Do you want to learn how to teach kids to memorize scripture? Well, scripture memorization for kids isn’t as daunting as you would think. In fact, it can be really fun to teach children scripture!
You want to help your child to grow to love God and His Word, but maybe you’re not sure how to do that. Well, one of the primary ways that you can prepare them for their spiritual walk is to teach children scripture. And while they’re young their little minds are like sponges, so take advantage of their innate ability to learn and soak in information! Use it as an opportunity to lay the foundation of God’s Word into their little hearts and minds.
But the question is, how to teach kids to memorize scripture? Well, there are several ways you can go about tackling scripture memorization for children, and no one way is right or wrong. But I’d like to share a few tips that can possibly help the process to go smoother and be more fun and enjoyable for them. Because we definitely want them to enjoy The Bible and not dread it.
Start easy and with the essentials when it comes to scripture memory for kids
When you’re first starting to teach children scripture, you don’t want to start with long and complicated passages. Those can come later. First, start out with verses that are easy to remember AND that incorporate the gospel and God’s foundational truths that you want your children to know.
A great one that a lot of people start with is John 3:16. It’s a great option to use when teaching scripture memorization for kids. Because it’s simple, it’s straightforward, easy to remember, and incorporates the gospel message into just that one verse. Wherever you decide to start though, be sure to keep it simple and foundational.
Carefully choose a Bible translation as you teach children scripture
The next thing you’ll want to take care in choosing is a Bible translation. I know a lot of people are all about the King James Version. And I do love and actually prefer the King James Version in my own studies. And yes, I do agree that there are some mis-translations in some versions out there. So you have to be extremely discerning here.
However, I feel like, while teaching scripture memorization for children, they need something that is spoken in their everyday language or it can get really confusing, complicated, and frustrating for them. One of the universal choices for children is the International Children’s Bible translation (or ICB). This might be a good place to start for your children too.
So here are some great options for ICB Bibles. You can, of course also read to them from age-appropriate illustrated children’s Bibles too. But also pick up one of these to get the word-for-word scriptures you want them to memorize.
As you work on scripture memorization for kids, read the scripture to them repeatedly
As with memorizing scripture as an adult, scripture memorization for children works the same way. Repetition helps to retain information. So the more that you read them the scripture, the more likely they will remember it. If you have a focus scripture you want them to memorize then read it with them in the morning, in the afternoon, and even before bed.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how frequently to read them the passage as you teach children scripture, but just enough that it soaks into their little minds. We read verses that are hanging on our children’s walls to them each night. And by just reading these particular verses at night, my son was able to memorize 3-4 of these scriptures by the time he was about three-and-a-half. So this really works!
Hanging the scripture on the wall can help a lot with scripture memorization for children
Even if your children can’t read yet, hanging scripture art up on the wall for them can help you to remember to read the verse(s) to them more frequently. You can find really cute kids scripture art or just write them down with a sharpie on a piece of paper for them. But no matter what you do, put them up in a place where you (or they) will remember to read them regularly.
As I said above, my oldest child was able to memorize 3-4 scriptures by the time he was about three-and-a-half just by us reading him these certain scriptures off his wall every night before bed. Of course we also read him the Bible throughout the day, but not necessarily those exact scriptures. I don’t have any other frame of reference but I was pretty impressed by that! We have these really cute ABC scripture cards for both of our kids’ walls and we love to read one from them each night.
So this is a really easy way to incorporate scripture memory for kids into your everyday routine. Because learning how to teach kids to memorize scripture doesn’t always have to be complicated.
And here are some really cute scripture art options that you can hang up in your child’s room:
Teach children scripture by reading it to them before bedtime
It’s important that you’re reading the Bible to your children frequently. But even if you can’t fit in reading and practicing scripture memorization throughout the day, then at the very least recite the verses you want them to memorize before bedtime. Or if bedtime isn’t the best time for you, then try right when they wake up or get home from school.
No matter what time of day you choose, selecting one specific time per day that you always read them the scripture can really help them to soak it in enough to memorize it. So pick at least one time during the day that will work for you and your children.
Writing out the scripture can help them to memorize it
If your children are old enough to write (or even just learning to write) then another great tip for incorporating teaching scripture memorization for kids is having them write out the verse that you want them to memorize. If they aren’t old enough to write without tracing the letters, then there are also writing practice sheets that you can find for all kinds of scriptures. And these can help younger kids to both practice their writing and with memorizing that verse.
