Thanks for your enthusiastic response to the Kids Bible Reading Plans. As I’m going to be taking blog vacation for the next week or so, here are answers to some of the questions I’ve received about the plans.
1. What age group are they for?
I’ve used them with 7 to 14 year-olds. But I know others have used them with younger ages too. As long as the kids can write, they can use them. Although some of the questions are easy for teens, the point of the questions is not really to challenge the intellect but to get the kids to pause and think about what they are reading. Also, it helps parents keep the kids accountable when they can see if they’ve written out their answers.
2. What Bible version do you use?
The plans can be used with any Bible version. The Bible is not quoted in the plans and the questions have been written so that kids can answer them whatever version they are using. Some days, they have to write out Bible verses from their readings, but again they can just use the Bible version of their choice.
3. How long does it take?
My kids, and others I know who used them, found that it takes about 5 minutes a day.
4. Should I start with Genesis or Matthew?
You can start with either. My kids used the Old Testament plan in the morning and the New Testament plan in the evening before they went to bed. Others I know have alternated, finishing an Old Testament book and then moving on to a New Testament book.
5. What are the Prayer Points for?
At the top of each week’s page, there are some spaces for children to write in specific things to pray about that week. I hope this will help them to think about their prayers more and vary them more. It also enables them to write any matters from prayer that arise from their Bible reading.
6. Will they be available for bulk purchase for Christian bookshops, churches, and schools?
At the moment the books are only available via Amazon because I am using the self-publishing print-on-demand arm of Amazon, Createspace. That allows me to make them available without having to order thousands of copies from printers – although it also means that the price is higher than I’d like at this point. But, in the New Year, I hope to have stock available so that bulk purchases can be made at significant discounts. Keep tuned and I’ll let you know when that becomes available.
7. Do you have a website?
It’s coming very soon at KidsBibleReading.com. There will be a blog there with regular articles on how to help your kids profit from reading the Bible.
8. Will there be a Kindle version?
No, because these are workbooks that the children write in.
9. Does it include Bible memorization?
Every other day, the kids have to write out a selected Bible verse from the readings. In many cases, these verses are suitable for memorization. So, memorization is not required, but it can easily be accommodated.
10. What do parents have to do?
You can do a lot or nothing – it all depends on what you want out of it. What we do is use 10-15 minutes on a Sunday to review the previous week. We get the kids together, with their books, and I go through the questions asking them in turn to read their answers from the books. I try to use opportunities to expand upon the material and to apply it to their hearts and lives. I also give opportunities for them to ask any extra questions they have. It’s often a blessed time of family fellowship around the Word.
11. What do you do about the Genesis passages like Lot offering his daughters to the men of Sodom, or the rape of Dinah?
There are a handful of Old Testament passages like these which the plans simply skip over. It’s not that they are any less inspired or any less Bible. But we wanted to leave it to parents’ discretion when and how to introduce these passages to their children.
12. Is there a daily devotional?
No. It is pure Bible!
13. Will you have more than Genesis and Matthew plans?
Looks like it. As the initial response has far exceeded my expectations, I will be proceeding with Exodus and Mark within the next few months, in plenty of time for those who want to work through the series. As long as the demand is there, we’ll just keep going with Old and New Testament in tandem.
Any other questions, just leave them below and I’ll answer them upon my return. Amazon link here.
