What a beautiful morning in Houston! Curt’s parents arrived from Missouri last night and they’re on a walk with our very happy dog and very happy child. The house is nice and quiet, giving me the perfect chance to check in to Siestaville.
A few days ago I read a comment from one of our siestas asking for some advice. I thought it was too good a topic to get buried in the comments, so I saved it for a post. Check out this question from Kathy Pink Bicycle Arkansas:
Can I ask a favor/help of all my siesta’s? I teach 5th grade Sunday school and for the first time I am having a very difficult time with them learning their verse and bringing their Bibles. I’ve tried bribery, candy, small prizes…..any suggestions? What works for you? Please help. Thanks!
I am just starting to work on a couple of (very simple) verses with Jackson. My friend and co-worker, Jen, started out doing Scripture memory with her son during bathtime. I’ve found that to be a great time too because my little monkey is contained! So I’m also very interested to hear your tips. If you have advice for Scripture memory with big kids or small kids, we’d love to hear it!
I saw a easy method yesterday…use the 26 letters of the alphabet to memorize scriptures..for instance, All have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Be still and know that I am God, etc.
Sharon Gowen
I post Bible verses on my kid’s bathroom mirror. I write it out on a 3×5 card and tape it to the mirror. I change it every week. Then I try to bring it up during the week on how it pertains to what they are dealing with. One week I didn’t have a chance to put a new one up and they actually asked me what the new one for the week was!
Kelli M
Madison, MS
One way that works for me is to use the Scripture in a song. It works!
I think of all the Scriptures that I have learned over the years as a song, and they are embedded in my mind forever that way!
Funny, I was just thinking about this very thing yesterday……
Always best to pray. Pray that they will hunger and thirst for righteousness. God’s Word promises that they will be filled! Also, that they will hide God’s Word in their hearts and allow it to be a lamp to their feet and a light to their path. Nothing works best like praying Truth over their lives.
Have a great day. Patti
We used the “Hide Them in Your Heart” cd’s with our girls when they were younger… Singing the verses (any verse to a familiar tune) gets the verses in quicker with us!
other than repetition? the only thing that has ever worked for me is to have the words set to music. I learn best through song.
Of course that won’t work for everyone.
This probably wouldn't work for Jackson and younger, but for you and I, I have found it a great help.
Crayola makes a colored marker, I believe a package of 6 or 8; that are for glass & mirrors. AWESOME!
I also am asking for help, if anyone has a great bible marker that doesn't bleed through in other colors besides yellow, would you be willing to share the name brand and where I can find them at? [email protected]
Thank you!
Love you Siesta's!!!
If you are at all musically inclined, adding a little tune and “singing” your verse is helpful. Think of all the little kiddy songs you know, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, for example… just any catchy tune. Add a clap or a snap here or there for fun. Anything that inspires fun or a giggle will help!
Hope this is helpful!
Elizabeth
MUSIC! set anything to music with actions and it’s easier to memorize… mix up the order, write the words on balloons and pop them. March around the room. There are 1000s of way to make it fun. The key really is that– make it fun.
The verses that are most engrained in my mind are the ones I sing.
Some of these are songs of people with song writing talents, others come from the terrifying brilliance that is my own mind.
When I realize that a song I love from a songwriter is from scripture, then I’ll add a little made-up part that includes the reference. I started this in college because I was always saying, “Somewhere in the Bible it says….” and I didn’t want to do that anymore!
I remember scripture songs from when I was in elementary school (and I’m in my late 20s). They are in my head and live in my heart!
The best thing we ever did when our kids were little was to SING the verses. We started this in Community Bible Study Children’s Program. Take a short verse and sing it to the tune of London Bridge, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. It really works!
Also, time in the car is another place they are contained and still. Buy a CD of kids singing scripture and praise songs.
Our kids are older now and we moved on to short chapters like Psalms 1 and 23. Keep rewarding their accomplishments! Our oldest is memorizing James 1 because when he has it down he gets to start learning how to drive! YIKES! Then it will be me repeating the verses.
Marthanne in Dallas
Here’s a different take on this, dear friends. I hope it helps.
When working on Scripture with my kiddos, I want to them to memorize it because they love God’s Word; not because I reward them or because I make a super fun game out of it (though that’s fine to do.) More than asking ourselves what tricks we can do to get them to memorize it, we should change the question to: What can I do to get them to LOVE God’s Word? If they begin to love His Word, they’ll begin to memorize it.
