How do you organize/plan/approach memory work?

[Greta]

I am determined to add more memory work to our schooling, and I'm looking for ideas about how to organize it and approach it in a systematic way.

 

In another thread, Poke Salad Annie had a really neat idea about buying colored index cards, each color representing one subject area, and keeping them in those clear plastic protector sheets for baseball cards. So on a given page, you would see a spread of memory work across subject areas. Very cool!

 

Years ago, I read an idea from a Charlotte Mason educator (was it simplycharlottemaso.com?) where you put your memory work on index cards, and store them in a file box. You organize the file box by the frequency with which you need to work on the item/list/scripture: daily at first, then odd or even numbered days, then by day of the week, working down to one day a month to review and make sure it "sticks". So, for example, today is the Wednesday, the 23rd of February. I would pull out all the cards in the "daily" section, those in the odd days section which are being reviewed every other day, those in the Wednesday file which are being reviewed once a week, and those in the 23 section which are just being reviewed on the 23rd of each month. Am I describing this well? I love this system because it makes sure you are reviewing, and not just memorizing it and then dropping it.

 

I like both of these ideas, and I might try to figure out how to combine them.

 

But I also wanted to ask if anyone has other ideas or suggestions. I'm curious what works (or has not worked) for you.

 

Thanks!

[JESSICAinMD]

I use the CM Memory System. (The index card box you described.) I use the box for all subjects, even math.

Printed the dividers on card stock. You could probably used colored card stock or hightlite the tabs.

http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/

[Staceyshoe]

I use the CM system also, and I use color-coded index cards for different subjects. This system has really saved ds from having to review memory work that he's mastered and helps me keep track of what needs more review. It's been the ideal system for us.

[skueppers]

We use the Anki software on the iPod Touch. It's free for the PC, but the iPod/iPhone version costs money.

 

It automatically repeats cards at appropriate intervals. The adults in our house use it, too. :)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I use a combination of the two ideas already. I have an index card box set up like the CM memory system. The cards are inside are colored coded by subject (Bible-purple, poems-pink, grammar-green, history-yellow, etc.) Each tab has between 1 and 3 cards behind it usually one purple, one pink or yellow, and maybe one green. I adjust the cards for the different subjects each time I add in a new one shifting one color at a time. HTH

Edited February 23, 2011 by Narrow Gate Academy
typo

[Tress]

We use the Anki software on the iPod Touch. It's free for the PC, but the iPod/iPhone version costs money.

 

It automatically repeats cards at appropriate intervals. The adults in our house use it, too. :)

 

My dd and I love Anki!

[ladydusk]

I do the Simply Charlotte Mason system with notebooks. I have a "content" notebook and a "chart" book. The content book has all the things we're memorizing (Bible, Creed, Catechism, Poetry, Math, Geography, Science, History, Math, etc.) in it. The "chart" book has charts sorted in the SCM way that I refer to to find out what to review each day. So, in IEW poetry, I put all the pages into sheet protectors. On the chart behind "Daily" it shows what poem each child is working on. Then I turn to the "Odd" or "Even" tab and see which poem to practice next, etc. This works pretty well for us.

 

The hymns, I mark in the hymnal with those post it tabbies using the same categories as SCM (Daily, Odd/Even, Weekly, etc.)

 

We only do memory work 3 days a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday), but this works for us.

[ScoutTN]

So far, we are doing the SCM system just for Bible, but I love the color- coded cards by subject idea! Next year!

 

We find the system easy to do and effective. Even DH is learning verses since we often do our review at the table right after meals. :)

[Greta]

Thanks everyone, for chiming in with what you're doing! I like the idea of using the file system but color coding the cards. I think that will work well.

 

Anki looks really interesting, but do you think it's worth $25? I have a flashcard app that I bought for just a dollar or two, thinking my dd would love it. But she really doesn't get into it that much. I'm trying to figure out what makes Anki so much better to justify the steep price. (Well, it seems steep to me, because I *rarely* pay more than $3 for an app! But I would if I knew it was really going to be worth it.)

[Mallory]

We use a notebook.

 

There is a divider for Today, then four for Day 1 -4 (cause we do a 4 day week, then one for all learned. I started out with 31 for every day of the month, but now I use a sticky and we just keep going through the old stuff (we usually do 2 a day, but sometimes one needs more practice and we stick there for a couple days) moving up the sticky flag after we do it so it marks tomorrows.

