Guide

How do you help children memorize the catechism?

Children memorize the catechism best through short daily practice. Ask the question and have them answer, break long answers into phrases, review old questions often, and use memory cards and copywork. Keep the meaning attached by explaining each answer and asking questions about it, so the words become understanding.

Household Theology Press, a project of Michael Tribett · Last updated November 15, 2026

What is the simplest way to start?

The simplest way to start is call and response. You read the question, and your children say the answer back. Begin with the answer said together, then let them try it alone. Five to ten minutes a day is enough. A catechism is written as a conversation, so let it sound like one.

Here is a first session with question 1 of the Catechism for Young Children:

1. Read the question and answer aloud twice while the children listen.
2. Ask the question. Say the answer together.
3. Ask again. Let the children answer while you mouth the words.
4. Ask a third time and let them answer alone.
5. Stop while it is still going well.

Stopping early matters. A child who ends on a success wants to come back tomorrow.

How do you break a long answer into pieces?

Break a long answer at its natural pauses: commas, “and”, and lists. Teach the first phrase until it is solid, then add the second and say both, then add the third. Each day the child starts from the beginning and adds one more piece. Short answers need no chunking.

Question 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism shows how. The full answer is: “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.”

Lists like “wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth” stick better when you count them on your fingers together. Seven words, seven fingers.

How often should you review old questions?

Review every week, and review more than the newest question. A good loop is this week’s question plus the previous four, drilled once a week, with a full review of the last ten every tenth week. A question learned once and never revisited is easy to lose, even after a perfect recitation.

The site’s weekly catechism schedule builds this in: Thursday is the review day, and every tenth week has no new question. When a child knows a question cold for several weeks, move its card to a “known” pile and pull it out once a month.

How do memory cards help?

Memory cards let children drill without a parent reading every line. Each card on this site folds over, with the question on the front and the answer on the back. A child reads the question, says the answer, then flips the card to check. Older children can quiz younger ones.

Some simple games:

• Pass the card. Sit in a circle. Whoever holds the card answers it, then asks the next person.
• Shuffle and draw. Put five cards in a hat. Draw one and answer it.
• Parent gets it wrong. Say an answer with one word changed and let the children catch it.

Print cards one at a time from any question page, or in sets of ten from the Shorter Catechism printables and the Catechism for Young Children printables.

Where do copywork and singing fit?

Copywork and singing give the same words a second and third path into memory. Writing an answer slowly makes a child notice every word. Singing it gives the words a rhythm that is easy to recall. Neither replaces saying the answer aloud. Both make it stick.

Every question has a copywork page: trace the answer on the first line, then copy it on the next. Use it once a week, on the same day, so it becomes routine. See the guide What is copywork? for ages and session length.

For singing, set a short answer to a tune your family already knows, or chant it to a steady clap. Keep the words exact. A tune that forces you to change the wording teaches the wrong answer.

Should you reward children for memorizing?

Small, steady encouragement helps, as long as the reward stays secondary. Praise effort by name, keep a chart of questions learned, and mark milestones such as the first ten questions. Avoid paying per answer or bargaining. A child who memorizes for candy learns that the catechism is a chore with a price.

Good rewards look like this:

• A sticker or a colored square on a chart for each question learned.
• A favourite meal or a family outing after every ten questions.
• Reciting for a grandparent, who is told in advance to be delighted.

The reward celebrates the work. It does not buy it.

What if a child struggles to memorize?

A child who struggles needs shorter pieces and more time. Go back to answers they already know and let them succeed there. Then teach one phrase at a time, at a slower pace than their siblings. Children memorize at different speeds, and the slower child is not behind in faith.

Practical changes that help:

• Let the child answer with you, not alone, for longer than you think is needed.
• Drop to one question every two weeks.
• Use the shorter Catechism for Young Children even if the child is older. Its answers are brief by design.
• Let the child act out or draw an answer as well as say it.

The 1840 preface to the Catechism for Young Children tells the story of a patient mother who was asked how she could repeat one sentence to her child twenty times. Her answer, as the preface prints it: “If I had repeated it only nineteen times I should have lost my labor.”

If you have wider concerns about how your child learns, raise them with someone qualified to help. This guide covers ordinary practice only.

How do you keep the meaning attached to the words?

Keep the meaning attached by talking about each answer as well as drilling it. Explain one word, ask what the answer means, and connect it to Scripture and daily life. Recitation without understanding is easy to produce and easy to forget. Understanding gives the words somewhere to live.

The same preface puts it plainly. Its author urges parents and teachers (1840 preface): “Endeavor to impress the minds of the dear children with the importance of understanding what they learn. Be not satisfied with the verbal accuracy of their answers.”

Each question page on this site gives you two tools for this:

1. A short explanation for parents. Read it before you teach, so you can say in your own words what the answer means.
2. Family discussion questions. Ask one after the children can say the answer. For example, after question 1 of the Shorter Catechism you might ask, “What is one way you can glorify God at breakfast?”

Look up one of the proof references on the Shorter Catechism pages together too. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 pictures God’s words talked about at home, on the road, at bedtime and in the morning. Catechism memory work is one way to do that.

Where to go next

• Print the weekly catechism schedule and start on Monday.
• Read the weekly catechism schedule guide for a script for each day.
• Begin with question 1 of the Catechism for Young Children or the Westminster Shorter Catechism.