I still remember verses that I learned as a small child in Sunday School over thirty years ago. I can’t tell you what tactic was used to get me to learn them, but I can tell you that those Sunday School teachers infused a deep love for the Word of God on a very young girl that is sustaining me right now in the darkest period of my life. Their contribution was priceless.
With my own children, how do I teach them to love God’s Word? By talking about it all the time. By telling them all of its benefits. By making it applicable to their everyday lives. By teaching them that it is their only defense against the Enemy. By showing them that the God who wrote it is very real and deeply in love with them. When you make Scripture come alive for them, they will begin to love it and begin to allow it to be written on their own hearts.
Love you, dear Siestas…
I make a chart with the names of the students and then I post it where the people of the church can see the chart. That then makes the parents have little Johnny do the memory verse because they don’t want adults of the church to think that there child is not doing the memory verse. I give a star to the ones that have memorized the verse. This works very well. It gets the parents involved and the child gets the verse memorized. They really don’t like the idea of someone getting stickers and there child not and everyone seeing this. I then have a prize at the end of the month for the one with the most stickers. Hope this helps.
For my 5 year old hand motions and music work best..but for my big boys memory work is easiest if they understand the verse first…read over it…break it down…ask questions about it…try to figure out the who, what, where..and then it seems easier to memorize.
April
Yeah, no kidding. I could use some help in this area too. Lookin’ forward to these responses.
For several years, my husband, our two (now teenaged) daughters, and I have taught 3rd grade Sunday School. One of the most effective methods we have used with Bible memorization is in essence a game for the kids. Only limitation is that they need to be able to read. At the end of our Sunday School time with them, I would write the memory verse on the board. We would read through it, as a group, a couple of times. I would always do this in an exaggerated way, running back and forth in front of the white board, touching each word and using great voice intonation. After a couple of times, I would then call on a child to come up and erase one word while the rest of the class covered their eyes. The class would then read the verse with me again, filling in the missing word. We would do this until every word, including the “address” was missing. By using this method, the kids had the verse memorized by the time they left the classroom and only had to keep praticing it during the week. The kids enjoyed this so much that they would beg their parents to stay until we were done if “big church” let out early. Most of the parents loved to stay and play along with us. Praising them and remarking on how smart and clever they are is the real key in keeping them invested in this tricky learning tool.
~Michelle in Idaho
Wow Amanda…
What a great idea for a post today!
We teach a 2nd Grade Sunday School class and here is what is working for us with this age:
1. Every activity in the class should point to the lesson and the memory verse.
2. We get the verse visually in front of the kids as much as possible.
3. We have Bible Centers and one of those always is a game, puzzle or activity involving the memory verse.
4. We do a matching game with the words of the verse printed on pairs of index cards. When they find all the matches they see how fast they can put the verse in the correct order.
5. Put motions to the scripture! This reminds me of what your Mom did in the Fruit of the Spirit study…simple, but works every time!
6. We play “Heads Up, Seven Up.” I write the verse on a marker board. The kids cover their eyes. I erase one word and then they take turns saying the scripture without the word. Then I erase another and another until all the words are gone.
7. Our church offers Pastor’s Bucks for many things — like bringing their Bible, being there every Sunday in a month, saying their memory verse, learning the Bible Books, etc. The Pastor’s Bucks work much like tickets do at Chuck E Cheese’s. Once in December and once in May, the kids get to “spend” their Pastor’s Bucks in the Pastor’s Bucks Store. And we have GOOD stuff…not like that junk you get at CEC! 🙂
I think the most important thing I have done for our class is I’ve involved the parents. I have let them know why we are learning these verses and bringing our Bibles. Once the parents are “on board” they will work with their children. We also openly acknowledge children who are doing it well. This encourages the children who are not trying to step up.
Finally, with my own kids I use index cards. My son was State Superior in Bible Drill two years in a row and I’m convinced that without those index cards for him to study, meditate on, etc., he would not have done so well.
Sorry to be so long. But these are some things that have worked for our class.
Blessings,
Dori
Well, I do find that the best way to memorize anything is in a song. My daughter is 27 and still knows all the United States’ names because she learned them in a song. So what about some simple song to learn scripture.
When my youngest brother was a toddler, my mom taught him verses that went along with the alphabet. For example, A: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There was a book that had a verse for every letter. At least until a few years ago, Brady could still quote most of those verses. He’s over 30 now! You might be able to find the book or something similar over the internet.
Blessings
Kathy W
My best scripture memory tip (for kids and grown-ups) is to act out the verse. Have them say the address at the beginning and at the end of the verse, but make up motions for the major points of the verse. If you say it, read it and do it you’re more likely to remember it! 🙂 Hope this helps.
I don’t know of a good idea about Bible brining. Maybe a reminder bracelet like the blue bracelets we wore during Believing God?
I went to a Private Christian school so we had to memorize bible verse all the time. My Bible teachers made us write them in a spiral 3 x 5 notebook. It really helped, keep the verse all together and easily accessible. You could always get the kids to decorate their notebooks so that they are unique and personal to them and write the verse in fun colors.
There are some wonderful Scriptures with very catchy tunes that make memorizing God’s word almost easy. We had tapes of GT and the Halo Express when my girls were young, and those Scriptures still have a melody to me! Also, using any opportunity to say verses together, such as riding in the car or during bath time. Let your children see you memorizing verses and they will be inspired.
And with everything, much prayer!
Songs work great. Especially for my oldest daughter who can memorize a song faster than any human I know.
We also work on scripture memory at the same time that she does her spelling homework. I figure if she’s memorizing spelling words, she might as well be memorizing scripture, too!
The AWANA program has the best memorization skills a parent could hope for. We found a program at a church in our community and it literally changed our children’s lives. They made wonderful friends and learned more Scripture than we ever could have taught at home. It is a strong, time-tested program. And when our children were older, they became leaders, thus setting an example to future generations. It is well worth looking into, especially for Scripture teaching and memorization.
The consensus seems to be set the scripture to music…I agree. This has worked the best for me also when I’ve taught Sunday School and now that I have a nephew who is getting older (2 1/2), I most definately want to instill the Word deep in his heart. Thank you Nikki for focusing us on the ultimate goal and that is to instill a LOVE for the Word deep into the hearts of our little ones! You are right on girl!
I think flash cards is one good way to teach them. Also, my kids are 5 and 4 and we use a lot of drama and hand motions when we say them!! THey laugh but it really helps them learn it. It’s also a lot of fun and I learn with them.
I just read most of the blogs and thought if anyone else had my idea, and unanimously..its singing. I have a really long and difficult last name…no one can pronouce it when they look at it. When it came to teach my sons how to spell it..11 letters…I did the mickey mouse theme song to the letters…they learned it so fast…its SINGING!!! …that will do it…I still remember the Macdonald’s ad about the big mac from the 70’s..good grief….its singing. Sing a new voice unto the LORD!!! Sing with praise and thanksgiving. Blessings to all you siestas!!!
Learning verses to song is a great way to memorize. I have also posted Scripture on the bathroom mirror and in front on the kitchen sink when I’m really trying to stay focused. As for the 5th graders, I think your best method may be to try to make the Bible come alive for them in class and pray God will bring it to their minds during the week.
And to Yolanda, the very best markers for the Bible are Crayola crayons. They are perfect; won’t bleed through and what a variety of colors! I don’t use anything else.
Dori had alot of great ideas. I believe it is more important for the kids to get the jist of the verse than word-perfect. I think The Message is a great translation to use. Also, I have cut out footprints and placed them in a path with the words of the verse on each one. The kids have to hop from one foot to the next saying the word. I have also just learned that if they listen to the verse, even without music, for a couple of minutes a day, in one week it is in their long term memory. We will be trying this at home!
Mel
Looks like singing and songs are a hit.
I also want to add that incorporating activity that involves all the senses and learning styles in a group setting may be beneficial. Cynthia Tobias has great books on learning styles that may help.
For Yolonda–I use map pencils for the Bible. Now available are mechanical type that twist out the lead. No sharpening.
Blessings to you all.
Engrafted by His Grace-
Shonda
I agree with using the songs. So many Psalms have songs already. I find myself throughout the day humming these tunes and realize it is God’s Word in my heart.
I used to teach 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School…I would write the verse on a poster and cut it up and then have the kids put it together! They had fun with it and learned at the same time!