 

So every day they do the stuff behind Today, the stuff behind the day of the week and the flagged page (and usually the next one behind the flagged page).

 

Usually we are working concurrently on a poem, something for science or math, and something for history. Then the reviews can be all sorts of things.

[Amy Jo]

Anki is free. You can download the program and/or do it online.

 

Bible verses and poetry go into our SCM files (everyone has one - it's just to difficult to separate as all the boys go at different rates). Other things go into Anki (just Latin right now, science and history will be added soon). Myself and my 8.5 year old use Anki, I'm not sure about my newly turned 7 year old, I might do a card box for a year with him, then Anki.

 

Oh, and you can color code your 'cards' in Anki.

[Kuovonne]

Anki looks really interesting, but do you think it's worth $25? I have a flashcard app that I bought for just a dollar or two, thinking my dd would love it. But she really doesn't get into it that much.

 

The desktop version of Anki is free. If you want to do reviews away from a computer, you can get the $25, but you don't need it.

 

Anki is just flashcards. Incredibly robust flashcards with an awesome scheduler and multi-sided, multi-media capabilities, but flashcards nevertheless. If you DD resists like flashcards, she might resist Anki.

 

I love Anki. I started doing memory work with the index cards / notebooks method others use, but it became a pain to maintain in a few months. In my search for a better solution, I found Anki, and haven't looked back. We've been using Anki for years.

[VBoulden]

I just do the memory work with the subject it goes with.

 

I use Abeka Spelling and Poetry 1 and there are poems in our spelling book, so when we practice spelling... we just turn to the poem and go over the the one we are learning at that point.

 

For Bible, we read from the Family Bible Time reader. I also choose a Bible verse or two that I want her to memorize. Right now, it's Proverbs 3:5-6. So, we just remember to say that together when we start Bible.

 

And, we are using First Language Lessons. There is always a poem or two we are learning or reviewing in there. When we do language, we just review those as often as the book says.

 

For math, we are learning our facts with the help of a CD... We use Math U See. I usually let her review the songs once a week AFTER the math lesson for the day.

 

I just do it at the beginning of the subject it "goes with." ... Or the end, in the case of Math.

 

No index cards for me yet... I suspect that might kill our memory work before it even began because I think I probably would never get around to making the cards. :D

[skueppers]

Thanks everyone, for chiming in with what you're doing! I like the idea of using the file system but color coding the cards. I think that will work well.

 

Anki looks really interesting, but do you think it's worth $25? I have a flashcard app that I bought for just a dollar or two, thinking my dd would love it. But she really doesn't get into it that much. I'm trying to figure out what makes Anki so much better to justify the steep price. (Well, it seems steep to me, because I *rarely* pay more than $3 for an app! But I would if I knew it was really going to be worth it.)

 

It's worth $25 to me, but I wouldn't suggest starting out with the $25 app. Instead, try the free computer version, and see whether you like it. I used it for a year before shelling out the money for the iPod/iPhone version. The author basically wrote it because existing users wanted it, and is selling it at a high price to fund development of the project as a whole. I get the impression that he only really intends for dedicated users to buy it at this price.

[Greta]

Anki is free. You can download the program and/or do it online.

 

The desktop version of Anki is free. If you want to do reviews away from a computer, you can get the $25, but you don't need it.

 

It's worth $25 to me, but I wouldn't suggest starting out with the $25 app. Instead, try the free computer version, and see whether you like it. I used it for a year before shelling out the money for the iPod/iPhone version. The author basically wrote it because existing users wanted it, and is selling it at a high price to fund development of the project as a whole. I get the impression that he only really intends for dedicated users to buy it at this price.

 

Ah, thank you for clearing this up for me! I was just looking at the app and didn't even realize there was a free desktop version. I will *definitely* start with that, and then think about whether it's worth the $25 to be able to do it on the iPad.

 

Sorry, I'm a little slow on the uptake. :D

[AngelBee]

:lurk5:

[kbpaulie]

So for those of you keeping notebooks or file cards, do you or your children write out the text? For example, if there is a poem, do you actually write that down?

 

We tried memory work for about 3 weeks and then faltered. It was too hard to keep it organized (I tried a SCM version setting it up on the computer) and the biggest (and best) kicker is I couldn't keep up with the kids. :) They were memorizing and I wasn't.

[Mallory]

So for those of you keeping notebooks or file cards, do you or your children write out the text? For example, if there is a poem, do you actually write that down?

 

 

 

I (well, sometimes the older boy) type them and print them off for our notebooks. I do a whole bunch of things when I do by planning and store them in the pocket in the back of the binder, but there are always some things (usually poems) that they want to do that I didn't plan out.

[angela in ohio]

I have a binder I made years ago for my older dc. I printed out all of our memory work and put it into page protectors, then put them in sections by subjects. I found it easier than note cards, because I could just print it out, I could fit longer works of poetry, and they never got lost. Dc would flip open to the appropriate page in the book when I assigned new memory work and copy it out into a spiral notebook for their memory work. Then we would work on it for however long it took.

 

The binder had everything I wanted them to memorize in it, not just one year's work. I only had to sit down once and do the work to make the binder, though I have added a bit here or there as we have gone.

 

I make a chart for each dc each year that keeps track of what is new and review for them for that year.

[Greta]

I have a binder I made years ago for my older dc. I printed out all of our memory work and put it into page protectors, then put them in sections by subjects. I found it easier than note cards, because I could just print it out, I could fit longer works of poetry, and they never got lost. Dc would flip open to the appropriate page in the book when I assigned new memory work and copy it out into a spiral notebook for their memory work. Then we would work on it for however long it took.

 

The binder had everything I wanted them to memorize in it, not just one year's work. I only had to sit down once and do the work to make the binder, though I have added a bit here or there as we have gone.

 

I make a chart for each dc each year that keeps track of what is new and review for them for that year.

 

This is a great suggestion too. Sounds like it would work particularly well for multiple children (which, unfortunately, is not the case for me), and also for poetry (too long to fit on an index card). Thanks, I will consider this!

[Greta]

So for those of you keeping notebooks or file cards, do you or your children write out the text? For example, if there is a poem, do you actually write that down?

 

My plan is to have my dd write the memory work a few times, and then just move to reciting it. I know that for myself, and I believe for her also, the act of writing is a very good way to reinforce and remember the material. When I was in college, if there was some material I was struggling with, I would write and rewrite my notes (from class or the text) until I had it down. It really helped me, and I think it will help her as well. But that's mostly theoretical at this point. :001_smile:

[kbpaulie]

I have a binder I made years ago for my older dc. I printed out all of our memory work and put it into page protectors, then put them in sections by subjects. I found it easier than note cards, because I could just print it out, I could fit longer works of poetry, and they never got lost. Dc would flip open to the appropriate page in the book when I assigned new memory work and copy it out into a spiral notebook for their memory work. Then we would work on it for however long it took.

 

The binder had everything I wanted them to memorize in it, not just one year's work. I only had to sit down once and do the work to make the binder, though I have added a bit here or there as we have gone.

 

I make a chart for each dc each year that keeps track of what is new and review for them for that year.

 

So how do you then use the binder - some from each section daily? And how often to you review? And how do your kids know what to work on - look at the chart or some other way?

[angela in ohio]

So how do you then use the binder - some from each section daily? And how often to you review? And how do your kids know what to work on - look at the chart or some other way?

 

I have the charts for each dc in the front, so I know what they are working on. I just flip to what I need. The nice thing about using the same thing over and over is that I know exactly where everything is. :001_smile: They work through the poems and Bible verses in order, as I have them in order of increasing difficulty. Then other things are used when we are covering them in other subjects, or I just flip and pick things I think they are ready for.

 

They have copied their work into their notebooks, and we mark at the top of the page when it is completed. Every other week or so, I take some extra time and run through all of the really old stuff. The material from the current year gets reviewed every few days or so.

[Amy Jo]

So for those of you keeping notebooks or file cards, do you or your children write out the text? For example, if there is a poem, do you actually write that down?

 

I made a document in Open Office and shrunk my page size down (somewhere around 4x6). I also decreased the margins a LOT. I then typed in our memory work, 1 scripture/poem/item per page. One file has the work from one source (so LDTPM is a file, as are the Foundation Verses). When I print, I print 4 to a page (acrobat will automatically add margins for you). After cutting (a cheap guillotine is fine) I have 4 (I trim) X 5.5 inch cards, which go in a 4x6 file box.

 

For stuff that will go into Anki I'll just use 3x5. I'll probably write it for them, because sloppy looking cards make me antsy. I think when DS starts doing more on the computer (or there are too many cards) I'll move him to Anki. Of course, I don't have my copy of Living Memory yet, so I might change my mind after that arrives.

[Cindyz]

We use Mnemosyne and find it to be invaluable.

[Greta]

We use Mnemosyne and find it to be invaluable.

