Scripture Memory Box

I think most parents want their children to memorize things. For me, as a Christian parent, I want my children to “hide God’s word in their heart”. Putting that into reality can be another story though. I have a child with a photographic memory, he can see something done and repeat it with little to no trouble. My other child, not so much. We also don’t have access to certain youth Bible clubs like Awana that might help encourage children to do Bible memorization. This set me on a mission to find a way to help my children memorize Bible verses. The solution I found was quite simple! The Scripture Memory Box System.

Scripture Memory Box

This little system is often joked about being the most expansive piece of homeschool curriculum you’ll ever buy. I believe the original idea for the Memory Box comes from the Simply Charlotte Mason Company. In fact, if you’re so inclined you can listen to Sonja speak about it in her Laying Down The Rails Workshop.

How I Use Scripture Memory Box and What It Is:

I use The Memory Box System a little differently than is explained on the Simply Charlotte Mason website but perhaps I should explain exactly what this system is first. Basically, it’s a little index card box filled to the brim with index cards and a few dividers. The amount of index cards you need is totally up to you, as is the dividers.

 

I have 24 dividers and we’re pretty close to needing a new box in regards to the amount of index cards inside. I wrote the following categories on my divider tabs:

• Daily
• Odd
• Even
• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• 1/16
• 2/17
• 3/18
• 4/19
• 5/20
• 6/21
• 7/22
• 8/23
• 9/24
• 10/25
• 11/26
• 12/27
• 13/28
• 14/29
• 15/30
• 31

Now, to get yourself set up and rolling, slip some verses your children know behind each slot. Start with verses they know confidently in the back section. As you do Odd, Even, put verses they know, but could use a little work on. In the Daily section put a verse your children don’t know but you’d like them to memorize.

Great! That’s it, you’re all set up now. It will be easier for you to understand how we use our Memory Box!

Each day as we gather around our the table for school we start our day with the Memory Box. I pull it out and read the Bible verse in the daily section. I always start with the location of the Bible verse {Luke 2:1-20}, read out the verse and then end with the location as well.

 

We start with the Daily tab. This is going to be the verse my children often don’t know very well at the start of the week. It may come from their Bible curriculum or any other sources where I’ve stumbled across a verse I want them to learn.

Next we move on to the Odd or Even tab. We only do one of these and it’s decided by the date. If it happens to be the 23 we do the Odd tab, but if it’s the 24th we’d do the even tab. If it’s the 12th we do the even tab, but if it’s the 13th we do the odd tab. Pretty simple, right?

Next we move onto the Days Of The Week, and the tab we do depends on the day of the week. Monday? Let’s do Monday’s tab. Friday? We do Friday’s tab. So easy!

As for the final set of tabs: Rather than have 31 tabs back there I decided to go with only 15 tabs plus the extra one for the 31st. On the 1st & the 16th of the month we’d do the 1/16 tab. On the 5th or the 20th we’d do the 5/20 tab. On the 31st we’d do the 31 tab. You get it now, right?

On verses my children are super confident with they will quote them right along with me. Although, sometimes they prefer to say them all on their own. Either way we go through verses we know once, unless of course each person desires to say it themselves. Verses in the Daily section are often said two or three times by all of us.

Once we know the verse in the Daily section well enough I slip it to the Odd or Even section and move the verses in there back to one of the Days Of The Week tabs. The verses there get bumped to the Dated tabs. Generally we move verses around every other week but many times my children have learned a new verse on a weekly basis too.

I don’t just put verses in this box either! I’ve put new addresses and phone numbers in there under the daily tab. Little do my children know that was more for me than them! We’ve put poetry in the memory box as well. Last year my children learned the story of Jesus’ birthday to go along with a shadow puppet show they hope to put on this year.

I’ve also slipped in some Bible Cards. These are considered trading cards but I use them in the Memory Box after we’ve studied the particular story or event in our Bible lessons. Then I slip the cards in the Dated Tabs area. When we open a tab with a Bible Card in it, I ask the children the questions on the back of the card. In this way they always remember the lessons they’ve learned as well!

What I love:

• Wow, okay so first off I have to say that I love how much my children have memorized in the two years we’ve been using this little box. We started with a box that had maybe 10 verses in it if we’re lucky. Most of those were waiting for us to learn them too. Now our box is bursting at the seams!
• You can’t beat the price on this item, for us it was free! Simply because I had an index card box on hand as well as the index cards and tab dividers. We’ve had to since replace our box {$2 in the back to school sales} because our first box took a tumble that snapped it’s hinges, but really even if I’d had to pay for the box to get started you can’t beat $2 for what this little box can give your family in return!
• I adore the simplicity of this. I mean really it is just so simple! It sounds complicated when you look at it the first time but I promise if you just follow the instructions to slap it together you’ll see how easy it is.
• I love seeing my boys faces light up each and every time they hear a verse they know. Be it when I’m reading a book to them, when they are listening to someone teach, or when I’m reading aloud from the Bible. I’ve also heard one of my children starting out with a verse in a quiet whisper as he had to navigate a room that was dark and scary to him. By the time he came rushing out he was very nearly shouting, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee!!!”
• I love seeing my children put what they’ve learned into action. My children are children, they aren’t perfect. They don’t go around quoting Bible verses at every moment, but I have heard them use these verses when the times are right. Such as the above story with my child in a dark room. The other day in the car my eldest asked my youngest to be quiet or, “Mum might crash the car!” My response was, “I would not crash the car because your brother chose to whistle, let’s not waste time worrying about getting in a car crash.” Both boys started to quote, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things will be added unto you. For do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow has enough troubles of it’s own.” It made me smile.
• I love that even my husband likes this product. In our last home we schooled in the dining room. As he sat down for breakfast he’d grab up the box and lead the children through the daily routine of the tabs. Yes, it’s really that easy!
• I love that I can set it up myself exactly as I want. This means that the age-old debate about which Bible version is best doesn’t come into play here. You choose the verses and the versions of your own choice.

What I don’t Love:

Honestly, I don’t know that I can think of anything not to love. This isn’t a product you have to buy. So how it’s set up and what’s inside of it is totally up to the user.

Bottom Line:

I am so grateful for the homeschooler who mentioned this product years ago. Thanks to the simple, yet effective, method of the Memory Box System our entire family has taken the first half, at least, of Psalms 119:11 to heart.. “Thy word have I hidden in my heart..” Needless to say, we love this clever little box.

-originally published 2012