Avé Leath from BBP Books is one of my favorite people on the Internet. She does amazing read-alouds for littles on her YouTube Channel, and her little one is adorable sharing what she is learning about scripture. She also has amazing ideas and resources for helping littles memorize scripture. And I was just tickled she agreed to share some of her brilliance with us. Read below, and then go give her a follow. -Kayla
Have you ever wondered if your verbal or non-verbal Toddler is capable of memorizing scripture? Well, I am here to tell you that they most certainly can. My name is Avé and I am a first time Mom to a beautiful little girl named Ava B. When we first found out we were pregnant, I was excited and nervous all at the same time. As soon as Ava B. was born, I began seeking the Lord on how to foster a love for Jesus Christ in her little heart. Fast forwarding the story, I decided to see if Ava B. could memorize scriptures right when she turned 12 months. Something miraculous happened. Ava B. began to memorize scriptures and by the time she turned 2 years old (which was actually 2 months ago), she had already memorized 12! How did we do it? Below are a few tips to help your Toddler get started memorizing Bible scriptures:
1. Repetition: I would have Ava B. recite the scriptures with me over and over during morning Chapel time at home, bath time, snack time, potty time, before bed, and any waking moment we had. I didn’t do it in a forceful way but I made it fun! Sometimes she would initiate the scripture memory verse which was an added bonus!
2. Pick short and simple scriptures to memorize: The first scripture she memorized was Matthew 6:33 GOD FIRST. You and I both know that the scripture is longer than that but GOD FIRST is truly the meaning of the scripture. We are to put GOD FIRST in everything. Having her learn this scripture first really helped her to have an awareness of GOD in her little life. After that, I had her memorize other verses that were short, simple, or catchy! Many of the scriptures we know and love today are in short form in a different translation such as the ERV or ESV version of the Bible. Below are 5 short and simple Bible memory verses you can use right away with your Toddlers:
- Matthew 6:33 GOD first
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always
- Psalm 145:9 The LORD is good to all
- Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
- Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
3. Leverage Children’s Bible Verses Books: We bought My ABC Of Bible Verses by Gabrielle Mercer to assist in teaching Bible verses to Ava B. The sturdiness of the board book and the beautiful pictures really helped her get excited about scripture memory verses. Books are optional when teaching your Toddler to memorize scriptures but they can serve as a great catalyst towards your efforts.
4. Scripture Memory Cards: I haven’t taken the time just yet to use scripture memory cards with Ava B. but I fully support the idea and am looking forward to using them soon. Scripture cards are small so the Toddler can hold them in their tiny hands and use them as a visual point of reference when learning Bible verses. I think it is a brilliant idea. Two great resources for this are from Babydevotions and Hearthappylearning. I recently bought some Fruit of the Spirit cards from Hearthappylearning that I am looking forward to using with my daughter.
5. Pick key words for your Toddler to memorize for longer scriptures: This has been a secret weapon of mine so to speak in getting Ava to learn longer scriptures as a Toddler. For example, I taught her the scripture Ephesians 3:17 which is the foundational scripture of the book that I wrote entitled Where Is Jesus? The scripture says” Then Christ will make his home in your heart as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong”. By teaching her to shout out a few key words of the scripture (in this case heart and strong), she was still able to get this longer scripture memory verse in her heart.
6. Ask Me My Bible Memory Verse T-Shirt: My final and favorite tip is utilizing the “Ask Me My Bible Memory Verse” T-Shirt I created. This shirt has been a total game changer! The shirt is a great conversation starter and confidence booster for your little one as they practice their Bible memory verse. It also doubles as a way for your Toddler to evangelize (it’s never too early to start). If that wasn’t enough, we donate a meal to a child in need every time a shirt is sold! God is so good!
How do you teach your Toddler to memorize scriptures? I would love to hear all about it!
About Me
Ave Leath is a first time Mom. She loves to help toddler Moms foster a love for Jesus in their child through learn and play. For more information visit www.bbpbooks.com and checkout her YouTube channel @bbpbooks
Baby Devotions 