What We Do, Part 3: Memorization

Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Mayer weinerrrrr.
For that is what I'd truly like to beeeeeeee.
For if I was an Oscar Mayer weinerrrrrrr.
Then everyone would be so proud of meeeeee.

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion, on a sesame seed bun.

Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere...

To be, or not to be. That is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind....

I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America...

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

You get the picture.

Memorization.

Every stored up bit of life becomes a part of who we are. We draw from what we know whenever the fancy strikes us. With hymns and scripture, we draw comfort and inspiration. With literature and history we gain purpose and understanding; and we wax philosophical. With music and stories, we find passion and joy. The benefits of memorization have been studied and documented and a child who memorizes will always excel in communication (as well as everything else!).

I've talked about memorization now and then, so there's not much new to add. I'll just tell you this: I'm more amazed every day at the number of beautiful things there are to memorize! I can't help but think about that saying, "Garbage in, garbage out!" It applies to so many things, but memorization takes the cake. My own brain is a plethora of pop songs and old jingles. Being a "no tv" family, causes me some amusement as I remember the glory days of "I'm a pepper, he's a pepper; Wouldn't you like to be a pepper too!" Not really what I want to be remembered for knowing, yet it's in there...forEVER! :)

Now my mother was a different story, she died nine years ago and I inherited her many photo albums. Upon taking them apart to reorganize them and make sure they were protected, I made a little discovery. My mother wrote lines from poems and occasional folk song lyrics on the back of my baby pictures! At the time I thought that was so odd, but truly "who she was". Now I'm amazed at the treasury of thoughts that she passed on to me! Because she memorized.

You'll remember from previous posts that we've used Simply Charlotte Mason's Memory System for awhile, tweaking it and making it our own. I continue to mold it to fit our needs and throughout the week we drill and practice presenting. We work on them together, as a family. I've come to realize that when done alone, this hasn't been as effective. Together, it's personal!

We memorize all kinds of things. Scripture, poetry, speeches, bits of history (like the poem on the Statue of Liberty). We even memorize hymns, through our hymn study. Don't forget the value of ALL the things you choose to memorize! Then there was the War of 1812. This contribution by their dad, taught them all about the Battle of New Orleans. They sing it together and it is a hoot!

Don't underestimate the value of music in helping with memorization--even if you have to make it up. Though we haven't used any of the memory song CD's, we did find Schoolhouse Rock's Multiplication Rock particularly useful! There's also putting things to rhyme. We tried to memorize the Ten Commandments out of the Bible. We struggled for awhile until I found this:

You shall have no gods but me;
Before no idol bend your knee.
Take not the name of God in vain;
Dare not the Sabbath day profane.
Give both your parents honor due;
Take heed that you no murder do.
Abstain from words and deeds unclean;
Steal not, though you be poor and mean.
Tell not a willful lie, nor love it,
What is your neighbor's do not covet.

Now we all have them memorized! Every day we come across something that we want to memorize. Whether it's hiding God's Words in our heart, or treasuring a favorite poem, we memorize. That's not likely to change. I relish the day my children turn to their own children and tell them "I know how to memorize the Ten Commandments!"

Read about the other things we do:
Part 1: Hymn Study
Part 2: Prayer