Memorization is an important part of a complete education, especially at the grammar stage, where our children are committing to memory the foundational aspects of each content area. Here’s the best memory system we’ve ever found to help facilitate memory work in our homeschool and some FREEBIE verse cards to add to your line-up if you want to give it a try.
The best memory system will give you an organized way to keep track of repetition. Because once your kids have memorized a Scripture verse, or history dates, or science facts, they need a systematized way to rotate them through their weekly or monthly review.
You know that if you don’t use it, you lose it, right? Well, this memory system will make sure that doesn’t happen!
Here’s the way it works and how to set it up.
Set Up an Index Card Box with Dividers
You will need a card box that either fits 3×5 index cards or 4×6 size. You will also need 42 dividers.
Label your dividers like this and in this order:
- Daily
- Odd
- Even
- Monday – Friday
- First Week – Fourth Week
- #1-30
Prep Your Memory Cards
Now comes the fun part! Decide what you will use this system for your kids to memorize. We mainly used it for catechism and Scripture memory, but you could also add in science definitions, history dates and important people, or other facts that you want your kids to commit to memory.
You can print out the information on regular copy paper from your printer, then cut out and paste onto index cards for stability.
We usually included 4-5 catechism questions and answers on each card or a short passage of Scripture.
How to Use the System
Start with your first memory card behind the daily tab. Start using it every day this week.
Once your kids have successfully memorized this card, move it behind the Odd Divider – this refers to odd numbered days of the month (1, 3, 5, etc.)
The second card your kids master moves behind the Even divider, which – you guessed it – is to rehearse on the even numbered days of the month (2, 4, 6, etc.)
Once a newer memory card can replace your odd or even cards, then the old cards move to the next divider, and so on. It might take several weeks to fill out even part of your memory box, and that’s okay!
But once a card moves from daily, it follows this journey:
- Odd or even
- One day of the week (M-F)
- One week out of the month
- One day out of the month
By keeping it in your memory box, it still gets reviewed, but on a lesser rotation.
We’ve found that memorizing a whole passage of Scripture is a great way to keep the context and flow of the passage – and it helps us understand the individual verses so much better!
If you’d like to give this a try, you can download printable verse cards for I John 1: 5-10. We memorized this passage in our homeschool after we did an inductive Bible study through the book of I John and it was amazing to all be on the same page with Scripture study and memory.
You can find the FREEBIE verse cards at 4onemore.com and also take a sneak peek into our Bible memory box system via a video tour! See you over there.
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Abby is a former public school teacher, now homeschooling her five children. She’s in the trenches just like you and knows it can be challenging to be home with your kids all day while you struggle to keep up with the housework and educate your kids (and maybe even work on the side!). She blogs over at www.4onemore.com and hosts the Homeschool with Moxie podcast.
