Fun Bible memorization for tots

As I was thinking about working with Little Man on his letters in a slightly more formal way today, I remembered something that Z-Man and I did when he was a tot. (And when I say tot, I honestly can't remember if he was 3 or 4. People told me that would happen, but I didn't believe it!) We made an alphabet book with short Bible verses for each letter and cut and pasted magazine pictures to decorate each page. 

I put my hand over his and we wrote the verse together*, we would say it over and over until I could just say the letter and show him the picture and he could respond with the verse. Now, we didn't do EVERY letter (like X) but that's still a lot of verses! He had quite a sense of accomplishment and took pleasure in showing friends and family. Of course, he's that kind of kid - Little Man, on the other hand, isn't big on performing. At all. But I think he would still enjoy making the book and learning the verses.

Now that I'm thinking of it, I remember getting the idea from this book, which is excellent:

Here are the verses we used, for anyone interested in doing this with their own tot:

• A  All we like sheep have gone astray. Isaiah 53:6
  
• B  Be kind one to another. Ephesians 4:32
  
• C  Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Ephesians 6:1
  
• D  Don't fret or worry; it only leads to harm. Psalm 37:8
  
• E  Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17
  
• F  "Follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Mat. 4:19
  
• G  God is love. 1 John 4:16
• H  He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
• I   "I am the Bread of life." John 6:35
• J  Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me." Mat.19:14
• K  Kind words are like honey, enjoyable and healthful. Prov. 16:24
• L  Love one another. John 13:34
• M  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27
• N  Now is the time to come to Jesus. 2 Cor. 6:2
• O  Obey God because you are His children. 1 Peter 1:14
• P  Pray about everything. Philippians 4:6
• Q  Quick Lord, answer me, for I have prayed. Psalm 141:1
• R  Remember your Creator now, while you are young. Ecclesiastes 12:6
• S  Sing a new song to the Lord. Psalm 98:1
• T  Thank God for Jesus, His gift too wonderful for words. 2 Cor. 9:15
• U  Underneath are God's everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27
• V  Visit the orphans and widows. James 1:27
• Y  You must be born again. John 3:7

We didn't do W,X or Z. Obviously, this project is much easier to do with a stash of magazines that you don't mind cutting. Some verses are more challenging than others to illustrate, but as long as your child associates the verse with the picture, that's all that matters.

*Z-Man now tells me that one of the things he liked best about doing this project was the smell of the marker. Hmmm...