GENERAL SITES FOR PARENTS
Vibrant Faith at Home
Articles and activities for families plus a free mobile app for Apple and Android
Family Fire
Family devotions plus a wide variety of articles on dating, marriage, and parenting
Seeds Family Worship
A monthly family worship idea, plus great original music to download/purchase. Most songs are Bible verses set to music.
Love and Logic
Parenting products and seminars to help parents provide loving support for their kids while raising respectful and responsible children.
WinShape Retreat
WinShape offers several retreat options including Courageous Hearts, designed to rekindle affection and restore communication to help couples maintain a healthy Christian marriage.
CURRICULUM-SPECIFIC SITES
For Preschool and Kindergarten Parents: Hop on Home Weekly Parent Page
An overview of the weekly Sunday School lesson and activities to be done at home. There is also a free mobile app for Apple and Android.
For Preschool and Kindergarten Kids: Grow, Proclaim, Serve Kid Stuff
Games and activities based on the weekly Sunday School lesson
For Track 25 (2nd-5th grade) Parents: Parent Cue
Inspirational blog posts on parenting. There is also a mobile app available for Apple and Android.
For Track 25 (2nd-5th grade) Kids: Studio252.tv
Video of the weekly Sunday School lesson plus activities based on the lesson or monthly theme.
SITES FOR KIDS
Vibrant Faith at Home
This site also features a section of activities just for kids.
BOOKS
50 Ways to Help Save the Earth: How You and Your Church Can Make a Difference, Rebecca Barnes-Davies, Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.
99 Ways to Raise Spiritually Healthy Children, Kathleen Long Bostrom, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
Celebrations That Touch the Heart: Creative Ideas to Make Your Holiday and Special Events Meaningful, Brenda Poinsett, Waterbrook Press, 2001.
Children and Prayer: A Shared Pilgrimage, Betty Shannon Cloyd, Upper Room Books, 1999.
Five-Star Families: Moving Yours from Good to Great, Carol Kuykendall, Fleming H. Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2007.
For Everything a Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life, the Nilsen family,The Youth & Family Institute, 1999.
For Heaven’s Sake! Parenting Preschoolers Faithfully, Marilyn Sharpe, Quill House Publishers, 2010.
Gently Lead: How to Teach Your Children About God While Finding Out for Yourself, Polly Berrien Berends, Crossroad Publishing, 1998.
HAND IN HAND: Growing Spiritually With Our Children, Sue Downing, Discipleship Resources, 1998.
Home Grown: Handbook for Christian Parenting, Karen DeBoer, Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2010.
Imagine That! 365 Wacky Ways to Build a Creative Christian Family, Mike and Amy Nappa, Augsburg Fortress, 1998.
Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Children, Elizabeth F. Caldwell, Pilgrim Press, 2000.
Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share, Susan R. Garrett and Amy Plantinga Pauw, Baker Books, 2002.
Never Mind the Joneses: Building Core Christian Values in a Way That Fits Your Family, Tim Stafford, InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship, Robbie Castleman, Intervarsity Press, 1993.
Real Kids, Real Faith, Practices for Nurturing Children’s Spiritual Lives, Karen Marie Yust, Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Scripture Talk: an opportunity to begin faith conversations, compiled by Lyle M. Griner, Vibrant Faith Publishing, 1997.
The Shelter of Each Other: Rebuilding Our Families, Mary Pipher, Ballantine Books, 1996.
Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life, Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn, Paulist Press, 1995.
TIPS FOR WORSHIPPING WITH KIDS
Not yet ready to leave your newborn in the church nursery? Bringing your child in a carrier to the worship service allows him/her to feel and hear the rhythm of worship even before he/she can actively participate.
If your toddler or preschooler shows an interest in “going to church” but is not yet old enough for Children’s Church (4yr. preschool-1st graders) and not ready to sit through the entire service, take him/her to the service for just the opening part, or until the children leave for Children’s Church, about 15 minutes into the service. At that point you may take him/her to the nursery, which will accept children at any time during the hour, and then you may return to the service.