Ideas, inspiration, encouragement.
MEDIA
Faith Formation for Kids:
Browse this Amazon list of books, music, and videos that Grace families have used and enjoyed. Click on the little dialogue bubble to read the recommendation.
Building Faith with Picture Books:
Loads of book recommendations and website resources from the Christian Reformed Church’s Faith Formation Ministries department: “Given the power of story, it’s no accident that much of God’s Word comes to us in story form, or that Jesus used stories to reveal the kingdom.”
Kids Corner
A colorful site full of devotionals, podcasts, audio Bible stories, and more. This site is for children to interact with; there is a parent section.
They have produced a wonderful ebook: Faith Practices for Families: Bible Reading. Our own Revs. Deb and Steven Koster were involved in this 32-page book full of suggestions for entering and interacting with the stories, questions to ask together about Scripture, and resources for answering questions adults and children may have.
We Wonder Podcast:
These are 8-12-minute Bible storytelling and reflection podcasts that include wondering questions at the end–like our Children’s Worship storytelling sessions end with wondering questions designed to engage our imaginations and lead us to reflect on the story. The storytelling is calm, accompanied by peaceful music, with light liturgical elements. At the end, a child reacts to the session and prays (this is Miss Natalie’s favorite part).
Meredith Anne Miller
Miller’s Instagram account helps parents talk with their kids about God and Jesus with lots of practical tips and just relieves some of the stress and tension for parents who fear they have to get everything right and leave nothing out. For example, she reminds us that keeping it simple is the way to go: highlight one truth per story per conversation; then repeat the story later and make a new point–“Repetition is helpful for kids and also let you add layers of meaning.” One of my favorite tips:
When reading the Bible with your children, don’t make heroes or villains of the humans in the story. Instead, keep God as the main character. This lets the people be regular and imperfect, because they matter, but they are neither the heroes nor the main characters of the story.
Ask Away Podcast
This is Meredith Ann Miller’s podcast, where “kids can ask anything about the Bible. Host Meredith Miller and her kids tell a Bible Story in 10 minutes. Kid listeners are invited to record & send in their questions, which get answered in a future episode.” This is lively and fun, as well as a great model for talking with children about the Bible.
Dear Parent: A Guide for Family Faith Formation
This book by Laura and Robert Kelley brings a sense of pleasure and possibility to the conversation about nurturing children’s faith–without piling more to-dos onto families. Each chapter includes discussion/thought questions, some open-ended family activities, and a list of resources (paper and online). The tone is very encouraging:
Many of the things you already do with your family are faith-nurturing activities, but maybe you haven’t quite thought of them in that way.
ACTIVITIES
Spiritual Child Network:
This page (from 3 Anglican children’s ministers in the U.K.) is aimed at faith-shaping things families can do at home, including:
Sacred space: Creating focus areas around the home.
Story: Different ways to approach storytelling at home.
Play: Toys, symbols and materials that encourage children’s spirituality.
35 Tech Free, Faith Forming, Fun Activities for Families to Do at Home:
Fun list from the Christian Reformed Church’s Faith Formation Ministries department.
“But wait,” you’re saying, “I thought you said the ideas were faith-forming! I only see six ideas that mention the Bible or involve church.” Yup. That’s because faith is also formed in the ordinary details of everyday life. The way you talk together, laugh together, and meet challenges together forms faith.
Home Practices
This rich resource is from Building Faith, a ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary, of the PC(USA) denomination. It has lots of articles and activities for at-home faith formation. It’s especially useful for explaining liturgical seasons, and for those looking for liturgies to use at home.
They recently published an article about starting a daily wondering together project: 5 questions family members ask each other about their day. Click here for a printable version.
Bible Activities for All Ages: Projects From Around the Globe
Learn some cultural games and crafts from Hawaii, India, Japan, Amazonia, Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, and from Native Americans. From Group Publishing.
Praying with Children
From our own site here, full of suggestions, encouragement, and printables.
ARTICLES
Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events
This booklet from Humanitarian Disaster Institute provides practical guidance on how to help support children after a traumatic event. It gives an overview of common reactions to violent acts, including a breakdown of common signs and symptoms by age. It also details concrete steps for caring for children’s emotional and spiritual needs in the wake of a traumatic event.
Shocking News About Gratitude and Raising Healthy Kids:
Ignore the annoying clickbait title–this article from Illustrated Ministry has solid content about practices that can support the development of gratitude: give together, model empathy, express it together.
FamilyFire:
FamilyFire describes itself as “a community of fellow-strugglers in marriage and families, whose goal is to encourage you and stoke the Holy Spirit’s flame in your home.” There are articles about any family-related issue you can think of. They have sections on grandparenting, parenting, marriage, dating, sexuality, spirituality. Some highlights:
Building God’s Diverse Kingdom: Talking About Race, by Rev. Shannon Jammal-Hollemans
Be the Mirror Your Child Needs, by Dr. Robert Ritzema
Rules for Children Online, by Rev. Deb Koster
Help for Forgiving Yourself, by Rev. Steven Koster
Visit their ebooks section to find free downloadable resources about biblical parenting, marriage in crisis, rules for fair fighting, and forgiveness.