For our “every-day” homeschool life, I like to be SIMPLE for Bible lessons. Really simple.
Partly because I think God intended that His Word, brought to the hearts of children, would not be complicated or overwhelming. Partly because most of my homeschool teaching days have been with a nursing baby or busy toddler who need lots of attention as we start our day.
While I shouldn’t get too long-winded for a multi-age group of active students, I do enjoy a measure of depth to a discussion, not just a shallow storyline, but something with “umpf” in it.
Use the Real Bible
By using the actual Bible, even one memory verse read by Daddy, I feel that this carries more LIFE in a Bible-time than reading paragraphs of paraphrasing in a devotional followed by worksheets/workbooks. And if we use a devotional (and there ARE some great ones), we always want to remember to read from the real Bible as well because God’s Word is much more powerful than human writings will ever be (Isaiah 55:11)!
Where in the Bible to Study
Sometimes we go through a section chronologically and other times, topically throughout the Scripture.
Chronological means going in generally sequential order for how things happened in history (e.g. life of David, Genesis 1-11, etc.).
You could read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as separate accounts of the same period of history or find a list that is called “The Harmony of the Gospels” which combines them where they overlap on the same event.
There are also chronological reading plans which combine, for example, some Psalms in with 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. A chronological reading plan that combines finding various places in the Scripture, jumping around, could give more details at once and that could “slow down” a study too much for young attention spans that wants to keep moving onto the next part. Remember that a young mind thrives more on repetition to hear something again the next time through. Deep dives into the details are more beneficial for older students.
If the people are young and/or not yet knowing the overview of what is in the Bible, my suggestion would be to simply keep to how the Bible has been arranged and read it book-by-book. The Bible was, after all, preserved by God, in that arrangement.
Topical means finding out what the Bible teaches about a single topic, throughout the whole of Scripture (e.g. honesty, trees, angels, etc.)
What we study in our family depends on how God leads us as parents. And since we want you to enjoy a similar approach, we don’t put the subject of “Bible” into a scope and sequence in our planning guides. Nor do we consider it a “school subject” to “get done” or “graduate from”. We can offer suggestions and resources to help people study certain topics or specific sections of the Bible, but we are not the ones which lead YOUR home, to tell you “when” to read a certain portion to your kids alongside a scripted or video lesson commentary. God gave the leadership role of teaching the Bible to whom? Not to curriculum producers but rather to parents for their own families. Curriculum producers can only be used in a supplemental role of teaching.
Cross-Referencing
Both chronological and topical studies can include cross-referencing to other verses in the Bible where the event or character or concept is referred to.
Sometimes Bibles have some verses that are cross-referenced with little numbers on the same page. For older students, including parents, who would like more examples of cross-references, there is a book of such lists called “Treasury of Scripture Knowledge” compiled by a team of Bible scholars (1834, public domain).
New to Reading or Teaching the Bible?
Some parents are new believers in Christ. Other parents may not have previous experience in teaching the Bible to children. So “where” might be a good place to start? Here are three suggestions –
- The Gospel of Mark – This is the shortest and most concise account of the life of Jesus on earth, including His death and resurrection. John is also often suggested as one of the first books to read.
- The book of Genesis – This is the book that lays a foundation on the beginning of world history and faith in God.
- The book of Ephesians and/or the book of Philippians – These are short letters written to new believers and have much to say in terms of living a life that pleases the Lord. (Other “epistles” do too but these are two of the ones which have short phrases that children can understand to relate to their world of childhood more easily compared to some of the other epistles, even though all of them are of course good to read.)
Show and Tell
We use our mouths to speak God’s Word to our children.
But we should aim for more than just speaking with our mouths the Word of God. We should apply the wisdom we learn in our actions and attitudes – “hands-on real life” situations!
And sometimes, we can show it also by providing our children visual reminders of God’s truth!
The parents in the nation of Israel were given the following instruction for how to teach their children to know God. These principles are good for us also to remember today:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NKJV
A Contemplation Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments.”
Psalms 78:1-7 NKJV
Post It, Give It
One of the easiest ways to provide a visual reminder of God’s truth is to post up Bible verses in your home and sometimes to write them on a note or bookmark for your child(ren). When you give a gift to your child, consider giving him or her something to see that reminds them of a Bible verse – a poster, a storybook, a craft item with a verse on it, etc..
“Rod” – We see this word sometimes in the Bible. The Psalmist says, “Thy rod and staff they comfort me.” (ch. 23). While there is a figurative meaning to this word, this particular word can mean a literal stick which is used for writing, ruling, walking, etc.… in other words, it’s a general term to include a “variety-of-sizes-and-uses-kinds-of-sticks”. It can mean that a parent writes down something to correct a child who can read what is written from a writing stick pen (like what Solomon did in the book of Proverbs). It can mean that a parent walks along with a child perhaps using walking sticks when the way gets difficult for them, leading him/her with meaningful conversations about the Lord. For example, I think of Abraham and Isaac walking uphill or downhill together.
