I’ve been thinking for awhile on how to approach bible memory with my first grader this year. In the past we’ve been part of a larger group, so the easiest way was for all of us to focus on the same verse every week. However, with two more “official school years” under his belt, he has already memorized our group verses. I was looking for a way for them to have flexibility in their verses, and to work at their own pace. I also wanted to motivate my children to memorize scripture, but didn’t really want to use “stuff” like sweet treats, money, etc. as rewards.
Enter the lightbulb moment (thank you Holy Spirit) … a Heart Date!
I created this little worksheet to slip into our Bible Memory binders. Every time they memorize a verse, or “hide it in their heart” like Psalm 119:11 says, we write the verse inside their heart. When they have 5 verses written down, we celebrate with a heart date. Each child gets to choose an activity they love or that is “dear to their heart,” and include whomever they choose. Some ideas we brainstormed were:
– bake a cake with Mamita
– have an entire afternoon of playing with Papito
– invite some friends over for a tea party
– watch a movie as a family
– go bowling
– have a picnic at the park
– make bananas splits
– chose a book box to read
– have a LEGO party (This means we pull out all the LEGO on a sheet in the living room, and build until our fingers hurt.)
So as you can see, it doesn’t have to be some expensive outing, mostly engaging with your children in something that they enjoy doing. If it is easier for your family to make a list together beforehand, go for it. Thankfully, my children using this are still young and easily swayed by my enthusiasm. hehe
There are two different options so you can customize them depending on how fast your children memorize scripture. This one has lines for five verses:
The other is blank so you can choose how many verses they need to memorize.
