Memorizing scripture is so important. And with kids? It’s easy!! Here are some of my favorite ways to do it—some I’ve done with my daughter and others are from the archives of my Children’s Pastor experience!

1. Motions

Make up motions to each word (or phrase) in the verse. They don’t have to be real sign language–just whatever prompts your memory. Here’s Lydia doing motions to 2 Timothy 1:7.

2. Giant Dice (thanks to Kris for reminding me of this one!)

This was one of the kids’ favorites at church. I found a square box (probably 4-6″) and wrote instructions on each side: act like a chicken, hold your tongue, say it fast, spin around, stand on one foot, etc. Kids roll the die and then have to say (or read) the verse doing whatever the die tells them to do. It’s hilarious.

3. Bookmarks

For your upper elementary students, simply print the verse on a bookmark. Or have the child write it and decorate it. Place in a Bible–or maybe even more helpful–among their regular books. This is also good for daily Bible reading; you can list several scriptures on one bookmark and check it off as you read.

5. Song or Rhythm

Put the scripture to music! If you’re not musical you can always just find some scripture CDs like Seeds Family Worship or Scripture Rock. You can also easily do a rhythm–a basic pat your lap, clap your hands rhythm is easy for kids of all ages.

6. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.

Just say it all the time. While you’re making dinner, when you’re getting in the car, cleaning the house or going to bed. Hmmm…sounds kinda familiar…

7. Fractured

If you’ve been around children’s ministry–especially if a puppet was involved you’ve seen this one. It’s when you start quoting a verse like…

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, Batman created…”

Well, you don’t get very far before a kid corrects you on that one. So you try again:

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created popsicles and oreos…”

Again, your kids won’t let you go too long with a crazy mixed up Bible verse. It gets you (and them) repeating the verse but more importantly actually listening to it!

8. Take It Away

This is by far one of the most effective for your elementary aged kids. Write or print the verse with one word on individual pieces of paper. Read the verse once while pointing to each word. Then let your child take one paper away. Read the verse again, continuing to point to each word–including the empty space. Continue taking one word away at a time until you are saying the entire verse from memory while pointing the blank spaces the words used to be!

9. Hang It Up

If you’ve been around this blog for any amount of time you know I’m a big fan of making signs and banners with scriptures on them. My daughter can’t read the verse yet, but we still see it hanging up around the house. And it gets it into MY mind and into MY sight so I can do one of the above techniques with her! I want God’s Word to be everywhere in our lives–even on our doors and walls!

What’s your best memorization technique?

Sunday mornings.

I know how it is.

You have to wake up a little earlier. You iron dress shirts, find matching hair bows, tug on tights and make sure breakfast doesn’t get on any of it. Then you race to the car and pull into your church’s parking lot 2 minutes before service starts. You run to the children’s department–check in all the kids at different doors. After prying your youngest off your leg you schlep into service while they are singing the last song and then attempt to stay awake during announcements and a sermon about being a witness while on the job. But it’s not even over yet. You pick up your kids from their class (where they’ve been loaded up with red kool-aid and goldfish crackers) buckle them into a hot carseat while they scream for their macaroni art baby Moses craft. You stop at a restaurant and remember how Sunday lunches used to be a relaxing time with family and friends. Instead of the crazy whine-fest it is. You drive home and 5 minutes before you get home, your kids fall asleep effectively ruining any naptime.

Or is that just me?

I know why people don’t take their kids to church. I get why parents only show up to church every 3 or 4 weeks with kids in tow. It’s hectic, it messes up naps and meals and sometimes, well, it just doesn’t seem worth it. So, is it?

Why should we drag our kids to church faithfully each week? How do we even do it?

Here are some of my thoughts as a former children’s pastor, a life-long church goer and a mom:

1. Consistency

As with anything consistency is key. The more we offer green beans and squash on their plate, the more apt they are to try it. The more often we follow through with discipline, the more often our kids will respond. The more we take our kids to church the more they will love it and keep it as a discipline in their lives.

I hear parents say, “But she cries when I put her in the nursery.” or “But he doesn’t know any of the other kids!” These problems are both solved with consistency.

2. Memories

My best memories are from church events and activities. I’ve been on missions trips, to camps, homeless shelters, laser tag and roller skating rinks. I’ve cooked food, scrubbed floors and painted walls. I’ve sung in plays, served breakfast and made props. I’ve also giggled under covers, been on double dates and bridesmaids in weddings. All of these things were in the context of, because of, or with people from my home church. A church that made an effort to provide memories and experiences that were safe, encouraging and most importantly, centered on Jesus.

