Among new recommendations for families from First Free Kids Director Kari Heckler are Bibles, family devotional books, storybooks, and science books that could even be used as textbooks for homeschoolers.

“I’ve had this on my heart with things being shut down and kids learning at home a lot,” Kari says. “I just want to remind parents that biblical foundation and education starts in your home. We’re here to support the families. It’s not the other way around.”

With screens crowding out time for books in many families, Kari has noticed a definite impact.

“I do see over the last 10 years a switch away from the kids being able to focus,” she says. “When you get a book, you can use your imagination more. You can feel it. You can really take time to look at the illustrations. And it builds your vocabulary.”

She’s also picked several devotional books.

“Devotions at home are so important,” she says. “If families could all just take 5 or 10 minutes even, just to come together with their kids and have devotions—we have some great things to help them get on track with that. 

“You could do this in a few minutes before school. Or, when it was crazy during sports seasons, our family would keep a book in the car and one of the kids would read it aloud while we were driving to school. In different seasons, you do what you’ve got to do.”

A few highlights:

• The Wonders of Creation science series, with colorful, engaging books about fossils, astronomy, archeology and more. “There is so much biblical value to science,” Kari says. “I always tell the kids on Sundays and Wednesdays, science will always catch up with the Word of God.

• A variety of kids’ Bibles, including Kari’s favorite, the Kids Quiz Bible. It has more than 1,000 questions to help kids and families dig deeper into Scripture.

• Bible Gems to Remember: both a Bible and an accompanying devotional book to help kids internalize Scripture by summarizing key statements in five words or less.

Sue Nelson, Resource Center Coordinator, stands ready to help families find books and resources that work, including special orders. First Free makes no profit on books sold at The Scroll, so the prices are often better than online or in bookstores.

The Scroll is open Sunday mornings before and after worship services, and also from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays.