Ways to Memorize Scripture with Your Children

 Meditating on and memorizing Scripture is an important part of my Christian walk, and a spiritual discipline that I wanted to introduce to my son at an early age. In a world full of lies and confusion, having God's Word planted in our hearts and easily retrieved in times of need. When we are struggling with fear, loneliness, or  the temptation to do something wrong, having a verse that can apply to that situation and encourage us to walk on God's path is a blessing in our lives as adults but also an immense blessing for children to learn since they can continue as they grow. Scripture memory isn't easy for me; my memory isn't the best. But there have been methods that have helped me and my son become more consistent and wanted to share them in case they are helpful for anyone else. 

Choose Verses to Memorize with Your Children 

There are different ways to choose verses. Firstly, you can choose your favorite verses. Your own excitement and personal relationship with those verses can be a great motivation for your kids to want to memorize them too, especially if you tell your child how these verses have helped you. If they are longer verses, you can break them up over a few weeks or you can only focus on one part of the verse with your child while you focus on the longer, full version. 

If there is a particular issue you are working through, like bad dreams, you can start with verses that bring comfort. I will give examples of this below. 

If there are family rules you have set up in your home, linking them with a Bible verse can be a great way to point your kids to His word in your everyday life. For example, one of our family rules is for our children to obey us so that they can learn to obey God, so my son learned Ephesian's 6: 1-2 ("Children obey your children in the Lord..."). Similarly, if there is virtue you are working on as a family, such as kindness, you can find Scripture that matches with it. My son learned the first part of Ephesians 4:32 ("Be kind to one another...") while I learned the rest of the verse (... tenderhearted, forgiving one another just as God in Christ Jesus forgave you.")

You can listen through an album such as the many I mentioned in the music section and choose the ones you think your child could learn, or just start with the first track and work your way down!

Some churches have verses they are working on as a community, so that would be a great way for your child to feel connected to the church body. If your child is in Sunday School, you can ask if there are Bible verses they care memorizing at church and you can use those at home too. 

If you are planning on homeschooling, some Christian curriculums include Scripture memorization, such as Gentle and Classical Press and Peaceful Press. I have used many of their product (their preschool curriculums and holiday mini-curriculums) and have used a lot of their Bible verses while doing the curriculum or working through some in the summer. This makes it easy to choose verses to memorize, since the work is done for you, but it is absolutely not necessary if you aren't using a curriculum.  If you aren't shopping for a curriculum, but are curious about which verses are included, the Gentle and Classical Press sell just their Preschool Bible verses for $2.99. You can print them off and post them on the fridge, wall, or on a memory statement board that has other things you are working on as a family to memorize. These are short verses that correspond with Dana Dirksen's Songs for Saplings album that I will discuss below, so it's an easy way to dive into Scripture memory for younger kids. The Peaceful Press has a free collection of Bible verses from A to Z. I am sure you can also find other free resources from reputable Christian homeschooling or Sunday school resources online that have lists of Bible verses if you have a company you prefer.

Keep it Short, Don't Force or Hurry It

Every child learns at a different rate, so I won't tell you how often to work through a new verse. On average, we learn a new verse every two weeks or so, sometimes more often for shorter verses and sometimes longer for longer verses. But if it takes a month for a verse, don't rush it, just follow their speed. Also, don't pressure the child to memorize it right away. Model it by singing or saying the voice (you'll find lots of ways to do this below) the first few days you go over the verse, then invite them to participate by repeating after you.

Keep it short; a few minutes is all you need. Laboring over it for a long time will exhaust your child and make it feel more like work rather than a delight. Sure, some good things take work, and it wont always feel fun to work on Scripture memorization, but you also don't want to make it feel like a drudgery, never ending repetition when a minute or two would have been just as (or even more) effective. Aim for working on it daily at first, to really work on the habit of memorizing, but even three or four days a week is still ample opportunity for retention of the verse. 

If you are working on a longer verse or several verses in a passage, consider breaking it up, starting with the first few words of the verse. Once the child has memorized that, then move on to the next part of the verse(s) a few days later.

 Use the below methods to help make it easier to learn and memorize the verse. 

Use music to help memorize Scripture

There are many Christian albums geared towards teaching children Bible verses through catchy tunes. 

The album I use most is Songs for Saplings by Dana Dirksen. There is a verse for every letter of the alphabet. Some of the ones we have memorized over the last 2 years include D- Delight (Zeph. 3:17), G-Gift (James 1:17),  H- Happy (Psalm 114:15), among many others. The songs are easy to memorize, short and repetitive, so they're great for young children. 

Slugs & Bugs has been one recommended to me, but I haven't heard much of those tunes yet. Psalty & Ernie Rettino have a ton. My favorite are Behold What Manner of Love (1 John 3:1-3) and Seek Ye First (Matt. 6:33). Steve Green's Hide 'Em In Your Heart album has some great ones (our favorite that I sing every single night to my son is When I Am Afraid (Psalm 56:3, 6). The Corner Room's Remember and Proclaim is a more recent album full of Scripture songs. I also love Ellie Holcomb's Memory Mondays that she posts on YouTube Shorts. My son and I memorized her short song to John 10:10 (The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy...) when we were working through our catechism statements about sin, so it helped connect and better understand the gravity of sin and the depth of God's grace through Jesus' work at the cross. I am sure there are a ton of other free options out there, depending on your style of music! 

I create playlists for the verses I want to work on over the course of several months, though you can definitely start with a few and keep adding as you work through your list. I use Amazon Prime, but any platform works, including YouTube.  I play the particular song several days a week during breakfast when we have our Morning Time (where we have Bible, Scripture memory, catechism, calendar, etc). When I first introduce the verse, I play it once one its own, then I play it again and sing along. I repeat that a few days that week, inviting my son to join me.  As we both remember the tune, we can sing it without the track. At four, he is a lot more able to memorize verses than at two, so we get through a verse every week or two (depending on length). But when he was younger, we would focus on one verse for around a month, gently introducing it through music. I also found it added fun to the Scripture memory time to have a few musical instruments like a toy guitar, harmonica, bells, xylophone, or rattle for my son (and now my 1 year old daughter) to play along to the music. It keeps them engaged and makes it interactive and fun. 

Have the Verse Posted Somewhere 

The visual reminder of a notecard, post-it, or more artsy printout of the current verse is a great way to help you remember to work on that verse. Even though my son can't read yet, having the verse where I can see it (on our memory statement board with other things we are working on during Morning Time, such as our catechism statement, manners, and virtues) helps both of us stay on track with practicing the verse. If you have string and some clothespins, you can easily hang them up in a high-traffic area of the home. Or write it on a chalkboard or with letters on a felt board if that's what you have at home. Don't feel like you need to buy anything, just work with what you have. If your child can write, invite them to write the verse on cardstock or a notecard and decorate it and post it somewhere. Find a way that works for you and your family.

If you don't like having things on your wall, fridge, mirror or other surface, then consider laminating them (or printing/handwriting on heavy cardstock) and using a ring to make a deck of cards you can flip through. We do this with our verses we have memorized so I can easily pull them out and review every few months, ensuring that the verses are being planted in our long-term rather than just short-term memory. 

Schedule Time for Memory Work . . . But Also Be Spontaneous

I am not trying to contradict myself here; both are important. First, having a time of day that you work on a Bible verse can help develop that habit so that it takes less brain power to remember to work on it. It also makes Scripture memorization an important part of your day that you prioritize if you carve out time in your week when your family knows you are going to briefly work on Scripture memorization. For us, this is done in the mornings, but maybe dinner is a better time for your family, especially if Dad wants to be learning the verses alongside mom and the kids.

