"Hide God's Word in My Heart" Teaching Ideas

Our children can choose what to think on and dwell on in their hearts.  What a valuable and important truth we have as parents to teach our children!

 
Theme Verse With Actions: “I (point to self) have hidden (one hand behind the other) your word (make Bible with hands) in my heart (hands on heart)” Psalm 119:11a

NIrv Read With Me Bible - Resource Recomendation

After trying out a few different children's picture Bibles, the NIrV Read With Me Bible has been my favorite.

I asked my 3 year old what she likes about this children's Bible, she thought and then said "We like to read by ourselves."  I have found it really valuable to have children's Bibles around the house for my children to look through.  They spend time looking at the pictures, pretending to read, and pretending to teach the Bible.  It gives them a chance to seek and think of the things of God on their own.

The Words
My favorite part of this children's picture Bible is the words.  Other picture Bibles I have tried add to the Bible records when trying to simplify and summarize.   This picture Bible takes parts of the NIrV (a Bible translation written at a 3rd grade reading level).  Because of this, I can open it up and read something similar to what I have studied in the actual Bible on my own.  At the same time, the words are simple enough for my toddler and preschooler to understand.  Amazon lists this Bible for children 4 to 8 years-old, but my 3 and 2 year-old enjoy this Bible.  There are parts that do mention certain people dieing, that I don't read yet with my toddler.

The Pictures
The pictures are in a cartoonish style.  While this isn't my personal preferred style, the pictures are very engaging for my daughters.  Since they are the audience, it works for me.  I also like that the angels don't have wings, since the Bible never mentions them having wings.  When looking at the pictures we often talk about how we don't know exactly how the person looked.  I explain that the artist read what the Bible said, and then imagined what the person looked like.

I have found this Bible to be a great resource for my family in teaching our children the Bible.

Related Post:
Baby's First Bible
 
Disclosure: I make recommendations on the basis of products that I personally use and that I think would be of value to the reader. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or links that I mention on this blog.

© 2014, Brigette Hill

"Love God With All My Heart" Teaching Ideas

With heart decorations all around this time of year, it is great to teach children what the Bible says about the heart.  There are a lot of different visuals/craft ideas in this post.  You don't need to do all of them to teach this topic (especially if it overwhelms you to do all of them).  I find the heart puzzle to be extremely helpful when teaching.  If you only have time to do one visual, that would be the one I would do.

Theme Verse: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart” Deuteronomy 6:5a ESV

Song: “You Shall Love the Lord” from Hide ‘Em In Your Heart Volume 1.  View video here.

"Hide 'Em in Your Heart Volume 1 and 2" Resource Recommendation

Starting at 1 years old, both of my daughters have had "Hide 'Em in Your Heart" volume 1 and 2 as a favorite for both music to listen to and videos to watch.  Steve Green puts scriptures to music, with children singing along with him.  It is available to buy both the music CD and a DVD together.  The DVD's have many (but not all) of the songs from the CD's.  

I like that this is simply the Bible put to music.  What a great way for my children to be reminded to think on the things of God!  When one of my daughters was only a 1 year old, she started to sing "...believe in the Lord Jesus Christ" (a song from the CD).  I was so thankful that these were the words stuck in her head!  The songs are upbeat, simple and joyful.  Simple enough for us to easily sing along to the CD or DVD, which we often do. To preview the songs you can listen to them on iTunes .

 
Another great thing about the music is that children are part of the singing.  My kids are drawn to children's voices singing.  So it is great to have children singing about the things of God.

The DVD gives some practical application of the scriptures they are singing about.  It shows real life situations where young children are believing and obeying God's Word.  In one instance it may even stretch the verse a bit out of context for practicality sake. However, overall it does a good job showing how the scriptures could be applied to children's lives. To preview the DVD, some of videos can be seen on You Tube.

On both on the CD and DVD Steve Green talks before every song.  It would be nice if on the CD you could just listen to the song. But this doesn't seem to bother my daughters.


Overall, I have been so thankful for this resource for my family.  The music has been great to listen to, and the DVD's are also great ways to reinforce the Bible for my children.
The CD and DVD combo are the best deal Volume1, Volume 2.  

Disclosure: I make recommendations on the basis of products that I personally use and that I think would be of value to the reader. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or links that I mention on this blog.

© 2013, Brigette Hill

"God's Word Stands Forever" Teaching Ideas

Depending on where you live, you probably are like me and don't have flowers blooming right now.  You can purchase a flower with your child, or come back to this in the Spring or Summer when you do have flowers blooming in your neighborhood.  It is really a tangible example for a child to see.

 
Theme Verse: “the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:8b

Song: “Harvest Isaiah 40:7” from “Songs for Saplings ABC” 
 
The grass (the grass) withers (withers) and the flowers fall.
 But the Word (the Word) of our God (our God) stands forever. [2x] Isaiah 40, verse 7

Parent Preparation: Numbers 23:19, Psalm 19:9, Psalms 119:89-91, Psalm 119:151,160, Isaiah 40:6-8, 1 Peter 1:23-25

Supplies : Bible, a flower (from outside, or from the grocery store), print out of teaching

Day 1

• We are going to learn about how flowers fade but the Bible does not. 
• Flowers are nice, but they do not last long.  There are verses in the Bible about this.  (read Isaiah 40:7-8)
• The Bible lasts forever.  It is always true. 
• (Pick a flower together, and set it somewhere in the house to watch it fade.  Don’t put it in water, this will help the fading happen faster.)

Day 2

• (check flower together and see if it faded) 
• (read Isaiah 40:8b)
• Where do we find the word of our God? The Bible! 
• These are not man’s words.  These are words that God told men to write down.  They are God’s Words and they stand forever.  

Day 3 

• (check flower together and see if it faded) 
• (read Isaiah 40:8b)
• The Bible lasts forever and is always true.  The Bible is God’s Word. 
• God loves us a long time. He will love you as you grow bigger.  God’s word is true when you are a child, it is true when you will be a teenager, it will be true when you are an adult, when you are a parent, and when you are a grandparent someday!  
• God’s Word always last, it is always true, and He always loves you.

Additional Activities:

• Go For A Walk:  As you go for a walk point out flowers that are fading.  Remind your child that God’s Word stands forever.

• Do A Coloring Page: Color a picture of a child reading a Bible, such "B is for Bible" or "Delight in the law of the LORD".  Talk together about how we can delight in the Bible because it is God’s Word.

"God's Word is..." Teaching Series
1. God's Word is True
2. God's Word is Light
3. God's Word is Sweet
4. God's Word Stands Forever
5. God's Word is For Toddlers

© Brigette Hill, 2014

"God's Word is Sweet" Teaching Ideas

Theme Verse: 
“How sweet are your words to my taste” Psalm 119:103a

Parent Preparation:
Psalm 119:11, 103; Jeremiah 15:16; Psalm 19:7-11, 2 Peter 1:20-21


Supplies:
Bible; small bites of different foods for the taste test (something sweet, salty, sour, etc), print out of teaching notes

Day 1:

• (Read Psalm 119:103) 
• This is talking about God’s Word.  Where do we read God’s Word?
• These words in my Bible are God’s Word. (let your child gently turn the pages in your Bible)
• Men wrote down these words as God told them what to write down. 
• In this verse it says that God’s Words are sweet to taste.   We love God’s Word.  
• When we are gentle with our Bibles we are showing respect to God.

Day 2:
Taste Test

• How do we taste something?  Different foods have different taste (taste the different foods together) 
• Which food was sweet?
• (Read Psalm 119:103)
• The Bible is God’s Word. Honey is also a food that is sweet.  This says that God’s Word is sweeter than honey. 
• Do we eat the Bible?  No!  But this means that God’s Word is so good, it is better than something really sweet.

Day 3:

• (Read Psalm 119:103) 
• God’s Word is sweet because it teaches us so many wonderful things.
• What does the Bible tell us about?
• One thing God’s Word teaches, is us about how God loves us. Hearing that God’s love is better than eating sweet things like ice cream, cookies or honey. 
• We want to learn what the Bible says, think about it and talk about it, because it is sweet.   

Additional Activities 

• Taste a Honeycomb:  As a family try eating some honeycomb (we found ours at our Farmers Market).  Eat it with some toast and butter, with some cheese and crackers, or with some nuts.  Read Psalm 19:10 together. 
• Sing of God’s Word:  Make a playlist or CD of songs that praise God for His Word.  “My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right.” Psalm 119:172 ESV  Listen to the songs together in the car or when at home.  

 "God's Word is..." Teaching Series
1. God's Word is True
2. God's Word is Light
3. God's Word is Sweet
4. God's Word Stands Forever
5. God's Word is For Toddlers




© Brigette Hill, 2014

What to Look For In January at Humble Hearts

This Month Look For

• Finishing the "God's Word is" teaching series with "God's Word is Sweet" and "God's Word Doesn't Fade Away".
• Beginning a teaching series about the heart. (This will fit right in with the Valentine decorations that start popping up at the end of the month.)
• Review of a children's Bible (I didn't get to it last month, but look forward to sharing about it this month).
• You Tube Videos of classic children's Bible songs.

Related Post You Might Have Missed From Last Month

• A Parent's Heart Teach Diligently Deuteronomy 6:7. There won't be a new verse for A Parent's Heart for this month. I didn't get last months printed out and hung up myself, so I will be hanging up lasts months!
• As you start the New Year, make sure you check out 14 Bible Verses For Parents in 2014