A lovely community has grown up around scripture memorization here at Do Not Depart. As you are hiding His words in your heart, help your children to develop the habit as well!
Even very young children can learn simple scriptures. Older children often surpass adults in speed and accuracy when memorizing verses. Knowing your child’s dominant learning style can help you focus on methods that are uniquely effective.
Top Ten Bible Memory Tips for Kids
(Grownups can use them too!)
For Visual Learners
- Journal – Have your child keep a special journal just for memory work. She can use it to record the verse, as well as her thoughts about the scripture.
- Colored pencils and small drawings – Color coding special words in the verse or drawing little pictures by the words will trigger your child’s memory and engage his imagination. And it’s just more fun to learn when the page looks cheerful!
For Auditory Learners
- Listen – Read the verse out loud to your child or listen to an audio version together. Free audio versions of the bible can be found at LibriVox and Bible Gateway. You can also record yourself reading the verse – this is an easy choice for smartphone users, and fun for your kids to hear.
- Talk about it – Discuss what the verse means. Don’t just give a sermon, ask your child what he thinks God is showing him through the verse. Listen patiently and correct theological errors with gentle questions. Ultimately the goal in memorizing scripture is not to know a lot of words but to grow in relationship with God.
- Say it out loud – Over and over and over! We say the verse 10 times together out loud, then each person tries to say it alone. Don’t be surprised if you need to repeat more often.
- Sing – There are a number of great scripture albums geared for kids, including Songs for Saplings, Seeds Family Worship, and Hide ’em in Your Heart. If you can’t find a song with your verse, make one up! We like to keep scripture music CD’s in the car.
For Kinesthetic Learners
- Use your body – Make up motions to go along with the words, or use American Sign Language. Here is Sami Cone showing Psalm 23 with hand motions. It’s especially fun to combine motions with scripture songs… dance His Word with your kids!
Keep It Fun!
- Learn scripture with friends – Find a local chapter of a scripture memorization organization, or start your own. Awana clubs provide structure and incentive for memorizing verses. If your child enjoys a good competition check out Junior Bible Quiz or Bible Bee.
- Use a book designed for kids – Use a story book like My ABC Bible Verses to engage your child’s imagination as he memorizes. I have also heard good things about the Truth and Grace Memory Book series.
- Use technology – Older children will enjoy websites like ScriptureTyper and MemVerse, as well as smartphone apps such as FighterVerses.
Tips For Parents
- Choosing scriptures – Use scripture lists to help you choose the verses you want your child to memorize. You may want to highlight basic theological concepts, well-known verses, or even scriptures that address areas in which your child is struggling. You will find topical lists in books such For Instruction in Righteousness and Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments. The FighterVerses app has a “Foundation Verse for Kids” section.
- Keep it hidden in their hearts – to retain verses over time, try using the Scripture Memory System from Simply Charlotte Mason.
Whichever methods you use to help your children learn scripture, be sure to keep the goal in mind – growing your child’s love for the Lord. Stay cheerful and have fun alongside your children!
Do you have any great tips to help kids memorize scripture? Share with us in the comments…
Disclosure: Some affiliate links present.
My daughter’s first memory verses were from My ABC Bible Verses when she was 3.5yo. (Over at 1+1+1=1 blog, Carisa is coming up with songs to go with the verses from the book.) Then when I was memorizing Psalm 143, she helped me when I recited the verses, and ended up memorizing 6 of the verses when she was 4.5yo. Now she is memorizing John 1:1-7 in English and Latin with our homeschool group. I will definitely say that she has a better memory than I do. I love Seeds Family Worship! When I was growing up, all the verses I memorized were from GT and the Halo Express. http://www.gthalo.com/ We still have all the cassette tapes. =p
I agree that children, generally speaking, have better memories than adults. One of my children consistently memorizes scripture faster than I do. It is part of how God wires kids’ brains – the rate of natural language acquisition is phenomenal! Thanks for the link to GT and the Halo Express. I hadn’t heard of them.
Great resources, Patti! Thank you!
You’re welcome! :-) Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for these tips, Patti. Excellent! I use several of the visual and auditory tips for myself too. I have several pages in my Bible notebook of funny drawings and colorful words for memory verses I’m learning. :-)
Those cheerful pages sure draw one in, don’t they? My little ones like a colorful page too.
Great post! I will surely check out some of the resources I have never hear of. Thanks for so many great tips! My 3 year old is in Awana’s and loves it! Like you, I always talk to my girl about the meaning of the verse (and the context if the verse is within a Bible story) If I can find a way to tie the verse to everyday life, that has helped my girl not only understand the context but, learn the verse. For instance, when she was 2 1/2 and struggling to put her shoes on, she said frustrated, “I can’t do it!” I encouraged, “You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!” After encouraging her with this verse whenever she struggled to do something, one day she surprised me–pausing during a moment of frustration, while trying to put on her shoes, she joyfully declared, “Oh, I know! I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” And at that moment God helped her get on her shoes.
I also try to make Scripture memory as fun as possible, so my girl never sees it as a chore. I once heard a children’s writing instructor say, “I believe it is a sin to bore a child with the Word of God.” That has always stuck with me, because I never want my girl to be bored with God’s Word because of how I teach her it. I want His Word to be so exciting to her that she delights to be in His Word. So I try to make learning her verses as fun as possible. We recite her verse while throwing a ball back and forth. We whisper the verse, shout the verse, say it silly, sing it. We march around while reciting the verse. If the verse is within a story, we act out the story and recite the verse when it comes up in the story. Thanks again for a great post! I can’t wait to check out those resources!
Patti, I love the variety of tools you listed here for different learning styles. Such a fantastic resource you’ve put together! Thank you.
Thanks Caroline!
Brooke, you are so wise to make scripture learning fun! I agree wholeheartedly, I want my children to DELIGHT in His Word! And oh what joy to see the fruit of it in their lives, as you did when your daughter was struggling with her shoes.
This verse is a profound truth: “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4) My greatest desire in parenting is that my children will walk with the Lord. It is the most important thing they can do! And my heart leaps every time every time I see evidence of their choice to do so.
Thanks so much for including my video in the list! Happy to be able to help others help their kids!