Expand Your Children’s Summer Reading List – Include the Bible

This year when the teacher gives your child their summer reading assignment why not add the Bible to the top of the list? Summer reading doesn’t have to only include Shakespeare and Hamlet! The Bible is the most interesting book you can read. It gives us valuable instruction on how God wants us to live our lives. Parents can use the scriptures as a resource for parenting and children can learn lessons that they can relate to their every day life. This summer get the whole family involved in reading and studying a book of the Bible. This is a wonderful way to spend quality time together and to discuss godly principals.

Choose a Book of the Bible to Read this Summer

Have a family discussion on which book of the Bible to choose. You may want to think about the issues or trials your family may be facing and choose a Bible that best relates to your circumstances. You may want to choose one of the smaller books such as Colossians or Philippians, depending on the age of your children, or if you want to study more than one book during the summer.

Make sure everyone has their own Bible and a journal to write notes in. Make a goal for that week. For example, assign the first chapter of Colossians for the first meeting. Of course everyone should read it at their own pace, but ask that they at least finish the assigned chapter.

Schedule a Discussion Day

Although summer is filled with lazy days, it can also be a busy time for many families. Schedule a day and time that everyone has available to discuss the chapter and stick to it. Make it fun by ordering a pizza for dinner, pop some popcorn, or make it ice cream night. Be creative and move the discussion outdoors in a park or your back yard to enjoy the warm summer evening.

Points to Discuss

Have a round table discussion, asking each family member for their interpretation of the reading. Discuss their questions, and encourage comments and debate. Try relating the readings to every day situations that are happening presently or that have happened in the past. It is important that children can view the Bible in a way that relates to their lives.

Once your summer reading is finished, you may want to have the whole family do a one or two page paper on what they have learned. It is important that parents fully participate. As Christians it is our responsibility to be role models that our children can learn and flourish from and what better way can we do that than giving them a love for the Bible.

Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved