Tag Archives: memorizing

Christmas Programs are Great for Kids!

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by Pat Lamb …(Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book)

Train up a child…

         What fun to go to a Christmas program and see the children perform!  It is almost as much fun to watch the parents and grandparents stretch and strain looking to find the child that is most important to them, and then to watch their faces light up when that child is discovered!  In their mind and eyes, that might as well be the only child up front performing, for little attention is paid to the others.  Every move of the child is watched and usually admired!

         There are many valuable things that children learn when they participate in a program such as a Christmas program.  They learn to memorize and recall information.  They learn to participate in a group, and, hopefully, they learn to get over stage fright.

         A friend of mine, who received a national award for teaching from the U.S. Department of Education, once commented that she felt that children do not do enough memorizing in school now.  Preparing to make speeches or sing songs provides an opportunity for memorization.  Memorization might be thought of as a brain exercise much as one might exercise various muscles of the body. Memorization sharpens the mind.  Depending on what material is memorized, memorization can be the storing of material in the brain that can be used throughout life. Memorization requires a child to use self-discipline and to focus.  These two qualities carry over into all areas of life.  When a child must recall the information learned to recite it before a group, the child learns that just being able to do a job half-heartedly isn’t enough.  Material must be thoroughly learned before it can be recited or mistakes will be made.  When a child learns to be thorough in a task, again this carries over into other areas of life.

         In a program presented to an audience, all program parts must fit together to make sense. Children learn that they play a vital part in a larger picture.  They learn to “fit in” and work with a team to accomplish the goal of presenting a good program.  This is a valuable component of good citizenship as over and over adults are required to work as teams at work and in projects outside of work.

         As I watch children’s programs, I envision some of those children some day standing in front of a board of directors of a company and leading discussions.  This can only be done by those who have overcome stage fright.  As children perform time and time again in programs, they learn to conquer that stage fright to prepare them to be leaders in the future.  Some will be standing before city councils, school boards, town hall meetings, etc.  In order to be effective leaders, they must be able to speak to groups.  Children’s programs help prepare them for this task.

         Bravo to those teachers in church and school who work so diligently with our children to help them give programs.  Bravo to those parents and grandparents who work at home to help children learn their parts and see that the children behave properly.  Bravo to people that no longer have children at the age to participate in programs, but who attend the programs to show their support. 

Ways to Help Children Memorize

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Train up a child…

 

Ways to Help Children Memorize

 

There are many things that a child needs to memorize in order to be prepared mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually to deal with life. Some things are simply basic needs. For instance, every child needs to learn the multiplication tables, rules for English mechanics, Preamble to the Constitution, spelling, and several other things to be prepared mentally. Scripture verses need to be memorized to prepare spiritually. Health habits and nutrition facts need to be remembered for physical development, and rules of etiquette need to be memorized for social development.  Many may say, “Why memorize?  Information can be found on the Internet!”  These folks need to consider that decisions are made by what is in the head, not by what is on the Internet.

There are a few teaching techniques that can be used to help children remember. Even though there is no substitute for plain hard work, some things can be done to help.

  • Writing things down is probably the best way to memorize. “Engage pen, engage mind” is a saying of a colleague of mine. A child’s mind tends to wander less when writing. Copying things over and over and then writing without looking at the item being copied, is one of the very best ways to learn. A friend of mine won a national teaching award when her Pueblo Indian class tested higher than the national average in English. She said, “Pat, I do one thing. Every morning in class, the children are required to copy something that is good for them to know. By doing so, they learn spelling, they learn about what they are copying, and they pick up habits of punctuation usage.”
  • Making puzzles of scripture verses, short poems, or rules is helpful. Simply type the verse or rule on the computer in large print, print it out, cut it up, and have the children put it together. They have to think about the pieces as they put them together. Borders or art work can be added to make it more interesting.
  • Printing the item and then covering up one or more words at a time, is a good way to help the child recall missing words. This becomes a game and works especially well with a group of children, although it will also work with only one child. Children keep reading and repeating the rule or verse over and over, each time remembering a different word or words that the teacher or parent has covered up.
  • Arranging words in the right order is another way to memorize. Make one long strip with the verse or rule. Cut it apart word by word, and let the children put the words in the right order on the chalkboard tray or floor.
  • Using different colors of pens, pencils, or paper helps.
  • The use of acronyms, made up songs, or rhythm helps. For instance, H O M E can be used to remember the Great Lakes of Huron, Ontario, Michigan, and E Tapping on a desk the syllables of a word helps a child break the word down in parts. Knowing that each syllable must contain a vowel and learning to spell the word by syllables is easier than attacking the entire word at one time.
  • Recent studies indicate that classical music played in the background while a child is studying may help with memorization.
  • All learning is done better when broken in small chunks. Learning a little at a time is much easier than trying to learn a big passage.

 

 

We need to be creative as we help children. Ultimately, however, it is the child’s responsibility to learn. We are simply facilitators. This needs to be understood by all involved.