Jesus loved kids so much, he commanded the disciples to bring the little children to him. That commandment referred to all children, including those with special needs. One of the duties of believing parents is to introduce our children to him. Guest blogger Amy Stout is here with Part 2 of a two-day series packed with resources to equip parents to follow that command.

Introducing Jesus to Kids with Special Needs, Part 2

As parents, we have an awesome and wonderful opportunity to introduce our children to Jesus. However, when you are a parent of a child who experiences special needs or who learns differently, this task can seem overwhelmingly difficult. Here are a few resources that have really been helpful in our home:

Bible Study/Devotions

• Word of Life Gopher Buddies Quiet Time: This is a quick daily devotional for you to do with your child. Each lesson is short and sweet and gives them a hands on activity that requires zero prep. Kylie loves it. Also, the lessons are easily adaptable based on your child’s abilities.

• Keys for Kids: This is also a favorite of ours. These are not as colorful, but the stories are captivating and so applicable to every day life. Plus, you can get the first book free or read online for free. The website also shows the ABC’s of salvation.

Biblical Training/Discipline/Parental Guidance

• For Instruction in Righteousness: My absolute favorite resource. Behaviors are listed topically. (Example: anger, pride, friendship, and so on.) Each section is divided into: what the Bible says about this, what are the consequences if you don’t do as the Bible says, what are the blessings if you do what the Bible says, examples of Bible characters who did and did not obey and what happened to them, practical ideas of object lessons and other helps for parents.  Much scripture is listed and reinforces that our children are to obey God’s word through parental instruction.

This really helps our family reinforce that Kylie is not just disobeying/obeying us as her parents, but more importantly she is disobeying/obeying God.  It also gives us ideas of the good things she is doing so we can reward and encourage her appropriately as we see these positive behaviors. I love that discipline is not just negative… but what it is supposed to be–teaching and training.

• The Child Training Bible: This website gives you a full tutorial, shopping list and tips on how to use the Child Training Bible. While it is time consuming to put together, it is a great resource. You simply follow the tabs for scriptural helps to teach your child about that issue or concern in the Bible. They also offer a Virtue Training Bible.

• The Five Love Languages of Children: This is an amazing book for parents. I can’t say enough about it. Knowing how to discern Love Languages is so important to every aspect of your life—parenting, work relationships, church relationships, and so much more. It helps with every communication style. One of my favorite parenting books.

Faith-Based Toys

The Fisher Price Noah’s Ark set is one example. But there are so many to choose from… See this link for a big list.

What Jesus Resources Do You Use?

Now that Amy’s shared her list of resources, it’s your turn. What resources do you use with your kids? Leave a comment below for the rest of us. If you missed yesterday’s post be sure to check it out too.

Introducing Jesus to Kids with Special Needs, Part 1

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Jesus commanded the disciples to bring the little children to him. As his present-day disciples, one of our duties is to introduce our children with special needs to him. Guest blogger Amy Stout is here with Part 1 of a two-day series packed with resources and ideas to obey Jesus’ command and bless our children.

Introducing Jesus to Kids with Special Needs, Part 1

My daughter recently informed my husband and me that God was “cross” with Wreck-It-Ralph. (Who says the word “cross” anymore?) She told us that Ralph was wrecking God’s creation and God was going to send an angel to help him STOP!

My husband and I got a good laugh out of her story.  We hooted even more a few days later when we were in a store with Kylie, and a woman’s voice came over the loud speaker. Our daughter jerked her head up, sucked in her breath and exclaimed “That’s God’s sister!”

While Kylie’s theology is obviously flawed, and we have lots of work to do to make sure she understands truth, we were thrilled that she is beginning to connect the spiritual dots, however squiggly the lines are right now.

As parents, we have an awesome and wonderful opportunity to introduce our children to Jesus. However, when you are a parent of a child who experiences special needs or who learns differently, this task can seem overwhelmingly difficult. A good place to start would be to figure out what your child’s learning style is. Is your child an auditory learner? A visual learner? A hands-on learner? Does she enjoy self-teaching or learn better in a group or one-on-one? Does music help your child learn? Once you know that piece, it is much easier to choose resources to help your child become acquainted with spiritual truths.

Here are a few resources that have really been helpful in our home:

Bible Memory Resources

• Scripture Lullabies CD: I discovered these recently and am so thrilled by them. They are an incredible way to learn scripture simply by listening to them as your child goes to sleep. The music is so beautiful and the lyrics come directly from God’s Word. On a side note: many parents have reported that after listening to these CDs, their kids sleep better, night terrors cease to exist and they rest beautifully… because folks, scripture does that. The Word of God is alive and powerful! They are available in Volume 1 and Volume 2.

• Hide ’em In Your Heart DVD/CD: This is an amazing DVD/CD set. The fashions are a little dated, but the kids playing and colorful scenes are engaging for kids and adults alike. The tempo is upbeat and fun. We really enjoy these for daytime viewing. The link takes you to a boxed set of both volumes.

Bible Stories to Read

• Read and Share Bible: This is my daughter’s absolute favorite book. (We also love the DVDs.)  She takes it with her everywhere. She has read these stories to Buddhists, Hindus, Free Thinkers, and Muslims. (Who said a 7-year-old can’t be a missionary?) The illustrations are colorful and exciting.  My only teeny, tiny “negative” feedback is that my daughter often gets confused by the babies in the book. The babies in different stories are illustrated the same so, because my daughter is a literal thinker, it took us a long time to convince her that the babies had not jumped into other stories of the book but that they each had their own name and own parents. For example, Kylie kept telling us that the baby Samuel was Ruth and Boaz’s son… nope… the babies just look the same in the book. Samuel’s mommy is Hannah, and Ruth and Boaz’s son is Obed. However, this is a miniscule complaint vs how much we love this book and DVD set!

• The Jesus Story Book Bible: This is my absolute favorite book to read to my daughter.  The illustrations are not that engaging for children, in my opinion, so I choose to read this to Kylie at bedtime after she is already tucked into bed. The writing is amazing and I love that every story circles back to Jesus and the big picture. You aren’t left wondering how it all fits together in the end.

More Jesus Resources on Tap Tomorrow

Amy will be back tomorrow with more resources in part 2 of this series. Until then, have fun checking these out and leaving comments about your child’s favorite faith resources.

Introducing Jesus to Kids with Special Needs, Part 2

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop-up box and the second at the bottom of this page.