Today, I read a blog post from Melissa Corkum, A Tale of 3 Learners, about how classical education has been a blessing for her family. She zeroed in on the first phase, which is the grammar phase. She explains how the memory work can be challenging and many other families have told her that their kids would never be able to memorize very well.
Each of my kids learn differently too. I had one child that memorized a full timeline, that she had never seen, in 10 days. She was the dream child for memory work.
Another could repeat her memory work 30 times and still struggle…she would have to sleep on it and then she could recite it the next day with no trouble. I have another that cannot memorize unless she reads the words. Don’t even try to teach her with lectures because it just sounds like strange noises to her! Overall, they are all good at memorizing now but they were not always like that – it’s a skill they have developed!
I challenge you and your children to give memory work a try. I believe you will see improvement as you work with your kids and their learning styles!
To learn more about the grammar stage or about classical education visit the Claritas website where you will find some good basic definitions and information plus a scope and sequence. Another great homeschool resource is The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer. She recommends curricula to suit all your children’s learning styles.
