As the United States buckles down and stays home with their children for the foreseeable future, we hope this list of our favorite kid discipling tools will be helpful. While the coronavirus will end eventually, discipling our children and introducing them to a relationship with Jesus from an early age will continue on. We hope some of our favorite tools will inspire you and your kids as you take advantage of this extra time together!
Easter Can Come Early (and Every Day)
With only two weeks-ish left until Easter we took down our Saint Patrick’s Day decorations down this week and immediately put up our “Happy Easter” Banners and our “He Has Risen” signs. We hope you’re getting ready for the greatest celebration we have as Christians, too. Here are our favorite Easter resources, because honestly we should be celebrating all year around.
Resurrection Eggs: This take on the traditional plastic Easter egg, but with each one holding a symbol of the story of Jesus’ journey to and from the Cross is the PERFECT way to illustrate the gospel. We use these eggs with our own kids and also all the neighbor kids and anyone else who shows up for our Annual Easter Egg hunt.
The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross: Sure this is a kids book, but it also beautifully and simply paints God’s plan from Adam and Eve, through the Jewish Law all the way to the Cross. It’s a favorite for every age. You need this in your family library.
Sunday Everyday School
Finding a time each day to intentionally spend time talking to our children about Jesus is something we should all be doing. What better time when everything else has literally been canceled? Whether its over breakfast or right before bed or somewhere in between. Find what fits your family best and set aside some time to disciple your children. Here are some great devotionals and books to read with your kiddos to get you started.
The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings us Back to the Garden and its board book for littles counterpart The Biggest Story ABC are great overviews of the Bible. Not quite a traditional “Bible Story” book but perfect for those with short attention spans who want the “big picture” before going deeper. (These books also make great Easter gifts.) (Ages 0-7)
The Radical Book for Kids: Exploring the Roots and Shoots of Faith: I LOVE this book! It takes really complicated topics that honestly I’m scared to tackle with my kids and breaks them down into really easy to understand bites. Full disclosure we’ve used parts of this book in our house church with adults because sometimes we could all use so easy-to-understand explanations. A chapter of this book a day would be the perfect “homeschool” elective. ( Ages 6+)
Everyone a Child Should Know: I pulled this book out on Saint Patrick’s Day because one of the 52 people this book covers was, you guessed it, “Patrick”. With a one page little bio of 52 incredible men and women of God, you and your kid will get a really great head start on learning about missionaries, pastors, scientists and martyrs who have gone before. This book is another perfect place to start in a daily or weekly devotion with your kids. Just read the small bio and talk about it, or go deeper and do your own research on these incredible saints who have gone before. ( Ages 5+)
100 Devotions for Kids About God and Science: My 3rd grader has enjoyed reading this devotional that is riddled with cool science facts that kids love to store up and spout out when you’re in the middle of an important conference call. But bonus it also teaches a solid understanding of Jesus. While my kid reads these to himself, I think they’d also work well for family devotions. The best part is when they start sharing what they’ve learned with people outside your home (and not just you on your important call)! (Ages 8-13)
Bibles for our Babies
It is never too early to get your kids into the Word of God. Starting with the Bible stories we all know and love and then straight into the Word. We know there are lots of great options on this front, but this is what I use with our kids.
Jesus Story Book Bible: We started reading this to our kids when they were 2 or 3 but continued on until they had technically “outgrown” it because, full disclosure, I’ll probably keep reading it long after all my kids are grown. The introduction alone makes me cry and the beautiful way the author ties each and every Old Testament story to Jesus is perfection. If you don’t own this book: Jump on this train. (Ages 2+)
The Action Bible: This comicbook version of the Bible is surprisingly extensive (including almost every Bible Story) and is very detailed in its fact reporting. It is great for capturing your child’s attention, but leaves it up to the parent to help connect dots regarding the meaning and lesson behind any given story. This is a great “pre-reader” Bible although I catch even the older kids looking at it often. Bonus: We’ve used this for ESL friends who we are trying to share the gospel with as well! ( Ages 7+)
NIrV Bible: After extensive research boardering on obsessive, this was the version we chose to give our oldest when he started asking for a “Real” Bible. Now, at the time he could barely read (he was in kindergarten) but we knew one day he would start reading it. This version met my criteria for not butchering the meaning and wording but also being much easier to read (the small r stands for “readers” version) for when my kids *do* read it for themselves. But it also had a million zillion colors and designs to chose for those who really are just carrying the Bible around for a year or two and need something fun to look at! haha!
There is too much, let me sum up…
A few other resources I would be remiss not to share is a fun new little company for great Bible themed items for toddlers plus even some great free coloring sheets for the older kiddos! His Kid Company
She Reads Truth also has a great supply of Bible studies for kids that are beautifully produced. We loved their Advent Conversations cards this last year, and I currently have my eye on their “This is the Gospel” book and bonus if you sign up for their newsletter they will send you their Matthew study FREE! Kids Read Truth
I also love The Daily Grace Co. and their gorgeous supply of verse packs, boardbooks, coloring books and conversation cards for kids (although their adult products are also super great). I keep some of their products in my gift closet all the time for a quick gift.
Alright, surely that’s enough for now, right? I honestly can’t stop sharing! This is definitely one of my favorite topics and I hope you’ll all share your own favorite books and bibles with us too! So glad we can take this opportunity to focus on our kiddos. They are the most important disciples we have been given!
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