How can you bring comfort and instruction to your children? Consider writing something down for their sake so that they can read it often. Or talking more about the Lord as you travel together.
Further Thoughts –
Because Christian parents think about teaching the Bible with “something more” than using the Bible, I’ll continue this idea below…
You likely already have considered Bible curriculum programs and wonder if there is a way to keep a “program” more simple than it looks in a pre-packaged schedule for you to put on your list of “things to do”.
I think things can be simpler! Even when with “something more” than just reading the Bible and talking about it.
“Specials”
Think in terms of having occasional “specials” – these are the times when you use a picture or so (e.g. from a book or teaching materials such as flashcards) or take extra time to highlight or mark something in Bibles. Fit these “specials” in ONLY when it matches well in YOUR family’s situation, without the guilt to keep up with this method of teaching consistently all the time!
To me as a parent, it is too overwhelming and unnecessary to prepare to have “specials” frequently in daily family Bible time. But to include “specials” occasionally, now I think this IS doable and effective for teaching and happy memories!
I would not “just ignore having any visuals”. I think visuals CAN be a good thing. Children of all ages love pictures and clear graphics!
I grew up being involved in children’s ministry for many years. (Yes, even as a child, I helped other children to learn about God!) That was exciting and I loved those opportunities to serve! These experiences also gave me a number of ideas of what worked well and what did not for teaching methods and activities, what was longer lasting and what didn’t amount to much after all.
Sometimes, our family uses something more “special” for a Sunday evening at home or Sunday morning if someone isn’t feeling well and misses church.
Sometimes, we have this sort of thing as an extra activity “just because” on a regular day.
But these “specials” are just “sometimes”, not every day all year long.
What are some “specials”?
- One of the easiest “special” is to teach your children to colour-code some Bible verses with ordinary crayons (lightly-coloured or pastel-coloured). I explain this more in this post here.
- In a nutshell, we encourage our children to mark up and write in the margins of their Bibles, rather than journaling because those notes will be seen more often again compared to sentences stored in a notebook on a dusty shelf.
- Marking a Bible is a very simple activity to add to a Bible time and it is longer-lasting in its impact compared to some of the other “specials” we might do!
- Visuals such as drawn pictures, maps, and charts.
- Having access to a Bible atlas or set of maps from that area of the world is quite helpful! Some Bibles come with them already but for children, I prefer having a larger size so that they can find things easier. (See the menu tab “LISTS” for map resource suggestions.)
- Sunday School curriculum publishers often have visual aids which individuals (not just churches) can purchase. Some example places to check for picture flashcards or colouring books to make your own smaller “flashcard” visuals include –
- Bible Visuals International, DiscipleLand, Regular Baptist Press, Union Gospel Press (Mennonite), Abeka Flash-a-cards, Betty Lukens colouring pages and puzzlers (based on her flannelgraph system but can be used separately), Child Evangelism Fellowship (e.g. “Little Kids Can Know” series), Day One Publications’ (England) series called “Bible Colour and Learn”.
- Note: I might use one or more pictures to teach a Bible story BUT, I often do not use the accompanying “script” – I find that those scripts are typically too wordy and also, I know that teaching using my own words to explain something and/or simply just reading God’s Word as the “script” is more effective for learning than droning on and on through paragraphs of material. Learn to especially summarize longer things for younger audiences. My mom, a well-loved Bible teacher for children for many years, called this “learning the art of precis”.
- Some people might include puppets, object lessons (using items found around your own home to demonstrate a concept), worksheets to colour or puzzlers, or even video content, to reinforce a Bible lesson.
- Crafts and Games – a craft that has a point to it which relates strongly to the Bible lesson itself and makes sense. For practicality reasons in a family like ours, I prefer –
- something that is simple to prepare
- perhaps has a bit of a “skill” to it especially if older kids
- something that is more likely to be kept for years to come rather than a quick page that is recycled and forgotten.
- something that has a related Bible verse on it
- something that doesn’t defeat the purpose of the lesson (e.g. think of what you’re actually trying to teach, not just picking out a noun from the passage and illustrating that noun; I wouldn’t want to display a symbol of evil to remind me of a Bible story).
- (I grew up with crafts from Sunday School, Junior Church, camp programs, or my aunt’s VBS weeks and I still have some of the ones I made – they still remind me of Bible lessons I heard years ago!)
- Games, Contests/Challenges – If an activity is relatively easy to prepare for (and manage or clean up), then I might include such occasionally.
When hands-on or visual activities are included in studies, these can provide some “thinking time” for our kids, since doing a related activity reinforces the main ideas of a lesson.