 

What a lovely resource. Thanks for sharing this!

[tuzor]

For those of you using the binder system do you print multiple memory passages on one page? Or do you use one page, per memory passage per subject?

[Mallory]

For those of you using the binder system do you print multiple memory passages on one page? Or do you use one page, per memory passage per subject?

 

While I don't fill up the pages, I will put a couple things on one page.

 

Especially if they are history or science lists or two short poems by the same author. While they are learning them we just work on one at a time, but once they go to review they do the whole sheet.

 

I've also seen the smaller sized binders (5x8) recommended, then one thing might fit nicely.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I don't really have a system, but it only takes me one day to plan our annual memory work.

I start with bible verses on a particular topic. This year I Swagbuck searched "bible verses + the poor" I got a website, chose 2 verses per month; copied and pasted to MS word and printed them out.

 

I looked through our TOG and we focused on government this year, so we did presidents and documents for D and R and presidents and poetry written by or about presidents. I divided my list into TOG weeks, printed them out and added them to our TOG set-up.

 

We stuck to vocabulary for science this year.

 

It was pretty simple and I'm very pleased with our results...although I have slacked this spring with memorization...just working on other things instead!

[tuzor]

While I don't fill up the pages, I will put a couple things on one page.

 

Especially if they are history or science lists or two short poems by the same author. While they are learning them we just work on one at a time, but once they go to review they do the whole sheet.

 

I've also seen the smaller sized binders (5x8) recommended, then one thing might fit nicely.

 

Ok thanks.

[missmoe]

I use a variation of the CM method with binders. Here is my explantion of how it works:

 

http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-memory-time-works-at-for-us.html

[HeidiKC]

We use a notebook.

 

There is a divider for Today, then four for Day 1 -4 (cause we do a 4 day week, then one for all learned. I started out with 31 for every day of the month, but now I use a sticky and we just keep going through the old stuff (we usually do 2 a day, but sometimes one needs more practice and we stick there for a couple days) moving up the sticky flag after we do it so it marks tomorrows.

 

So every day they do the stuff behind Today, the stuff behind the day of the week and the flagged page (and usually the next one behind the flagged page).

 

Usually we are working concurrently on a poem, something for science or math, and something for history. Then the reviews can be all sorts of things.

 

I like this idea, but is there something different behind "today" everyday? Or is it there for a week or so as long as they are memorizing it? If the latter, and if there are multiple things behind "Today", what if they memorize one thing faster than another, do you move it or how does that work?

[mcconnellboys]

I have used Drew Campbell's method of making a notebook with different sections in it and working through those. I also often just keep memory lists in my notebook where I detail our weekly work under the tab for that subject (history, science, etc.) And several programs/books I use have lists built in so that I can just pull those and have him work through them periodically.

 

Right now, my son is reviewing states and capitals; reviewing some Bible basics; reviewing all his vocab lists for Latin for the year (12) as well as his chants; reviewing all his Greek vocab for the year, as well as the Greek alphabet; reviewing all his vocab words for the year; and reviewing some grammar memorization work he's done this year.

[Kuovonne]

I use Anki, a computer based space repetition system. It works fabulously for us.

[Mallory]

I like this idea, but is there something different behind "today" everyday? Or is it there for a week or so as long as they are memorizing it? If the latter, and if there are multiple things behind "Today", what if they memorize one thing faster than another, do you move it or how does that work?

 

Usually there is a poem, something historical (might be a list or a poem or speech or document), and either math or science or maybe geography.

 

So usually there are 3 current pages behind the today tab. They work on them as long as it takes to get them down. Then I move that sheet to the Day 1-4 tab and move what ever was there back to the review section. Then I will add another thing from that subject, but keep the pages they don't have memorized yet.

 

If they have just finished the list of Egyptian Gods then we might move on to Heracles Labors or a short part of the Illiad or something, but I wouldn't move what ever poem or science thing they are working on.

[2squared]

I tried the SCM index card system. I think it is great, but it is not for me. It was too much for my little group.

 

Now I have individual sticky notes that list any memory work. For my 6yo, I have a sticky note in my math manual that lists address, phone number, months, birthday, etc. I have a sticky note in my RME easy book of various phonics combinations that he needs to review further. I have a similar system for my 8yo. She reviews grammar terms with her studied dictation and so on.

 

We also have the IEW poetry CD in the van. That's about as easy as it gets.

[kolamum]

We use the SCM memory box. :D