3. Servanthood

I am best friends with the same girls I met at church when I was 4 years old, in 3rd grade and later in 6th grade. Why have we been friends so long? We’re not very similar. We don’t live too near each other. We have kids at different ages. We went to different schools. What makes us stick together for so long?

Ministry. Our parents were involved at church. They were the ones that built stages for our Christmas programs. They were elders. They were camp counselors and Sunday School teachers. With that example, we had nothing else to do except follow in their footsteps. Which is why we spent afterschool, weekends and summers doing all those things I mentioned above.

When your children see you teaching a class (yes, even if that means you have to get there early, or stay an extra service), bringing food for a special event or hosting a small group at your house—what do you think they are going to want to do? Get involved. Do the same. Copy you.

4. Love Your Church

If your kids see you hating your church–complaining about the music, criticizing the teaching and barely tolerating the people–they will do the same. Find a church you can love. And they will do the same.

Church isn’t the end-all, be-all. Just bringing your kid to church every week doesn’t ensure their eternal salvation anymore than setting foot in a gym makes you fit. But if you make the real Body of Christ central to your life you will see your children join it and work as part of it.

If you haven’t been to church lately, I encourage you to go this weekend! If you don’t have a church home and don’t know where to go, please email me! and I’ll do everything I can to help you find a Bible-teaching church in your area.

:: :: ::

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (MSG)

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Ah, the letter E! I actually like this one. I thought I was so creative because although this verse doesn’t actually begin with the letter E it has 6 inside of it! You can see I let Lydia circle (ok, I circled them) each letter E and then let her draw some E’s. So, even though it’s not exactly an “e” verse, I still think it’s a good one to learn and practice. Not just that we’re all created to praise, but that we need to be purposeful in doing so!

I really liked making the letter E from popsicle sticks. You could do this with any letter—as long as you don’t mind some block letters.

But my favorite is the elephant. What, you don’t see it? It’s that little orange hamburger looking thing on the right. I cut out a head, two ears and a trunk. Then I let her piece it together. I’m not sure if it was my horrible artistic skills or the fact that my daughter was just 2 years old, but she did not put that animal together correctly! I didn’t correct her because I thought it was cuter her way!

I actually think this would be super cute to do for kids–make your own animal puzzles. You could cut out a few circles, some rectangles and triangles and let the kids make their own animals. Here’s a few we tried out today:

1. spider?
2. owl
3. bunny/bear/caterpillar head
4. bug

Pretty cute, right? Maybe I’ll try some ears and trunk and see if my  now 4 year old Lydia can put together an physically correct elephant!

I am bored of moral tales. When I let my kids watch TV, I rarely choose shows about “being kind” or “telling the truth”. If the world is going to teach my kids something, I’d rather it be ABCs and 123s. The same goes for books. Modern books that teach a moral remind me of a formula sitcom. Is it just me?

This week at the library I followed my own advice and searched the card catalog by Christian publisher’s names. And I stumbled upon a set of books that I had forgotten about–Janette Oke’s Animal Friends. If you’ve been around Christian publishing for any amount of time you know Janette Oke. She was one of the first Christian fiction romance authors and I read most of her books throughout middle school and beyond!

The Animal Friends books are short chapter books (about 80 pages) that focus on a different young animal and a problem it’s having in it’s family. The first one I read was Prairie Dog Town by Janette Oke. Flick, a little prairie dog learns a lesson in obeying his parents and the dangers that come when he refuses. Today, we read 4 chapters from Pordy’s Prickly Problem by Janette Oke over lunch. Pordy is a fearful little porcupine that learns to be brave with her mother’s help.

Cover via Amazon

I like these books for several reasons:

1. Chapter book. I think kids should always be listening to books “too old” for them. So, if your child is a pre-reader like mine, this is still a good book for them to listen to. And I think books that take a few days to read are more apt to settle in your thoughts and heart.

2. Animals. Kids love animals. And little “kid” animals are even more fun. I actually learned something from the porcupine book today. Did you know porcupines are born in a nest on the ground but live in trees as adults? Maybe that’s common knowledge but I sure didn’t know it!

3. Christian Perspective. It’s a moral tale–but from a decidedly Christian perspective. I am sometimes slightly turned off by secular books that teach moral tales with a “embrace the universe/energy” or “look in yourself” mentality. Although there was no scripture or even the word “God”, the 2 books we’ve read from this series had a big nod to practical Christain thoughts–obeying your parents, recognizing authority, putting others before your desires, and more.

