{"id":375,"date":"2014-12-02T19:24:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T02:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/?page_id=375"},"modified":"2015-05-21T09:39:44","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T15:39:44","slug":"memorizing-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/memorizing-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorizing Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Louisa

Louisa and her kitten “Nimbus”<\/p><\/div>\n

If there is one thing in my homeschool that I am very thankful we’ve done over the years, it is “memory work”. It seems as a natural part of conversation, one of my children mentions a poem they have learned that pertains to the topic we are discussing. For example, today we were talking about prayers that don’t seem to get answered, when Ammon said, “That reminds me of a poem,” and he went on to spontaneously recite, “God Answers Prayers”. It can bring tears to my eyes to hear my teenage boy bring forth from his memory such beautiful words and profound truths<\/strong> that he has learned and stored from years of memorizing.<\/p>\n

When do you begin to add memorizing into your child’s life?<\/em> I start when children are about 4 years old, teaching them a very simple 2 line rhyme or scripture verse. Poems are much easier to learn because the rhyming words help out. I type the poem and print it in large font and add the page to their Memory Notebook (just a 3 ring binder). I have young ones draw a picture on the poem page, so they can remember more easily. Every morning in homeschool, I go over the poem together with my child, helping him to learn faster. This only takes a few minutes, but it is almost magic what a few minutes a day can do, year after year after year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Poems for Memorization\u00a0<\/a>is one of my favorite books to use for providing poems for children because it is organized by grade level and has wholesome, old-fashioned poems. \u00a0I have gleaned many poems out of the Pathway Readers <\/a>also.<\/p>\n

\"Pathway-Reader-Set\"<\/a>

Pathway Readers<\/p><\/div>\n

Once a child is reading, memorizing can go even faster and more independently. I put “Memory Work” as an item on their daily school assignments. When I print out a copy for their Memory Notebook, I also print a couple of extra copies: one for the bathroom wall, and one for the wall next to the chin-up bar. It is amazing how fast a poem can be learned from just reading it over a few times per day. The copy by the chin-up bar works very well because facts can be more easily learned when a child incorporates big muscle movement while learning. So my kids swing and memorize, and benefit from both.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your children are all on a similar level, the whole family can learn the same poem, but I have found it works better to have a unique poem for each. For one thing, it prevents the other children from piping in when a child is reciting and forgets a line! I usually choose the poems when they are young, but I have found the children often wanting to learn certain poems that their siblings have learned and recited. As children get older, I let them choose from 3 poems that I have selected. By the time they are 12 or 13, they are selecting good quality poems on their own from the books I have.<\/p>\n

Here’s our schedule:<\/strong>
\nMonday: every child gets a new memory verse or poem to learn and reads it through a few times
\nTuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: we work on the poem (or just 1 or 2 stanzas if it is long)
\nFriday: the children recite the poems to the whole group during homeschool, while I follow along in their Memory Notebook, underlining words that need to be worked on. It is a joy to listen to them! Generally they pass off their poem on Friday, but if it is long or they haven’t got it down, we may extend it one more week.<\/p>\n

Best of all, these poems and scriptures stick with them, and provide comfort, truth, hope, courage, understanding<\/strong> and a host of other virtues. By the time they become teens, they enjoy memorizing long poems. My teens have wanted to learn long pieces of their choice, such as “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” and the “Gettysburg Address”, which they have recited to entertain and inspire at events, such as a 4th of July program.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy the magic of memorization in your home. It will bless your children forever!<\/p>\n

Here is one of our favorite poems to get you started:<\/p>\n

Now<\/h4>\n

If you have hard work to do,
\nDo it now.<\/p>\n

Today the skies are clear and blue,
\nTomorrow clouds may come in view,
\nYesterday is not for you;
\nDo it now.<\/p>\n

\"spring-641994_1280\"If you have a song to sing
\nSing it now.
\nLet the notes of gladness ring
\nClear as song of bird in Spring,
\nLet every day some music bring;
\nSing it now.<\/p>\n

