Scripture Study for Children
The Old Testament: Come Follow Me 2022
Scripture study is probably one of my favorite part of our days and I hope my kids grow up cherishing this time. I try to create a balance between getting in the actual scriptures and also reading stories and having other engaging hands-on activities for them. Here is a little look into some of the main things we’ll be using this year for our study of The Old Testament.
Scriptures: Scriptures are a must have! This year we decided to use Line Upon Line Old Testament Study Editions for my eight year old twins (they choose the Dainty Flower covers). We used the LUL scriptures for our entire study of the Doctrine and Covenants and loved them. For my five year old son, we are using these journal editions from Deseret Book. I am planning to write a whole different post on scriptures and what ones I recommend for what ages but until then - for younger kids I like to view their first scriptures as a practice set so I’d recommend getting them a cheap set that you don’t mind if they’re a little hard on. Once they’re more responsible and have had some practice (for my girls it was at age 7) then a nicer set is great. We love wide margin scriptures and the ones that lay flat because I think they’re much more child-friendly.
Come, Follow Me for Primary and The Gospel Art Book: When I first started to dig into CFM and scripture study - this is the tool I used for my children (in conjunction with a weekly guide I used to write myself). If you’ve never dived into scripture study with your kids or are overwhelmed with all the other options out there, I always starting here. Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families is great, but for younger children - this really is much more on their level. Sometimes people worry about repeating what they’ll hear at church - repetition is good and your children may be presented the exact same information in two different settings and hear completely different things so I wouldn't worry about that one bit. The gospel art book is also extremely handy to have on hand since it is regulalry referenced in the CFM materials.
Story and Picture Books: The Old Testament Stories is what you’re going to want to have if you’ll be using CFM for Primary the most. Unfortunately I couldn’t find it in the LDS store and they’re out of stock and usually over priced anyway on Amazon, but I linked it so you’ll know what to look for. When I was in Deseret Book I noticed they had an updated version that coordinated with the new videos so you may come across that version as well. Personally, the old version is more appealing to me, but it’ll be a personal preference. We have the one I linked, but I doubt we will pull from it because we use the illustrated stories that come from the Red Headed Hostess subscription (more on that below). A few others we have this year:
The Beginners Bible: This is an excellent one for your early readers. It is about a 2nd grade reading level and my twins have been reading from on their own for quite some time. It is one we used to learn the stories and practice reading and it’s simple enough their younger brother could listen along.
A Treasury of Old Testament Heroes: This is one we’ve had a while and was given to us, but it’s a really great option especially for kids 2-6! My little two year old gravitated right to this when I pulled them out earlier this week. The stories are simple and short complimented with bright and colorful pictures.
Children’s Bible Stories: This one is my favorites for this year and perfect for my twins level. I know we’ll be getting a lot of good use out of this one. This has a mix of old art and modern-day photography and bible maps plus all the stories and so many interesting tid-bits of information. A lot of people have asked if this aligns with the Latter-day Saint beliefs and I can’t say I’ve read the whole thing, but upon first glance there isn’t anything that jumps right out. Plus, I am a fan of using other Christian materials because it often causes me to ponder and think - is this what I believe? Is this what my faith teaches? Sometimes I’ve found I have differing views, but most of the time I find its a very similar view that I just didn’t understand very well and now gained a better persepctive. If my twins ask and I don’t know something - we figure it out together!
Illustrated Bible Stores for Latter-day Saints: We’ve had this for a long time and is also another really great option for older children. My twins can read this independently and there are also lots of little tidbits of extra information which is something we personally love.
Latter Day Baby Books: We have a bunch of these books, but The Creation and The Plan of Happiness are two of our favorites we pull from regularly.
Old Testament Handwriting and Copywork: I made these for my kid’s this year they’re available to purchase in my Etsy store. They come in a family bundle with prek, early elementary and cursive handwriting fonts. Over the last year I have learned a lot about notebooking/scripture journaling and have just found that inviting my children to copy the scriptures while also expressing what they’re learning or feeling really cements their own experiences so there is a place for them to do more of that.
Latter-Day Kids: We have been watching their YouTube videos once a week for almost two years now. We use these during devotional, but a lot of people love to use their free weekly lesson plans too. They come with scriptures and songs and usually some kind of hands-on activity.
Scripture Stickers: My twins chose Old Testament Imagery from LUL and I am just going to have them always available to use as we study this year. I also have these ones for my five year old. We also have print at-home scriptures we use from the Red Headed Hostess subscription kit. (More on that below).
Essential Conversations: This is something new from Come Follow Me FHE we’re excited to add in this year. We do so much of our studying during the day while my husband is at work so we thought this would be a fun element to use once or twice a week over dinner as a family. This way he can be involved and it’ll spark conversations about what we’ve be learning about during the day.
Red Headed Hostess Activity Book: These books are great for ages 3-6 and I have one for my almost five year old son. He LOVES having something that is special for him and its right on his level. I think we will get a lot of use out of it this year.
Red Headed Hostess Youth Guide Book: These are great for ages 7+ so we have two have these - one for each of my girls. This year, it coordinates really nicely with the weekly subscription which we also have. And while I’m at it we also have the calendar to compliment our study space. :)
Red Headed Hostess Weekly Subscription: I am sure you’ve figured out by now that we use a lot of the Red Headed Hostess materials. I am very familiar with their kits and have used them very consistently for a year now. I am going to do another post on how we use the books/kits, but right now, a lot of people will ask me - if I am only going to get one or the other - the books or the subscription - what do you recommend? I always say - it is going to be a total personal preference to you and your teaching/prep/home environment ect. I love both and am so excited to make both work this year. If you’re an open and go person - I’d recommend the books. If you don’t mind getting in and printing off some amazing resources 1-2x a month then the subscription just has so much to offer. Really, I don’t think you can go wrong either way!
If you haven’t seen our scripture caddy be sure to check that out because it is filled with some of our favorite Scripture marking tools and we use it to organize some of these goodies. And, for a more detailed look into these items, please visit my Instagram Scriptures with Children highlight.
A Note On Our Routine
For us, shorter gospel/scripture study sessions work better with our young children. A little here and a little there. Small and simple. So we like to do a little bit each day. And, my goal is simultaneously wanting to encourage a daily habit of being connected to the scriptures. I look at all the things I could offer to my kids and connecting spiritually each day is one skill/habit I want them to always have and rely on. We don’t do every thing on this list all the time, of course it ebbs and flows, but so many of these serve as a foundation and creates an environment of learning and that is why I like to share them. Every day is different, but most days we spend 15-30 minutes somewhere in these materials - almost always in the mornings. We usually don’t do anything on Saturday and often will do a more laid back or family activity together on Sunday afternoons after church. And, some of the things like reading books, videos, extras in our RHH materials my kids do independently too. We just have a variety of ideas and options and then let the Spirit guide what we work on each week. This is what is working for us right now, but I know things evolve and change and look so different in every family so always remember its good and okay to adapt. As you utilize the Holy Ghost, He is the one that can help you personalize what will work best for your family in the certain stage or phase you’re in.