We want to instill a passionate love for God in our kids. We want them to absorb His Word into their minds so solidly that ungodly things hold no appeal to them. We want their hearts to be so aware of His presence and power that they continually seek to hear His voice.
But how do I teach my kids to pursue God for themselves?
How Do I Teach My Kids to Pursue God? – TODDLERS, PRESCHOOLERS, AND KINDERGARTNERS
The highest recommendation I can give for a resource for younger ages belongs to the Jesus Bible Storybook. It is so simply and beautifully written that it has brought me to tears more than once. The way the author wove the story of God’s love for us through the entire book is unparalleled in any other children’s book I have found. It is a seamless story of His enormous love from beginning to end, and as a result gives a much clearer picture for small people to grasp, instead of using the predictably chopped-up method of telling stories that most Bible storybooks do.
(Honest confession: I wasn’t thrilled with the illustrations in this one at first, and almost missed this resource because I avoid things with cartoon type drawings/illustrations. I’m so glad I gave it a chance! It’s hands down my favorite Bible story book I’ve used with any of my kids.)
Because our brains learn and remember anything better when it’s set to music, I have to recommend Cedarmont Kids music. The songs are simple, easily learned, available in both audio and video forms, and some even have hand/body motions, as well.
Our brains also learn and remember things better when we learn during play. We have loved doing Bible-related arts and crafts, and using toys like the Fisher Price nativity set.
My biggest goal for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners is to give reminders throughout our day that God is present, and that He loves us. A few simple examples for how I do this:
- When we hear sirens from emergency vehicles, we always pause to pray. We pray for the people who need help, and for the men and women who are rushing to help them.
- When someone tumbles and gets an owie, we pause to pray.
- When we hear that a friend is sick, we pause to pray.
I want my littles to be firm in their knowledge that He is near, and that He cares. And that they can call on Him about anything.
How Do I Teach My Kids to Pursue God? – YOUNG READERS
But how do I teach my kids to pursue God for themselves, when they are moving past the point of listening to us read Bible stories at bedtime? The more we know about Him, the more we WANT to know about Him. But what tools do they need to learn in order to study His Word for themselves?
Here are some simple tools and ideas to help your kids in their journey toward God. I include tools for:
- Learning the layout of the Bible and how to find things
- Learning HOW to study the Bible
- Developing a life of prayer
- BIBLE MEMORIZATION – Try several memorization techniques until you find one that works well for your child. Any verses we commit to memory as a child stay with us throughout our lifetime.
Use voice inflection to create interest in the passage, and make the flow of words easier to memorize. There’s no need for the Bible to be boring.
Use hand gestures as a tactile tool for learning passages more easily. “Acting” out the passage can be very helpful – for instance, “walking” your fingers when there is a word like “road,” “path,” “way,” or “walking.” Or flex arm muscles when there’s a verse about God’s power or might or strength.
Memorize one verse at a time, then put the passage together as a whole. This method works well for short to mid-sized passages.
Read through the entire passage once per day, read one verse three times through, then try to say that verse from memory. The next day, focus on the next verse. Keep going until the entire passage is easily said from memory. This method works well for mid-sized passages.
When memorizing a very long passage, memorize in groups of five verses. As in, learn each of the first five verses individually, then practice until all five verses can be said in sequence. Then move on to the next five verses. Once your child is confident in saying each group of five verses, put the groups of five together.
2. JOURNALING – What I wish I had known as a child: There is no “right” way to journal. And you don’t have to decide on a format before you begin. Each entry can be a different format, and serve equally important in pursuing a relationship with God.
Copy Scripture – use a black pen, use a colored pen, use a marker, use a colored pencil, use multiple colors. Try outlining key words, or highlighting. It can be as simple or as detailed as you wish.
Illustrate Scripture – Draw a picture to show what you’ve read. Sketch how you will apply what you’ve read. Write the verse, then do a watercolor picture over the top of the words.
Paraphrase Scripture (put it in your own words)
Write out a prayer – Tell God your thoughts, ask Him for what you need, thank Him for what He’s done and who He is, or write out a prayer for yourself (or someone else) based on Scripture you just read.
Journal a response to Scripture – How you will live out what you’ve read, how you feel about what you read, your thoughts about how people behaved in the passage, something you think you need to work on in yourself, or something to praise God for.
3. BASIC BIBLE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE – Awareness of Bible layout is foundational for everything else.
Memorizing the books of the Bible is essential. It helps with understanding the timeline of the Bible, and it makes it SO much easier/faster for finding your way around. I created a colorful set of printable flashcards to help with this.
Familiarity with the divisions of the Bible is helpful, too. Not just Old Testament and New Testament, but the law, the prophets, the poetry, the Gospels, the letters to churches, etc.
Two more tools that are worth learning how to use at young ages are Bible maps and a concordance. Comparing Bible maps with current maps is helpful for understanding where stories took place, as well as understanding the culture and geography. And a concordance is helpful for when you want to find a specific verse, person, story, or theme, and you can’t remember where it is located. You will also need concordance skills for finding multiple passages that cover the same theme, or person, or topic – or related themes.
4. LEARNING HOW TO STUDY – There’s no better method I’m aware of than teaching kids how to ask questions, and how to find answers. (And while devotional books have their place, this is not something that devotional books teach.)
Start with why. From the time my kids were tiny, and in that seemingly endless stage of “why, mom?” I have reinforced the concept of “because God said so, and here’s why He said that.” I use every opportunity I can to explain the WHY behind God’s laws – “Because He loves us and wants what is best for us.”
When my five year olds started “trying on” lying to see if it would get them out of trouble, I was far less concerned about the lying (after all, lying is entirely developmentally appropriate for a five year old) than I was about explaining why lying was harmful. So instead of punishing them, I told them why it made mommy and God sad when they told lies. I told them how it would mean they couldn’t be trusted, and how it would hurt people they love, and how it would hurt THEM. And I reminded them over and over again that God loves us and wants what is best for us.
By the time they could read on their own, I made sure they solidly understood that we find out how God wants us to live by reading His Word.
Teach them how to ask good questions. Questions don’t always lead to the answers you are expecting. If they do, we’re asking the wrong questions. When questions come directly from our own biases, when our questions assume we already know the answer, we end up taking things out of context – and therefore coming to the wrong conclusions.
This is one reason I feel very strongly that Bible studies should ALWAYS point to Scripture for finding answers, and this is exactly why I have created the Kids Bible Studies the way that I have. I try very hard to keep my own views and opinions and thoughts out of the questions, and always ALWAYS point them to God’s Word to find the answers. My commentary is not needed.
And now you know all the best things I can offer to answer the question: How do I teach my kids to pursue God for themselves?
You may also be interested in: FAQS About Homeschooling, When Quiet Time Doesn’t Work, and Someone Had to Make the Loaves