Christmas comes but once a year (Part four: The Bible, Apps and Storybooks)

By Annette Osborne -

This is the fourth and final blog post in our four part series of fabulous Christmas ideas. Click on these links to read the other posts: 
1. Christmas Music
2. Christmas Crafts  
3. Christmas Images, Media, Photos and Fonts
And this post, is all about The Bible, Bible Apps and Storybooks.



The Bible:

Modern Day Nazareth
Christmas in Israel:
I have written a book using the photos I took in Israel in 2011. It is designed for children to read, to give them a glimpse of what the places in the Christmas story look like today. You can download it free from our dropbox folder - click here! This is a great resource to use with small groups in your church to explore the context of Christmas.

Story telling ideas:
Christmas Wrapped Up: This is a great resource, packed with story telling ideas, scripts and much more! It is available for purchase from Scripture Union: Freephone 0508 423 836

Putting actions to the story of the Wise Men: We have a script and action cards for a fun, interactive way of telling the story of the wise men. Email annette.o@sunz.org.nz to request a copy. 

Bible Apps:
There are a whole range of apps out there, so we have selected a few of our favs to get you started. 
Superbook: 
http://www.cbn.com/superbook/superbook-free-kids-bible-app.aspx
This is a great app for primary aged children, to help them explore the Bible. It is FREE to download and works on tablets, ipads and smartphones. It is a media-rich experience that helps bring the Bible to life with videos and images from the Emmy nominated SUPERBOOK animation series as well as engaging interactive games. You can check it out here: www.cbn/superbook 

Bible App for Kids: 

https://www.bible.com/kids

Interact with the Bible and see it come to life. This Bible reading app is also FREE, and appeals to younger children. You can check it out here: https://www.bible.com/kids
"My grandchildren love the Bible app for kids and will watch the clips over and over again." Raewyn Rowney's personal recommendation!

The Beginners Bible App: 
http://app.beginnersbible.com/

      This is a great, FREE app, especially if you are using the Beginners Bible with your under 5s. Complete with stories, colouring pages, games, and audio! Head to app.beginnersBible.com for more information.


·         Guardians of Ancora:

     This is now available to download for FREE! What are you waiting for? This groundbreaking game is an amazing opportunity for children you know to discover the incredible adventures of the Bible for themselves! Guardians of Ancora is a world-class digital game – an amazing virtual world that 8 to 11 year olds can enter and a place where Bible stories come alive! http://guardiansofancora.com/

     Engage: 

     This is a fantastic app, created by the Youth team at Scripture Union, New Zealand. It is great for Intermediates and older. Listen to the Bible everyday, read to you by Kiwi young people. And you can listen in English or Maori!  Engage
 

Storybooks:
Look no further than Thalia's website: http://sacraparental.com/ 
She has a fantastic post called 'Top 10 Christmas Picture books that feature Jesus'. Each book comes with a description and a review. All the books you could need this Christmas season. 
The Jesus Storybook Bible is a beautiful resource. The Christmas story is written in a lovely version.  


May God bless you as you prepare for this Christmas season. May you know God's presence in the midst of busyness! 


Comments

  1. Hilary23 November 2015 at 09:49

    I use the Beginner's Bible App with one of my pre-school friends. She uses it in the car and we talk about it together as I drive. We've had some great conversations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Andrew R SUNZ23 November 2015 at 11:24

    The Superbook Kids Bible App is brilliant in so many ways. It has short videos of Bible stories, which you will need an internet connection for, background information about Bible times and characters and many other useful resources.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown23 November 2015 at 12:08

    I have used the Bible App for Kids one on one and also with a whole group of children, especially those who are don't know the bible stories well. the app will read the story to the children, or you can turn the sound down and use the fun interactivity of the images and tell the story to fit your context. Mirroring will put it from the phone/tablet to a TV.

    ReplyDelete
  4. not a wild hera23 November 2015 at 13:08

    Ooh, thanks for the link! Great post, thank you :)

    ReplyDelete

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