Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homesshool Review Crew.
Do you want your kids to love the Bible? Are you concerned about your ability to teach it to them? Then you should pick up a copy of Danika Cooley’s book Help Your Kids Learn & Love the Bible from Bethany House Publishers. In this nonfiction book, she tackles all sorts of issues parents have with the Bible, and specifically developing a Bible study routine with their families.
I’m not one for nonfiction; I am definitely a preferrer of novels. But Help Your Kids Learn & Love the Bible was an easy read, and I didn’t have any issues with the text of the book. I was able to easily read a chapter (or so) each day and get through the book readily.
The book is divided into three parts, each building on those that came before it. It starts with a reminder of sorts, that you (the parents) are the leaders in your family. What you say goes. But it also is a bit of a sobering reminder that if you don’t make the time for the things you claim are important to you (it seems that for most people, these are the Bible and the gym), then your kids pick up on that and those things won’t be important to them either. Being the leader is more than being the boss; it is also being the role model.
Part Two is called Faithful Reading. It gives a brief overview of what the Bible is (a “book of books”) and the men who wrote it. The author tells us about the development of the Bible – why the books we have are the accepted canon. In amongst all the “textbook” feeling stuff, though, readers are also told about ways to make sure they’re keeping the message of the Bible front and center when doing family Bible studies.
The final part is A Daily Walk, and this is the culmination of the other two parts. See, as the leaders in our families, we are responsible for teaching what we want taught in our homes. By reading the Bible faithfully, and understanding what it’s about and why it’s important to us, we encourage our children to do the same. With those two main criteria covered, we are ready for that “daily walk” with God. The author gives us guidance for reading the Bible with your children and ways to help your children “hide God’s word in their hearts.” She explains how to pray the word of God with your family, and even offers suggestions and encouragement for doing your Bible reading on the days you really don’t want to.
I really enjoyed reading this book, especially the bits and pieces of real life anecdotes sprinkled throughout. The author has two sons she writes about regularly in the book, and while the stories are from all ages of their childhood and development, I have sons in all of those ages so it was fun to read about how her children behaved and see some similarities to my own kids. If you’re wanting to start incorporating more Bible reading into your homeschool (or even just your family life), and you’re a bit unsure how to begin and whether you should “carefully omit” certain sections of the Bible (I’m looking at you, Song of Solomon) for children of certain ages, then Help Your Kids Learn & Love the Bible just might be a useful resource for you as you navigate.
Remember to head over to the Homeschool Review Crew to read more reviews of this book as well.
Blessings,
