Bible reading plans your children will enjoy are essential for cultivating a love for God’s Word at a young age. This post shares how to spark genuine excitement and consistency in your child’s Bible reading habits, with four free printable Bible reading plans designed to match their reading level and keep them engaged through bite-sized story “chunks” from Scripture.
Overview of Bible Reading Plans Your Children Will Enjoy
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Plans focus on story “chunks” to keep kids engaged with narrative portions of Scripture
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Helps overcome the struggle of where and how kids should start reading the Bible
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4 levels of FREE reading plans included:
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Level 1: 3 verses/day — best for early readers
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Level 2: 5 verses/day — great for growing readers
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Level 3: 10 verses/day — adds Proverbs for deeper wisdom
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Level 4: 20 verses/day — includes full Psalms & Proverbs annually
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Encourages parental involvement—key for building consistent habits
Affiliate Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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All four Bible plans are available as free downloadable printables
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Designed to build lifelong Bible habits through stories kids can understand and enjoy
As Christian parents, one of the most important things you can do for your kids is to get them in the habit of reading God’s Word daily. However, it can be difficult to know where to have them start or how to set up Bible reading plans your children will enjoy. While it’s great for our kids to read the Bible, we also want them to enjoy it and learn from what they read. Sometimes, as parents, we aren’t sure how to keep them interested in having a daily devotional time in the Word.
You will find several great ideas and options in this post to give you direction and plans to help your kids start reading the Bible consistently! Don’t believe the myth that kids are too young to read and understand the Bible. Get them started right away with one of the plans given, and watch them begin to grow!
(This is an article that my son wrote about his desire that his children would not only READ the Bible but also would ENJOY reading it.)
Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes... in You and Your Kids
Passionate Parenting: Enjoying the Journey of Parenting TeensSolving A Crisis in Christian Parenting: Why so many prodigals?[(Child Training Tips : What I Wish I Knew When My Children Were Young)] [By (author) Reb Bradley] published on (August, 2014)
![[(Child Training Tips : What I Wish I Knew When My Children Were Young)] [By (author) Reb Bradley] published on (August, 2014)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51SnOcJL+QL._SL500_.jpg)
Be sure to grab the FREEBIE at the bottom of the page
Be sure to grab the FREEBIE at the bottom of the page
Bible Reading Plans Your Children Will Enjoy
As a father, I am gripped by two main thoughts regarding my children reading the Bible.
1. I want my children to read the Bible.
As a father of three children, of whom the oldest is six, I have already come to the very clear realization that (naturally speaking) I am incapable of raising godly children.
I am constantly blown away by their brazen, unabashed selfishness. To be perfectly honest, the simple fact is that at least my two older children have inherited their father’s bullheaded stubbornness.
At times, I’ve looked at one of my kids as they were fighting over something totally stupid and thought, “I have no idea how to ‘fix’ you.” Have you ever been there?
Sometimes I’ve explained to my daughter why something is wrong, and yet, when I’m finished, it is so obvious that she would still do it in a heartbeat if she thought she could get away with it.
There have also been many times I’ve gone to God in frustration and asked:
- How do I get my kids to desire the right things?
- How do I change their selfish thinking?”
And that’s when God reminds me,
“Mike, you can’t raise Godly kids using natural means. Raising kids for Me is a supernatural work. You need to use the same thing that changed your life, your goals, and your desires. It is my Word that changes lives, not your logical explanations.”
I’ve come to the conclusion that the Word of God is my only chance to turn out godly children.
I cannot tell you how badly I desire for my children to read the Bible. I suspect that most of you who are parents feel the same way.
2. I want my children to enjoy reading the Bible.
How do you motivate children to read the Bible?
Just as badly as I want my children to read the Bible, I want them to enjoy doing it.
I don’t want Bible-reading time to be a drudgery for my children. The Bible is not a boring book. But most kids, growing up in our media-dominated world, don’t know that!
When my daughter reached the point where she was able to begin reading the Bible, I really struggled with where to have her read each day.
What book of the Bible should a child read first?
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There are so many great stories in the Old Testament. Genesis, for example, is absolutely loaded with great stories, but it also has a lot of really heavy reading. The same thing could be said of Exodus, Joshua, Judges, and every book from I Samuel to Job.
Let’s look at the New Testament. The Gospels look more inviting for a six-year-old reader. But then you run into the genealogy of Christ in the first chapter of Matthew.
In the book of John, you have some awesome stories, but they are surrounded by long, wordy debates between Jesus and the Jews.
As a result, Beth and I usually ended up in Psalms. It’s obviously a great place to read, but I just felt like Beth was missing out on so many great stories. Most of all, the honest truth was, she didn’t like reading her Bible.
She is a “shy, introverted” person, but on more than one occasion, she looked at me with one of her dramatic expressions and said bluntly, “I just don’t really like reading my Bible.”
Somewhere during that time, I got a different idea. An idea of just picking a different story from the Bible each day and having Beth read that. I quickly discovered that approach was much easier said than done.
