August: Reading God's word
Psalms 1 This month’s scripture describes a person who is whole and complete because of their rootedness in God’s word. We all want wholeness for our children - but how do we give them a start on that in their early years? In this month’s practice, we encourage parents and caregivers to start them out with a good story Bible, read regularly, with space for conversation and curiosity.
Pray It
God, thank you for your stories. Thank you for all the people who have been part of your big story. Help us to grow and learn as we read your story and become part of it. In Jesus’ name, Amen
God, thank you for your stories. Thank you for all the people who have been part of your big story. Help us to grow and learn as we read your story and become part of it. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Do It - Find a good story Bible and begin a habit of reading it!
Finding your story Bible
Not all story Bibles are the same! Here are some things to pay attention to:
* Is the passage descriptive rather than prescriptive? Any time an author rewrites a passage from scripture, interpretation is involved. But some writers take much more liberty with the text than others! Look for a Bible that is descriptive (naming the characters, action and emotion of the story) rather than prescriptive (adding things that are not there or naming a moral to the story - a “so what”). Read Genesis 1-2 and compare it to the first story in the story Bible, and you’ll get a good idea of what follows!
* What stories are included? Are there stories of women and children? Reading a story Bible that rarely mentions these groups can be detrimental to a child’s faith development. Also pay attention to where the story “ends.” For some reason, many story Bibles end with the ascension of Jesus, completely leaving out the rich stories of the early church.
* How is God portrayed? The Bible as a whole is rich in metaphors for God, metaphors that include both masculine and feminine aspects of God’s character. If God is only portrayed in one way, this may not be the story Bible for you. Again, limiting a child’s vision of God can stunt their development.
* Do the pictures show God’s creativity? In other words, are the people multicultural? Realistically, all the people in the Bible were most likely dark-skinned, so all-white illustrations are a bit of a problem. In the best story Bibles, children can see themselves and all God’s children on the pages of the book.
Our favorite recommendation: Shine On from MennoMedia.
Habitual Reading
Bedtime stories are a great way to end the day. While finding another time in the day certainly works as well, many people find bedtime to be a great time for daily Bible story reading.
1. Reading one story per day, read your way through the whole story Bible. When you’re all the way through, maybe you want to read it again - or maybe your family wants to take turns choosing a story each day. Be prepared: your child may choose the same story every single day. See below for why this is!
2. Read with expression. Bring it to life! You may feel like a dork, but it’s worth it.
3. As you read the story, model noticing things and asking questions. Then when your child does the same, honor their thoughts. They’re doing theology!
4. When your child asks a question, explore it together. You don’t have to have the answers. And if you model being okay with not having an answer, you’re making their path of lifelong faith much easier.
5. Most stories make us think of things in our own lives. That’s great! And if that doesn’t happen, reading the story is still worthwhile. There doesn’t have to always be a “take-away” for the Bible to be worth reading.
6. As your children get older, start reading the stories from their story Bible in the actual Bible. Notice the differences and let that spark conversation. Story Bibles are fantastic - but they aren’t the Bible, and it’s important for all of us to know the difference.
Finding your story Bible
Not all story Bibles are the same! Here are some things to pay attention to:
* Is the passage descriptive rather than prescriptive? Any time an author rewrites a passage from scripture, interpretation is involved. But some writers take much more liberty with the text than others! Look for a Bible that is descriptive (naming the characters, action and emotion of the story) rather than prescriptive (adding things that are not there or naming a moral to the story - a “so what”). Read Genesis 1-2 and compare it to the first story in the story Bible, and you’ll get a good idea of what follows!
* What stories are included? Are there stories of women and children? Reading a story Bible that rarely mentions these groups can be detrimental to a child’s faith development. Also pay attention to where the story “ends.” For some reason, many story Bibles end with the ascension of Jesus, completely leaving out the rich stories of the early church.
* How is God portrayed? The Bible as a whole is rich in metaphors for God, metaphors that include both masculine and feminine aspects of God’s character. If God is only portrayed in one way, this may not be the story Bible for you. Again, limiting a child’s vision of God can stunt their development.
* Do the pictures show God’s creativity? In other words, are the people multicultural? Realistically, all the people in the Bible were most likely dark-skinned, so all-white illustrations are a bit of a problem. In the best story Bibles, children can see themselves and all God’s children on the pages of the book.
Our favorite recommendation: Shine On from MennoMedia.
