Make memorizing fun!

It’s worth your time to download and print this out to help you learn Psalm 23 quickly and easily.  Click on the link above.  Give it a minute to open, then you can print it out.

                                    written by Regina Yoder

30 ways to make Bible memory
fun
for your Kids.(period)

      Have you ever heard the groans of children who are badgered into memorizing verses?  I know yours would never do that, but I’ve heard rumors that there are actually kids out there that dread the time they have to spend sitting still and learning their verses.  Then there are those kids that try to learn their verse at the breakfast table Sunday morning, or worse yet, try to jam the verse into their little brains on the way to church so they can get a sticker. 

Guess What?! 

      Learning God’s Word can actually be fun!  Studies have shown that when the brain associates an activity with an emotional response, the person remembers the incident better.  Think back to your childhood.  Try to recall your earliest memory.  Most likely it involves an emotion of some kind, either good or bad.  If an event does not elicit an emotional response, it is often not deemed by the brain to be important, and is not stored in an easily retrievable location.  To keep things stored in the brain where they can easily be recalled, you should either link it with a happy emotion, or pair it with a mental tag.  Creating a positive atmosphere and making the memorizing experience fun, you give your child the tools they need to help them better remember the information they commit to memory.  After all, what good is it to repeat a verse over and over on the way to church, get the sticker and a pat on the back from the teacher and then forget the verse by Monday?  I did it myself many times, and I found myself allowing my kids to follow in my footsteps until God showed me a way to help my kids Hide His Word in their hearts and have fun doing it.  In fact the element of fun is what makes the whole process more effective long term.   

Comin’ up…. 

      In a minute I’ll give you some ideas on how you can have fun with your kids and know they are getting the Word of God safely tucked away in their hearts so that when the world comes at them full force, they’ll have the tools they need to stand strong. Isn’t that what precisely what you want to give your child? In my opinion, that’s what parenting is really all about, helping our kids be faithful in doing what God calls them to do, and to be pillars for God’s kingdom.  How better to equip them for that mission than with the Word of God?  It is my belief that every Christian parent desires for their children to know God’s Word and have it hidden in their hearts, yet it’s hard to get young children to see the value of it before they are mature enough to understand its benefits. One way I’ve found that helps my own kids a lot, is to surround them with like minded kids that think Bible Memory is fun too.  Kids love challenging each other every day, it’s just natural to compete, so why not use that to your advantage and put positive peer pressure to good work?  I’ve created a FREE tool for you to keep in your “back pocket” so it’s always handy. It’s an online library of kids all across the country quoting bible verses that they’ve learned.  Now your child can watch other kids online and be inspired by their accomplishments (and without them even trying, they’ll be learning it too!)  Isn’t that exciting?  Did I mention it’s
FREE?  So here’s how it works;

1. You want your child to learn Psalm 100 (for example)

      2. Click HERE
to go to the video library on our website.

3. Select “Psalm 100″ from the dropdown menu (you can choose between NIV or KJV)

4. Our program automatically sorts out all the kids who have uploaded a video in the passage and version that you selected. 

5. Now your child can click on one video after another of other kids saying those verses.

6. Your child begins to learn the passage and is inspired to upload a video too!

7.  Your child is an inspiration to another child and they learn psalm 100 by watching your child say it, and the gift goes on…and on…and on.

It’s Kids Inspiring Kids!

Of course there are lots of other ways to make Bible Memorization fun.  I’ve come up with 30 ways that work well for me, and I’m sure it will get your creative juices flowing to add some of your own.  Feel free to stop by my
BLOG
get more ideas that I’ll post as I come up with them.

1.  Build a fort out of couch cushions and blankets, then get inside with a flashlight to memorize verses.

2.  Write the phrases of the verses on balloons, then pop them when they can say it without looking.

3.  Write the words of the verses on small slips of paper, then flip them over when they know the word.

4.  Write the verse with sidewalk chalk outside really big.  Let them hop on the words as they say it.

5.  Go on a “park 2 practice” adventure. At the park, have the child say the verse on the swing, slide, etc.

6.  Bury slips of paper in the sandbox with a phrase on them.  When the child finds them, put them in order.

7.  Play “Cavemen” and draw pictures of stick figures and silly drawings that represent each word or idea.

8. Take pictures with your child that represent what the verse or phrase and then put them together.  This method works exceptionally well, and offers a high rate of recall because of the mental tag created by the photo.  I’ve made several videos using this method that have been lifesavers for parents who don’t have the time to commit to a project of this magnitude.  You can find them HERE.  Or get a sneek preview of the clubhouse kidz newest video HERE
.

