Genesis - Appropriate for Kids???

I'm going to venture off topic tonight from the things I usually blog about. I have been really thinking through some areas of my life recently and decided that there are a few areas, well okay a lot of areas - that I could improve in. One of these is the spiritual teaching of my kids. I'm not sure I am doing enough to equip them for the things they will face as they get older. So I decided that Hanna is old enough to read the bible (with me) you know... like a book.

I myself, did not realize that you could read the bible straight through, understand it and LOVE it until I was like thirty-ish, okay jeesh maybe I was a little older -but - that is not really an important detail here.


Anyway, we have done bible studies for kids etc... but not just sat down and read the book together. By the way we are using The Backpack Bible, New International Reader's Version (for those that are into those kinds of details) by Zonderkidz. For those of you that don't know Hanna is 9, Rylee is 5.

Rylee is not one to be left out of anything, so she was sitting at the table with us listening. Hanna and I were taking turns reading. We would read a little and then discuss what it meant etc...

So we went through the beginning, the heavens and the earth, the water and the land, day and night, the animals and then Man. Things are going great - she is really into it and Rylee is slurping her noodles and listening to us.




Then God formed Man from dust. "WHAT?? I don't like dust - eeewwwww this is yuck Mama", Rylee interjects. Hanna tells her it's not that bad - just listen. Okay - back to the forming Man I get just a few words further when Adam becomes a living Man and Hanna raises her hand. "I have just one question Mom!"


Okay, wondering what profound question she could be wanting to ask right now. "What is it Hanna?"

"Well, what I just don't understand is... WHY did God make the men with the stick thing?"

I think my eyes bugged out here and I managed to squeak out "stick thing??" Although, I know good and well what is coming next. "Yes, you know the stick thing - WHY did God give that to the Man???"

I'm thinking fast... "ummm... well... sweetie", crap I mean shoot... and Rylee is sitting right here and she copies EVERYTHING - this will go over great at school tomorrow, I can picture the note already... WHY THE HECK ISN'T MY HUSBAND HERE TO HANDLE THIS????


"Ummm, well you are going to have to ask your Dad about that, he is the one that is up on all things "stick". Ahem...


Okay lets move on girls!

Then Adam got to name the animals. This brought on interesting conversations of how bunnies could have been giraffes and so on... I am breathing a sigh of relief for getting us past the sticky part. :)


Then we get to Genesis 2:22, "Then the LORD God made a woman. He made her from the rib he had taken out of the man."

Rylee breaks in again: "Aaawwwww Mama this is gusting! Dis is bones, why you talkin bout dis Mama???" Hanna hushes her "Rylee PLEASE!"

Again moving on...


(gosh we've only gone through 3 more verses?) 2:25 "The man and his wife were both naked. They didn't feel any shame" Did I really just read that out loud? I am almost afraid to look up and out of the corner of my eye, I see clothing flying. "WHAT are you doing?"

"We want to be like Adam and Eve Mom!" Okay - this is not going anything like I had planned. I am trying to have a meaningful bible study with my kids and now they are running around the house naked. WHERE IS THAT HUSBAND??? These things just do not happen when he is here!

"GIRLS - Adam and Eve were naked because they did not know they were naked yet! PLEASE Girls put your clothes back on and lets move on!"

Okay - back to the story. Hanna's turn to read and Eve eats the fruit from the tree of good and evil. Life as it was changed forever. As Hanna is reading about the consequences that we all pay for this sin, here eyes are getting big. She reads it again quietly to herself and then looks up at me. "Mom, do you realize how wonderful our life could have been? No Evil? They got to walk in the garden with God, Mom - can you imagine???"