Family Time

I wanted to give up on our family Bible times on several occasions. As we started our journey doing Bible time together, it included us (the parents) reading directly from the Bible. We would all sit around the table listening intently to the treasury of words coming off the page...DID NOT HAPPEN. Yes, we all sat around the table BUT the response wasn't met with focused listening. Instead, it was met with kicking each other under the table, comments of "I'm thirsty," "I need to potty," "my head hurts," "she stuck her tongue out," and slumping over to fall on the floor below. Something needed to change because a simple Bible reading and discussion wasn't working to bring their hearts into the experience.

So, I asked myself "why DO I want to do Bible time with my family?" AND here are the list of reasons I came up with:

1) The Bible calls us as parents to teach the Word to our children. "Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." Deuteronomy 11:19

2)  I want my children to treasure His Word in their hearts. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11

3) Family time is precious and I want to cherish this time together while our children are still young. "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow." Ecclesiastes 4:9

4) Creating a protected time that allows the children to feel safe to share and pray with another as a family. "He and his family were devout and God-fearing..." Act 10:2

I asked myself "how do my children learn best?" Yes, there is great importance in reading the Lord's words directly from the Bible BUT our time together needed more if I wanted to keep these little hearts and minds engaged and excited. So I came up with what the kids needed to help make these moments meaning: movement, conversation, creating, memorizing and playing.

THEN I asked myself, "How can I turn these ideas into practical (and easy) ways we can teach truths from the Word AND the value of spending time together as a family?" Here is the list we've developed over the last couple of years:

1) Spend Time Together: Our family time doesn't need to be only Bible stories. A couple of years ago our Sunday school went through a book together called Sticky Faith by Powell and Clark. It includes practical strategies to support your child's personal faith in the Lord and encourage it to STICK through adulthood. One of the strategies is simply time together as a family...playing games, taking walks, eating dinner, etc. So, our weekly family nights often include things like family meetings to discuss an in-home issue, lesson learning on a practical life skill, playing a game or star gazing. Really, its all about the time together.

2) Art Time: Oh these busy little fingers must be allowed to make!!! When you create something that represents a truth discussed; it can solidify the learning on an even deeper level. We bring out paper, colored pencils and markers. We'll decided ahead of time on our focused drawing that is related to the story. We may draw the picture before, after or intermittently with the story. We each draw a picture and share our treasures when they're complete. The kids never want to stop when those materials are out on the table. We keep all these treasures in a binder so we can revisit our lessons learned.

3) Older Kids Only: It became apparent that we could not expect our younger two children (now 2 and 4 years old) to manage their behavior during this "structured" time. Therefore, we are waiting to included them during these evenings when they can developmentally handle the tasks at hand. So, until then, we send them off to bed with their own little quick story and Bible song. OF COURSE they are included in the less structured activities like walks and simple games together.

4) Incentives: Sometimes these evenings require participation that the children may not readily give. Such as discussing a family issue or behavior issue in a family member. In those cases, we'll pull out the reinforcement; some candy! We want the children to be open to share and brainstorm hard and fast solutions. We may also need incentives when we're trying to teach them some life skills. For example, one evening my husband talked about budgeting and how our family tithes, spends and saves money. Candy was necessary in keeping their interest on that topic! Retaining information is a whole lot easier when you're able to openly discuss the information or task at hand.

5) Act It Out: The kids learn by doing and moving. Asking them to sit at the table with hands folded in front of them was closing up a valuable avenue of learning for these little minds. So, sometimes we get our own feet up and become the Bible story or our little action men and Legos join us at the table for some great hands on learning.

6) Learn a New Song or Verse: One of our favorite activities was memorizing this Hymn. This was created over the course of a month as we slowly wrote out and memorized line by line while each taking turns adding little clip arts to match the words in the song.

7) Play a Game: Simple. Pull out a game or puzzle from the closet and work together as a family.

8) Special Occasions: For example, the last several Valentine's Days have been spent together as a family. We create a menu ahead of time and cook the meal together. The kids decorate the table and the parents serve the food. Another family tradition is bringing baked goods to our neighbors with a church invite or Christmas card. Living out what we're trying to teach in the home, brings the lessons even deeper.

These family times do not happen nearly as often as I would like. Its an up and down occurrence depending on our current family schedule. BUT we continue trying and giving up is not an option. While kicking each other under the table, and comments of "I'm thirsty," "I need to potty," "my head hurts," "she stuck her tongue out," and slumping over to fall on the floor below may still occasionally happen; these moments are few and far between. AND these little hearts and minds are treasuring the Bible, learning how the Word can guide them and experiencing the value of family time. May you feel the Lord leading your family too and may you find intentional time to be together.

For more ideas on making time for your children visit this post:

Cultivating a Relationship With Your Children

For More Child Development Ideas and Encouragement Be Sure To Subscribe or visit me here: 

Instagram: @at_home_with_kids

To subscribe: Click "Subscribe" on my Home page. Fill in your info and wait for an email from "Feed Burner" to confirm your subscription. 

Thanks For Stopping By!