Bible Memory and Copywork: Life Lessons
December 6, 2017
Hey Mama,

How thankful I am that every morning His mercies are new. I don’t have to repeat the “ah” moments of yesterday (although, I often do). I can or I should be focused on my Heavenly Father, the perfect Parent, every morning—ready to start a brand new day! Focus on His Word. After all, He already knows what’s in store. 

If you’re still not sure about starting today doing copywork or memorizing Scripture, take a look at these helpful articles from  The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine




And remember, Mama. . .

It's only Wednesday. You thought you were going to wake up and start a fresh new day; lots would get done, and you'd go to bed tonight content that so much was actually accomplished. It's not looking that way, though, is it? And the day is already underway and moving too fast.

Your first inclination is to go back to bed (or hide underneath it). I just want to encourage you—don't hide; don't run away. God has your day ordained. He literally orders our day. And He's not surprised by this one.

His Word tells us to wait on Him, to take courage, to be joyful. I find that when I start to get overwhelmed, God's Word is the place I need to be. He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible.

Have a look: 

Psalm 31:24 – Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Isaiah 35:4 – Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you.

Philippians 4:6 – Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Psalm 94:19 – In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul.

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Mama, get into the Word today (if you can). Make the time. Read all of the above passages in context, and get to know the heart of your great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is with you! He will never leave you. Don't beat yourself up for the slow start today. Look, you have a bunch of kids, and you live in a shoe! Do you think you're supposed to be superwoman or something? Come on. Know that it (whatever *it* may be) will likely NOT be predictable. Understand that your daily plans will blow up at least once a week (if not once a day). :-)

Give yourself a break; God smiles on you; so smile back. Say under your breath or in your heart what our beloved Senior Editor of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine's Deborah Wuehler taught ME to say during these times: 

"Lord, I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on YOU." 
Accept (and rejoice in the fact!) that you are a child of God, walking this walk, obeying Him, doing your best. In the words of Keith Green, HE'LL TAKE CARE OF THE REST. 

Embrace the madness, Mama. It's your crazy, mad, tearful, trial-filled, insane, over-filled, JOYFUL life. 

Love it. He gave it to you.

Now get out from under the bed and go find your kids. Hug them and move on with the day. Because His hand is on your head.

-gena
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 My name is Nadine and I blog at Making Her Mama ( www.makinghermama.com ). 
I started this site to connect with and encourage other homeschooling moms. You'll find homeschooling how-to's and curriculum & book reviews. There's Charlotte Mason inspired nature study lessons and so much more. I hope you'll come join us!
Nadine Best
In our household we memorize Bible Scriptures regularly. We've just started using a Charlotte Mason-based system for reviewing and adding new Scriptures (You can learn more about that here ). There are some wonderful benefits to using memorization.

First and foremost, Matthew 4:4 says that "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." The Bible, the Words of God, are living and life-giving. They are the foundation on which our children should be raised.

I remember when my oldest was still young, and a sweet older woman was telling me all about the children at her church, she spoke glowingly of the preschool program—its highlight being that they actually taught preschool-aged children to memorize Scriptures. I was surprised that they started so young. But she cautioned me to never underestimate the abilities of our children.

Although my youngest children don't always sit and recite, they are always around when we read our Bibles and when we do our Scripture work.

Not that there needs to be any better reason to use the Bible for memory and copy work, but there are also other benefits for our children.

Memorization is like exercise for our brains and it trains us to remember and improves retention. It also helps train our brains to focus and subsequently improves our ability to learn and increases our creativity.

Memorization also develops character traits like the perseverance required to repeatedly practice and learn the Scriptures. Depending on the Scriptures chosen, your children will also be exposed to all the invaluable life lessons contained within the Bible.

We have started memorizing some of the more commonly known Scriptures:

Psalm 100, Matthew 6:9-13 (The Lord's Prayer), Roman's Road - Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9, and 10:13, Matthew 5:14-16, John 3:16, Ephesians 6:1-2, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 23, Exodus 20:1-17 (The 10 Commandments), and Ephesians 6:10-18.
But memorization doesn't have to be limited to only God's Word, though it is the best foundation.

Other things that we can memorize with our children include hymns, poems, songs, nursery rhymes, and stories as well as facts about the world around us. We can memorize the multiplication tables, the periodic table of elements, the provinces and capital cities, and basically anything else useful or interesting.

It doesn't matter if your kids are babies or nearly adults, there is benefit in memorization; and I would encourage you to incorporate memory work into your daily routines.

Nadine is a homeschooling mom to 4 active, outdoor-loving boys. She is also the owner of Making Her Mama where she writes about homeschooling with a Charlotte Mason influence.
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Growing up in a small town I was very impressed with the amount of activities there are for children and homeschooling families. With Tuesday swim lessons (Port Hope), library Wednesdays (Cobourg), Forest Friends Thursdays (Welcome) and sport day Fridays (Baltimore), there are lots of opportunities for families to get together. Can’t make a weekly commitment? No worries. Most programs are drop-in friendly or offer a short weekly session so no long-term commitment is necessary. Monthly field trips (Northumberland County, Durham County, Peterborough County, GTA), summer camping (Kinark Outdoor Centre), and track and field meets (Oshawa) are also offered throughout the year. With all of these social opportunities, how can families not feel connected?

