Memorizing Scripture is an incredible activity for children to learn and to practice. Learning the Word of God and hiding it in your heart (Psalm 119:11) will truly help our children in the future. Knowing the Word will help it come to mind when they’re in a difficult situation and need help getting through it.
Since I homeschool, I need to have my children work on their handwriting. They also work on Bible verses each week. I have combined these to activities into one Bible Verse paper. They each receive their own Bible verse paper, at their level, and we go over the verse. We read through it and discuss it. We talk about who is saying/writing it, who they are talking/writing to, where the verse is found, what the verse means, and how we can use the verse in our lives. Then they each take time to copy/trace their verse on their paper. For my kindergartener, I highlight sections of the verse (depending on how long it is) and he will trace only the highlighted portion. For my 5th grader, he will write the whole verse or half of it (depending on its length) in cursive.
We say the verse each day and it’s funny how it comes up throughout our days together. I am able to steer their behavior and their treatment of each other with the Bible verses that we’ve learned. Using the Bible to discipline is objective and they don’t argue against it.
This works in a classroom setting at church, as well. I have done Bible verses with my students at church and I love when I can guide behavior with the Bible.
Finding Bible verses, sometimes, can be a bit difficult. I want Bible verses that we are able to discuss and that they are able to apply to their lives, TODAY. As my personal study, lately, I’ve been reading through Philippians. This is such an encouraging book for me. As I had been reading through it, I found myself discussing some of the verses with my children throughout the day. So, I decided to put together a few (11 to be exact) verses from the book of Philippians that I feel are great for children to memorize and use.
There are 3 sets of Bible verses to choose from. The one you choose depends on what level of writing that your children/students are at. There is a preK/K traceable set, an early elementary print set, and an older elementary cursive set. Each Bible verse is written on its own page, except Philippians 4:8. This is a verse that has a long list. I decided to split it into 3 sections and have each section on its own page. I felt this would help with memorization as well as with the writing. I have also put it all together onto its own page, so you will have the choice on which one works the best for you and your children.
If you’re teaching a full class, you’ll want to download our Philippians lesson plans. Kids will also enjoy this Bible memory song from Philippians 4. For teaching homeschoolers we also have printable flip books that teach letter endings.