I have been reading through Hearing and Reading, Telling and Writing and I came across a section on memorization/recitation and I see that Charlotte had her students do a great deal of scripture and poetry memorization. I read that it was just a matter of hearing the selection read aloud a few times a day, without the student attempting to recite until they are sure they have it down. Is that true? Am I missing something? I feel like this was for younger students, is it the same for older children, junior high and high school? I looked up the reference in Volume 1 and did not really find much more guidance. Is that all there is to it? Read the scripture, poem or speech several times and that is it?
I also wonder about timeline or history memory work. I know a list of dates to memorize was not her way, but doesnt it help to have a basic flow of history in your head, some significant dates and events? Would spreading out my big 20 foot Rose timeline a few days a week and letting my kids look at it and take in the flow and read whatever captions interested them be a more pleasant way to “memorize” history dates. What are your thoughts?
I have never read how CM did memorization, but that’s how we do it and it works for all of my kids….ages 6-12. (Works for me, too, but tends to take me longer!)
In our Enrichment Studies lesson plan guides we schedule Scripture memorization daily using our Scripture memory system, and poetry memorization once a week. And, yes, Bible verses and poetry are memorized by repeated readings of what is being memorized. We encourage moms to help their children to recite poetry in a pleasing voice, not in a sing-song voice.
The Book of Centuries is helpful for making the connections of events and people in history. A family Book of Centuries is recommended until students are about 4th grade, then they have their own personal Book of Centuries to record historical dates and people that are important to them. They use the same book year after year so that as they read about events and people in history, poets, authors, artists, composers, scientists, etc. they enter them in their Book of Centuries and see the other events and people that have already been entered, making connections of who lived at the same time and what was happening in the world at that time. We have both a basic, free Book of Centuries and a more formatted, for purchase My Book of Centuries available in the SCM Bookstore.
The way I’ve always done it is to have my child memorize a new verse each week and use it for copywork all week. So he’s writing it and reciting it for 5 days straight. I use SCM’s memory system, and at the beginning of a new week, last week’s verse goes into the next empty (or least-full) slot and the new verse is put in the “Daily” slot. If it’s a particularly long verse or passage, I break it up over several weeks. For example Psalm 23 is 6 verses so he did that one over 3 weeks. He recites it all in one sitting now that he has memorized it, though. 🙂
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