I’ve recently decided to read to the kids during lunch and I think we might just try to make it through all the Animal Friends books!

Which moral-tale books do you read to our children?

Pretty Peacock Pictures by Frugal Family Fun Blog {perfect for the Letter P!}

Tommy Nelson Kids Blog {a blog by Christian Kids Publisher Tommy Nelson}

Giving Your Full Attention by Amy at Let’s Explore {easy tip and great reminder!}

Toddler Busy Bag Resource by Delicious Ambiguity {this is a linky of over 100 great ideas!}

Jelly Telly {have you been here yet?!}

linked to itscome2this Saturday Stumbles

Like my pirate hat? I know, I look good as a pirate. The kids and I got dressed up (and yes, even my husband, too) for a special pirate-y treasure hunt AND some fun teaching about God’s Word. Head over to the MOB Society (that’s Moms of Boys, for the uninitiated) to see the adventure on which we set sail! Aye, Aye!

And if you’re here from the MOB Society–welcome! Poke around and see what we’re all about. We’d love to connect with you on twitter, facebook, your feedreader or even in your inbox! Every day we write about resources, adventures, crafts and more that will help you impress God’s Word on the hearts of your kids! We’d love for you to join us!

It’s a fairly simple craft. All you need is a stick of some sort (we used old paint sticks) and some leftover ribbons (I save them from everything!). I glued, stapled and tied them to the end of the stick. The other end was held tightly by my kids. And suddenly they were not so simple anymore. They were beautiful birds of paradise dancing and twirling before the Lord.

I know it sounds dramatic. But we were in fact imitating Birds of Paradise! I just got a spectacular book for review called, Creation Inspirations by Cheryl Pickett. It’s basically a devotional book with each chapter focusing on a different animal. The chapter begins with some basic animal info–what they eat, where they live and what they look like.

But the next section is the cool part. It’s called “A New View” and is a devotional related to the animal. I read through several (no, not all, but several!) and was impressed by the creativity of the connections to God. (I read the panda and hippo chapter first and thought, “Wow. I should do this devotional for myself!”)

Each chapter ends with an activity, snack or craft that relates to the animal, the scripture or the devotional. After a quick read through of the book, I was excited to share it with Lydia and Asa!

We chose the Bird of Paradise chapter and loved it! Birds of Paradise are GORGEOUS birds found mainly in Papua New Guinea. These birds are amazing creations–they have long feathers and a myriad of colors. But the most fun part is that the males DANCE to show off to the female birds. Really. Dance.

The devotional section about Birds of Paradise gave a great description of the real and ultimate paradise–heaven. It ended with an encouragement to remember that whoever believes in God will be in paradise with Him forever…based on Luke 23:42-43, “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Lydia and I got to have a great conversation about Heaven and the thief on the cross (to whom Jesus said this verse.).

Then it was time to make our ribbon sticks. And you can see from the pictures that the kids loved it. After reading the chapter, looking up Birds of Paradise on National Geographic and even listening to their calls online, making their own ribbon sticks to mimic the Birds of Paradise beautiful plumes, my kids were ready to spread their proverbial wings! Per the instructions in the book, I turned on a CD (Seeds of Praise) and the kids danced and raised their hands and ribbons to God for the entire length of the CD.

I am absolutely impressed with this book. I love the whole idea–taking an animal and making a God-connection out of it. That’s really what I try to do with my kids all the time—take a normal every day item or event and teach them about God. Please check out Cheryl Pickett’s Creation Inspiration blog/website and take a minute to order Creation Inspirations.

This book would work for kids of all ages–your older kids will enjoy some of the activities that involve writing, cooking and more. But everyone will enjoy the teaching, the activities and the encouragement from God’s Word! They will in fact, be INSPIRED by God’s great CREATION!

I found some Hula Hoops on sale this week and when I introduced them to my kids, they had so much fun! They did not set them down for at least a half an hour! If they had actually been able to, you know, do the hula, they may have played all day! While they played, I was impressed with how many games they came up with using those hoops. I jumped in and introduced them to more ways to play.

Here’s the best ones from our day of hoopin’…

1. Around Your Waist

The basic balance on your hips. Asa tried. He did. But he just couldn’t get it. {I happen to be a pretty good hula-hooper. I even won a contest once. But I could not get these hoops to stay up. I think maybe I need a bigger one.}

2. On Your Arms

This is the basic spin, just on your arms. If you’re really good, you can do multiple hoops on one arm. Or multiple hoops on BOTH arms!