9.  Stand on a chair and blow bubbles as high as you can, and have the child complete the verse before the  last bubble hits the ground.

10.  Play catch with a ball.  You say the first word when you throw, your child says the second word and throws it back. Continue until you’ve completed the verse, then let your child start it.

11.  Write out the verse on a sheet of paper, then cut it into puzzle pieces and let the child put it together.

12.  Whenever they memorize a verse, let them write it out neatly, then add stickers, or other decorations and put it in a scrapbook, so they can keep track of their progress.

13.  Make a chart with references on it that they can check off when they’ve completed a verse.

14.  Offer positive reinforcement for accomplishments such as having a friend over, or going out for pizza.

15.  Draw a big thermometer on a sheet of paper and color in a section whenever a verse is learned.  The section sizes should be age appropriate; younger children reaching to top sooner for positive reinforcement.

16.  Act out the verse using motions you think up with your child.  They are quicker to remember motions they make up themselves.

17.  Write out the words to the verse on a piece of printer paper, then cut each word apart.  Tape the words in order, but at least 12 inches apart from each other, all around the room. Then turn off all the lights and stand in the middle of the room with a flashlight.  If you need to remember a word, shine your light on it.

18.  If you have more than one child.  Make a competition night where you have something like a spelling bee.  The questions can be in one of seven forms. 

               1. I say the verse, you say the reference.

               2.I say the reference, you say the verse.

               3. I say the verse, you tell me if it is correct, or incorrect.

               4. I say a verse with one word wrong, you correct it.  

               5. I start the verse, you finish it.

                6 I finish the verse, you tell me how it starts.

                    7. Tell me any verse and reference that you can quote by memory.

19.  If your cell phone or ipod has video capabilities, write out the verse, hold it behind the camera and video your child reading it (like a cue card).  Then let them watch it whenever they’ve got free time in the car or wherever.  It’s even more fun if they are doing something cool when you video them, like hanging upside-down on the monkey bars.  Of course then you’ve got to hold the cue card upside down too.  

20.  Buy an inexpensive dry erase board.  Write out the verse, then erase each word when your child knows it, till they’re all gone. 

21.  Write a little song using the exact words of the verse.  It doesn’t have to be perfect just something to help them remember and make it fun.  If you’re not into making up your own tune.  Try out different tunes you already know and see which one works best with the verse you’re working on.  Here’s a list to get you started thinking;

   Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

   Row, Row, Row your boat

   Mary had a Little Lamb

        Ring around the Rosie

22.  Write out the verse on a piece of printer paper in large print.  Put small candy like M&M’s or Skittles on the main words that need to be remembered.  They can eat the piece of candy when they know the word well enough to recall the word after it is covered with a small piece of paper.   

23.  Go into another room and use your cell phone to call your home phone or another cell phone and ask your child to recite the verse to over the phone.  It makes it fun and if they can recite it correctly to you, let them call Grandma, or another loved one and recite it to them. 

24.  Be creative and with your child’s help, make-up a really cool code name for them.  Hang up a chart with their code name and “assignments”. Just like the Clubhouse Kidz! 

25.  Go to www.clubhousekidz.com/videos to view our library of kids videos with children from all across the U.S. saying scripture verses.  It is even sortable by passage, so your child can view all the kids saying the same scripture he/she is working on.  It’s a great motivator and fun to watch too.   

26.  Help your child “pay it forward” by taking a video of them quoting or reading their verse in a creative way then post it to the
Clubhouse Kidz site.  Let your child call friends, grandparents, etc to let them know that there is a video of them online. 

27.  Go to the Clubhouse Kidz facebook page and watch Bible memory movies for FREE!  Each movie features a different passage of scripture set to music with voice over and text to help your kids memorize the scripture.  Best of all each phrase is illustrated by a photo to help you remember it easily.  It’s great for adults too!. 

28.  Put references on a slip of paper, and put it inside a plastic egg along with a small piece of candy.  If your child can say the verse they find, they get the candy. 

29.  Put a sticky note with the verse on the mirror in the bathroom.  Put up a new one when they can recite it correctly.  Set a goal to learn a certain number of verses every week. 

30.  Put a verse in the lid of their lunchbox, and change it up every week.

One last word…..

    There are so many ways to make it fun…these are just some ideas to get you started.  Don’t forget to stop by the Clubhouse Kidz website  and learn more about how you can help your kids to hide God’s Word in their hearts.  You’ll never regret the time spent investing in their future and giving them the tools they need to stand strong!