One of the things about homeschooling that I hold most dear is the amount of bible reading we get to do. That's not to say you can't read the bible with your children if they go off to school, but the amount of time homeschooling allows us is precious to me. We read many times throughout the day: after breakfast, after lunch, during rest time, before bed, and any other time that's a good time. When the kids are getting extra rowdy (read: getting on my nerves!) or mommy needs some extra quiet time, I love to tell the children it's time for a break and then we all sit on the couch for some bible reading.
I'm a big believer in reading children the actual bible and not just bible story books. I also see great benefits in reading lots of it, especially after reading
Ten P's in a Pod. When I read this book years ago, it really got me fired up about reading the bible with my children even more. Children will not retain and understand everything right off, but as they hear it over and over through the years they will retain more and more. And of course we talk about and explain things as we go along; and we also study things more in depth in our bible homeschool curriculum. (We use
BJU Bible Truths, which I highly recommend!)
I thought I'd share how we go about reading the bible each day. I have a lot scheduled each day, but that doesn't mean we actually read it all every day. We read whatever we get to and have time for. Some busy days may allow for one chapter, while other days may give us hours.
First we read the Proverbs of the day, the chapter that corresponds with the day of the month.
Then we read the Psalms of the day, 5 Psalms that also correspond with the date.
If more time is allowed to us, we pick up where we are in the Gospels. We can never read too much about Jesus!
If we have more time after that, we pick up where we are in the chronological bible (We have
the Daily Bible. I LOVE it!)
Here is a
calendar showing our bible readings for each day of the month. Feel free to print it for your own use!
If you are not reading the bible to your children, I encourage you to start, no matter how young or old your children are. I started when my oldest was a baby! After all, these are not just words and stories your children are hearing. It is the Word of God and it is living and active! We can never underestimate the power of God's Word getting into our children's minds and eventually their hearts. I encourage you also to have them memorize it. They will likely never forget the verses they memorize as children!
Here is
a wonderful system for bible memory.
I wanted to add that when my children are old enough to read and follow along, they get a nice bible of their own so that they can follow along and also take a turn reading. Once they learn to read well, I get them a nice copy of the NIV thinline bible with their name inscribed on it. We all use this same bible so that we are all on the same page. The younger children get a practice bible till they can read well. This is also great for learning to navigate the bible. Even the little ones scramble to find the right spot :)
