Play! Listen! Talk!

Can preschoolers memorize Bible verses and the facts of Bible stories? Of course they can! I remember my child catching me when I tried to shorten the reading of a favorite story by skipping a few of the pages. If you’re a parent, that’s probably happened to you, too!

Do preschoolers always understand the words they’ve memorized? Maybe, maybe not! When a young child repeats the words, it’s not a guarantee of their understanding. So that’s why I emphasize understanding rather than memorization when I teach Bible verses to preschoolers at church. I make sure to use Bible verses with words kids can easily understand, and I make sure to talk about ways to obey the Bible truth in everyday life. Weaving the Bible verse into conversation, songs and activities means that the kids memorize the verse AND get the understanding, too!

Here are some of my favorite active ways to encourage kids to “hide God’s Word in their hearts.”
#1: Lead kids to say the Bible verse in different ways (slowly, quickly, softly, loudly, whispering). Guess which way is the favorite of the kids I teach? If you answered “loudly,” you got it right!
#2: Have kids stand up, and as you lead them to say the words of the verses touch your head, shoulders, knees and toes, using one motion as each word of the verse is said. (This is also great exercise!)
#3: Here’s a way to challenge older preschoolers: Repeat the verse with your kids several times. Then say the verse, leaving out a word. Ask the kids to identify the missing word. Repeat the verse several times, each time leaving out a different word.
#4: Ask kids to repeat the verse with you, each time clapping in a different way (to the front, to the side, over head, or down low). This idea is great for celebrating a verse like the one from last week’s lesson: “Jesus said, ‘I am alive for ever and ever!” (Revelation 1:18).
#5: Ask kids to hold out closed fists. As you lead children to say words of verse, open one finger at a time. Repeat it several times!

I love ideas like these. First of all, because brain research tells us that the more we move, the more we learn! And second of all—most of all—because I want God’s Word to “stick” in a child’s mind and life!