3. Like a Steering Wheel

Lydia learned this from their favorite Boz DVD, Thank You God for Bananas, Bubbles and Busy Bodies. This is our new watch-every-morning-dvd. In the “busy bodies” segment, Boz and the kids sing “Hoop Dee Hoop” and learn fun ways to play with their hula hoops.

4. Hopscotch

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…or however many hoops you have. Just line them up and start hopping!

5. Ring Around the Rosies

Instead of holding hands, we set the hoops into a circle and walked from hoop to hoop until it was time to “all fall down!”.

6. Three Ring Circus

Maybe this is just for my dramatic daughter…but setting a hula hoop on the floor becomes an instant stage. Add a few more and you’ve got enough stages for a full circus, a rock band or a ballet recital! I’ve got some pictures…but I’m going to share them in tomorrow’s post. You’re gonna like it!

7. The Boomerang

I couldn’t get a picture of this because *I* was the only one that could do it. You take the hula hoop in your hand, then roll it as fast as you can with a backward twist thingie on it. *whew* I’m not good at explaining this. Basically you roll it, it comes back. Know what I mean?

8. Target Practice

Set up a hula hoop against a wall (or even better, hang in on a tree!). Then set another hula hoop on the floor. Stand in that hula hoop and try to throw a bean bag, ball or if you’re like us a plush hammer into the hoop!

9. Jump Rope

Another hoop trick only I could do. And it wasn’t pretty. Hold your hoop in front of you with both hands. Spin it around behind you, over your head and back down to your feet—then JUMP! All while keeping hold of the hoop in front of you. Keep spining and you’ve got a hula hoop jump rope hoop!

10. The Trinity

I tried to get all the hula hoops on the ground so we could all sit inside of them and still be connected. I thought it would be a great picture of the trinity—you know, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But I couldn’t quite figure it out… {you know I’m kidding, right?}

linked to ohAmanda’s Top Ten {Tuesday}

The past few weeks I’ve been updating some of our “back-dated” alphabet crafts—all the scriptures and crafts Lydia and I did before I started recording them on this blog. And I started out strong with the letter A, B was just ok, C was a phonics-fail and today? The letter D? Well, I’m just thankful I really didn’t start this blog until the letter N!

But in the spirit of full disclosure and I’m-a-real-mom, here is our letter D scripture and craft…if you can call it that:

I knew the verse I wanted immediately, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and DO NOT BE AFRAID!” I’ve chronicled Lydia’s battle with fear and being shy. So, this verse is the perfect one for her. It’s still one of her go-to verses when she’s frightened. I’ve always loved this verse because it says “do not let your heart…” as opposed to, “I will not let your heart…”. There is a significant personal action involved. I want Lydia to know that she has a big role to play in fear or bravery. It’s up to her in one way–to act in the power that Jesus gives.

Now, onto the crafty part. You do recognize the animal don’t you? It’s a duck. Ahem. I know, it looks like the handprint turkeys you make at Thanksgiving. I wanted to use feathers but we didn’t have any. So, we used what we had: Lydia’s hand and crayons.

I’m hoping “E” will score a little higher on the craft-a-licioius scale, but for now here’s some more letter D crafts that might get your craftiness going…and I even added some scriptures you could couple them with.

Donkey Paper Bag Puppet from Danielle’s Place {this one would be great for John 12:15!}

Light and Dark “D” Dots from DLTK {a cool craft for Genesis 1!}

D is for DoctorBag from Our Crafts N Things {maybe Matthew 9:12-13? Or even Luke 7:21-23?)

D is for Dinosaur from Homeschool Creations {plus tons of other fun “d” activities…but I couldn’t think of a scripture for this one!}

Door “d” from No Time For Flashcards {ooh, you could use Revelation 3:20 for this craft!}

And don’t forget about the rest of our “D” crafts here on Impress Your Kids—including a Make Your Own Drumset Tutorial!

Do you have a “d” craft? Especially one that has to do with a scripture? Feel free to leave a link in the comments!

Quilted Color Match Game For Tots by Frugal Family Fun Blog {even if you don’t quilt, you could do this with paper or something!}

Silhouette Giveaway at Infarrantly Creative {I. want. this. Ends tonight!!}

Pippa’s Poetic Debut at Jodilightful {such a sweet encouraging post!}

Bento Box Basics from Once Upon A Holiday

Summer Kids Crafts: Grow a Head by Scribbit

Which Glue Is Best For You? by Marie at Make and Takes {So simple. But great info!}

linked to itscome2this’ Saturday Stumbles