Share the Adventure: Scripture Memory Camp, here we come! (How to help kids memorize)

Two years ago, I found out about Scripture Memory Camp in Louisiana ("only" about 12 hours away!). It's a family camp sponsored by Scripture Memory Fellowship as a reward for Scripture memory. Since we had our fourth son that summer, the timing wasn't right for us to go then. Then last year, our oldest sons learned all the verses to receive a full scholarship, but alas...Covid. No camp. But this year, everything is in place -- camp is happening, my husband says I can take our oldest boys (while he has "camp" with our youngest boys), the AirBNBs are booked on the way there and back, and one of the final pieces came together a couple weeks ago when the boys recited all their verses cumulatively for their Awana leaders (I think I was more nervous than they were!).

The program to earn a scholarship at camp this summer was SwordGrip Old Testament Volume 2. So Calvin, a first grader, learned 28 verses, at least one from each of the books Proverbs to Malachi. Carter, a fourth grader, learned 81 verses, at least three from each book. They recited them cumulatively with 2 or fewer "helps" per passage. That means that Carter recited Proverbs 3:5-7 then Proverbs 9:9-11 then Proverbs 31:10-12 then Ecclesiastes 3:11-13, etc. without prompting in between. I knew my boys could memorize verses (since they do that weekly for Awana), but I was intimidated by having them recite the verses cumulatively. SMF connected me with a veteran camp mom who helped talk me through the process that it is possible. And now, I want to share some of what we've learned, so that others will know it's possible to set high expectations for kids in their Scripture memory, whether you end up at camp or not.

Songs! Anyone who knows my Scripture memory journey knows my affinity for learning Scripture via songs (here's a post on how to find Scripture songs). I've memorized with and without songs, but the verses I memorized with music or a beat have been the ones that have stuck with me long-term. For our camp verses, the awesome Stan Blair created some songs that we were able to use. I also wrote or adapted several, and my son Carter even wrote one to the tune of Castle Music from Super Mario World.

Together! When I was teaching at a Christian school, I encouraged my colleagues to learn the same verses their students were learning. The same is true with my kids at home. If I'm learning the same verses, it's easier to practice them together while we're on the go. On a long drive back from the zoo last week, I tried to recite the verses cumulatively to my sons (they did a much better job than I did!), and it's been awesome to have this shared experience. Even the almost-two-year-old has learned some of the verses just by hearing us practice them.

Accountability! Last year, it became cumbersome for me to try to review their verses cumulatively every week, especially as we were adding more and more verses. This year, I asked their two grandmothers to pair up with each of them. Every Sunday, I'd have the boys call Mimi/Mamaw to recite their verses. This provided a neat connection for them, and it also gave them a different person to practice with.

Rewards! Some people say that people should be intrinsically motivated to memorize Scripture, but I've decided that it's my job to get the verses in them. And then it's the Holy Spirit's job to do whatever He wants with those verses once they're on the inside. Every third of the way through the program, we do ice cream sundaes. We were floundering a bit here at the end, so I piled on the rewards (screen time, snow cone that they don't have to share!, points to buy something in our family reward store) if they could finish by the end of May. And they did! SMF also sent a Camp hat and periodic buttons as they finished certain sections.

These ideas aren't just for kids! I use songs now for practically every verse I memorize. I like to memorize the same thing as someone else, and I recite my verses for a friend over the phone or for someone in my family (or for my students, when I was a teacher). My favorite "reward" is when I've been a part of a challenge where Bibles are donated depending on how many verses are memorized. Actually, we'll be doing that in our Facebook group again during June.

Here are their final run-throughs:

Carter