Becoming Memory Masters

The foundation of a Classical education is learning how to memorize facts, and it turns out, the more you memorize, the easier it becomes to memorize. The brain is like a muscle in this way: the more you use it, the more it is able to do! That's why CC encourages students to become Memory Masters in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades - at least!

So, how can parents help their students become memory masters? We asked a few veterans and this is their advice:

1) "They need to recite every fact every day, but it doesn't have to be all at once. Break it up by doing the Bible passage right after breakfast, the math right after math lessons, Latin at lunch, and history before reading time."

2) "Allow your student to stand, lie down, wiggle, do jumping jacks or even 'swim' across the kitchen floor while they recite. Sometimes sitting still takes more concentration than being free to wiggle."

3) "Post tricky facts around the house. Make a poster or print out the fact and put it in a page protector and tape it to the wall or the back door or the refrigerator so that it gets seen throughout the day. I will make my house look beautiful after the kids leave for college. Right now, I don't worry about it a bit!"

4) "Cover the words on the front of the time line cards with Post-it Notes so your students can see only the picture. Let them look at the pictures as often as they need to. Eventually they'll be able to say them without even peeking."

5) "The memory flashcards we ordered from CC make it so easy to drill the kids. I keep them in my purse so if we have a wait in the dentist's office or somewhere, I can go through a subject and not waste any time! They also make it easy for my husband to quiz the kids at night and give me a little break."

6) "Geography needs it's own time everyday. You have to make time to get out the map and a dry erase marker. I call out each item and watch while she traces or dots each item. Once a week, she draws it all on her own."

7) "Tape up the sections of the Bible passage in a route through your house. Have them go to each location to recite that passage. Use furniture as landmarks. Then, when reciting they can mentally "walk" through the house using "landmarks" as cues to what comes next."

8) "We invite some CC friends over and make it a game. Ask kids a memory question one at a time. If they answer correctly, they get a point. Keep going until all the work is covered."

9) "I sent my list of memory work to my mom because my daughter talks to her almost everyday (they live 600 miles away). Reviewing memory work is part of their routine. She wants to impress Grandma, so she works harder than she might for me."

10) "Read (or re-read) the book How to Develop a Brilliant Memory by Dominic O'Brien. This is a book Leigh recommended to me, and it has really given me some good ideas and a good understanding of what we're doing."

Click here for more info on the book, How to Develop a Brilliant Memory