RosieCotton Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My son just turned 9, and he has a gift for memorization. He has always done this easily. I have a hilarious video of him at age 4, reciting the entire, "It's a difficult responsibility . . . .There'll be no more toy makers to the King!" from the Santa Claus is Coming to Town movie. Super cute. It's a really long song! He is able to memorize things very quickly, with very little practice. Words or numbers. Long lists of things can be done in a day. SO. How would you use this? Of course without overloading him. We have memorized things like poems, lists of history items (Presidents, Pharaohs etc), and I'm looking into the chronological history list that CCers do. I'd like to look ahead to math for useful things, maybe some geometry items he could do. And some science content maybe. Any thoughts on this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'd give him the lead role in my next Shakespeare play. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Keeper of my grocery list! I'm not a big fan of memorizing out of context, myself, so I would stick with poetry or Shakespeare - Ozymandius, the band of brothers speech from Henry V, etc. I've been searching out more "manly" things for my ds to have at the tip of his tongue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Although, perhaps the periodic table of Siemens would be useful... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWillSoar Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 We are working on the books of the New Testament of the Bible, if that is your thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'd give him the lead role in my next Shakespeare play. ;) And to prep him for that, may I recommend How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, which I heard about on the Read Aloud Revival Podcast interview with the author? My 9yo really enjoyed memorizing the first couple passages, before I had to return the book to the library! My natural-memorizor (14yo) has really excelled at Latin and Greek. If you aren't teaching Latin yet, I highly recommend starting! Having the declensions and conjugatgions down solid has been a boon to the translation work he is now doing. And one more thing, which might actually be what you're looking for, is Living Memory, subtitled A Classical Memory Companion, by Andrew Campbell (who used to post on the WTM boards and authored The Latin Centered Curriculum). Actually, in retrospect, I have two natural-memorizors -- both of them enjoy(ed) Latin, Greek, and chess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Is your child learning a language? If not, you could consider that as an option, as his excellent memory would make vocab lists easier to master. And I would second the rec for How to Teach your Children Shakespeare, which we are finding quite good, and my kids are not gifted with memorizing talent or keen on doing memory work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My DS is 9 1/2. So far, I've found it most helpful for him to have math things memorized (skip counting all the way through 15, squares and cubes, etc). If he could do it easily, I'd also have my son memorize a list of prepositions. I think grammar is so much easier when the preposition can be quickly identified in a sentence (but that might just be me) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Foreign language vocabulary and verb conjugations :lol: Memorising primes, squares and cubes won't hurt either. The first twenty elements of the periodic table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherOfBoys Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Listening.... what about those science songs in the vertias press catalog? Are those any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'd give him the lead role in my next Shakespeare play. ;) Dd has a phenomenal ability to memorize quickly, and it HAS been really great in theater. She gets the lines down quickly, and then can devote plenty of time to characterization. I think this really gives her an edge over a lot of other kids. And, yeah, she's been in those Shakespeare boot camps for several summers. She thought the language of The Tempest was simpler than other plays ... until she realized that she's just done so much Shakespeare that it's starting to come naturally. On the other hand, that preposition list in First Language Lessons (or one of the subsequent volumes) was quickly and efficiently memorize, and she still had trouble putting it to use. It's been years and years of struggle to conquer grammar, in spite of having memorized all of the rules. That's the downside is memorization without true understanding of the underlying principles. I see this being a potential problem in math and science, too. On a totally different type of memorization, she tended to memorize all of her piano pieces quickly, and had a lot of trouble actually learning to read the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 We are working on the books of the New Testament of the Bible, if that is your thing. Yes thanks -- He did the Old Testament on one day, then the New Testament the following day. !! :ohmy: He is in a weekly youth church group memorizing bible verses each week. He does 6-8 verses per week finishing a whole section of his book, most kids are doing 1-2 per week. When his leader asked how he does it, he just says nonchalantly, "Well, I'm home schooled!" And smiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 And to prep him for that, may I recommend How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, which I heard about on the Read Aloud Revival Podcast interview with the author? My 9yo really enjoyed memorizing the first couple passages, before I had to return the book to the library! My natural-memorizor (14yo) has really excelled at Latin and Greek. If you aren't teaching Latin yet, I highly recommend starting! Having the declensions and conjugatgions down solid has been a boon to the translation work he is now doing. Thanks I forgot about this book. I had it, and had to return it so I'll check it out again. Yes to Latin currently, but maybe I will make it an every day instead of every other day, and learning some French too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Is your child learning a language? If not, you could consider that as an option, as his excellent memory would make vocab lists easier to master. And I would second the rec for How to Teach your Children Shakespeare, which we are finding quite good, and my kids are not gifted with memorizing talent or keen on doing memory work. Yes French, as I speak it. I was thinking about adding another one maybe just for fun. I've always wanted to learn Russian or Italian. Maybe he and I could do a new one together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Foreign language vocabulary and verb conjugations :lol: Memorising primes, squares and cubes won't hurt either. The first twenty elements of the periodic table I will add these to the list! Hurray! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Listening.... what about those science songs in the vertias press catalog? Are those any good? I have no idea but I'd love to know what they sound like . . . Anyone have these and can share what they are about?? Oh - I was going to buy the geography songs from VP so I hope those are good. