It’s amazing what kids store in their minds. Or rather, the things they CHOOSE to store away.
Like, they can definitely remember you told them they could get ice cream after dinner, but they can’t remember where their closet is to put away the five outfits they’ve worn in the course of 24 hours.
Or they can for sure recall that you declared today was a zoo day, but for the life of them, can’t remember where their shoes are.
And they for sure heard you mutter that ill-timed curse word under your breath, and will gladly repeat at the most inopportune time.
It’s time to harness those recall skills for good!
Here are some ways you can guide and motivate your children to store up God’s word in their heart.
Strategic Choices
Pick verses they can easily relate to when starting out on this memorization journey. Any verse that talks about family relationships is a great place to start because they live those relationships out every day and can more quickly see how to apply it.
- Proverbs 20:11
- Ephesians 6:1
- Exodus 20:12
- Psalm 133:1
You can also help them select verses that apply to the issues they may be struggling with, like bullies, fear, anger, or dishonesty.
Rewards
Hey, I would still be happy to get gold stars on my work. Don’t be afraid to implement a simple reward system for meeting memorization goals. Whether that’s a sticker chart, picking out a new toy, or maybe that long-awaited ice cream trip, make memorizing scripture a fun and positive activity, not a dull task or punishment.
Music
We can all list numerous songs that we know perfectly (or at least mostly perfectly) because our brains are capable of storing way more information than we give it credit for. We just have to get it in the habit of tucking away nuggets. Audio is a great way for kids to immerse in the word of God, whether it’s verses put to music or straight up audio versions of the Bible.
Here are some great websites/albums that put scripture to music. The whole family can benefit from it, not just the kids.
- The Verses Project
- Scripture Songs Volume 1 by Sherri Youngward
- Hidden in My Heart by Stephen Elkins
- Scripture Lullabies
Apps
If you have older kids, integrating technology into their memory habits will increase the likelihood of the scriptures actually getting memorized. Here are some good scripture memory apps to get them started.
Family Challenges
Kids love activities that older siblings and parents participate in. One way to involve the whole family is to pick a passage that everyone memorizes, like something for Easter or Christmas. It could also be fun to pick a Psalm that focuses on nature glorifying God and memorize it for an upcoming trip to the mountains or the ocean, assigning each person a few verses to recite, or having everyone memorize the whole passage.
To help you unleash your own creativity, I’ve created two new PDFs for this week’s post, and included the PDF from last week as well.
Happy Memorizing!
