Got 5 Minutes? Then you’ve got time for devotions with your preschoolers!
Wouldn’t you love for your preschoolers to love and remember Bible stories as well as they remember their favorite bedtime book? You can make that happen. And it can be as simple as brushing your teeth. It’s all about routines. We all do things every day without questioning whether or not we should, or whether or not we have time. Make your family devotions be one of those “things.”
While you won’t get your kids to sit still for 20 minutes, you can capture their attention for 5. Here are some tips to get you started.
- Be intentional. Plan for it, or it won’t happen. Know when and where you’ll do it. Keep your resources in the same place and ready to go. (Even delaying a routine by 20 seconds can make it harder to maintain.)
- Buddy up. Hold each other (spouses or kids) accountable to do it. (Many times, your kids will help with this!)
- Break it down. Sometimes it’s easier to break your times and subjects into smaller chunks. Remember that preschoolers have a short attention span and limited understanding.
- Plan ahead of time. Don’t just open your Bible to a section and decide this is where we’re going to read tonight.
- Lower your expectations. It’s just not always going to be a “special, deep” moment. But it will get better! Some action is better than nothing!
Make your routine less “routine.” Preschoolers learn best by doing. Incorporate that knowledge into your devotion time. Be creative!
- Teach through games (For example: “Follow the Leader” teaches obedience—a good point to make when talking about Noah’s obedience to God).
- Make a photo album of people to pray for.
- Act out the Bible story.
- Color a picture while someone reads the story. (Kids often learn better when their hands are busy.)
Got 5 minutes? You can do this!
“Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21 )
Klista Storts serves as a Content Editor for Lifeway Kids. Before coming to Lifeway, she served as the Weekday and Preschool Specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention and as Director of Preschool Ministries at churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Klista has a passion for equipping leaders to share the love of Christ and lay foundations for conversion in the lives of kids.