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Oh - I LOVED the idea of someone here who had her girl memorizing many of the long rants from Anne of Green Gables. She was using it as a curriculum she created for her middle school girl. LOVED THAT! What is similar to this for boys?? I have on the list the Preamble to the Constitution as well (along with some vocab study for it), but wanted to tie it into our American History Study which we are not there yet. And I will admit, I've poisoned his young mind and he knows almost all of School House Rock, especially the history/invention ones. My sister can still rattle off commercials from the 70s and 80s we've long forgotten. Songs and all. It's really kinda scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWillSoar Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Yes thanks -- He did the Old Testament on one day, then the New Testament the following day. !! :ohmy: He is in a weekly youth church group memorizing bible verses each week. He does 6-8 verses per week finishing a whole section of his book, most kids are doing 1-2 per week. When his leader asked how he does it, he just says nonchalantly, "Well, I'm home schooled!" And smiles. That's amazing! Must be one smart kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Mine isn't nine, or a boy, but I have a dd5 who is like that. She just seems to absorb the material, and really enjoys the memorization part of it. I try to put it to good use as long as she is enjoying it. We have long lists of things I find from Living Memory and things I have compiled. Everything from Linnaeus' classification system to parts of speech lists to history timelines. Long Poems. She has memorized things like squares, cubes, the first 100 primes, and formulas. Famous quotes and things like the Preamble to the Constitution. She is working on the beginning of the Declaration of Independence at the moment. But by far the most fun for her are speeches. This is awesome because it gives her the words to practice her oration/prosody skills. What better way than by copying/imitating some of the best in history? She saw Pres. Obama deliver the Gettysburg Address as part of the Ken Burns documentary and decided to memorize it herself. She did it! She says MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech is her next major work. We shall see, but I printed it out for her:). She also has some Shakespeare... I made a 3 ring binder for her divided into subjects, and just always make sure she has something new in each subject. She usually flips through the old material periodically to make sure it isn't forgotten. Whilst Classical Conversations isn't for us, I do have the 3 apps and have pulled quite a lot of material and ideas from those. It is nice that they are divided by subject, and we have done things like the timeline, skip counting, scientific laws, and so much more from there. Lots of fun...and great for me because I memorize it along with her. Just not nearly as fast and with a great deal more struggle😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My memorizer loves famous speeches, the presidents along with years of term, the periodic table of elements with atomic number and atomic mass, basic compounds like water/salt/glucose/peroxide, squares and cubes through fifteen, formulas for the six sentence types, vocabulary, Grek and Latin roots, bones and muscles of the body, cycles like the Kreb cycle or ATP or DNA/RNA replication or photosynthesis, the constellations, taxonomic classification and characteristics of each level, countries and capitals of the world with flags, Newton's Laws, Euclids Elements.... He will pick a topic and then just go for it. Along the way I help him sort out any of the confusing stuff. The library has been very helpful in finding explanations and books at an appropriate reading level but with adequate depth. Knowing the chemical cycle of photosynthesis does not require much of any botany knowlegde and very little beyond extremely simplistic chemistry. My son just liked learning the diagram and memorizing it. I know he is going to really learn the depth later. He could tell you where Bolivia is and the capital is Boguta (sp?), but very little else until this year and really jumping into Spanish. However, it helped him connect dots like mad when we got there. Right now he is going through Veritas Press timeline cards while I read aloud our history spine. We are able to do two sets a year. Again, he is not at some crazy overwhelming high school level of complete understanding, but he is ten. It is incredible to watch all the bits he has memorized fit together when a link comes along, and I know it will suit him well in the future as the complexity ramps up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Great ideas thank you! I have extra 3 ring binders downstairs, so I think I'm going to set one up just for him. This gives me ideas of more areas to go with him. I don't have the CC apps yet, but will have to search for them. I've only seen a few youtube videos of the kiddos performing. CC didn't really seem like our thing either even tho we've got a group a few miles away. I abhor time wasters. :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 We do not do the CC thing either, but man those guys are on it with memorizing. Ds just loves their cards and the songs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 That's amazing! Must be one smart kid. I know right? And he is burning me out of library books daily. Just when I find a great series and think I can sit back abit, he burns thru 6 of them in 3 days. Extreme Adventures was the latest. 125-170 pages each! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Has he read Percy? It spurned on a whole thing with memorizing the Gods. Theodosia is another one that has kept Ds busy a while and it kicked into gear the idea of all the Egyptian mythology and dynasties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My 8yo is like this. She absolutely LOVED the Veritas Press cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My oldest got into maps and memorizing country names/locations/capitals at that age. In middle school she was on a Bible quiz team where they memorized whole chunks of the Bible at a time. She seems to have a need to absorb this vast supply of facts. Just last summer, after finishing high school, she made herself flashcards of all of the flags of the world, just because she wanted to learn them. Seconding the suggestion for Latin, which has been great for all of my kids, even those for whom memorization takes a considerable amount of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scootiepie Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 For fun ...he could be a good chess player and it will challenge him his entire life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeff Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My daughter has a pretty good memory, so I asked her to learn the names and locations of all the countries in the world at age 5. She did this, so now I can give her an unlabeled map of the world, and she can rattle off the names of all the 200 or so countries. She also learned this for the 50 states, the provinces of Canada, and a number of rivers, seas, and cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Get a timeline and memorize it - CC's or VP's, Art and Science cards from CC. Get the CC foundations guide and pick a subject. I hate time wasters as well, and while I dont' think CC is perfect, I don't see it as a time waster either. Either way, the guide has lists of 7 subject areas with a boat load of memory work. If he did all of the grammar for all 3 cycles, he'd be a step ahead. The Old Grammar of Poetry had long poems in the back- great ones. Get MP's Horatius at the Bridge and memorize the entire poem- Latin Highlands does it in 5th grade as the "Churchill Challenge." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.