use the same Bible that his older brother is using (he does have one) and I think he can do some of it. We're dealing with that right now. When he read through The Beginner's Bible he narrated to me by telling me what the story was about (basically, the title) and two or three things (facts) from the story. It took about 5 minutes TOPS and was just right for him developmentally :). I think my preference is for him to read through The Jesus Storybook Bible next. That is a fun Bible story book and both of the boys would enjoy it. It may be an interlude for DS8 when he's finished with his current reading schedule. :) Thank you ladies for all these responses. Can you include the ages of your kids and the expectations of them at that age? :D I think this is going to be a very helpful thread for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My kids do some bible reading on their own as a part of their Awana studies, but we're also reading the bible together as a family. We're using one of the "Bible in a Year" bibles and it's been really nice. The tough part is that the OT is not for the faint of heart and there is a lot of discussion about what things mean b/c of the adult content within. I would not be comfortable letting my kids read it alone at their ages (10 & 11). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Country Mama Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My dd is 6 and has her own Bible in the NIV Early Reader's version (nothing's left out; the vocabulary is just simplified). I don't yet have a particular time scheduled for her to read, but she loves reading it and spends a great deal of time every day totally lost in it on her own. For example, I let her read it at the table during breakfast; she also has it on her night stand to read during the night if she's scared. What a joy it's been seeing her knowledge of God and his Word exploding these past few months! She is currently finishing up memorizing The Lord's Prayer, and will do Psalm 23 next--we work on memorizing Scripture off and on throughout the day, so it has become a natural part of our lives. I'm memorizing some passages myself, and she loves it when I say my verses to her (especially when I mess up :D). One of my favorite childhood memories is getting up in the morning to see my mother out on the beach with her Bible--nobody for miles, just my mother, her Bible, and the huge, ocean-like vastness of God. Today I do my Bible study from 7-8am, so my kids always see me alone with the Bible when they get up too. It may be a messy school desk instead of a gorgeous, golden beach, but I pray it will be a powerful motivator for them anyway. The strongest lesson I can teach them is by letting them see God's Word at work in my own heart. In our home, I pray and work toward the Bible being such an integral part of our daily lives that the weird, awkward times are when we're NOT studying or talking about it! (And no, we're not there yet, especially while ds is teething, which is proving to be a very, er, special opportunity for spiritual growth for me.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2boys030507 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 This is an area that I have always struggled with in our homeschooling. At the beginning of Jan. I had the boys start reading a psalm out loud to me each day. Then, they copy one verse into their Psalm's notebook. Currently we are on Psalm 28 - having copied all of Psalm 23 into a scroll form. This has been really good for my boys. They are excited when they see other Psalms referrenced in their AWANA books, and they love to pick out verses that mention praising God. It also gives them practice reading outloud which we needed because they both read at a high level and don't like reading parts of stories to me out loud. The ideas in this thread are great. I am not sure where we will go after reading through all of the Psalms - it will take a while. I also want to develop the desire and habit of reading their bible for their relationship with God daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillary in KS Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My now 15 yods reads his Bible daily. It's the first thing he does after breakfast each day. He does this on his own, and has since he was 10 or 11. He started by doing the "Daily Bread" devotionals alongside his reading, but about 2 years ago he stopped using the Daily Bread and just reads his Bible and prays. My 7 yo and 10 yo still do devotionals with me ("Leading Little Ones to God" and "Training Hearts, Teaching Minds," respectively). But my 10 yo is transitioning to reading the Bible independently. I think one of the biggest influences in this is that the boys see their Dad reading his Bible often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My dd reads her Bible during our family devotional time, just a few verses at a time, but next year I am going to use the reading plan from this website. http://www.myhandsonbible.com/ You have to create an account (no payment necessary) to have access to the Bible reading plan and some other free things on the site. The reading plan is kind of neat because it includes a devotional question for the kid to think about while they are reading the passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Mine read through the Vos Bible in 1st and 2nd, some with me and some alone. Then wwhen they are reading well, usually by 2nd or 3rd grade, they start reading a NKJV or similar. My 3rd grader is expected to read for quiet time each day, and he is working through the NT. By 6th grade or so, they are expected to read through the Bible once a year. We do family Bible study and school Bible study separately from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritsumei Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Right now, I'm reading the scriptures to both of my boys. We use the KJV, and Monkey (4.5) likes it when I "stop and go and stop and go." Which means he wants me to stop about every verse and explain what's going on. I've got a reading chart where we color in a box for every chapter for each of them, which will go probably in scrapbooks