Keeping Your Kids in the Word by Memorizing Scripture

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Many of us groan at the thought of memorizing anything, but our children are wired to commit things to memory. In the early years, these little sponges go around soaking up facts and knowledge about anything and everything. This is why children learn foreign languages so easily when they are preschool and elementary age.  Likewise, if you’re a Christ-follower, these years are also the best time to introduce your kids to memorizing scripture.

There are so many ways to go about memorizing scripture.  We started by using the verses that were listed in the instructor guide of our Sonlight curriculum.  My son, Jonathan, loves tracing and copywork, so I took advantage of that.  I typed out the verse using the dotted manuscript font from Fonts4Teachers.com so he could trace the verse.  As Jonathan became more comfortable with writing, I filled the bottom part of the page with blank three-part handwriting lines so he could copy the verse.  I began with wide lines and slowly adjusted to a smaller font size as his handwriting improved.

I recently discovered Seeds Family Worship.  They currently have six CDs of worship songs written from scripture.  I purchased the first volume, Seeds of Courage, and fell in love with it.  These are not your typical cheesy kids songs that you as the parent will grow sick of listening to over and over again.

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I start each Monday by introducing the verse using the CD.  Then we use various printables to reinforce memory of the verse.  Carisa from 1+1+1=1 has created coloring pages, mini books, tracing sheets, and copywork sheets for all of the Seeds Family Worship CDs. These can be all downloaded from BibleStoryPrintables.com.

We recite the verse multiple times each day and find ways to apply it.  You’ll be surprised how many opportunities will come up each week to apply the scripture.  You almost don’t have to look for them; the opportunities will find you!

A new addition to our routine is to video Jonathan reciting the verse.  Jonathan can be a bit on the shy side at times, but he loves to be recorded and watch himself on video.  This has been a great confidence builder for him. We do this towards the end of the week when he seems to have the verse well committed to memory,  We practice a few times and then record it.  He usually likes to do a few takes of the verse and then chooses the one he likes best for me to save.

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While memorizing scripture just for the sake of memorizing scripture is great, we’re also working on many other skills at the same time:

• Fine Motor Skills
• Handwriting
• Grammar
• Public Speaking

As an added bonus, when you work on and meditate on a verse like this all week with your children, you’ll find that you’ve memorized it too!

Amanda is a former church communications director with a MA in Old Testament Studies turned homeschooling mom.  She blogs about life, motherhood, homeschooling, technology, books, faith, and more at ThePelsers.com.  She also hosts a weekly Kids in the Word Wednesdays link up where you can share your ideas for making the Word come alive to your kids through teaching the Bible, scripture memory, character training, and worldview.