Do your children do memory work?

[nancypants]

Plaid Dad's question (and the article he linked) got me wondering how many of us have our children memorize poetry? If so, which ones and how old was your child when he/she memorized them? Or, how many of us memorized poetry as children and still remember them (at least in part)?

 

I still remember several of the poems I memorized as a child... and I remember bits and pieces of the ones that I didn't exactly memorize but read many times over for pleasure.

 

Because I loved it so much as a child I decided that my children would memorize poetry too. I'm so happy :D that I now have the article that PD linked as a legitimate reason for it besides the fact that I did it and liked it! :tongue_smilie:

 

Here are the ones my kids have memorized this year:

 

DS 8: Psalm 1 (which of course is scripture but it's also poetry), Lone Dog, Great, Wide, Beautiful, Wonderful World, The Walrus and the Carpenter (this one took us about a month to memorize completely.)

 

DS 6: Psalm 1, Where the Sidewalk Ends and... oh goodness... there was another but (Har har) I don't remember it! :lol:

 

DS 4: Psalm 1 and All Things Bright and Beautiful

I was not going to make him memorize any poetry until later but when he saw his brothers doing it, he insisted and who am I to argue?! :lol:

 

I'd love to hear of any that your children have memorized and loved.

[Kate in Arabia]

I memorized some poetry as a child, but I don't remember it coming from a formal lesson, like a requirement, but just from the love of the sound or meaning of the words, kwim? My father in particular is a major fan of poetry, so we were always surrounded with it growing up.

 

For my kids, they have memorized some English poetry in the same way I did; I don't require it, but they read it and hear it a lot and some they have memorized on their own that way.

 

They are also in process of memorizing the Qur'an (in Arabic). My younger ds knows a few surahs he's memorized just from listening to them a lot, my older attends a class for memorizing and has also picked up others where he just liked the sound and/or meaning. Memorization is an important part of the Islamic religious culture, and I think language-wise as well (in English or Arabic).

[Hannah]

I memorized a few poems for annual eisteddfods as a child and teenager and I remember those.

 

Dd is doing memorisation from selections in this file I created a while back. She's also chosen some things on her own that she wanted to memorise.

[jail warden]

I memorized poetry on my own as a child, but I don't remember near all of it. I'm memorizing more now than I ever did then! My kids did the poems in FLL and still remember them and we've done just a few more since we stopped that. We've done more scripture, but next year I will do better at it all!

[Kuovonne]

My dad had me memorize poetry when I was a child. I didn't like doing it.

I forgot most of the poems within days or weeks of when I had finally "memorized" the completed piece.

I don't remember any of it now.

 

Because I had a bad experience memorizing poetry myself, I won't be having my kids memorize poetry. It's a shame.

[mom2abcd]

There wasn't a choice for "I memorized as a child and remember most of it." I went to a Lutheran school and we memorized lots and lots of Bible verses, the catechism, etc. It was just part of the routine so we didn't hate it. I think it was *very* good for us academically as well as spiritually. People are amazed that I can pull verses out of my memory. (I don't remember the references, but with a Concordance, those are easily found).

 

However, I was terrible this past year at memory work with our kids. I really want to get back on track with it.

 

Here's a nice download with passages sorted by grade:

http://grace-els.org/education.php

 

http://grace-els.org/memorywork.pdf

[greenwillow]

both poetry and Bible verses. Dd has done many whole chapters of the Bible. When we first started she never thought she would be able to do it, but has steadily increased her ability. This has been a great confidence booster for her and gives her a sense of accomplishment when she masters a memory verse or poem.

[Peela]

We memorise poetry in an informal way by learning one poem at a time. They just learned Jabberwocky. There is no sense of pressure at all. I read it daily until they burst out of their skin wanting to tell it to me without me reading it! Once they have it down cold, we move to the next. We also read other poems daily without memorising them. Lots of exposure.

I don't remember learning any poetry at school with the possible exception of My Country, by Dorothy McKellar- it's a famous Australian poem. However, in singing, one naturally learns poems in the form of songs.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I memorized poetry for public school, including Chaucer in Old English.

 

The kids began memorizing poetry at age 5. We try to keep selections at an appropriate length for their ages. Currently I am trying to tie memory work to history or literature assignments for the week. I also have them use their memory piece for copy work.

[Reesegirl]

I remember reading one of Gene Straton Porters book about a family (can't even remember which one) but I was so impressed that they had memorized so many classic poems that I decided that I would have my girls memorize too. We got started with Abeka's selections in 1st grade and went on from there. reesegirl