Teaching the Scriptures to Your Children

Colossians 3:16 exhorts us to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom". My desire as a mother is to fill mine and my children's hearts with Scripture. The book that most impacted me about the importance of soaking up the Word of God, is Ten P's in a Pod. It is a beautiful, true story of a traveling family, the Pents, who lived by faith and hearty doses of the Word of God. Even some of the youngest children could quote entire books of the Bible. Whenever it was mealtime, this family would read the Scripture, thus satiating their bodily and spiritual hunger. Prior to this, I had always thought that reading a short verse or two would be best for little children. Rather, this book showed me what God can do by letting His Word dwell richly in you.
There are many excellent Bible materials to utilize in your home, but if nothing else, never underestimate the value of simply reading through the Scriptures with your children. Nothing could be more fundamental. I haven't used any formal Bible study materials with my children, yet, but the following appear to be excellent choices.

Hold that Thought
Hold that Thought has a variety of notebooking and timeline materials. They are very inexpensive compared to competitors. They have a Bible book for kindergarteners, which looks like an excellent introduction to the Bible. They also have devotional sheets and advanced Bible history materials. If you blog about Hold that Thought, when you place an order, they will permit you to choose one free item, of equal or lesser value.

GrapeVine Studies
I have noticed that when I keep my children's hands occupied during Bible time or history lessons, they retain more and are better able to concentrate. Grapevine studies can be done with multiple aged children at a time. Your children draw while you read them the Bible lesson. Karla has written an excellent review of GrapeVine Studies.

Alone with God Bible Studies
In depth Bible workbooks on individual topics such as: Jonah and Ruth, Esther, Acts, and I Samuel. These come in KJV or NIV. These Bible studies can be used as a formal Bible curricula and/or as a devotional.

Keepers of the Faith Character Books
Keepers of the Faith produces character books on a variety of character traits, which are full of relevant stories, bible verses, applications, etc.. I think it would be so helpful to do an in-depth study on each character trait, one by one. Some of the topics include: charity, cheerfulness, courage, contentment, compassion, diligence, patience, truthfulness, modesty, wisdom, obedience, etc.. You can find sample pages here. I can imagine how terrific it would be to study these traits with all of my children and to (hopefully) see the practical application of each character trait, in their lives. The hardest thing, to me, is choosing which trait to learn about first. I think it would be very feasible to work through a booklet every month or so. I recommend ordering from Joyful Home Resources because each book is $7, including shipping.

Veritas Press
Veritas Press has Bible cards to display as well as memory songs. The Bible cards would be excellent, especially for younger students who do well with visuals. They have Bible materials for each grade level, so I recommend searching their website.

Doorposts
Polished Cornerstones is for ages 5-adult, and it covers many character traits for young ladies. I think this would be amazing to go through, with a daughter! Plants Grown Up is the guide for young men. These hefty , 500 page guides can be used for all your daughters or sons, ages 5 through adult, and are non-consumable. I also really like their new Put On Chart. If you notice one of your children not living out the character traits, you can take him/her to the chart and explain that we are to put on compassion or kindness, etc.. The Ruby dolls look like so much fun to make with your daughters as you learn about the Proverbs 31 woman. Their Biblical Character Training materials can be found here.

If you have utilized any of these materials, I would love to hear your review of them! I would also love to hear about any Bible materials that have been a blessing in your home. May God bless you as your raise your children in the "fear and admonition of the Lord".