Hey Mom,

OK, there’s not a snowball’s chance in Tampa that I’m going to talk about copywork in the weeks preceding Christmas. We homeschool! We should be basking in the joy of Christmas, family, and togetherness.

We should be doing less copywork and more baking . . . less memory work and more Christmas decorating . . . less “schooling” and MORE “HOMING.”

That’s the beauty of educating our children at home because we can flex and take advantage of the seasons of life. This is one of the seasons that you should take advantage of . . . BIG TIME. So why don’t you get the kids together and address Christmas card envelopes . . . talk about how you could bless another family with cookies or gifts . . . or thumb through the Compassion or Samaritans Purse catalogues and purchase a chicken, a bike, or a well for a family in another country.

Then pick out a Christmas read-a-loud , get all snuggly, and read to your children. Then put on some Christmas music, string some Christmas lights in the school area, and play a Christmas game like To Bethlehem .

Want more? Make hot chocolate with big marshmallows; get some nuts in the shells and crack them open; pass out candy canes; string popcorn, or wear silly elf hats to get in the Christmas-y mood.

Your kids probably won't remember copywork lessons, but they'll never forget all the fun stuff that homeschooling families SHOULD do during the month of December instead of focusing on the less important stuff.

So stop reading this . . . and go do Christmas!!! That’s an order! ☺

Be real,
Todd

PS – Looking for the best Christmas gift for husbands? Look no further – The 2018 You Da Dad Daily Calendar . . . requested by Dads . . . loved by wives.
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Jodi Riddle
Read, write, memorize, study, meditate…. One of the most important life lessons we should teach our children is to approach the Bible, the Word of God, in these five ways. We are told in scripture that the way to success, in God’s eyes, is knowing who He is and who He wants us to be! 

Read – Paul told us in Ephesians 3:4, “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand.” We must read God’s Word to understand who He is and what His will for our lives is. Therefore, we must teach our children that the Bible is the place to go for all of our answers. Do you teach your children the importance of reading God’s Word daily? 

Write – Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Writing God’s Word down can help us learn the Scriptures, but it can also be a way for others to see some of God’s Word—a form of a testimony to others. Do you have scripture “posted” in your home? Are you teaching by “speaking” scripture to your children? 

Memorize – Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart.” Some people say they don’t do well memorizing—me being one of them. But I am always amazed at the way that He will help me to recall it when I need it most if I am faithful to attempt to memorize God’s Word! Are you encouraging your children to memorize scripture? 

Study – 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Strive to know as much as you can about the Word of God, and teach your children how to do this as well. Knowing the Word of God will help you to know the God of the Word! 

Meditate – Psalm 1:2 says, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Do you ever notice that the things we tend to think about most are the things we tend to love the most? Do you delight in His Word and teach your children to love it? Joshua 1:8 tells us, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” I would say that is a pretty good life lesson! 
Read, write, memorize, study, meditate—repeat daily! 


Jodi has been with TOS since April 2016. She serves as a Human Resource and Operations Assistant and is also the Homeschooling with Heart  blog manager. Jodi is a pastor’s wife and has three boys. She has homeschooled for seventeen years and also taught in the private and public-school settings. Jodi enjoys teaching, playing the piano, scrapbooking, and making cards. Her heart’s desire is to help others learn to enjoy these things as well!
                                                                          
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Danika Cooley
Bible memorization changed my life.

I attended Christian schools until the middle of sixth grade. I don’t remember a lot of what we learned, with the exception of the Bible memory verses. Every week we memorized new Bible verses. It was those verses that the Holy Spirit has used throughout my life—before and after I was saved—to point me to truth. I remember them when I pray, when I struggle, and when I rejoice. That knowledge of Scripture has been central to my faith.

It’s so easy for us to allow the weight and busyness of the world to take precedence in our lives, isn’t it?

Let’s be honest. Seeking the Lord through His Word with our whole hearts is a long, slow, daily process. Our culture is right here, right now, quick fix. Taking the time to learn the Bible isn’t a fast thing. It’s slow, requires some effort—and it’s VITAL. We need to know God’s Word. Our kids need to know God’s Word. That saying that the days are slow, but the years are fast is so true .

As homeschool families, we can work the Bible right into our daily routine. What a blessing!

Copywork helps children learn proper grammar, practice spelling and handwriting, and develop the hand muscles and fine motor skills necessary for handwriting. Copywork is also an excellent way for children to learn and meditate upon Scripture. Try having your children copy a verse each day for a week. You may be surprised to find they've learned the verse. If not, they will certainly have meditated upon it.

Bible verse memorization is another skill that can easily be worked into your homeschool. Take a few minutes every day to help your children review a verse until they know it by heart. Make it fun—set it to music, make a puzzle where you take away a word each time, and repeat it together throughout the day. Once your children know the verse, add a new verse. Be sure to review your memorized verses once a week.

You'll never regret the time you've spent seeking the Lord in His Word with your children.

