Teaching the Proverbs

Sometimes, lately, I've read the chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month for family devotions when Brian is gone or feels too bad. (Tonight he had a migraine again.) I'm thinking about doing this for regular morning devotions, especially when we begin school again. I've been considering Doorpost's Proverbs book. I'm also planning to get Big Truths for Little Kids this year. I was so excited to find out that this goes along with the curriculum that our kids are using in our new shepherding group. Right now we've been working through a very detailed and rather comprehensive Bible story book for evening devotions, The Children's Bible by Golden Press.

Anyway, however and whenever we read the Proverbs, I'm trying to make them very accessible and meaningful. I also want the kids to memorize many of them. Tonight instead of reading all of chapter 11, I decided to pick out a verse. Verse 30 seemed an obvious choice. I read it first, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise."

I love teaching my children and watching them grow. They're getting a grasp on "righteous", so we spent a little time on what "fruit" was and paralleled "capturing souls" with the more familiar "fishers of men." By then, it seemed natural that we should quickly memorize it. So I made up a tune on the spot that turned out rather well, the children loved it, and Ethan even fell asleep tonight still singing it.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And whoever captures souls - is wise.

I'm thinking this could be the way to go, but I'd better get a new manuscript book for the tunes so that I don't forget them.


BTW, Doorposts has a free PDF on why you should teach with the book of Proverbs and activities to help you do it.