Hey mamas, sisters, and friends! This one’s for you if you have a toddler or preschooler. Or if you know someone with kiddos this age, please share this awesome resource with them.
I currently have an eighteen month old and a two-and-a-half year old, and we’re planning to homeschool them when the time comes. As for now, I like incorporating basic activities like reading books and coloring into our schedule on a day to day basis. Reading books to your littles (and your school-aged children) does so much for their growing minds. I’ve been diving into the Charlotte Mason world of homeschooling ideas here and there, and she encourages children to be reading something called living books. I’m going to link an article here that describes living books in more detail. Ultimately, a living book comes alive with ‘living’ ideas to grow your child’s thoughts and feelings—shaping their imagination to spark new ideas on their own.
For toddlers and preschoolers, living books have authentic pictures with natural elements that make the story come alive. Head to your local library in the picture book section and look for books like this. Here’s another article to help you find living books to get you started (this was just a bonus tip in educating your kiddos before I get to the activity!)
Reading to our toddlers and preschoolers is necessary to their learning and intellectual growth. I also mentioned drawing/coloring as something I do with my toddlers. Even for my eighteen month old, she is engaging her fine motor skills and learning cause and effect when she draws. These two activities seem like no-brainers for a mama with kids this age. So let’s get into the Bible learning activity that you’ll be sure to start incorporating into your preschool routine.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1. Bible (for the adult)
2. Crayons/colored pencils/markers of your choice
3. Two papers; one coloring sheet and one story (that corresponds to the Bible lesson I’m teaching, this will be linked below)
4. Arch Books kid’s bible story (that corresponds to the coloring pages)
I stumbled upon the Arch Books Bible Stories from my mom when she gifted the girls one (shout-out to you mom if you’re reading this!) Once Eva hit two years old I wanted to get some more. I think they are reasonably priced for what they are. Not only do these stories work for preschoolers, but I’d even recommend them to kids up to eight years old. I purchased a handful of these off of Amazon.
The coloring pages come from this website. They have 52 popular stories from the bible and you can download them for FREE. Even if you don’t want to invest in the Arch Books bible stories, you can get away with doing your bible study lesson with just these coloring pages. Talk about a win!
For me, I like having the added bible story from the Arch Book Bible Stories collections because it is written for a child to understand–and the stories rhyme! All the more to engage my teachable two-year-old. For the bible study, I start off by reading our chosen story from the Arch Books. For this one, we did the Conversion of Saul as you can see in the picture. Some of the other stories we’ve done that correspond to the bible coloring pages are: Women at the Well, Ruth and Naomi, David and Goliath, and The Easter Story. And there are tons more once you look through the coloring pages to see which Arch Book Stories you’d want to purchase to make sure they correspond with one another for the lesson. If you decide to skip reading the Arch Book Bible Story and just want the free coloring sheets–then you’ll only read the story they provide you on there!
Once we’re done reading the story, I allow my girls to color on the corresponding coloring page. I point out details that we saw in the Arch Book story and we compare it to the coloring sheet. For example, the coloring page of Saul has the bright light of the Lord shining down on him–which we also saw in the story. I’ll ask other basic questions from the book to see how much my 2.5 year old comprehends. Next, I’ll read aloud the summary that came with the coloring page to reiterate the points of the story again. Lastly, it’s mama’s turn to dive into the Word of God. I pick up my bible to show the children that this isn’t just a fairy tale. This is the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word and God and I get to read you the same story that we just read in kid form, but these words came from the Lord Almighty. Praise the Lord!
I hope this activity inspired you in some way! Definitely check out more of Simply Charlotte Mason for other resources if you are interested in homeschooling. Happy Bible study learning with your littles, mamas!
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