Thinking Thursdays: Bible stories for kids

While we've not been doing much bible-related activities these few months... Junior J and I have been reading stories from the Bible almost every day.  We used to try to read a story or two, plus a Bible passage every morning after he woke up, but that made the whole moving from bed to breakfast table process very long (especially on days the boy woke up grumpy!).  So now this routine has been shifted to at night.

Right now, the boy seems to prefer the stories about Jesus and the miracles he performed, compared to the stories of various people in the Old Testament.  Perhaps its because the whole myriad of characters in the OT can get pretty confusing.  However, he does have certain favourites, such as Noah, and Jonah (I think he just likes any story with animals in them!).

I've yet to find an ideal collection of Bible stories though.  We've been ping-ponging between the two books shown above (or sometimes we read actual passages from the NIV version, and then I paraphrase the passages), and I must say I prefer the ones in the Candle Bible for Kids.  Junior J also seems to be fascinated with the maps that have been included inside, but I'd admit I'll prefer something with less cartoony illustrations instead.  Does anyone have other titles to recommend?

Meanwhile, we're just glad to say that all those stories seem to be having a positive effect on the boy.  On days the boy is being difficult, you just have to ask him about "what happened to Jonah when he disobeyed God?".  He immediately gives in!  (But of course we try not to use this method if possible.)  We also get funny conversations like this one during breakfast:

Junior J (examining his spoonful of pear): God says I can eat pear!  And I can eat apple!

Me: Oh, did He tell you that?

Junior J: Yes, but I'm not supposed to eat the fruit!  (Referring to the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden)

Thinking Thursdays: The fall of Jericho

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites.  No one went out and no one came in.

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.  March around the city once with all the armed men.  Do this for six days..."

"On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets."

"When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse..."

"... and the people will go up, every man straight in."

- Excerpts from Joshua 6: 1-5 (NIV)

~~~~~~~

We read the story of Joshua and the fall of Jericho in the little boy's Bible storybook, sang the song "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho", then built the walls of Jericho.  Little boy got into the story with gusto, walking around the walls seven times on the seventh day (sorry the photos were blur, since I was trying so hard not to laugh!) and trying to blow his trumpet.  Then it was crash!  And the walls came tumbling down!  After the whole story, the first thing he did was to retrieve the "Jericho" sign, and then he tried to rebuild the city, saying "Jericho no more fall down!"... 

Oh, and anyway, this "Jericho" was built using PlayBrix (available at Smart Alley).  These are large bricks, made using corrugated cardboard which can be wiped clean as they have a water resistant coating.  After letting the boy play with these bricks for a week, here's what we think:

YAY! points:

:: The Brix are great for developing both fine and gross motor skills, since stacking the large bricks would require kids to squat, stand, tip-toe and balance.

:: I liked that they allowed open-ended play and room for imagination.  The little boy has been fashioning tables and TVs out of them, and building "tall towers" out of them.

:: They'll be great for co-operative play, and I think families with two or more young children will probably get alot of mileage from them.

:: They are pretty kid-proof and would probably last.  Being made of corrugated cardboard means they are really light, but yet tough (the boy accidentally stepped on a few of them, and didn't make a dent!), and the water-resistant coating is a plus.

:: They can be folded flat for storage, so they'll help to save space!

NAY! points:  

:: When assembled, they do take up quite abit of space, so for those living in tighter quarters, it might mean tripping over them when the kids are playing with them.

:: You'd probably be able to achieve similar playtime using recycled cereal and shoe boxes, but of course, they'd be all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, plus not as durable compared to the Brix (not forgetting it'll take quite awhile to save so many boxes!).

:: The cost would make me think twice before purchasing it, but as mentioned earlier, those with 2 or more kids would probably get quite alot of mileage from the Brix. :)

Disclaimer: The PlayBrix are on loan to us for a week, courtesy of Smart Alley. We were not paid to do the review and the points above are based on our own honest opinion.

Thinking Thursdays: The Tower of Babel

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
 ³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

For details on making this craft, refer to the "Learning about God" page. :)

⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

- Genesis 11: 1-9 (NIV)

Junior J and his Papa read through the passage in the NIV Bible (it was hard to find this account in his Bible story books), and built the tower using his building blocks... he also did the craftwork and got to stamp "question mucks" all over, to show that the people were confused. :)

It was a gentle reminder in my case that while I may have my own plans, I need to keep looking to God, for He is in control.  

Have a great weekend! :)


PS: A HUGE thank you to all mummies who took the time to give suggestions in my previous post on feeding toddlers!  Now I have more ideas to try, plus I am comforted that we are not alone in having a mealtime monster, and that they eventually do outgrow it!