How to get my kids excited about reading the Bible?
Bible-reading time then became a burden on me. I would pick a story, find it in my Bible, and then realize that it was much longer than I had previously realized, or it was much heavier than I was expecting.
After a little while of trying to read Bible stories, Beth and I ended up back where we had started… in Psalms.
Now, obviously, I’m not being critical of the Word of God. It is perfect and powerful, and it has exactly what my kids need.
I’m simply trying to illustrate that it can be very challenging to keep your kids excited about their daily Bible reading.
I certainly understand that there is something to be said for developing the character to just push through. To make yourself read the more challenging passages of Scripture. However, I don’t believe that it should begin when a child is just starting to read their Bible.
I want my children to have kid-friendly Bible reading plans they would look forward to and enjoy. That simply was not happening in my home.
As I struggled with Beth’s Bible reading, an idea slowly began to form in my heart and mind.
Could I use a monthly-goal model for a children’s Bible-reading plan? One that is based on stories instead of entire books of the Bible?
It was a daunting task. But I’ve never been smart enough to realize when I’m about to get into something that is way over my head… So I jumped in.
It took way longer than I anticipated. I started in Genesis. I worked my way through the major storytelling books of the Bible and broke each story down into bite-sized chunks.
The story “chunks” vary in length from 2 to 24 verses.
The biggest struggle was finding good stopping points as I worked my way through each story. Some stories are completed in a single “chunk” while others are broken up into dozens of “chunks.”The story of David’s life, for example, has over 50 “chunks.”
When it was all said and done, I had 679 story “chunks” to use in my children’s Bible-reading plans. Yes, I decided that as long as I’m putting so much work into breaking the stories down, I might as well create more than one children’s reading plan.
I have created four levels of Bible Reading Plans Your Children Will Enjoy. I’d like to make them available to anyone who would like to use them.
Be sure to grab the FREEBIE at the bottom of the page
THE FIRST LEVEL bible reading plan requires an average of 3 verses per day (around 90 verses per month).
Approximately 30 of those verses will be in Psalms, and the rest will be Bible stories in fairly small “chunks.”
I believe the largest “chunk” for this level is 12 verses. In the case of a “chunk” of this size, I, as the parent, just determine how many days we will take to work our way through it in Beth’s Bible reading.
Needless to say, I could not break each story down into 3-verse segments.
Simply put, you, as the parent, will need to be involved. If I may be frank, if you don’t want to be involved, it doesn’t matter which Bible-reading program you choose; your children are not going to read the Bible faithfully.
- You will have a monthly structure to help you, but you will also have tremendous flexibility.
- You can read a story chunk on the first day or spend a day or two reading through one of the Psalms assigned to the month.
- The order doesn’t really matter except when you are reading through a story that has multiple “chunks.” Obviously, it would make sense to read that kind of story in chronological order.
Ultimately, you can really do whatever you want. You have lots of options in using these Bible reading plans your children will enjoy, and you can do what works for you.
Personally, I like giving my daughter some options to choose from. She enjoys having a say in her daily reading, and learning to make decisions within boundaries is good for her.
THE SECOND LEVEL Bible Reading Plan requires an average of 5 verses per day (around 150 verses per month).
Approximately 50 of those verses will be in Psalms, and the rest are Bible story chunks.
THE THIRD LEVEL Bible Reading Plan requires an average of 10 verses per day (around 300 verses per month).
At this level, we introduce the child to Proverbs while continuing to read in Psalms. Approximately 150 verses each month will come from Psalms and Proverbs.
As you can see, I am slowly trying to stretch their reading into different areas. Also at this level, some of the stories will be a little more challenging.
THE FOURTH LEVEL Bible Reading Plan requires an average of 20 verses per day (around 600 verses per month).
- At this level, the child will read through the entire book of Psalms once and through the entire book of Proverbs twice within the year.
- In an average month, about 350 verses will come from Psalms and Proverbs and the rest will come from story “chunks.”
Once again, you can see that I am trying to stretch them in their reading. If I child completes this level, I would think that he is more than ready to try a teen and adult-level Bible-reading plan.
As of right now, my daughter is working her way through the first level. Because of her reading level, Beth is moving through level #1 much faster than the recommended 3 verses per day. Beth is enjoying it, and Ruth and I absolutely love it! It has helped us so much, and I honestly believe that it could be a real help to you with your own children.
As parents, we all want our children to read and love the Bible—not just out of obligation, but out of joy. But finding Bible reading plans your children will enjoy can be challenging. Long passages and complex books often frustrate young readers.
Instead of full books or difficult chapters, these plans focus on digestible Bible stories paired with Psalms and Proverbs. Each plan is broken down by reading level, helping kids steadily grow in their Bible knowledge and love for Scripture—without becoming overwhelmed.
If you would like one or more of the children’s Bible reading plan printables that your children will enjoy, sign up below.
You will receive an email with the links to all four of the plans, and you can download the ones you want to use with your children.