Gena Terry
When my husband and I were teaching 4th-6th graders on Sunday nights last year, we were having trouble getting them to do any memory work so we decided to choose a handful of verses and dedicate several months to those. We let them memorize the verses about spiritual armour in Ephesians by dedicating each week to studying what each piece of armour is. By the end, they could recite the whole thing. Then, we did the same with the Roman Road. We did promise a celebration at the end, but it only came after they exhibited the ability to share the Roman Road with someone. We emphasized how we can use the verses to help others know Christ, as well as how they could explain those verses using their own testimonies. Knowing they would have to share the verses and having a personal application for each really helped them commit those verses to memory! (By the way, we brought in random people from the church for them to share the verses with after they had shared them with each other.)
Through songs – Glory Revealed is an awesome CD for this. My kids will be playing around the house and singing those verses.
Through giving them a visual of the verse. A scenario where they might be the one doing the action mentioned in the verse.
Writing them down on a note card and taping it to their mirror, bathtub, car door or window, etc.
Hmmm…I was just about to write a post on this! It’s a perfect reward system that God showed me through my kindergartener, Tabor.
In his classromm, they receive compliments. For a certain number of compliments, they receive a reward, like a party.
So I’ve adapted this for my home, especially on a long weekend with all four of them! We sit together and write a list of rewards they would like and then after three compliments, they may pick a reward from the board.
As far as the memory goes, music with the verse works best for my kids. There are CD’s by Steve Green and through the homeschooling program Sonlight.
Amanda,
I know this comment doesn’t belong here, but didn’t know where else to put it. I have two tickets to Beth’s retaping of Breaking Free in New Orleans, November 10 – 15 that I am not going to be able to use. I really hate that I can’t go, but I have gone back to work and just can’t take the time off. Anyway, I know that it is late to try and get a hotel room, but if somebody in the New Orleans area would like to go please email me at [email protected]. They are $30 each. Thanks so much!
Martha in MS
thanks for the tips….they an learn it, we do learn it in class but the next week they will not “remember” or even try during the week to remember … same with Bibles.
I am going to try some of your tips and keep looking for more replies.
Thanks!
Yes music is great. In that most of us aren’t great listeners it gets more areas of the brain working than just speech. I have found using sign language has helped me. I used an online dictionary to learn the main words in the verse. Anytime you can use more of the senses it helps. I’m a kinesthetic learner and moving helps and I’m 50!. Thus we use finger plays with little ones. I’d think young girls would love to act out the verse in mime or a skit. Very few of us are best at auditory learning, did I say that already! The artistic child could make a poster while practicing the verse and then read it with the group. Not that you’d use every method every week, but rotate methods for the different learning styles. I’d add to the person who suggested prayer, pray that you can understand each child’s learning style. I also agree to pray that God would make them hungry for His Word in their heart, God can provide the best motivation.
Just read the verse several times a day (maybe breakfast and before bed). You’ll be amazed how quickly they, and you, remember it! This is how we memorize longer passages. Usually our children know the Scripture long before my husband and I do.
1. Singing is probably the best method; there are so many wonderful children’s CDs out there that can be played in the car, during playtime at home, etc. Hymns for Kids (the ones Jone E. Tada does) are great for older children because they have a story (and everyone likes a story). You can also download the accompaniment tracks if you need one. Our kids love hymns and we just go through the hymnal and sing them together at home; Elisabeth Elliot has written about her family singing hymns at the breakfast table- one could check out her writings as I think she is one of the wisest women I know of.
2. When I was teaching, I took a staff development course and we learned that the majority of a class (even adult) are going to learn from one another rather than the teacher, so you absolutely need to include time for the kids to talk together in the class setting- it can be through a game, a cloze exercise (they fill in the blanks with a partner), assign a time for them to create a commercial or small dialogue using the Scripture, etc. Then rehearse it for several weeks using a variety of techniques- some of the aforementioned, give them a scenario they’d be familiar with in “real life” and ask them what Scripture would give them some guidance so they’re having to make application. I think we try to move on too quickly to more verses before one has really stuck. I love teaching and could go on for hours…
3. We have used 2 books as we’ve been parenting that speak to this topic- Teach Them Diligently by Lou Priolo and Withhold Not Correction by Bruce Ray.
