Reading is important but how do you build a library inexpensively? The more a child is surrounded by books, the more he or she will be encouraged to read. I know that we are in the age of electronics - books in digital formats may be good for older children and adults but you aren't going to give a child a love for reading this way. Personally, I prefer to hold a real book in my hands.
There are many ways to pick up book inexpensively:
- garage sales
- thrift shops
- used book sites on the internet: Alibris, Abe, Half.com, Barnes & Noble, Kregel
Be sure your library includes a variety of books, not just fiction. Include some of the following:
Classics: Dickens, Hawthorne, Defoe, Spyri, etc.
Biographies: Presidents, Missionaries, historical figures, composers, artists
Spiritual, Character building: find books that will help grow your child's character and spiritual life. These can be fiction or non-fiction. Check out Vision Forum and Lamplighter Ministries for some great sources
Reference books: dictionary, commentaries, concordance, Bible dictionary, Thesaurus
“He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.” - Barrow
"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they
invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing,
joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own."
-- Nikos Kazantzakis
"If we are going to serve the Lord, we must stop focusing on other people."
~ Evangelist Jim Pruitt
Write verse on chalkboard or poster board. Choose two volunteers. Have first volunteer face the class so that he cannot see the board. Have second volunteer choose one word. When quoting the verse, everyone claps in place of the chosen word. First volunteer must guess the word without looking at the verse.
"God will not call you to do something that He will not enable you to do."
To review a familiar verse, divide board into several sections. Have children race to see who can be the first to write the verse correctly. For a larger group, make teams and have a relay race. Each person writes one word and then passes the chalk until entire verse is written.
