Milestones: Kindergarten
"Impress [God's commands] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
- Deuteronomy 6:7 -
Today marks a new milestone for our family: our baby started Kindergarten!
While I could go on and on how much I'll miss my little buddy and how this is a new milestone for me as a mother, I want to focus on the importance of continuously teaching your children of God's love and what the Bible says.
It's all too easy to place more importance on academics than Biblical education once your child enters school. Teachers dole out heaps of homework, and state exams demand children test at a particular level. Sports teams require attendance at all practices and games. How does one fit in spiritual growth as well with all the demands today's students encounter?
Don't get me wrong . . . I'm not saying education is a bad thing. It's 100% necessary. However, the Bible tells us that we must seek wisdom and knowledge. Proverbs 1:2-4 says:
"Their [Proverbs] purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young."
So how do we build spiritual growth into a student's busy schedule?
Bedtime is a great time to engage your child. In our family, we have made it a point to read the Bible or a devotional with our children almost every night. I say "almost" every night because there are some nights where the normal routine goes out the window.
For our third grade student, we have a wonderful devotional called VeggieTales: 365 Bedtime Devos for Boys. Our church gave this to him last year, and we are nearly to the end. It's a great devotional that includes a piece of scripture, a simple discussion of that Biblical principle, and a bedtime prayer. Our son may not always be fully engaged when we read this to him, but we know that eventually, this will settle into his heart and mind.
For our kindergartner, we read a children's Bible story to him every night. (Sometimes he demands two or three!) He's learning the Bible basics from the start. He also enjoys watching one or two worship song videos from the Little Praise Party app from Yancy. There's nothing better than teaching a child from the beginning to joyfully praise their heavenly Father.
Don't let academics become more important than your child's spiritual growth.
It's easy to incorporate daily spiritual disciplines into your child's routine. Because your family is unique, you may find something else that works best for you. How are you building spiritual growth into your student's daily routine?