Step By Step To Family Devotions - Using Your Child’s Learning Style

photo by whisperofunremittingdemand

During these last three months of purposing to hold family devotions, have you had any less than stellar moments? A time, perhaps, where it didn’t look like a connection was being made? Your child was maybe spending more time investigating his navel than listening to you read?

That happens to everyone. Sometimes fatigue plays a part. One day after we said a lengthy family prayer following devotions, my husband commented that he thought he heard heavy breathing as someone was falling asleep. And I think it was me!

What may be in order is another one of those tweakings. Make your devotions more interesting by appealing to your child’s learning style. By integrating actions that involve the visual, auditory or kinesthetic nature, you’ll be more likely to engage your child instead of lose him.

There are ways of discovering what kind of learner your child is, including referring back to the series I wrote on Using Your Child’s Learning Style. There are both obvious and subtle clues to how he views the world around him. If he’s primarily a visual learner, let him sit beside you and read along. If he’s already of reading age, he should have his own Bible to read along in. Allow him to draw pictures to depict what is taking place in the reading, and be liberal about drawing pictures and diagrams to highlight a point for him. Maps in the back of most Bibles are also a good tool, as are any charts, lists, etc.

For the auditory learner, be very engaging with your reading style. Get into character! Add singing to your devotion time. To aid verse memorization for the very young auditory child, design an echo can. Use an empty coffee can and have the child speak his memory verse into the container. Kids love hearing their voice reverberate inside it and are apt to repeat the verse over and over - much like how babies and toddlers love to hear their shrieks in an empty mall.

And for the kinesthetic, hands-on learner who has a hard time sitting still, let him fidget as long as it isn’t being a distraction. However, prompt his attention by stopping frequently while you’re reading to ask questions. If he’s of reading age, practice switching off. You read a paragraph, then he reads the next. Then you, then he. It helps him stay better focused since he has to pay attention for when his turn comes up next. And acting out the scenes is always a lot of fun.

Visual learners want to see God, auditory learners want to hear Him, and kinesthetic kids want to experience Him. If you have more than one child, they will likely have different styles. There are ways of integrating those multiple styles into your devotion. Tweaking your family devotions to accommodate these natures will help bring fun and better involvement from your children.

Homework: 1. Discover what your child’s learning style is and appeal to that nature.
2. Check in with your accountability family. You may be connecting with them less frequently as you become more faithful and accustomed in holding devotions.
3. Continue teaching your child how to highlight verses and passages by underlining the Bible with a pen.
4. Is it time to change the routine yet?

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