Lesson from the Duggars

This probably won't come as a huge shock to those of you who read this blog, but I'm going to say it anyways. I love the Duggars. We don't have cable or satellite, but  I still find a way to watch 19 kids and counting(thanks, Alex!!) 

I bought their latest book shortly after Max was born and loved it. Michelle has a lot of wisdom, and in this book she talks a little about the challenges of raising several small children and how she managed. One thing she says she did to make Christianity attractive to her children was "salt the oats." She decided to make Bible time the most exciting part of the day, and teach her children memory verses by using hand gestures. Whenever a child memorized a verse they would get an m&m or skittle. Doing this, she says, made Bible time the best part of their day.

That sounded so simple! I couldn't help but wonder why I had never thought of making scripture memorization a fun activity. As embarrassing as it is to admit, whenever I'd teach Jack or Anna a verse I'd try to have them sit quietly and repeat after me and turn it into a serious activity that neither of them enjoyed. 

So for the last couple of weeks we've been going back through, My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts, and I've been trying to make it exciting. And so far it has been a success! This week we're working on Matthew 5:9, and the kids have gotten the biggest kick out of doing hand motions for each word in the verse. Even Lily(who is 17 months old, but never wants to be left out) gets involved with the hand motions. And, of course, when they can say the verse without any help they'll get an m&m.

How about the rest of you? Have you found some interesting or fun ways to teach your children God's word? Any wisdom that you all have would be much appreciated!! :)