A Busy Mom's Guide to Scripture Memory

Memorizing Scripture will impact my children's lives in far-reaching ways, but memorization often gets buried under laundry, dishes, and math flashcards.

When my children were preschoolers I realized they could memorize with little effort. They heard a silly rhyme and could recall it a week later. They quoted their favorite storybooks word for word. I wanted to include Scripture memory in our days, so I decided to see if we could learn the Christmas story. I read the first section of Luke 2 every day. I didn't know if young children could learn the passage, but by the end of the month, I would overhear my four-year-old quote the verses while playing (though the verses on taxation were muddled).

Encouraged by success, the next month I chose a shorter passage, Psalm 1. I quoted it while pushing them on the swing or driving to the grocery store. As they became familiar with the verses, I'd pause and allow them to fill in the next word or phrase. We added some hand motions, so the one-year-old could join in.

That was ten years ago. We discovered that passages were easier to memorize fluently than individual verses. The Psalms were favorites, but we also learned the Ten Commandments and short passages from the Gospels and Epistles. As the children grew older, we chose harder passages (this year we are tackling the book of James), but we also spend more time reviewing verses so we won't forget them.

To review verses, I printed off all the passages we learned and placed them in a three-ring binder. Every school morning I read the new passage with the children joining in, and then we review an old passage. I mark our place in the review notebook with a sticky note. Sometimes we spend a week or more reviewing the same passage if the younger children need the practice. As a side-benefit, Mom (that's me) gets consistent time spent reviewing God's Word.

Bible memorization can seem like just one more thing for a busy mom to do—even if it takes only five minutes. I found that connecting it to another activity worked best. When my children were little, I often said the verses as I gave them their baths and tucked them into bed at night. Then we switched to repeating our verses every day at lunch. We don't usually skip meals so this was an effective method. 

Now memorization is connected to school work, but I'm thinking of switching back to mealtimes. I want Scripture memorization to be a life-long habit continued long after formal school days are over. After all, “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

And that makes it more important than flashcards and laundry.

This article was first published in The Homeschooler's Friend - CLP's magazine for homeschoolers.

I'd love to hear more of your tips for helping your children memorize Scripture.