when they're finished. The plan is for this reading to develop into personal study as they become older, and Monkey knows that this is their personal study, distinct from our family reading we do in the evenings just before bed, but I anticipate that the transition will take a long time. I know a lot of people do well with reading right away in the morning, but our track record with an evening routine is WAY better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I'm easing my 7-year old into independent Bible reading. She has her own NiRV and I get her to read me one column of text aloud each day. We talk about it together etc. She REALLY likes the name/geneaology lists?? :P I'm not giving her a full reading schedule, because I don't want reading the Bible to be tedious! We were reading The Beginner's Bible storybook until she decided it was too baby-ish and wanted the real thing :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdalley Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 My oldest and middle read their Bibles quite a bit. Though I had to assign my middle son some New Testament reading after he got stuck in Exodus almost as long as the Israelites wandered the desert and started saying things like 'I am burning with anger against you!' to me and his brothers. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 my daughter reads her bible everyday as part of school. the bible our church gave to her is an NIV translation. however, her devotional bible that she reads daily is contemporary english version. this is it: http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Devotional-Contemporary-English-Version/dp/0840712731/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299793401&sr=8-1 it's more simplistic than her reading level, but i feel it allows her to have full comprehension. she reads it effortlessly & seems to really enjoy it. hth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotsofpumpkins Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My 3rd grader reads a chapter out of her NIrV Bible each school day, and then checks it off on a printout I gave her that lists all the chapters individually. She also reads R&S 3rd grade reader. My 2nd grader isn't quite ready for the independent reading, so he reads his R&S 2nd grade reader to me. As a group, we read Leading Little Ones to God and the corresponding scripture. In 2010 I read the entire Bible to them (at bedtime); I might start that again sometime too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 We did the Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes (Kenneth Taylor) when she was little and then went into the Read n Grow Picture Bible from Zondervan (fabulous, love both books). Those built basic Bible familiarity. As soon as she could read for herself, I gave her an NIrV (NIV brought down to a lower reading level) and encouraged her to read for herself nightly, which she did. Later I gave her an NASB. I think I did a bit too soon, as it wasn't a perfect transition. I may, with ds, go directly into the ESV, which is sort of mid-way for reading level. However the NIrV was really good for us. It got her reading, had a large comfortable font, etc. Now I haven't read that version for myself, and someone said she got it and didn't like the way something was translated. Not that it was wrong per se but just that it was a bit more exact (think passages where things could be embarrasingly precise) than she preferred. Whatever. It's in the Bible, and they'll learn sooner or later. Not like she remembers every word she read there anyway, lol. The point is she learned to love the Word of God and developed a habit of reading. There are online resources to tell you the reading levels of each version. NIrV is very appropriate for the young reader. I think the NIV is lowest after that, then by difficulty ESV, NASB, KJV. I've known some kids who went directly into the NASB as new readers, but I tend to think those kids are unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My children have read Children's Bibles, various sorts of devotionals, and Bibles on their own from later elementary onward. I plan a variety of Bible related activities as part of school time during the year, as well as encouraging reading and prayer time on their own. I think seeing us model those things is the most helpful for them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancyb Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 One of my favorite childhood memories is getting up in the morning to see my mother out on the beach with her Bible--nobody for miles, just my mother, her Bible, and the huge, ocean-like vastness of God. Today I do my Bible study from 7-8am, so my kids always see me alone with the Bible when they get up too. It may be a messy school desk instead of a gorgeous, golden beach, but I pray it will be a powerful motivator for them anyway. The strongest lesson I can teach them is by letting them see God's Word at work in my own heart. QUOTE] Thank you for this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Bee Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 I think seeing us model those things is the most helpful for them.... Absolutely! I just want to say thank you to all who have responded. You all (I'd rather use Ya'll :D) have inspired me. I did find a list of Bibles by reading levels here. Thanks OhElizabeth, for that suggestion that's going to help a lot. Now I just need to get to a education store and check them out! I have been thinking of starting him next year with the R&S readers, but he (my oldest) reads fairly well, he's enjoying Homer Price at the moment. He does well with literature I should say. I don't put much non-fiction, besides science books around him yet. I am really trying to balance how my son spends his personal time with God and how much I "teach" him. This is one place I don't want to push too hard or keep changing with the wind. So I'll be fleshing those things out and talking to the hubby. I love your ideas and inspiration. Thanks again for all! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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