As they write it out, instruct them to also say it. Doing both writing and reciting at the same time can make it even easier for them to memorize the scripture too.
Find songs to sing to help your children to memorize scripture
You don’t have to be a composer, don’t worry! Although, if you are then that’s even better. But there are a lot of great children’s songs out there that are set to the words of verses. These are great because they have a catchy tune, but can also help your children to memorize those scriptures along the way.
Some of my favorites are the Scripture Lullabies albums (we play these for my children as they’re sleeping), Seeds Family Worship albums, Rizers, and Hide ‘Em In Your Heart by Steve Green (Volume 1 and Volume 2). I’m sure there are others out there, but those ones are all really good.
Let them get creative with learning Bible memory verses
As you learn how to teach kids to memorize scripture, you’ll find that every child learns differently! If your child is the creative type then having them color pages with the scripture featured on it, or even draw out what is happening in the passage would be a great way to help the real message to sink into their hearts and minds. Some kids aren’t big on writing things out, so this might be a good alternative for those children.
There are a lots of great scripture coloring pages that you can find if you don’t want to have them freestyle draw it (or they’re not old enough). So just do your best to find one for the scripture you want them to memorize and let them get creative with it!
Click here to check out and follow my Scripture Coloring Pages board on Pinterest for ideas. Or you can click through one of the options below for some cute Bible verse coloring page ideas:
Play some fun scripture memory for kids games with them
If your child loves to play games, then adapting to this learning style to teach children scripture can be a really fun and effective option for helping your kids to memorize Bible verses. There are so many fun and creative scripture memorization for kids games that you can try.
As you play any Bible memory verse games, just remember to not be too hard on your children. Keep it fun and enjoyable for them so that they will want to play again and again. If you find yourself struggling to keep scripture memorization for children fun, then just step back and remember that this isn’t a race, it’s a marathon. And it doesn’t all have to come in one day.
Here are some great Bible verse memory games from Pinterest that can really help to teach children scripture (Pin or follow board for later if needed):
[sc name=”pinboardwidget” borardwidth=”900″ boardheight=”500″ pinimagewidth=”60″ boardurl=”https://www.pinterest.com/ministrymindedmom/scripture-memorization-for-kids/” ]
Have them recite the Bible passage back to you to help them to memorize it
Having your children recite scripture back to you can help with both the memorization process and with reviewing verses they’ve already memorized. When you first get started you could have them repeat the scripture after you, or repeat every few words after you. Then as they get to know the passage more, they might be able to say bigger chunks, or even the whole verse, completely on their own.
So reciting can be a great tool to help them not only learn to memorize various scriptures, but also to help them with reviewing scriptures that they’ve already memorized on a regular basis. You want to try to keep them fresh in their minds and not get buried down underneath everything else vying for their attention. Which makes this an essential tool when working on scripture memorization for kids.
Focus on one Bible memory verse for your kids at a time
Another tip that might help is to make sure you keep it simple and focus on just one verse at a time. It can be tempting to want to push a lot of scripture into their minds at once. And while you will be doing that to a certain extent through regular Bible reading and study, actively having them work on memorizing multiple scriptures at a time can be overwhelming and confusing.
Instead, pick one verse and then work on that one until they have it memorized or stay on that one for at least a week before moving on to the next one. I’d recommend sticking with it until they have it down though. Then continue to review it, but move on to another scripture to help them memorize.
Scripture memorization for kids is vital for helping them to write God’s Word on their hearts!
Children are more than capable of learning how to memorize scripture from a young age. In fact, children have a much easier time memorizing information than adults do! So don’t miss out on the opportunity to be able to practice these tips on scripture memorization for children. And start injecting God’s Word into their little hearts and minds and to equip them with the Sword of the Spirit from a young age.
You can teach children scripture! Use the tips and resources linked to above and get started working to teach your kids how to memorize Bible verses today!
Learn all the things you can do to raise godly kids
If you’re teaching your children to memorize scripture, then I’m sure you want to raise kids who love God with all their heart. Learn how you can do that with my free guide, 17 Ways to Raise Godly Kids. Grab your free copy below:
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