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fishem001
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| Posted: Aug 27 2007 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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Hi all,
We started homeschooling today, and I can already see I have too much crammed in right now. Here's my question: Should I make my Kindergartner memorize a poem like Laura Berquist suggests, or is it more important to just expose them to good poetry? We are already memorizing a Bible Verse and Prayer with Little Flowers, and I'm wondering if adding a poem is just a little over the top?
Thanks,
Emily
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stefoodie
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| Posted: Aug 27 2007 at 7:39pm | IP Logged
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I don't tell mine that she HAS to memorize anything, but from constant repetition of read alouds, audio books, etc. she memorizes a lot. So I know those brain muscles are getting lots of exercise! Maybe just read her the poem over and over, sometimes pausing before a word and letting her supply it?
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stef
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ladybugs
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I would just recommend making it VERY dramatic so that she'll want to hear it over and over...I found that if I use voices, accents and body language, natural inspiration takes over...and they learn effectively and easily.
I did this with The Spider and the Fly and it's still a big hit to this day!
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Maria P
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Maryan
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We used MODG last year for kindergarten. We memorized poems -- but very slowly. I just printed them out and hung them in the kitchen. So for the next couple of weeks we would read that poem together at meals. The boys always liked it. As the other ladies pointed out -- the end result was that they memorized a poem just from repetition. They thought a lot of the Robert Louis Stevenson poems were funny.
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Bridget
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One nice thing about memorizing poetry is that it impresses the grandparents at Thanksgiving.  Even the 5 and 6 year olds can do it!
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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fishem001
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| Posted: Aug 27 2007 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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Ladies,
Thanks for the ideas. Maria and Maryan I will definitely use your ideas. Stef thanks too! And, Bridget, my mother-in-law would be candidate for this since she keeps questioning us about homeschooling!
Thanks,
Emily
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Willa
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Charlotte Mason says that if you just say a poem to a child once or twice a day, he will memorize it painlessly.
This has been true in our experience. Even with my dev. delayed kindergartener.
If it's in song form, so much the better!
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Willa
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Cay Gibson
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Earlier I would have said just exposing them at that early age is enough---I'm big on exposure---but I just got home from a meeting of catechesis in which a letter from our bishop was presented to us which read:
"A turning point in religious education prior to the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in my opinion, was the papal document on the teaching of catechism issued by Pope JPII in the late 1970's. The Holy Father said a great deal, but I do recall two particular points. He emphsized 1) the importance of accountability and 2) the need for memorization.
"First, the students need to be held accountable. ...
"Second, memorization recognizes the power of memory. We learn nothing without it. Certainly we do not wish any tedious memorization without understanding. What we do want and what Pope JPII was stressing is the recognition that memory is a powerful faculty, the content of which remains with us for the rest of our lives. How often have I found myself being asked a question about the Catholic faith and returning to some point I learned in catechism as a child? Such is the power of memory, and we should place it at the service of the Church.
"In underlining the value of memory, we must emphasize the tool that makes it possible, i.e., repetition. ..."
~ Bishop of Lake Charles, Glen John Provost
This renewed my commitment to memorization. If it's important enough for Dorothy Sayers and Charlotte Mason and, most importantly, Pope JPII to mention, it's gotta be good enough for my family. 
Like Willa mentioned, it doesn't have to take long. Just recite one poem throughout the week. It's painless and much more fun than memorizing multiplication tables.
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Cay Gibson
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SuzanneG
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I hang ours on the kitchen cupboard too, and say it once or twice at breakfast.
I've also been known to act out little dramatizations  which is always a hit, yet exhausting (for me). I can only fly around the kitchen like a butterfly so many times before needing a nap!  But, it DOES help with memorizing
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mariB
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We have used MODG for years and now that we have teenagers with really good memories, I credit the poetry memorization. Sometimes when the kids were really little, we would spend just a week on memorizing the title and author of the poem. I would just repeat it 3 times and then have her/him say it with me and then we did this with the next few lines. We took it slowly.
Next on the memory list was the Baltimore Catechism in first grade ( St. Joseph) and second grade(Baltimore Cathechism No. 1) and we have done the catechism ever since but a lot slower than Berquist suggests.
