Daily Scripture Habit
Spending time every day reading the Word is a habit we instill in our children from the beginning. When they turn six, they get a brand new Bible all their own. That doesn’t mean they start the daily Scripture habit at six though. As soon as our little ones have shown an interest in sitting and looking at books, we encourage them to “read” from a story Bible. When I finish my reading, we snuggle together and read from their story Bible. The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz was what we used when my teens were littles. Now, we have a brand-new The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz. As a member of the Homeschool Review Crew for 2017, we were blessed to receive a copy for review.
Timeless Children’s Stories
The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz is the perfect first Bible for little ones. The illustrations are colorful and engaging and the stories included are selections from both the Old and New Testament. The timeless children’s stories are told in a simple and short manner to convey the meaning without being too wordy or too “dumbed down”. There are both perennial favorites (The Beginning, Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the Big Fish, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Feeds Thousands, and Ten Lepers) and others I did not learn about in Sunday School (A Voice in the Night, Naaman is Healed, Money in a Fish and Earthquake in Prison).
To supplement the learning, there are many resources available on the website, from online games (for desktop access only) to videos and audios to printable pages. These activities are suitable for a range of ages, from older toddlers to early elementary ages. The Beginner’s Bible is recommended for ages 4-8. The younger ones will enjoy having the stories read to them while children that are becoming fluent in their reading will enjoy reading their own stories. Each story is short, only covering a few pages with approximately five lines per page. Just enough to tell the story in an engaging way but not too much to overwhelm.
Building a Relationship with the Word
We begin our school day with Morning Time, when everyone, no matter their age, is gathered around the table together. Between memory work, reading aloud and hymn studies, our Bibles are part of this time. It can be a struggle for our just-learning-to-read 7 year old boy to feel like he can take part in some of this. He has found The Beginner’s Bible allows him to find the stories we are reading and confidently participate in the discussions. I love that he is building a relationship with the Word. For families that include daily Scripture reading or reference, both homeschoolers and not, The Beginner’s Bible is a great choice for your little ones that want to be included.
The Beginner’s Bible we received is an updated version of the version my littles have loved for years. The illustrations are updated, though the stories remain the same. There are more than 90 stories included in the hardback book. This is a Storybook Bible that includes the Scripture references at the beginning of each one. There is also a dictionary at the back. Deluxe and Collector’s editions are available, these include CDs (both) and DVDs (Collector’s only). A padded boardbook version coming later this spring. There are also full-text versions (in KJV or NIV) available as well.
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