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!

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.

This is a sure-fire way to get your child writing. Buy 2 little blank books. One for your child and one for you. Talk about fun subjects, quotations and sayings,  (get ideas from Thought for the Day book or Kid’s Writing Journal.)

Try this writing prompt, “If I share what I have, it will make someone else feel good.” What could you share with someone today? How do you think it would make them feel? Now, each of you write your idea, and illustrate it if you want. The fun part is in the sharing. It’s amazing what each of you learn from the other. Next time  have your child pick the writing prompt.

Quotations are fun too. “I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells. (Dr. Seuss) “Nonsense” means writing about silly things. Today wake up your brain cells and write something silly! Journal writing promotes complete freedom.  If you can draw or doodle along with writing, you can create and be yourself. No rules! Correct spelling, grammar and sentence structure can be taught elsewhere. Journal writing is an outlet for self expression. This is the amazing benefit;  if children develop the habit of writing, their writing improves immensely.

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.

I was reading a blog written by Rhonda Cratty about the importance of writing little notes to our children.  This is what she said about sharing a book together.

Open a book; sharpen a pencil and write your child a love note about a book you are enjoying together. I promise your words will last longer in your child’s mind, than chocolate on their tongue.

I responded to her blog with this experience.

When I was teaching third grade, my students had a “Take-Home-Journal”.  Every Friday they would write a short paragraph to their parents about the week.  But the most important part of this project was the Parent Response Page. Parents would write words of encouragement back to their child.  I will never forget the look of pride in the eyes of one little boy when he showed me his journal and said it was the first time his mother had ever written a note to him.  Loving words on a page last forever.

Grab a pen and begin a wonderful shared experience.  Keep all those beautiful notes in a safe place and when your little ones become teenagers, pull them out to remind yourself who they really are.

Check out Rhonda’s  interesting article about starting a Family Reading Journal.

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.