Grab your free Bible Road Trip™ Year One Sample Pack —you'll find Bible lessons, copywork, and memory verse cards at five levels from preschool to high school!


Danika Cooley is an author and homeschool mother of four. Her passion is equipping parents to teach Scripture and Christian history to their families. You can learn more about Danika's popular  Bible Road Trip™  curriculum   and teen historical novel  When Lightning Struck!: The Story of Martin Luther   at  Thinking Kids.

You'll find hundreds of  subscriber gifts  there, too!
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Where can you find more than 175 copywork selections in both print and cursive, neatly categorized by subjects and topics such as American history, world history, geography, holidays, literature, nature, science, U.S. Presidents, Scripture, and more? You’ll find it all in Everyday Copywork on SchoolhouseTeachers.com! Everyday Copywork brings your student penmanship practice, in both print and cursive, through copying Bible portions, excerpts of literature, foreign language selections, and much more. There are many different lengths, and the copywork varies in difficulty, so it is suitable for many ages. You will also find alphabet worksheets for the little ones who are just learning to print. 

If you’re homeschooling this year and you’re not a member of SchoolhouseTeachers.com , come give us a try. You can try the entire site for 30 days for $5. If you’re looking for some refreshment, you might consider one of the many Bible studies or parenting resources that are included in your family’s membership. If you or someone you know would be interested in teaching or writing for us, let us know. You can email me at bhudson@TheOldSchoolhouse.com . We look forward to serving you and your family! 


in the latest issue of
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Contest Corner  
For the month of December


This amazing set includes four Lamplighter books!



This was our first time reading a book from Lamplighter and I have to say we are both very pleased. I love books and I have rooms filled with them. But, these are not just books; they are like little treasures preserved in time for all to enjoy. Not only are Lamplighter books visually stunning, but they are edited within a Biblical framework to ensure that every single story not only lines up with the character of God, but also provides key scriptures to seal these traits in your heart.

The Golden Thread , written by Norman Macleod, is a story written in 1861. I love the font, the style and the art peppered throughout the book. The story is set deep in a dark dangerous forest where a King rules over his Kingdom. The King prepares his son, Prince Phillip for the most difficult test of his life. At first my son, Kaden, was reading this book on his own, but it was so exciting he didn't want me to miss out on all the adventure. The story is filled with so much detail it is easy to slip away into the story with Prince Phillip. ( Read the rest of the review. )


The original tale of the king’s gardener, James, and his 15-year-old daughter Mary, was published in German in 1823 by Christoph von Schmid. The Basket of Flowers has been translated into English and has now been rewritten by Mark Hamby. Recommended for ages 9-14, The Basket of Flowers was ideal for my 12-year-old. Lamplighter Publishing now offers this 234-page hardcover collector’s format for $20. 

Mary loses her mother at a young age and has been brought up by her father James. James is a wise and godly man who has taught Mary much about her Creator and King and what He requires of her, using flowers from his work as a gardener as an example often. Mary befriends Countess Amelia, who then gifts Mary with her clothing as she outgrows them. Juliette, lady’s maid to Amelia, becomes jealous and accuses Mary of stealing a ring from Amelia’s mother. Mary is taken to prison, beaten, and accused falsely. The story chronicles Mary’s struggles as she chooses to do right things in spite of her trials. ( Read the rest of the review. )


Are you looking for a fun way to teach your child the character traits of honesty, perseverance, and industriousness? Do your children love reading or being read to? Basil; Or, Honesty and Industry by Charlotte O’Brien is a great book from Lamplighters Publishing that would help your child learn these traits while enjoying a great story!

This book, like the other books from Lamplighters Publishing, is a reproduction of the original that was written around 1856. The story itself is written almost exactly as it would have been in the 1800s, with little alterations. While this may seem hard to read and/or understand at first, by the time you are done with this wonderful book, you will not notice the writing at all!

We follow Basil as he learns about prayer. He is a poor boy with a rough home life. His mother was too busy with the children and had no time for learning about religion. A few kind words given to Basil from Squire Hamilton—"to pray to God to act honestly and industriously in whatever situation”—give Basil just what he needs. These kind words start a journey for Basil that all people should go on. ( Read the rest of the review. )


“There’s two things as always come to the top: one’s merit—t’other’s scum.” That’s the driving wisdom behind Rising to the Top by Mary E. Ropes, part of the Lamplighter Rare Collector Series. Why do the wicked seem to succeed, while bad things happen to good people? The author has faith that, in the end, justice will prevail, and one’s true character will be revealed.

First published in 1887, Rising to the Top tells the story of thirteen-year-old Bob Martin as he tries to build a life for himself after he is left an orphan. He takes a place as a servant in a wealthy home, where he learns that doing what’s right is not always easy, and that the deceitfulness of others can make one’s life difficult. In the end, of course, true character rises to the top, and both Bob’s “merit” and his enemy’s “scum” are revealed and rewarded appropriately. ( Read the rest of the review. )

YOU can WIN all FOUR books for your homeschool! 

TO ENTER : Click on over to our entry page and follow the instructions! Contest ends at midnight, the last day of the month.
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