Scripture Memory & Bible Time

[schultzjen13]

I'm looking for ideas on how everyone keeps track of all of their children's memory verses. With three guides and Sunday School verses, I'm not doing a great job with tracking everyone and doing review! Do any of you use incentives for memory work?

Also, do you have Bible time together, or just do it separately through the guides? Thanks for your ideas!

[my3sons]

For the littles (in guides LHFHG through Bigger Hearts), we just do the Bible Study box together as it comes up in our school day. We highlight the verse in their own Bible each week, and don't review it outside of school. In PHFHG, the dc begin singing the CD in their room in the morning. Then we do the Bible Study together during school, except on the "Bible Quiet Time" day, which they do in their room first thing. On that day, I just have them come in my bedroom and say their verse for me. For the olders (in guides CTC on up), I have the dc do their Bible Quiet Time in their bedrooms first thing in the morning. I then call them into my bedroom as I'm getting ready, and have them recite their Bible verses for me. We do our Bible Study box together during the school day. I love doing our Bible times separately. It fosters a personal relationship with the Lord for each of our dc, and it helps our Bible Study times together be more personal, heartfelt, and tailored to the needs of each child. I try to plan each of our Bible Study boxes during a time when we are more alone - as in no one is in immediate earshot. Lots of sharing happens during these times - especially as dc get older. It is a private time, and it is a link to my dc's hearts. They share so much more if other siblings aren't listening. Their prayers are deeper, their conversations more telling, their struggles more revealed, and my level of sharing varies with the maturity of each child as well. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[schultzjen13]

Thanks for your response, Julie! I can see the benefit of having Bible time separately with each child. I often feel like my oldest two (who are twins in Preparing) get left out. I spend individual time with the others for school, but group the twins together. I feel like if I have individual time with them, I won't have enough time in my day! Actually, I already feel that way!

Do you review past memory verses? If so, how do you keep track of everything? My kids have learned so many great passages (as I have along with them). But, we never review them, so everyone forgets them over time.

In Him,
Jennifer

[StillJulie]

I have a laminated sheet for each guide this year that has each Bible memory verse/passage on it. This is the first year I've done that, and I have found it so helpful that I will definitely do it again next year.

I did use a file (maybe from a yahoo group?) that someone else made. Next year, I'll make my own to get the version that I like best for each verse.

[TrueGRIT]

I am not really good about review for my children for the verse from elsewhere. They do have review built into the guides for the HOD verses (at least the ones I have used).
My oldest does get review on Sunday verses by listening to the younger children say them. At this point we are all there for any verses for the youngers, but it is just he and I for my older ds. Occasionally I will get into a Bible verse 'spar' with them. We just quote verses to see go can go the longest. The younger 2 can say a verse someone else has already said but my ds8 and I can't. None of them are old enough do do Sworddrill which is why I do this.
Looking forward to reading more ideas!

[my3sons]

Thanks for your response, Julie! I can see the benefit of having Bible time separately with each child. I often feel like my oldest two (who are twins in Preparing) get left out. I spend individual time with the others for school, but group the twins together. I feel like if I have individual time with them, I won't have enough time in my day! Actually, I already feel that way!

Do you review past memory verses? If so, how do you keep track of everything? My kids have learned so many great passages (as I have along with them). But, we never review them, so everyone forgets them over time.

In Him,
Jennifer

I think for the twins I'd do the Bible Study together, but have a separate prayer time with them, letting them know that this is a time for private sharing and prayer with you. This would probably take less than 5 minutes, but they would always know that would be a time for private sharing, and you would also know it would be a time to privately address anything with them as well. I do not review past memory verses, nor do I keep track of everything. The guides all have Bible memory work, Bible study time, devotional time, and beginning with PHFHG on up, Bible Quiet Time. The focus is not meant to keep reviewing to see if they remember the verses just so, but rather to keep building a deeper and deeper faith in the Lord. I have memorized many verses, passages, from the time I was a young child to now. If I was asked to constantly say these verses as a form of review I believe I'd feel overwhelmed and like the focus was more on how well I memorized than on how much I took the Scripture to heart. With the amount of memory work my oldest ds, Wyatt, has done within his years with HOD, reviewing all that he has memorized would be incredibly daunting and would steal his love for God's Word. I do find that listening to the CD's we have used for memory work for fun in the mornings off and on is a great way to recall verses easily. High-lighting the verses as they are learned in each of our dc's Bibles helps them easily see the verses in yellow in their Bibles. Often when writing a card to encourage someone, our sons will flip through their Bibles to copy special verses they've memorized to share in their cards.

