Teaching Kids About God

I recently had a discussion with a friend who is beginning to wonder how to teach her young child about God at home. That got me thinking about all the resources we have been given by our generous friends and family who also love the Lord, plus a few we bought ourselves.  Here are some good resources for teaching your young children about God:

In Books:

The Rhyme Bible Storybook  is great starting at around age two, once the toddler can sit still for a few minutes.  It goes through the major Bible stories set to rhyme.

Devotions for Preschoolers is perfect for teaching a two-to-five year old how to have a quiet time.  One devotion for every date on the calendar, it tells a one-minute story and ends with a bible verse and a rhyming prayer.

My First Study Bible is better for ages three and up and goes through every book of the Bible in age-appropriate stories and descriptions, with pictures.  When a book of the Bible doesn't exactly lend to good storytelling, like say, the book of Habakkuk, it is summarized on one page with the prophet himself giving a short description of the book.  It also includes a small index with names and topics of interest.  Great for teaching first-time Bible study.

The Big Picture Story Bible is good for ages three and up and similar to the The Rhyme Bible Storybook in that it goes through the major Bible stories.  This one goes deeper though and is good for a young child who is really starting to ask deep questions and understand spiritual concepts.

In DVDs:

Most people have heard of Veggie Tales, but there are a few DVD series that are less well known but just as good, if not better for toddlers and preschoolers.  One of those is Boz the Bear.  The Boz series is very safe for sensitive children.  It is full of positive God-centered messages in short episodes.

Similarly, the Auto Be Good series is great for any child who loves the action of Disney's Cars, except that each short episode has a Godly value and song attached.

Finally, Adventures in Odyssey is good for ages three and up as the action gets a little more tense.  

In Audio: 

If you get sick of listening to children's music in the car (I do), The Adventures in Odyssey Bible Eyewitness Collector's Set  is great for teaching kids (and their parents) major stories of the Bible.  It's appropriate for ages three and up but anyone under four may have trouble focusing on listening.  These stories are really entertaining.

In Resources:

Finally, Parents' Guide to the Spiritual Growth of Children is an awesome resource put out by Focus on the Family.  It guides parents through rethinking the way to teach their children about God.  Let's face it, some of us were either not taught, or taught in such a way that perhaps did more harm than good.  This book helps give parents a variety of techniques and styles to fit their own unique children and family life.  The idea is to make learning about God relevant and fun.  It also points to tons of other resources to help parents get started.  

So that's about it.  Hope you find something good to get you started.  And now I'm going to be in trouble with my sister who is going to say, "Wait a minute...how come you have all those great resources and aren't sharing them with me and my girls?!"  

Please add any additional resources you love in the comments below.