If you have kind words to say,
\nSay them now.
\nTomorrow may not come your way,
\nDo a kindness while you may,
\nLoved ones will not always stay;
\nSay them now.<\/p>\n

If you have a smile to show,
\nShow it now.
\nMake hearts happy\u2014roses grow,
\nLet the friends around you know
\nThe love you have before they go;
\nShow it now.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 -Charles R. Skinner<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May I recommend:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"swing-407428_1280\"
\nA Moment for Memorization
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"jefferson\"
\nWisdom from Jefferson
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"8263\"
\nPoems for Memorization
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there is one thing in my homeschool that I am very thankful we’ve done over the years, it is “memory work”. It seems as a natural part of conversation, one of my children mentions a poem they have learned that pertains to the topic we are discussing. For example, today we were talking about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,9],"tags":[80,133,132],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-language-arts-articles","category-what-articles","tag-memorization","tag-poems","tag-poetry","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6IrRN-63","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1569,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/memorization\/","url_meta":{"origin":375,"position":0},"title":"A Moment for Memorization","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"My little Julianna, at the age of 9, came home from Sunday School excited about the fact that they were going to be expected to memorize lots of Bible verses that year and that the teacher had a reward in store for whoever could do it. She also expressed disbelief\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Goals"","block_context":{"text":"Goals","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/how-to-homeschool\/homeschooling-goals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"louisapies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/louisapies-250x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":661,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/using-muscles-for-memory\/","url_meta":{"origin":375,"position":1},"title":"Using Muscles for Memory","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Wiggles! Kids seem to be full of them and they can make sitting still, learning, focusing, and concentrating extra hard! If you can't fight 'em, join 'em. Time to use those big muscles to help kids learn! I have a chin-up bar hanging over a doorway near where we do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How to Homeschool"","block_context":{"text":"How to Homeschool","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/how-to-homeschool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/were_gonna_get_you_daddy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1146,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/memorizing-the-times-tables\/","url_meta":{"origin":375,"position":2},"title":"Memorizing the Times Tables","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My 11-year-old boy is still trying to memorize his times tables. He's finally gotten his 5's and 9's (and of course 0's, 1's and 2's) but the rest seem to be hard for him. I'm wondering what we can do without spending much. Answer: How frustrating for both of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"My grandson Isaac","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/isaac-swing-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":183,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/family-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":375,"position":3},"title":"The Family Bible","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"The Family Bible Old Brother Higgins built a shelf For the family Bible to rest itself Lest a sticky finger or grimy thumb Might injure the delicate pages some. He cautioned his children to touch it not, And it rests there still with never a blot . . . And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Molding the Heart"","block_context":{"text":"Molding the Heart","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/why-homeschool\/molding-the-heart\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"October 1696","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/October-1696-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":783,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/doing-the-little-things\/","url_meta":{"origin":375,"position":4},"title":"Doing the Little Things","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"We are so busy as moms! It isn't possible to do all that our children ask us to do. \u000bI heard this heart-stirring poem when I had 3 little rambunctious boys \u2014Daniel (5), Mark (1) and Nathan (3)\u2014that kept me busy morning 'til night. It made me want to slow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nurturing"","block_context":{"text":"Nurturing","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/why-homeschool\/nurturing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"supermanboys","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/supermanboys-215x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1099,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/kids-cant-spell\/","url_meta":{"origin":375,"position":5},"title":"Kids Can’t Spell?","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"It is an all-too-common problem. Kids can\u2019t spell, teenagers can\u2019t spell, even many adults can\u2019t spell. Thank goodness for spell-check on the computer. It has helped the problem enormously! Learning to write is pretty important, as we use if daily in our communication.\u00a0Nothing blows \"lookin' smart\" faster than misspelling a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English: Spelling"","block_context":{"text":"English: Spelling","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-spelling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ammonsbeet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ammonsbeet-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7417,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions\/7417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}