I think sometimes we long for 'signs of faith' as moms - I know I do at least. I often look for signs to see if my dc are choosing to have a personal relationship with the Lord outside of what I am making them do. This is sometimes a dangerous thing to do, I have found. For example, I have asked the dc if they are doing their quiet times in the morning when they have stayed overnight at their cousins, or if they brought their Bibles fishing to do their quiet times in the morning there, etc. This has caused resentment. Both towards me and toward the idea of doing a Bible Quiet Time outside of school. I have stopped this now, but instead encouraged them to take their Bibles along, as well as encouraged my dh to try to remember to have prayer time at least. I think checking if dc still have all their verses memorized by feeling the need to constantly review (i.e. more than noted in the guide) probably falls under that category of 'looking for signs.' The memory work itself - while an excellent thing to do -won't produce a strong faith in our dc - only God can do a work in their hearts. I would simply encourage you to put your all into the Bible Studies as you do them with your dc, constantly sharing your faith and love for the Lord, and trying to help them as much as you can to share their hearts and build their faith from the inside out. I'd not spend your time redoing, reviewing, or revisiting memory work, but instead enjoy each day's Bible Study time fully with one another. I hope something here can help!

In Christ,
Julie

[StillJulie]

Thanks for your response, Julie! I can see the benefit of having Bible time separately with each child. I often feel like my oldest two (who are twins in Preparing) get left out. I spend individual time with the others for school, but group the twins together. I feel like if I have individual time with them, I won't have enough time in my day! Actually, I already feel that way!

Do you review past memory verses? If so, how do you keep track of everything? My kids have learned so many great passages (as I have along with them). But, we never review them, so everyone forgets them over time.

In Him,
Jennifer

I think for the twins I'd do the Bible Study together, but have a separate prayer time with them, letting them know that this is a time for private sharing and prayer with you. This would probably take less than 5 minutes, but they would always know that would be a time for private sharing, and you would also know it would be a time to privately address anything with them as well. I do not review past memory verses, nor do I keep track of everything. The guides all have Bible memory work, Bible study time, devotional time, and beginning with PHFHG on up, Bible Quiet Time. The focus is not meant to keep reviewing to see if they remember the verses just so, but rather to keep building a deeper and deeper faith in the Lord. I have memorized many verses, passages, from the time I was a young child to now. If I was asked to constantly say these verses as a form of review I believe I'd feel overwhelmed and like the focus was more on how well I memorized than on how much I took the Scripture to heart. With the amount of memory work my oldest ds, Wyatt, has done within his years with HOD, reviewing all that he has memorized would be incredibly daunting and would steal his love for God's Word. I do find that listening to the CD's we have used for memory work for fun in the mornings off and on is a great way to recall verses easily. High-lighting the verses as they are learned in each of our dc's Bibles helps them easily see the verses in yellow in their Bibles. Often when writing a card to encourage someone, our sons will flip through their Bibles to copy special verses they've memorized to share in their cards.

I think sometimes we long for 'signs of faith' as moms - I know I do at least. I often look for signs to see if my dc are choosing to have a personal relationship with the Lord outside of what I am making them do. This is sometimes a dangerous thing to do, I have found. For example, I have asked the dc if they are doing their quiet times in the morning when they have stayed overnight at their cousins, or if they brought their Bibles fishing to do their quiet times in the morning there, etc. This has caused resentment. Both towards me and toward the idea of doing a Bible Quiet Time outside of school. I have stopped this now, but instead encouraged them to take their Bibles along, as well as encouraged my dh to try to remember to have prayer time at least. I think checking if dc still have all their verses memorized by feeling the need to constantly review (i.e. more than noted in the guide) probably falls under that category of 'looking for signs.' The memory work itself - while an excellent thing to do -won't produce a strong faith in our dc - only God can do a work in their hearts. I would simply encourage you to put your all into the Bible Studies as you do them with your dc, constantly sharing your faith and love for the Lord, and trying to help them as much as you can to share their hearts and build their faith from the inside out. I'd not spend your time redoing, reviewing, or revisiting memory work, but instead enjoy each day's Bible Study time fully with one another. I hope something here can help!

In Christ,
Julie

How did I miss that this prayer time is to be done together? My oldest two have been doing it alone... maybe next year we'll start it together (privately), and use it as a time for them to share things with me, if they choose...

I kind of feel like I've blown it.

[my3sons]

The prayer time is not meant to be done together - you didn't blow anything! I was just suggesting a prayer time as a sharing time for anything private. Sorry for the confusion!

In Christ,
Julie

[StillJulie]

The prayer time is not meant to be done together - you didn't blow anything! I was just suggesting a prayer time as a sharing time for anything private. Sorry for the confusion!

In Christ,
Julie

That is such a great idea. I wonder if my older children would let me in on that, or feel like I'm intruding... I'd like to do that with them...