What's on the Shelf?...Bible Time

WARNING: PICTURE HEAVY!

It is my heart share with you in the next few months many books & resources we use during our "School Time..." 

I always enjoy the resources other's share and I hope you will find something new and helpful here!

Today, I am going to begin with the resources we use for our Bible Time. What a good subject to start with! =)

  The past few years we have focused on Character lessons, Bible stories, getting to know Jesus and his life story, Memorizing scripture, and learning about worship, and prayer.  All of this has been building a wonderful foundation for my children's relationship with the Lord.

The Kinders are Growing! The last few months have shown us that they are now ready to dig a bit deeper into learning more about God and who He is.

In addition to what we have been doing, it's time to add more "deep stuff" to our time with the Lord!

During our Bible time we read, we pray, we talk,.. they ask so many Questions... These  moments are wonderful times for our family...  Sometimes I don't know how to answer these questions.

Some recent questions from the Kinders:

"Who created God? 

How did He just exist? (this makes JT's head hurt)
"Why did God create us if he knew we were going to Sin?"
Will we have all our things in Heaven?
and so many more!

We are phasing out of the younger children's devotional books, and are not quite ready for full on Bible study time....so I found these titles a good fit for our family!

Here are the books we started:

 

 We started this one for our evening time with Dad. It's very well done! We are all enjoying it!  

God's Names By Sally Michael

This is a very simple book, but also been very helpful in our Study. Great for KT's level.

Words About God by Nicholas Choy

We read the Adult version called "Heaven"  several years ago, and LOVED it.

                            This one is also great! It answers many questions the Kinders have.

In a language kids can understand, Randy Alcorn explores Biblical answers to the questions kids often have about heaven. As in the adult title, Heaven, he addresses the difference between the present Heaven, where we go when we die, and the New Earth, where we will live forever with Jesus after he returns. Intended for kids age 8-12. 

Heaven for Kids By Randy Alcorn 

This is one of our morning Devotional books .... is so much fun! We love this book. They are very short but pack a good punch! This book chooses unlikely and sometimes uncommon animals for the lessons. After each lesson we get out the Ipad and I find a you tube video to watch about that animal.  It's great! A great way to once again observe God's amazing hand in all of creation! 

The Big Book of Animal Devotions teaches children about the wonders of God's creation while also using each animal to illustrate a character-development lesson straight from the Bible. Each reading includes a Scripture verse, discussion questions, and a concise nugget of take-away wisdom.

The Big Book of Animal Devotions by William Coleman

This is our other morning book we go back and forth with... They are also really short 1 or 2 page stories, and some longer ones in the back.. They have scripture references, and Q&A after each chapter. We are really enjoying it!  Great book that's part of the Building on the Rock Series.

How God Sent A Dog To Save A Family 

Emma and Alex have had nothing to eat all day and there is no food in the kitchen or the store cupboard. Their mother has no money to buy food and all that she can do is pray that somehow, someone will send them something to eat. But in the morning something is scratching at the door and the children go out to investigate. Find out who or what it is and discover how God has answered the families' prayers. Read other stories too about flying bread, Martha's Raven and the Stolen Sleigh. You will find out about how God cares for us and about how Children can believe in him. Scriptural references are taken from the King James Version of the Bible and the questions are based on this. Suitable for 7-12 year olds.

I do want to note that I have Apologia's World view curriculum, but haven't opened it yet. It seems to go along with what we are doing. ...Who is God?..And Can I really know him?

and Who am I? And What am I doing here?

They also have a coloring book to go along with it for the younger ones (perfect for our Bible Binder)

Following the books above, we will be learning about the Bible (the journey of how it came to be, & how it's in our hands today) How to study the word, Biblical Time line, etc..... 

Each Kinder has a Bible bin in their Workboxes. 

What's in the Workbox?

They keep their Bibles, binder, scripture memory cards,  and other supplies in there. 

Since we are doing multiple books at a time, many of them have activity pages, or I like to find additional coloring pages etc for lessons we do.  This is where I keep them. In their Bible Binders.

It works great!

 I generally print them all off at the beginning of the study/school year.

 Then when it's Bible Time, They grab their bins and are ready to go! Some books I just take right off the binding and whole punch them and put them right in. 

JT received his own Bible last Easter. He wanted a REAL Bible, not a kids bible... (which we did have plenty of). I found this one in Giant print that would help him with his reading. It has worked out so well. He loves it!
 KT has shown she is ready for a larger Bible. I am trying to hold out for Easter, but she is so insistent on one now. =) JT does his own quiet bible reading each morning before school.
He is currently reading the New Testament.

These have really helped my son with our Bible Time. He loves these! I made sure these were not the abbreviated ones, as that would just confuse him more! 

Additional Resources:

To help them bring into perspective all the stories we are learning, I started with this timeline (Especially for KT).
. It is HUGE... we are finding it hard to find space on the wall.. So,for now we just open it up and look at it. I would like to try to put it in a binder. This is a good basic timeline for their age. I am happy with it.

This again is a book to help bring everything into perspective. 

How the Bible came to us 

                  I think this will help JT with understanding more of what we are reading.. It helps me!

The Chronological Study Bible

This is a highly recomended series. I look forward to using this.

                                                     How to Study Your Bible for Kids

                               Guarding the Treasure: How God's People Preserve God's Word 

"To some God gives the gift of courage, to others the skill of invention. Some Christians spend their life in study, others risk their lives to spread God’s Word. Men and women throughout the centuries have travelled far and wide, lived at home, died in prison all because of the Bible. Many have lead and inspired others to discover the truth of God’s Word. They have provided Bibles where there were none. They have taught people to read when they couldn’t. They have even invented alphabets when there were none to begin with. All this with the one aim that people would know God and receive the free offer of salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ. The history of the world is full of battles and swords but in the end it is the spiritual victories won by the pens and printing presses that have left an eternal impact. God has used men and women to spread his truth across the world. Believers and even unbelievers have played their part. When a powerful King learned to read, his people came to understand the true value of God’s Word." Amazon description



I think this is a good start for now!  I will let you know how it goes in the next few months! =)

What's Mama reading?

Family & Bible Time : 

Your Child's Profession of Faith by Dennis Gundersen

Take from Grace and Truth books  Website:
“A Christian parent would sooner die than make a mistake with the soul of his or her child. And yet so often it’s hard to distinguish the stirrings of the Spirit in the soul of a child from their natural curiosity about the things of God that they hear about at church and home. In other words, just because a child starts asking questions about God and the Bible doesn’t necessarily indicate he is close to salvation, but may merely reflect the normal thoughtfulness of a growing child about what he’s learning at church and home. Still, we always want to encourage and nurture any such godward interest as much as possible. Dennis Gundersen’s book can help parents point a child to Christ, and guide them in walking along a biblical path that avoids manipulation and false assurance on the one hand, and presumption and neglect on the other.” 
-- Donald S. Whitney, Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality, Senior Associate Dean of the School of Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky 

This book is still back-ordered from Amazon.. waiting for it! Has anyone read this? What are your thoughts?

The Case for Family Worship: 

An Answer To The Question, Upon What Scripture Grounds And Reasons May Family Worship Be Established And Enforced

                Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally about God with Your Children

God first gave specific instructions for being a parent in Deuteronomy 6. He instructs parents to talk to their children everyday about God and His ways. Everyday Talk offers practical, creative ways to do that. Learn how to use ordinary conversations to show your kids the goodness and wisdom of God. With clear biblical teaching, John Younts illustrates how to lead your children into a greater awareness of the presence and glory of God. Amazon description




What Bible study tools do you use for your Family?