5 Reasons Why Kids Can't Remember What You Taught Last Month

Our goal should be to get the truth of God's Word embedded into the long-term memory of children and volunteers.

This means kids can remember the main truth of the lesson long-term. 

Here are 5 reasons why kids can't remember what you taught last month.

Reason #1 - You didn't use repetition.  

Did you know if a child hears something once a month, the their retention rate is 6%? 

But if they hear that same truth 6 times or more each week, their retention rate goes to 95%.

If you want children to remember what you are teaching them, start using repetition.

Reason #2 -You didn't let the kids act out the lesson.

Research shows that when kids are given the opportunity to act out what you just taught them, their retention rate goes to 75%.

Basically, we are saying that active learning is much more effective than passive learning. Kids want an experience and they want to be immersed into that experience.

Reason #3 - You didn't give them time to talk about the lesson.   

Instead of just lecturing, invite kids into the lesson.  Give them opportunities to talk about what they just learned. Make sure they take time to do this during small group time.

Active engagement always trumps passive listening.

Reason #4 - You asked them to remember too much information.

Instead of having them trying to memorize several main points and several Bible verses each month, ask them to just memorize one key Bible verse or key truth once every month.  

You will find this enables them to remember the key truth and key verse even after the teaching series is over.

Reason #5 - You didn't rhyme your key truth.

Did you know that kids can remember something much better if it rhymes? 

Here's an example - instead of just saying "the Bible is true" - go ahead and rhyme it to say  "The Bible is true...I can trust it through and through."

You can get 18 months of curriculum that incorporates all of what you have just read.  You can see sample videos, lesson plans, small group lessons and more at this link.