As part of our homeschool Morning Time, we like to use Bible resources that appeal to the younger crowd. We have used everything from story Bibles to programs that teach the Bible using art. Here are some of our favorites!
Before I share our favorite resources, let’s talk briefly about WHEN to have Bible Time with little ones because that can be just as important as WHAT you use for Bible Time!
How to Have Bible Time with Little Children
There are a few ways you can incorporate Bible Time into your day with your little ones. Currently, we do Bible at the beginning of our homeschool day during something we call Morning Time.
Years ago, our Morning Time was only Bible and a Read-Aloud. You can learn more about this simple way to do Morning Time from the post linked below of this podcast:
READ MORE >> Making Morning Time Easy
Another nice way to do Bible Time with littles is to do something we used to call Breakfast & Bible. You can choose to eat before your kids and then call them to the breakfast table and read while they eat, or you can linger around the breakfast table together and read after everyone is finished with their food.
READ MORE >> Breakfast and Bible Time
And finally, if you are having trouble incorporating Bible Time into your morning, or you’d like to involve Daddy in your reading, try a simple Family Worship Time. Read from the Bible, sing a song, offer a prayer. You can do this!
READ MORE >> A Simple Family Worship Time (includes a FREE Family Worship Guide!)
Story Bibles for Young Children
One of our favorite Story Bibles, is the first edition of Hurlbut’s Story Bible. This lovely book is so meaty, yet still appealing to little ones!
Be sure you get the original edition – it is much better than the “updated” one! If you can’t find it on Amazon, try Thriftbooks – our favorite place to find deals on homeschool books!
Another favorite that is equally meaty and ties together the entire story of the promised Messiah from Old Testament to New Testament is Mighty Acts of God.
Another resources we used years ago is Leading Little Ones to God. This simple book has a Bible story, discussion questions, a song, and a prayer. It’s a classic favorite of homeschooling families everywhere!
And finally, a Story Bible we have not personally used, but have heard wonderful things about – The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Honorable Mention:
101 Favorite Stories From the Bible
Bible Art for Young Children
My kids love to draw and create, so Bible resources that involve art are always favorites here! Here are a few we have used and enjoyed:
GrapeVine Stick Figure Bible Study
This study uses simple stick figures drawn on worksheets to explain Bible stories and concepts. Our entire family enjoyed these lessons! You can read my review below:
READ MORE >> GrapeVine Bible Study Review
Another great Bible resource that includes a lot of crafts is Bible Road Trip. This curriculum can be as meaty or as simple as you like, and can also be used with multiple ages!
And finally, our family really enjoyed the year we went through the PictureSmart Bible. They have revamped their materials recently, but they still look very meaty and fun!
Fun Bible Resources for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Teach your children the Days of Creation with this fun craft project. You can also see the finger play our family uses to learn the days of creation HERE!
You can play a Bible Trivia game online with your kiddos at AlltheTrivia.com. It’s always fun to see how much we know!
DLTK’s list of Bible activities includes coloring pages like the one shown below and quite a few Bible crafts.
We also enjoy the crafts and ideas from Old Testament Days Activity Guide!
Holiday Bible Resources
I’ve written extensively about Bible resources for Christmas and Easter (many of them FREE!), so rather than share those in this post, I’ll just point you to the appropriate post and you can check those out if that’s more what you are looking for!
READ >> Free Easter Devotionals for Children
READ >> Free Advent Devotionals for Children
By the way, if you are curious about our current Preschool and Kindergarten homeschool curriculum choices, you can click on the graphic below to see everything we are using this year:
Have a great idea or link for Bible resources for toddlers and preschoolers? Add it in the comments sections! I’m always looking for new ideas!
And if you are looking for more resources for homeschooling your little ones? Check out my Preschool & Kindergarten Homeschooling Pinterest board!
Originally posted July 2011. Updated and republished May 2022.
Mandy@ ...life's about a dream says
We use the Gospel Fuzzies at my little preschool. The children love it! 🙂
Jenna says
Thanks for this list! We have an almost-2-year-old, and I’m on the look-out for great toddler resources. Definitely going to bookmark this!
Our Peculiar Lives says
Amy, thanks for the links! I just peeked at that Bible based lapbooks and it looks wonderful! Can’t wait to download some things.
Karla says
I was homeschooled for a few years when I was younger, and I have had it in my heart to homeschool my own children. The idea of unschooling appeals to me the most (for a number of reasons), but my 3-year-old seems to enjoy structured activities and gets excited about the idea of school so I thought I would create a preschool curriculum to start with her next month. It’s sure giving me a taste for what to expect!
I have bunch of workbooks, basic art materials and manipulatives already, but I searched for some free resources. I’m combining the Biblical lessons at ABC Jesus Loves Me (http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/index.php) and some or their concepts with the idea of incorporating a theme and vocab word that I found at Brightly Beaming Resources (http://www.letteroftheweek.com/Preparatory.html) – though I created my own outline.
I’ve been filling in the blanks with all sorts of free printable resources, like the customizable pages at Twisty Noodle (http://twistynoodle.com/coloring-pages/), alphabet memory verse cards (http://totallytots.homestead.com/InMyHeart2.html), all sorts of nature-related downloads at nature detectives (http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/), and some neat ideas at christian preschool printables (http://www.christianpreschoolprintables.com/). Those are just a few!
I’ve also found some favorite christian homeschool blogs where I’ve found some resources I’ll be implemting, such as Tot Trays (http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotTrays.html), Tools for Tots (http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/ToolsforTots.html), and Preschool Packs (http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/PreschoolPacks.html).
I just made a couple lapbooks, and where I do find them time-intensive, I think they’re a great tool. I also made some easy file folder games (http://biblestoryprintables.com/blog/category/file-folder-games/ and http://www.filefolderfun.com/SearchPreschool.html).
I have an ever-expanding list of resources, so it gets overwhelming!
Amy says
THESE ARE FABULOUS! Thank you so much for sharing! Definitely adding these. 🙂
Corrie says
hehe. “lapbook dropout” That is exactly the way I feel about lapbooks! Thanks for these resources!
Beth says
This year we have loved using Crossroads of Character from the Boyers (thelearningparent.com) with the younger ones. I will actually be posting a review and hosting a giveaway for it soon!
Amy says
Great! I really like the Boyers. 🙂
Penny says
I just rediscovered the Old Testament craft book and added it to our Old Testament studies for next semester. It’s a great book.
Jena says
Thank you many times over!! Our son isn’t quite 3 weeks old (!) but I’ve been making note of different resources and things. This will go at the top of the list. I’m not sure yet if we’ll be called to homeschooling long term but I want to make the most of these early years. Thanks again!
Deanna says
Thanks for sharing! I’m SO with you on not doing formal academics with littles, but I wanted to be intentional in teaching the Bible. Similar to Karla’s comment above, my 3 year old son does well with a little structure. I too really like using the Bible lessons from ABC Jesus Loves Me. On my blog (http://histreasureseekers.wordpress.com/)I share about how I’ve done those lessons, as well as some wonderful books from Before Five in a Row just for fun. My son loves Bible time and often asks me to go over our weekly Bible story on our flannelboard even when I wasn’t thinking about it.