Back when I was in high school, I had a church leader who would always say, “Create opportunities to feel the spirit.” Honestly, I didn’t really understand what he was talking about at the time. But as I’ve gotten older, that phrase has stuck with me, and made a lot more sense.
Now that I have kids, creating opportunities to feel the spirit has taken on a new meaning for me. Not only do I want my home to be a place where I can feel the spirit, but I want it to be a place where my kids can feel the spirit. I hope that our home is a place where they can feel close to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. One way that I feel I can do that is by reading the scriptures with my kids regularly. Not only does it help them learn about the gospel and feel the spirit, but I hope this can also help them be familiar with the scriptures as they grow up.
Today I’m sharing a few tips I have learned to make scripture reading a little more doable with 3 young kids. Check out these tips, and share any other tips that work for your family!
Keep It Simple And Realistic
You’re not going to be able to read a whole chapter of scripture in a day with young kids. They’ll get distracted within a few seconds, and you’ll just end up frustrated that you didn’t read all that you wanted too. Lower your expectations.
Start with a 2-3 verses at a time and work your way up slowly. It’s going to feel like it takes forever to get through just one page. But it’s not a race. Heavenly Father isn’t judging you based on how quickly or how many times your family read the entire bible. I try to remember that it’s less about reading through all the scripture stories, and more about inviting the spirit into our home and family.
For our family, I let each kids chose a number between 1 and 3. Then I have my oldest child add up the numbers (adding in a little math practice so I feel like Super Mom). And that’s how many verses we read. It’s usually around 6-8 verses for us.
Take Breaks To Explain And Teach the Scripture Stories
I really don’t feel very confident in my knowledge of the scriptures. And I feel a little unqualified to teach my kids. But it has helped me so much to explain and teach (and learn together) as we read scriptures with the kids. It’s nice for me to read through the scriptures slowly to better understand. This is when only reading through a few verses a day is so nice. I can really focus on those verses and learn what they mean. And my kids actually remember some of the scripture stories that we’ve read.
There are so many resources to use to help teach as you go. Sometimes after we read a few verses, we pull up one of the church videos that goes along with what we just read. I pull out a picture that goes with what we’ve read. Or I teach them one of the primary songs about what we read. For example, when we were reading through 1st Nephi, I taught my kids the song “Nephi’s Courage” and my kids ask to sing it each time we read.
If you are following along with the “Come Follow Me” study, then Come Follow Me Toddlers is going to be your best friend. Each week she posts simple activities to her Instagram that go perfectly with that weeks study. The activities are low prep, and simple. And if you want even less prep and more perks, she has a subscription on her website that gives you activity printables, modifications for big or little kids, and a monthly uplifting quote to hang in your home. And the subscription is less than $5 a month! We love her activities and use them every week for family home evening.
Fit In At Least One Scripture Verse A Day
Last year, our ward relief society (the women’s organization) had an activity all about scripture reading. A few woman presented their favorite tips and tricks for scripture study. And one of the women talked about how her mother prioritized reading a verse a day as they grew up. After that, I decided to find a time in our regular routine each day where we could add the habit of reading a verse.
For us, it works best to read one verse right when we drive up to my daughters school for drop off. Sometimes I only have time to read one quick verse before school starts. And other times we have enough time for us to read a few verses and talk about what’s going on in the chapter.
You could also read one verse right when everyone sits down for breakfast or dinner, at bedtime or anytime you get loaded up in the car. Choose a time, and start working to make it a habit.
For this one scripture, I don’t follow our regular scripture reading. I added the Gospel Library “Verse of the Day” widget to my phones home screen, and I read that verse each day. You can also add a “Quote of the Day” widget which will give you a short quote from a conference talk each day. Sometimes we read one of the quotes instead of the scripture verse.
Keep Their Hands Busy
It’s not really realistic for us to expect our kids to sit still and listen to us read. They want to move their bodies. So I have them play with quiet toys while I read. I am usually able to get through a couple more verses this way too. My kids usually go for magnet tiles or legos. But I have friends who love to do coloring pages and lacing cards for their little ones.
Since our church is studying the Book of Mormon in our Come Follow Me studies this year, we got each child a Book of Mormon of their own so they can hold one in their hands while I read if they like. My oldest in learning to read, so some nights she likes to try following along and trying to sound out some of the words as I go. You can order Book of Mormons from the Church for super cheap.
Give Yourself Some Grace
And my last tip – give yourself some grace. I know you want to teach your kids the gospel and how to pray and help them have a great relationship with their Heavenly Father. But remember that it’s okay if you don’t read scriptures with them everyday. I believe that at the end of the day, Heavenly Father cares more about how we love and care for our families than how many times we skipped dinner prayers.
That’s all! I’m not perfect. But these tips really help to make scripture reading in our home doable. I hope this helps you share the scriptures with your kids.
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