A favorite poem for the littles in our house has been "The Owl and the Pussycat". It is fun to get picture books if you can of the poem you are memorizing. Another beautiful book is "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Oh! And I always let them choose their poem from The Harp Laurel Wreath.
A favorite when the kids were older was "America for Me" by Van Dyke
Blessings,
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stefoodie
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Guess we're one of those that start late. My kids start doing formal memorization around 7, with Baltimore Catechism and Harp & Laurel Wreath, and now Latin declensions, etc. Before that age they just memorize whatever poetry/short book we read to them.
We have them on our walls and they're also used for copywork. On the bathroom while they brush their teeth works really well for my 8- and 11-yo!! 
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Rachel May
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I think Laura Berquist says 3 min a day for memorization is enough at that age.
Poetry is easier to memorize than Bible verses (we are going to have a prose memorization for the first time at the end of 3rd grade going by the MODG syllabus), but last year when Maria was in Kindergarten, I often substituted her Little Flowers verse for her poem. And since she had memorized all the Kindergarten poems from hearing her brothers learn them, we just used any of the poems in the first stage in Harp and Laurel Wreath. The Whole Duty of Children has been a great favorite.
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MarieA
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My children began memorizing poetry at that age. We found it effortless and fun. They still remember most of those poems even though they are now middle school age.
Marie
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Kristie 4
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I started my oldest at that age (as per Laura Berquist)- then one day while he was (ahem) impressing the grandparents, his 3yos piped up and reicited a four stanza poem. At that age it goes in like candy to some young ones.
However, with the next few kids we have definitely been more relaxed- for age 5 or 6 we have just picked a small poem and said it lots (or they have read it to themselves) until they know it. But mostly they have just listened in with the older kids- we all LOVE poetry here!
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Ouiz
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My kids LOVE poetry, and really don't need to be told that they should memorize it -- we read them so often it just sticks! For example, when my oldest daughter was 2, she could recite the poem "Mud" by Zaro Weil (not an easy poem, but it was such a fun one we read it often)
"Spider and the Fly" was another HUGE hit around here... as are many Jack Prelutsky poems...
When I tried to force a poem, it didn't go down as well (duh), but those that have really resonated with us have quickly become family favorites!
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happymama
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We have the poetry memorization program from the Institute for Excellence in Writing.
Here's the link.
After hearing Mr. Pudewa's talks, I became convinced that early exposure & memorization of poetry is very, very beneficial to a child's intellectual development.
In practice, however, I've been running into a problem. My 4 year old doesn't have much trouble memorizing the poems, but he does have an issue with reciting them. I have heard him saying the poems as he's playing by himself or with his brothers, but asking him to recite them for myself, my husband, or anyone else is usually a futile exercise. Or, he'll start to say a poem but then get all wiggly & giggly. So, my "current" theory is to separate the memorization & recitation aspects of poetry at this age and hope that the composure will come down the road... Could this be one of those "boy" things? I don't have any daughter experience!
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Willa
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happymama wrote:
| So, my "current" theory is to separate the memorization & recitation aspects of poetry at this age and hope that the composure will come down the road... Could this be one of those "boy" things? I don't have any daughter experience! |
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That's what I would do.... set a different goal for the recitation skills. I don't know if it's a boy thing, but my boys and one girl resisted recitation too.
You could try choral or round robin recitation with him -- trading lines. My little ones think that kind of thing is a game, and it is
Susan Wise Bauer said her kids liked to recite to their stuffed animals.
And some kids like to tape record themselves, where they don't like an audience.
But with a four year old, you have lots of time to find out what works.
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Willa
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happymama
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good tips, thanks!
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Kelly
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One way to help them memorize poetry is to get the cds "A Child's Garden of Verses" and "Days Gone By" both by Ted Stevens, I believe. The kids learn the songs (which are quite enjoyable-I listen to them all the time,even when kids AREN'T in the car!)AND learn the poems, easily. We were just "reviewing" "Bed in Winter" yesterday by listening to the cd, and worked on "the Wind"---both by RLS. Great for those carschoolin' kinda days.
Kelly in FL
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Kindergartners Memorizing Poetry