Some ways we did memory in my Sunday School class (5th and 6th graders)when I co taught:
1. Write each word on a different index card, turn them upside down on the table and have the kids put them in the correct order.
2. Have the kids stand in a line and have each one say one word (in order) from the verse.
3. Have the kids take turns going to the board and write one word from the verse. (These 2 took a team effort and the kids really got into it.)
4. One time we had them write their memory verse on flip flops (ie. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news Is 52:6)Other times we turned it into a poster or some other creative outlet.
5. Sometimes we would clap as we said the verse out loud – kind of making a rhythm out of it
We always tried to make it fun while teaching them how important it is to have God’s word hidden in your heart.
When my kids were young, there were a few methods I used: Drawing pictures (if possible) to hold up so the kids can watch them as they are saying it, putting the verse to a tune, or using hand/body motions with the verse. Making it FUN, FUN, FUN is SO important!
And when they can read, writing it out and cutting it up as a puzzle for them to put together over and over. That’s all I can remember… Oh, how I miss my youngin’s! :o)
I used to be a children’s pastor. I have found that kids now are much less motivated by stuff than they were even fifteen years ago – I don’t know about your church but in mine they get almost everything they want without having to work for it so why work? The best motivator I can think of is relational time – have a lunch out that they can earn as a group if they earn enough points. I agree that we need to memorize because we love God’s Word but even if the motivation is less than ideal, the verses they learn will stick with them and hopefully their motivation will change with maturity. For now – a party every three months might work. And group points rather than individual points may use peer pressure towards a positive goal!
Maybe, making up hand motions to go with the verse.
Music has always worked best with my son Isaac who is now 9 and my daughter Janie who is 8. There are some really good CD's with scripture put to music. One in particular I like is "Glory Revealed, The WORD of GOD in WORSHIP" done by various artist to include Steven Curtis Chapman, Shane & Shane, Micheal W. Smith etc. It has a beautiful rendition of our memory verse we used for the "No Other Gods" summer study.
Royana
A friend of mine would pick a verse at the beginning of the week. Then she would write it out and tape it near the table. At the end of every meal, all three kids had to say their verse before they could be excused. She would help until they had it memorized, of course. After 7 days of the same verse over and over, they had it! AWANA is an excellent program for scripture memory as well.
Hi, I teach first grade and I have been there. The best thing that works for us is to send the memory verse home to the parent. I keep the verse short. We also try to call our kids during the week and mention learning the verse and to bring bible. We find even harder than the verse is for them to bring their bible. Parents just do not deem it important for their kids to bring their bibles-this is what we are seeing. God Bless!
For my 2nd-4th graders at church that I teach I tell them to put their memory verse on their refrigerator. The rule is they have to say their verse in order to open the refrigerator. This year we have a “race” theme, so they get medals when they complete so many verses, water bottle filled with candy, etc. Also if you could send out a mid-week reminder to them. I think lots of kids want to memorize them they just forget.
My friend has a large, ceramic plate which is displayed on a stand in her kitchen near the table. She writes a new verse on it each week using a felt tip marker. They discuss the verse at meal times and say it. Her children have memorized many verses this way over the years.
One of the kids curriculum’s our previous church used was picking short simple verses and using hand motions and signals to encourage the children to remember the Scriptures.
I wish I could remember the reference… but the Memory Verse in the sample lesson was “The son of man came to seek and save that which was lost…” (Maybe Luke 19:10)
Now the part I remember most was the video leader making us put eyeglasses over our eyes for “to seek”. I’ve never forgotten that verse.
Something that I do as a memory exercise is to write in sets of threes the Scripture I want to memorize and then try reciting it without looking. If I get stuck I go ahead and look, but I continue to recite it and write it until I can do so without looking or error.
The index cards are good for children who can read.
My daughter learned a lot of Scripture in 5th Grade because her Sunday school had a “competition” where each child was encouraged to memorize Scripture, return “homework” which was basically reviewing the lesson with parents, and bringing their Bible as well as friends to church each week. They set up a star system and those who did these things got a star for each thing. When the students earned a certain number of stars they received a new Bible from the Church. It worked. A number of the students earned a new Bible that semester.
We also did the hand motion or visual reminders for the memory verses with the after school kids I worked with. It worked. A child would do much to earn a “good” prize.” The better the reward – the more they put into earning it.