Intro to Era Study for Kids

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Proverbs 1:7a

The purpose of this blog is to document how I have been teaching my kids the timeline of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and to provide ideas/resources for others who want to do the same. I desire for my children to understand the BIG picture of the Bible at an early age. Once they understand the framework of scripture they will know where to put all the puzzle pieces in the future.

I learned the eras of the Bible for the first time in 2009 while being discipled by Iva May and going through Downline Discipleship Ministry. Learning the basic framework of the Bible has been a game changer for me and it laid the foundation from which I have grown in my Biblical literacy. This study has been adapted from Max Anders "30 Days to Understanding the Bible" and Iva May's Chronological Bible Teaching, both which I would highly recommend!

30 Days to Understanding the Bible  and Chronological Bible Teaching breaks down the Bible into eras. I love this idea. Its so much easier than 66 books. Each era teaches key Bible characters, places, and events in chronological order so that you can “think your way through” the entire Word of God.

Eras of Biblical History:
1. Creation
2. Patriarchs
3. Exodus
4. Conquest
5. Judges
6. Kingdom/Divided Kingdom
7. Exile
8. Return
9. Silence
10. Gospel
11. Church
12. Missions/New Heavens and New Earth

I have found many different ways to reinforce the stories to my children each week. The following blog posts will walk through the eras and highlight the activities I used including:

• Books from library
• Activities/crafts
• Acting out the story
• Coloring sheets
• Songs/rhymes
• Picture on chalkboard with verse
• Sequencing cards
• Media/books (below)
• Check out the Pinterest Boards I have created for each Era HERE

Free Interactive Bible App for kids
Download here

What's In the Bible

Our church gave us a membership to Right Now Media and our kids love watching shows from it that are God-centered such as Veggie Tales, Boz, Adventures in Odyssey and many more. So much better than what's on TV these days.

We have loved the Jesus Storybook Bible but wanted to find another children's Bible to read as well. We found The Children's Bible that is laid out chronologically and has 100's of stories that are not in typical kids Bibles. It also has great realistic illustrations!

Giant 10-ft Bible Time Line

The Big Picture Bible Time Line

This has reproducible coloring sheets for kids that can be put together to make a 60-ft long timeline. I am going to put these sheets in a notebook and use it to review.

****I spoke at Iva May's Chronological Bible Teaching Conference in July about teaching your children the Sacred Story. If you would like to hear to the audio of my breakout session click HERE and scroll down to the bottom to listen***