Do you do memory work in your homeschool?  While I don’t think we need to spend our entire day memorizing facts and figures, we do some.  Most important to me, we memorize scripture.  I believe that every christian family should work together to do it!

Why We Memorize Scripture

It’s Good For the Brain

How many times have you said, “I swear I’d forget my head if it weren’t attached”? I know I say it about once a week!  It turns out that memorizing scripture can help with that.  Your brain works much like your muscles.  The more you use it, the stronger it is.  Memorization is great brain exercise!  In an article from Best Colleges Online it says, “memorizing passages of poetry over time (rather than cramming) is a very effective way to make your brain more receptive to remembering.”  So, if you and your kids do memory work together you will all have stronger memories!  As a free gift for my subscribers, I have a plan set up for you to easily memorize the Armor of God passage.  Just click here to get your copy!

There is one thing worth noting here.  I believe there are definite benefits to memory work.  What I don’t believe is that it should be the MAIN method of teaching for children.  Rote learning serves an important purpose, but it should only add to the list of techniques used.  I don’t feel it should take up the bulk of the school day.

Memorizing Scripture Builds Discernment

It is so easy to be led astray in our world.  We want to choose what is right, but all of the ‘almost right’ choices cloud our vision.  That’s why discernment is so important.  Discernment is the ability to judge what is right and what is wrong.  Doesn’t that sound like something we want for ourselves and our kids!?!

This begs an important question.  How do we discern what is right and wrong?  John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  Testing is comparing things to the Word of God, the Bible.  That makes it pretty clear how important it is to memorize scripture!

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How We Memorize Scripture

We do 3 important things to help us memorize scripture:

• Chunking
• Repetition
• Movement

Chunking

No.  I’m not talking about what your kid does after eating tons of fair food and hopping on a roller coaster.  Chunking means taking a large passage and breaking it up into smaller ‘chunks’.  These pieces are much more manageable.  Typically the ‘chunks’ I use when we memorize scripture are less than a sentence.  This makes it easy for even young children (and sleep-deprived moms) to succeed.

Repetition

Have you ever crammed for a test?  How did it go?  How much do you remember now?  Yeah, I’m guessing not much.  That’s because our memories work best with repetition.  The more we travel a road, the easier the journey is.  So, we go back over what we’ve already memorized each day when we learn our new ‘chunk’.  Doing it this way means those neural pathways (roads of connection in our brains) are strong and effective!

Movement

The part of our brain most associated with movement is also strongly associated with learning and memory.  What does that mean for memorizing scripture?  Use hand and body motions to make memorization easier! Each chunk from my Armor of God plan has a motion to help secure it’s place in your memory.

A Free Gift For You

I love my readers.  You guys are fantastic and mean so much to me.  To thank you, I have created a plan to memorize Ephesians 6:10-17, about putting on the Armor of God.  This is a VITAL passage for any Christians to know.  We are fighting a real battle for the hearts and minds of our families!  Memorizing this will equip us to fight for our families.  Having our children learn it by heart will prepare them for the battles they will face in the not-so-distant future!

In this pack you will get:

• Instructions for memorizing large scripture passages
• A page with the full passage for posting and reading at home
• The passage broken down into daily chunks
• Cards with verse chunks and motions for daily practice

Psalm 119: 11 says, ” I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”  Don’t take God’s word lightly!  There is deep value in taking the time to memorize scripture.  Not only will it build your brain, it will strengthen your spirit!