Having three young children, finding faith based resources geared specifically for their ages is always nice. They feel more encouraged and interested in learning more when it’s a resource they enjoy. As a homeschooler, faith based resources are an important part of our homeschooling as well!
Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate my review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family. This post contains affiliate links.
Family Christian offers a wide variety of faith based resources for children, teens and adults! I was really excited for the opportunity to review The Big Picture Story Bible, The Big Picture Bible Verses, and The Big Picture Family Devotional by David R. Helm.
The Big Picture Story Bible is a story Bible for kids designed for children ages 2-7 and uses simple words and beautiful illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker the kids really enjoy. All three of our children (ages 4, 6, and 8) have been enjoying The Big Picture Story Bible. Even though they are not reading independently, they still like to get together and just go through it together. I love that it is creating a bonding time for all three of them centered around God’s Word!
The Big Picture Story Bible includes stories from the Bible from both the Old Testament and New Testament. It really uses words that speak to kids in a way that they relate to most. It asks questions to really engage the kids in the story. It asks them to think about and picture the story, which I think is a wonderful approach. While reading it, I always pause after the questions to allow them to really think about it and answer. Do you know what happened? Why did it happen? I love that it really makes them think because these aren’t “just” stories. This is God’s Word, and it teaches us many things! Our kids have been really engaged while we read.
The Big Picture Bible Verses is designed as a companion for The Big Picture Story Bible. It contains 45 memory versus that can help both children and adults memorize God’s Word. It’s written in a unique Question and Answer format. It asks simple questions that can be answered with a Bible Verse. It’s a really unique approach, though it took some time for our kids to understand they were to answer with a full Bible verse and not just a one or two word answer! This resource is recommended for children ages 6-10.
The Big Picture Family Devotional is also a resource designed to compliment The Big Picture Story Bible. At first, I thought we may use this during our homeschool Circle Time, but since my husband is going back to college full-time, he isn’t home during the day, so we have our Family devotional time in the evening. What is unique about this devotional is they understand today’s family challenges. They have limited it to fifty weeks rather than fifty-two weeks so families can do other devotions they may have for Christmas and Easter. This is if you choose to do a devotional three times per week. Each devotional can usually be completed in around 10 minutes.
Although The Big Picture Family Devotional is also geared for children ages 6-10, our preschooler is often able (and wants to) participate. Everything is already laid out for us. We simply go to the day’s devotional, read the passage, and go over the reflection and interaction. For even more reinforcement, it has songs at the end of the book that correspond with specific devotionals as well! It even ties in The Big Picture Bible Verses, too. I love that this encourages our children to really think about what we are learning in God’s Word.
Overall, I think The Big Picture Story Bible and complimenting resources are great for young children. It not only presents stories in the Bible in ways that are appealing to young children but also engages them to truly think about what they are learning. I love that it offers a resource for the whole family to connect and discuss God’s Word. I think it’s a great family resource offered by Family Christian.
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