Habitual Reading
Bedtime stories are a great way to end the day. While finding another time in the day certainly works as well, many people find bedtime to be a great time for daily Bible story reading.
1. Reading one story per day, read your way through the whole story Bible. When you’re all the way through, maybe you want to read it again - or maybe your family wants to take turns choosing a story each day. Be prepared: your child may choose the same story every single day. See below for why this is!
2. Read with expression. Bring it to life! You may feel like a dork, but it’s worth it.
3. As you read the story, model noticing things and asking questions. Then when your child does the same, honor their thoughts. They’re doing theology!
4. When your child asks a question, explore it together. You don’t have to have the answers. And if you model being okay with not having an answer, you’re making their path of lifelong faith much easier.
5. Most stories make us think of things in our own lives. That’s great! And if that doesn’t happen, reading the story is still worthwhile. There doesn’t have to always be a “take-away” for the Bible to be worth reading.
6. As your children get older, start reading the stories from their story Bible in the actual Bible. Notice the differences and let that spark conversation. Story Bibles are fantastic - but they aren’t the Bible, and it’s important for all of us to know the difference.
Read It Psalms 1:1-41
Explore it: A Note from Tami
Young children’s emergent literacy development was the focus for all of my research during graduate school. One thing that stood out to me the most through all of the research findings was the value of quality interactions between the child and adult. Children benefit much more if we explore the book together with give and take, responding to them, rather than approach the story time with a “listen now, I’m teaching you” approach.
Following are some useful sources concerning aspects of this Building Faith entry on Reading God's Word with young children:
Choosing a story Bible
* What to consider when selecting a story Bible; This source contains 12 suggested story Bibles. It describes the differences between full Bible and story Bible -(paraphrased and condensed) and suggests discussion questions.
Benefits of reading to children in general.
* Toddler Reading Time Topics include benefits of reading to toddlers; when and how to read to toddlers; choosing books; easy ways to keep books available; “sitting still is not required”
* Reading to Children: Why it’s so important and when to start. Provides excellent tips for ways to engage children with books and to select books for different ages.
How/why kids like the same stories over and over
* There’s a reason your child wants to read the same book over and over again
A preference for familiarity, rather than novelty, is commonly reported at young ages, and reflects an early stage in the learning process. ... Your child's age affects the rate at which they will learn and remember information from your shared book-reading.
* Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens. Bible Story videos and ebooks have their place, but paper books are the most valuable. “Research also found that the more devices a child had access to, the less they read in general. It suggests that providing children with eReading devices can actually inhibit their reading, and that paper books are often still preferred by young people.”
Sometimes ads for various things show up on links. We are not promoting these items. However, we’ve chosen to include these websites and blogs simply because finding sites without any links is difficult and the sites we select do have valuable content. Feel free to ignore the ads!
Young children’s emergent literacy development was the focus for all of my research during graduate school. One thing that stood out to me the most through all of the research findings was the value of quality interactions between the child and adult. Children benefit much more if we explore the book together with give and take, responding to them, rather than approach the story time with a “listen now, I’m teaching you” approach.
Following are some useful sources concerning aspects of this Building Faith entry on Reading God's Word with young children:
Choosing a story Bible
* What to consider when selecting a story Bible; This source contains 12 suggested story Bibles. It describes the differences between full Bible and story Bible -(paraphrased and condensed) and suggests discussion questions.
Benefits of reading to children in general.
* Toddler Reading Time Topics include benefits of reading to toddlers; when and how to read to toddlers; choosing books; easy ways to keep books available; “sitting still is not required”
* Reading to Children: Why it’s so important and when to start. Provides excellent tips for ways to engage children with books and to select books for different ages.
How/why kids like the same stories over and over
* There’s a reason your child wants to read the same book over and over again
A preference for familiarity, rather than novelty, is commonly reported at young ages, and reflects an early stage in the learning process. ... Your child's age affects the rate at which they will learn and remember information from your shared book-reading.
* Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens. Bible Story videos and ebooks have their place, but paper books are the most valuable. “Research also found that the more devices a child had access to, the less they read in general. It suggests that providing children with eReading devices can actually inhibit their reading, and that paper books are often still preferred by young people.”
Sometimes ads for various things show up on links. We are not promoting these items. However, we’ve chosen to include these websites and blogs simply because finding sites without any links is difficult and the sites we select do have valuable content. Feel free to ignore the ads!