Reviewing the song during random times of the day is also great, because it helps their brain make connections in other times of day than just that allotted time, helping that verse dig deeper in their memory. For us, this looks like me occasionally playing our Scripture and Catechism playlist during car rides. 

Find Ways to Understand and Apply the Verse

The more the Bible verse comes alive and is applied to the child's life, the deeper it will be planted in their hearts and minds. When my son struggled with bad dreams and nighttime fear, I started singing six short Bible verses over him every night and that hasn't stopped even though the bad dreams have (read more about this HERE). The verses, all of which he had memorized in the months prior, came alive to him and became his weapons against fear. That's literally what we call them. He says "I am read for my weapons now, Mommy" and he's not talking about play guns or a bow and arrow. The verses, sung in the darkness of his room during a vulnerable time when he's about to be on his own all night, prepared and empowered him to hold onto God's truth as he drifted off to sleep. 

It also has helped my son to know which verses help me personally. We both love Steve Green's When I Am Afraid (Psalm 56:3, 6) and I have told him that I sing myself that song when I am anxious some nights. It builds a special camaraderie between parent and child when you can share honestly how Scripture is bolstering you and guiding you both towards God's truth. 

Ultimately it's not just about being able to recall a verse, you want your child to be able to believe it is true and apply it to their lives, therefore actually learning the verse along with memorizing. Having casual conversation about that verse, not a long sermon but little thoughts here and there, helps bury this truth deeper in their hearts and minds. Sometimes giving a little context can help better understand the verse. For example, when I recite part of Matthew 28:20 ("I am with you always"), I often preface it with explaining that Jesus was comforting his disciples that He would be with them through the Holy Spirit even though He was ascending to heaven and they wouldn't see His physical body anymore. 

Add Some Fun Into It

I don't do these super often, but here are some fun methods to occasionally sprinkle in with Scripture memory work, especially when you first start out:

Scripture Hop/Walk is a fun idea I learned from Jenifer Pepito's Peaceful Press curriculums. Basically, you write out the verse on notecards, one word per card. Spread the cards out on the floor in a line so that the cards are organized in the order of the verse. Then you model for your child how you say the word on each card. For example, for John 3:16, the first card is FOR, so when you step on it, you say "FOR!", then the next card says GOD, so you say "GOD!", and so on until the end of the verse cards. Then you do it with your child. This works even if your child can't read since they are hearing you say the verse as you are stepping on the card, though you may be surprised by your young child visually recognizing some of the words even if they can't actually read! They may recognize the letters or symbols on the card (especially if there is a doodle you can add to help with recall) or they may just memorize because of hearing the verse and the physical movement of their bodies with each word. It's pretty amazing how the whole body works together with this fun activity to help with memory! You can hop or dance or do whatever action you want rather than walking to make it more lively.

Using funny voices and props is another way that has helped my son with Scripture memorization, especially when he was a toddler. I would grab whatever toy or stuffed animal was nearby and create a funny voice as I recited the verse. Then I would ask him to help me. The more goofy the voice, the better chance they'll want to join in. 

For readers, you can write out the verse on a white board, read it together, then erase a word or two, then recite it again. Repeat this process until the whole verse is erased and your child can say it. With a non-reader, you can still do this, reading the verse aloud and then pausing when there is an erased word and asking your child to say what that erased word was.  For example, I would say "for God so ......." and point to the blank/erased spot and he'd respond "loved", then I would continue with "that He gave His only..." and he'd say "son", and so on. Even though he's not expected to read the words as I am pointing to them on the board, it visually helps to see me pointing to one word at a time and then pointing to the empty spot, which is his cue to jump in. As he learns the verse more, he joins in for my part (the written verse) as well as the erased words, so that he is basically saying the whole verse little by little. 

