DIY Homeschooler

Love it or hate it memorizing does have its uses. Here is why — along with 5 things your children or students can memorize:

Do you remember the last time you memorized something — even a phone number? With technology ever at our fingertips, we don’t need to commit much of anything to memory now.

Yet, rote memory — the process of repeating information until it is lodged firmly in the brain — fell out of favor well before laptops, tablets and smartphones became part of our everyday lives. While earlier generations of students were routinely required to memorize poetry, great speeches, even the multiplication tables, educators had abandoned the practice as unproductive by the time most baby boomers were starting school.

“Why Memorizing Things (Though a Lost Art) Isn’t a Waste of Time”

The article goes on to say that children who memorize nursery rhymes, for example, are not only developing their memory skills but also being introduced to language patterns.

Memorizing musical tunes provides similar benefits in a different area.

And you can extrapolate from there.

Memorizing is a skill that can be developed very, very early. We do this naturally when we learn the ABC’s or our multiplication tables. Unfortunately, we tend to stop focusing on the skill at some point. And while we can agree or disagree about whether or not it is important to memorize historical dates, the fact that we should be memorizing something is largely indisputable.

The question becomes, what to memorize?

Here is a brief list of 5 things of value your children and students can memorize:

• Scripture.
• Poems.
• Meaningful quotations.
• Historical documents.
• Speeches.

We found it beneficial to use copywork in conjunction with memory work. Give it a shot!

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Additional Resources

5 Tips for Memorizing Scripture
Including why you might want to have your children do this!

Free Memorization Tool
One method of making it easier.