Right now, I am teaching my kindergartener to memorize the books of the Bible. Before we began, I wasn’t too sure if he would be able to do it, but I thought that I would give it a try. I have been pleasantly surprised! He is doing very well with it all and really seems to like learning such a “grown up” thing such as this. Throughout this process, we are still in the midst of it, I have learned some good things to remember.
- Work on a few books each week – adding to the previous week’s books. For example: The first week we worked on Genesis & Exodus. The next week we worked on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, & Numbers.
- It’s ok to take a review week (we will be doing this next week). We won’t be adding any new books to his list so that he will just be able to review all of the books that he already knows. We are on Proverbs and it seems as though he needs a little more practice on these, so we will take the time that he needs.
- Follow your own child (or students’) needs and proceed from there. Remember, the goal is for them to master the books of the Bible, not to just get through them.
There are so many ways to learn the books of the Bible. I’m sure that the internet is chalk full of great and wonderful ideas to help your child or students to learn them. I have learned that whatever I do, to continue to do it throughout the whole process. My son works better if he knows the routine and only the books that he’s learning changes. So, here are some of the things that we are doing so that he can be successful in this endeavor:
- Make a card for each of the books of the Bible
- Even though he can’t read them, he enjoys making the cards for each book.
- I found some cards online with the name and a picture that goes with the name.
- He glues the card onto an index card (that has been pre-punched with a hole in the corner) and he puts it onto a metal ring.
- By the time we’re done, he’ll have a full ring of all of the books of the Bible.
- The cards help him, if he gets stuck, because he can go through them while saying them and sometimes the picture helps him remember.
- Our website is also creating an entire coloring book with each Book of the Bible illustrated
- Trace and write each book of the Bible
- I have made a list of all of the books on the computer using a traceable font. This way he just has to trace the letters.
- There is also a space for him to copy the name of each book.
- Say the books that he knows – to anyone that will listen
- He says them daily to me, but he will also say them to his dad, grandparents, and basically anyone who will listen.
- Practice makes perfect and getting positive feed-back makes him feel good about what he has done so far.
- Watch the Go Fish Guys “Bible Book Bop” on YouTube
- He asks to watch this daily and likes to sing along.
- It has been rewarding for me to see his eyes light up when they say a book that he knows!
- I “catch” him singing this while he’s playing and doing other things around the house, so it’s getting in there.
- Here is another Bible Book song that you can watch on YouTube.
These are just a few of the ideas that can help your child or students to learn the books of the Bible. I hope that they can be helpful to you as they have been to me.
The biggest things to keep in mind are that this will take time and hard work, but it is so worth it!!
Need more help learning the Books of the Bible, here are more ideas from our website: