Memorization

[Heathermomster]

I've been meaning to ask this for some time. Does anyone consistently have their child memorize poetry, Bible verses, catechisms, or anything?

 

What effect does this type of weekly memory work have on long term learning? If you know, please point me in that direction....studies..thoughts..opinions...

 

Blessings,

Heather

[TippyCanoe]

nm

[PeterPan]

My dd did a lot of memory work when she was little, but somewhere between then and now it got really hard and just petered out. Guess that's not very helpful, but there you go. I have no clue why. Maybe when she was little there wasn't as much else busying her mind? She's more of a context person and narrative. She won't know the words precisely, but she'll have this general sense via narrative or connections to other things. When she did the VP online history, it helped her memorize dates and things.

 

Sigh, I guess it's one of those things we could try harder on, but try harder is what it would take (like crowbar, extreme repetition, try, try). If it's just something with no point for her (latin word for woman), it's just toast.

 

If you're asking if weekly memory work sticks for the long-term, I think it totally depends on the kid. I remember the poem my brother memorized when he was in 1st grade for the play, but HE sure doesn't, lol. On a more spiritual level, you have the idea of exposure and seeds that come back later (language, Scripture, that sort of thing). So I don't think the *effort* is worthless, even if it doesn't stick perfectly for the long-term. The concepts will stick. If only the perfect memory of it is worthwhile, then that might not be the most successful endeavor for the non-detail person.

[coralloyd]

We use Simply Charlotte Mason's Memory System http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/.

I use a large three ring binder instead of 3x5 cards. I put Scipture and poetry in it.

 

I can't sight any studies for you but I can tell you how I have seen it benefit us. My girls have amazing memories! This really seems to help them in all of their school work, especially narrations. They don't struggle with them and they seem to come naturally.They are also in a choral theater group and they easily memorized their lines or solos. I credit memory work for this. The passages they can memorize and the speed at which they do is shocking to me. We are actually going to attempt a whole book of the Bible here soon. I don't doubt their ability to do this, at all. I think the constant review is key though because they are forced to still remember passages from long ago.