How We Do Bible Time With Toddlers

As a mother of two toddlers, it can be difficult to find a good time to read my Bible and actually comprehend what I read. I’ve tried waking up early to do it by myself, but frankly, I’m not a morning person. I’ve tried having the kids sit down and listen while I read, but their attention spans aren’t long enough and they need to get their wiggles out! We read our Beginner’s Bible every night before bed, but although that’s a great way to share the Bible at their comprehension level, my husband and I don’t get anything deeper out of it.

Adding structure

Time of day

Adding a very light structure to our time has helped immensely. First, we aim to have Bible time around the same time of day every day. Some time between breakfast and lunch, before we do Calendar time (more on that in a future post). The kids know to expect that at some point after breakfast, we will start Bible time. We always begin Bible time with a prayer together. The kids know when I get my headcovering out (more on that another time as well) and say “let’s pray”, it’s time to begin. They participate in the prayer as well, listing off the things they’re thankful for and praying we have a good day.

Reading plan

At first I tried just opening my Bible and reading whatever it landed on. That didn’t really work well haha. Then I tried picking one of the epistles and reading it since they’re shorter, but they were still too long for the littles to tolerate in one sitting.

I’ve done a straight read-through of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation before, and I considered doing that again with them since that’s similar to how their Beginner’s Bible is written. But then we’d get off track and end up repeating the same chapters over and over.

Finally, I found a great chronological reading plan from The Daily Grace Co, which organizes the entire Bible in chronological order! Since I didn’t find it until 2/3 of the way into the year, I didn’t follow the dates listed with the passages. Instead I decided to start with the New Testament and once we finish that, we’ll start from the Old Testament.

Because it’s a chronological read through, there are multiple days where we read the same story from a different account (especially in the gospels). This is actually great for us because we get a chance to really memorize what happened!

An activity to keep the kids busy

Obviously, toddlers physically and mentally can’t sit still for too long. My toddlers absolutely love books and Bible class, but they still need to keep their hands and feet moving! I decided to give them two options to choose from when we do Bible time, instead of letting it be a free-for-all that becomes a distraction. They can either play with cars (their current favorite toys) or they can color in a notebook using my Bible highlighters. My son especially loves this option because he feels like he’s actively participating in the study!

I can’t remember exactly where I read it, but I saw it on someone else’s blog somewhere that kids learn better and retain more when they’re allowed to doodle or play while they listen. This was absolutely, 100% true for me all growing up, so of course I was happy to encourage it for my own kids! I even found that my son started repeating verses back to me as I read while he colored, even though I hadn’t been sure he was listening! That was very encouraging.

Together is important!

If I only get a chance to read my Bible once in the day, I want it to be the time I do with my kids. Their spiritual upbringing is my responsibility, and my husband and I should be the first place they learn about Jesus from. Because of this daily activity, our kids have come to expect a rhythm and level of peace and comfort that comes with getting into the Word together. I’ve found that they’re calmer, happier, and learn a lot when we do Bible time on a regular basis.

Of course, alone time is important too! Before we started a designated Bible time, I would forget to read my Bible for days on end and only open it on Sundays. Now, because it’s a daily thing with my kids (who will remind me and keep me accountable because they’ve come to expect it!), it keeps God’s word on my mind all throughout the day and I find myself constantly coming back to it all day long.

Read more >>> The Greatest Gift We Can Give Our Children

With obedience comes praise

I remember hearing a quote in my college course on the book of Psalms once:

“Obedience to the will of God is the pathway to perpetual honor and everlasting joy.”

Charles Spurgeon

I’ve found that this is absolutely true. When we implement the discipline of reading and learning and obeying God’s word, we begin to crave and seek it. We find joy and praise in everything he has done. My faith is refreshed and strengthened daily when I spend time reading God’s word with my family.

I could add countless other verses regarding discipleship, meditating on God’s word daily, etc. Here are just a few, the first being the verses in my Etsy Shop’s logo:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 1:1-2

When we delight in the law of the Lord, we are blessed.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Matthew 7:24-27

When we hear and do God’s instructions, we will thrive spiritually.

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

John 15:10-14

When we keep God’s commandments, we will have joy.

How do you implement Bible time with your kids?

There are obviously many ways to implement your Christian faith in everyday life with your kids. Bible time is just one of those ways. For other ideas on how to implement a Biblically-centered routine, I would suggest reading my post on 5 Christian Books for Intentional Parents, which includes the book Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley.

Do you have any other ways to implement your Bible time as a family? Let me know in the comments!

God bless,