The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

This title reminds me of a  line from a song in My Fair Lady, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.”  We may not know any other lines in the song, but we remember that one because it’s a type of mnemonic – a rhyme.

Something is happening in our educational system and our language. Children are no longer required to memorize poetry or the Gettysburg Address or lines from Shakespeare. The beauty of our language is quickly being replaced with cryptic text messages like,  GGOH    Gotta Get Outa Here  or  LOL   Laughing out Loud.  Writing is becoming a lost art, along with the beauty of recitation. Maybe you are saying, “Who cares if someone can recite Longfellow’s poem, Paul Revere’s Ride.”  You should care because your children are losing the ability to retain information. Use it or lose it!

Children who are able to memorize, become successful students.
* Begin young. Read aloud to infants and continue reading to them, even when they are 10.
* Encourage your kids to memorize short little nursery rhymes like Jack & Jill or Humpty Dumpty or those happy funny rhymes from Dr. Seuss.
* Read with enthusiasm and expression! Make it fun!
* Help your kids memorize history facts by making it into a rhyme. Remember, “In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
* Memorize quotations or sayings to develop good character traits, “You can’t win unless you know how to lose.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Or, Ben Franklin’s, “The person who is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.”
*  Memorize fun poems like “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” or Shel Silverstein’s “A Giraffe and a Half.” Reciting poetry develops an appreciation for the cadence and rhythm of verse. Children become excellent readers and proficient writers.

Young children are amazingly good at memorizing. Recently, my 3 year old grand-daughter was begging her dad to read her favorite book to her. He told her he was too tired that night. Jade looked up with empathy and said, “Daddy, do you want me to read it to you?” Surprised and curious to see what she’d say, he said “Yes, that would be great.” Jade opened her book and quoted the entire text from memory, not missing one word. He was astounded. He had no idea she had been internalizing the story every time he read it. We need to remember to encourage children to memorize. Their little brains are hungry and open to information. Just make sure it’s the right information that’s being stored!

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I remember Goldie Hawn from the 70′s as the ditzy blonde comedian who made us laugh. I recently saw her on TV talking about The Hawn Foundation and how it’s promoting a program in the schools called “MindUP“.  In my opinion, MindUP is a solid answer to many of our students’ problems. Watch this video to better understand the positive changes that can be taught to children.

In  Goldie Hawn’s book, 10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children–and Ourselves–the Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety for Healthier, Happy Lives there are many creative ideas you can use with your children to begin teaching them awareness. I liked this idea from her book:

“Whenever you pass by someone on the street or in another car, play a game with your children that starts with, “I wonder what that person is feeling?” Be as creative and inventive as you like. Does the person look happy or sad? Is the person frowning or smiling? Label those emotions: anger, joy, sadness . . . Talk about how we can tell what someone’s feeling just by looking at them. Explain that sensing what someone else is feeling is empathy. Encourage your kids to share their feelings, too.”

I would love to hear your comments.

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Have you ever had someone ask you the name of a movie you recently viewed, and suddenly a thought passes through your head, “Oh no, I don’t think I remember!” And of course you can’t remember it!  Negative thoughts or remarks are memory killers. It’s like we suddenly tell our brain, “Don’t  recall the information.” The same thing happens with children when you use phrases like; “Why can’t you remember?” or “How could you have forgotten that already?”  They begin to believe there is something wrong with their brain and memory.

Try using the positive approach. If your child is learning to read and for the umpteenth time doesn’t remember one of the words, relax and say, “Take your time.  You have a great memory and it will come to you,” or any type of positive reassuring. Also remember that children learn differently. Suggest breaking the word up into phonetic syllables. Use colored markers and write each syllable in a different color. This works well for memorizing spelling words too. Draw pictures or make associations with other things to strengthen memorization. Audio learners benefit from hearing the word spoken, emphasizing each syllable.

The process of remembering anything, is simple.  Let’s say you want to remember a person’s name. The key is focus. Listen to the name. If it’s unusual, ask how it’s spelled.  Make a funny association with the name and the person. Whenever I meet someone new, I repeat their name and look for something in their appearance to make an association.  Recently I met a person named “Lorraine”. I broke her name into 2 parts, low and rain and visualized a very low hanging cloud over her head, with rain falling all over her face. Since I’m a visual learner, it worked for me.

Sum it up -
1. Positive statements about your memory or your child’s.
2. Use a memory key based on the person’s learning style.
3. Believe you will remember. Teach your child to believe in their amazing memory abilities!

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