Telling children bible stories can be a part of everyday lifeTeaching children bible stories has a long term beneficial effect. Especially with young children. Their spiritual growth depends on it. It is important to make this part of everyday life. Proverbs 22v6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”Reading children bible stories while they are still babies as well as afterwards has many benefits, including: Putting parents into the good habit of reading; Boosting faith and reinforces our beliefs: Reading children bible stories and good books reminds us of how faithful God is; Helps the language development of our young ones; Strengthens our children’s faith and confidence in God; With repetition, the growing child’s memory is strengthened; If we cuddle up with our young ones and read a good book, it aids our relationship by including four of the five love languages: Quality time, words of affirmation, act of service and physical touch; Reading children bible stories from a faith based book that is age appropriate ensures that we are not just entertaining our children but also equipping them with important principles for character building; As we show them how we how we look up verses they start to understand how to research and study; Each time we read and study we show our children how to be consistent and thorough; The Bible also gives us a good history base for any further study; Gaining a good healthy respect for themselves as they learn they are not an accident but part of God’s big plan; Reading children Bible stories should make God's Word easier to remember and understand for your child; Bible stories can instil a life time love for the Bible and other good books; Guides our little ones to investigate the Word of God as a source of strength when they need inspiration and prayers, for children a most important part of everyday spiritual life. When looking for a good children’s Bible story book some tips to consider are: - Is this book age appropriate: will the book keep the child’s attention? (one minute attention span for every year in age). Avoid bible bashing. - Books which show age appropriate pictures and illustrations, to help the visual learners. - Books with crafts and games ideas for kinesthetic learners. (cutting, colouring, pasting, etc.) Even making hands on percussion crafts for children will make the experience of reading children bible stories that much more rewarding. - Books that display a good clear timeline. How long did they live? When? What? And where? - Books that include age appropriate prayers. These can help open discussion areas that might have slipped under a parent’s ‘radar’. Some important themes to look out for when choosing books: Creation, My Body, Families, The story of Jesus, Salvation, How salvation works, The Kingdom of God, Praise and worship, Prayer, Baptism, The Holy Spirit, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, I am special, My mind, How do I feel?, Faith, God has a plan for me, Actions speak louder than words, Honesty, Love, Friends, Popularity, Jealousy, Compassion, Grace, Sharing, Bible heroes, Fun, How to serve, To be still, Waiting on God, Quiet time, Accepting yourself along with your differences, Confidence, Wisdom, Humility, Passion, Having a goal or vision, Disciples, Martyrs, Miracles, Discipline, Rules, , Sacrifice, Exercise, Character building, Courage, Responsibility, Tolerance, Seasons, Change, and many more. Extras: Get the children involved with stickers, finger puppets, activities, crafts and games.
Children’s bible stories can be made so much more interesting and fun by incorporating three dimensional or visual aids. You can go about this in various ways. Here are some ideas:
Repetition is one of the most powerful communicators of the truths of bible stories, especially with younger children. They may ask for a favourite to be told over again. Keep it interesting by varying how you approach repeating the story.
Play a game that relates to the story, watch a video, do a short quiz, act out the story, use 3 dimensional props, use puppets. Each of these are wonderfully creative ways.
A great way of keeping your audience guessing is to use a mystery bag. Put a few items relating to the story inside and let your listeners take turns to feel an item in the bag and guess it’s identity. They can then talk about the object and why it is relevant to the story. To help tell the story, try making and using a finger puppet. Use a design that matches the main character in the story. Alternatively, you can have the puppet listen to the story and ask relevant questions for you to explain. Children love puppets and will interact and identify with them. Click on any of the pictures to get to the 'How to make' pages.
Develop a personality for your puppet which represents the understanding or fears of the audience at their level. Draw either empathy or admiration from them using this technique. Puppets used in this manner have been successful in counselling traumatised children.
Remember that you don’t have to be a skilled puppeteer to achieve great results. Simply look at your puppet when it speaks and the children will do the same. You don’t even have to change your voice much, or have to mime, it is all about focussing on the puppet when the puppet ‘talks’, and on your audience when you are talking as the storyteller.
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Click on the picture to access a wonderful resource to assist telling children bible stories.