I don't know if there's a proper name for this method, but I will call it First Letter Method. I learned it from Jennifer Pepito of Peaceful Press and use it mainly for my own Bible memory work, but it's great for kids too, especially those who read or at least have letter recognition. You write the first letter of each word on a notecard and the full verse on the opposite side. So, again using John 3:16, one side would have the full verse and the other side would have these letters in all capitals: F.G.S.L.T.W.T.H.G.H.O.S.T.W.B.I.H.S.N.P.B.H.E.L. It looks like a code or like my child just took over my keypad for a minute, but can you decipher it? For God So Loved The World.... and so on! I don't know the science behind it, but the visual cue of that first letter helps your brain recall the verse. It's such a neat method to try out! I honestly have only tried it once with my son and now that I am thinking about it, he is totally ready to use use it together with me more consistently. 

Coloring pages are also a fun way to visually memorize Scripture together. You can google the specific verse you are working on to see if there are free downloads available, or you can create your own by hand or on a computer if you are digitally savvy. A friend of mine created her own coloring pages for her child using a computer program and eventually created so many pages, she designed a book that is now available on Amazon (see HERE), so that's definitely an option if you want a coloring book all ready for you!

Review Review Review

Raise your hand if you forgot the verses you memorized a few years ago . . . or even a month ago? Me too. Unless I return to the verses every few months to quickly review them, they are only saved in my short-term memory and not down deep in my long-term memory, so review is essential! This is easy if you have the verses on a notecard you can save somewhere for easy retrieval. Of course you can also utilize your phone too, but having it in a physical form may be easier to use with your child. I mentioned above that I hole-punch and place our completed verses together with ring so I can flip through the verses every few months. I am sure there are other fun ways to memorize too. I will sometimes make a fun surprise, like popsicles or ice-cream while we review, so it's a delightful experience rather than a test. Speaking of tests, please, please, please, don't make your child feel they are being quizzed as you work on the verses! It won't make the experience pleasant for either of you, which brings me to my next point . . . 

When There's Push Back

Your child may not always be in the mood to work on Scripture memorization, and that is expected. Maybe they are extra groggy, or maybe they're just having a rough day. Although it's great to be consistent and aim for a few days a week to work on a particular verse, I don't believe you should force your child to sit still and recite the verse if you can tell their heart and/or mind is not in it. It may breed resentment towards Scripture memorization, feel like a chore, or just just feel like pulling teeth for both of you. If my son is definitely not into it and vocalizes it, I try to feel the situation and either tell him that I will just recite it (or sing it) and he doesn't have to join in this time, or I will tell him I can tell he doesn't want to do it, but that I hope we can revisit it later in the day or tomorrow. While I don't want to be bossed around by my child's emotions and let his mood dictate my decision, especially with something as precious as learning Scripture, I also want to be cognizant of where he's at in the moment and recognize when it's better to focus on what he needs in the moment. Maybe it's extra snuggles and quiet time because his brain is too exhausted for memory work or maybe there's something deeper going on that you can prayerfully work through. 

Pray About Scripture Memorization

Pray that you and your family will develop a deep thirst for God's Word and that your minds would recall, apply, and treasure the verses you work on. Pray for wisdom regarding with verses to learn together. Pray for humility to share how the verse is ministering to your heart. Cover this spiritual discipline of Scripture memorization with prayer that God would empower, enable, and bless your efforts, not because it makes you more holy or loved by God. But because this is such a powerful and beautiful way to treasure God's Word in our own hearts and minds as well as our children. Using language of one of my favorite allegories/stories, The Pilgrim's Progress, we are needy pilgrims in desperate dependence upon the King's leading on the right path that leads to His kingdom. We cannot do it on our own. Memorizing scripture, meditating on it together as a family, and applying it to your lives is one of the greatest ways to battle against the enemy, Satan,  and press on.  And coupling it with Narnia speak, FURTHER UP AND FURTHER IN, my friends. This is good, holy, important work we are doing in raising children who know God's Word. It's not always easy and it's definitely not quick, but onward we go, trusting He will enable us. 

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If you already memorize Scripture with your child, what would you add to this list?