2015-2016 Memory Work: Sixth Grade, Third Grade, First Grade

This is just a quick post to share the kinds of poems and verses the kids memorized in their respective grades. I remember early on I would have trouble discerning which options were too difficult.

Now, in 2020, I have a big binder of poetry and prayers for them to look through and choose their own. (That's the reward they get when they memorize something - something else to memorize!) I generally choose the Scripture verses unless a child specifically asks for something. They come from readings we've done, catechism books, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, or just verses I happened to like.

I've written before about how we practice our memory work.

First Son's Sixth Grade Memory Work

Poetry

• Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - This took him more than a year to memorize, but he learned the whole thing. He was able to immediately notice that our favorite picture book version is missing a verse (for no explicable reason) and, four years later, can still recite it from memory.

Memory Verses

• James 1:19-20
• 1 Peter 5:7
• Daniel 3:26-27 - First Son picked these verses.

First Daughter's Third Grade Memory Work

First Daughter loves memory work. She practices multiple times a week, even on days she doesn't work with me.

Poetry

• Yellow Butter by Mary Ann Hoberman from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart
• Bird Talk by Aileen Fisher from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart
• The Little Elf by John Kendrick Bangs from Poems to Learn by Heart
• Dad's cell phone number
• Anima Christi
• Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam from Poems to Learn by Heart
• I Heard a Bird Sing by Oliver Herferd from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart
• The Kitten by William Wordsworth from Primary Language Lessons

Memory Verses

• 1 John 4:18-19
• Hebrews 13:16
• Isaiah 40:31
• 1 Peter 5:7

Second Daughter's First Grade Memory Work

Poetry

• Toad by the Road by Joanne Ryder from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart
• Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam from Poems to Learn by Heart
• her birthdate and birth city
• Prayer After Meals
• The Bluebird by Emily Huntington Miller from Primary Language Lessons

Memory Verses

• Jeremiah 31:25
• Psalm 31:24
• John 6:35

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. All links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links.

2013-2014 Memory Verses: Fourth Grade and First Grade

Here are a few lists of the memory verses for fourth grade and first grade in 2013-2014.

We also sometimes memorize entire psalms or parables, but I put those in our poetry memorization rather than Scripture verses. Basically, if it's too long to go on an index card and gets put in the memory binder, it's "Memory Work." If it's on an index card, it's "Memory Verses." We practice and review them both about four days a week.

For all our memory verses and parables, I use the NRSV (except for one difference, noted below). If it's a psalm and in our memory binder, I usually use the KJV.

First Son's Fourth Grade Memory Verse List

• Psalm 27:4 (from previous year)
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
• Ephesians 4:31-32
• Isaiah 11:1-3
• Mark 8:34-36 (in progress)

First Daughter's First Grade Memory Verse List

• Psalm 45:10 (from previous year)
• Psalm 33:22
• Jeremiah 31:25
• John 6:35
• Psalm 139:13-14
• Philippians 4:13
• Isaiah 9:2 (RSV)
• 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (in progress)

Here's a link to First Son's first grade memory verses.

2012-2013 Memory Verses: Third Grade and Kindergarten

I'm organizing our work on Scripture memory verses and realized I haven't posted our memorized verses in a while. I like to have these on the blog for my own benefit and you never know when someone might search for something like "good memory verses for a third grader" and find what we did.

We also sometimes memorize entire psalms or parables, but I put those in our poetry memorization rather than Scripture verses. Basically, if it's too long to go on an index card and gets put in the memory binder, it's "Memory Work." If it's on an index card, it's "Memory Verses." We practice and review them both about four days a week.

For all our memory verses and parables, I use the NRSV. If it's a psalm and in our memory binder, I usually use the KJV.

First Son's Third Grade Memory Verse List

• Matt 5:43-45
• Matt 19:26
• Phil 4:19
• Matt 7:7
• Matt 5:42
• Romans 15:13
• Psalm 27:4

First Daughter's Kindergarten Memory Verse List

• Matt 18:20
• John 3:16
• Psalm 45:10

First Daughter was not very interested in memory work after the first few weeks of school. As I recall, she had already memorized a handful of poems and I just stopped the memory work until first grade. You can see First Son's kindergarten memory work on this page.

Second Grade Memory Work: Bible Verses and Poetry

After morning prayers, we pull out the memory book. (Now we have two, as First Daughter was so disruptive during First Son's memory work, I invited her to begin her own at the end of March. She was thrilled and slightly less bothersome when First Son recited.) Here's a record of First Son's memory work for second grade.

Bible Verses

All of our Bible verses are from the NRSV. I went through and copied many I liked onto index cards (which are stored separately from the binder linked above). We had plenty left from the ones I coped before first grade from which to choose.

• John 15:10
• Gen 1:1-2
• Phil 4:13
• 1 John 1:8-9
• Matthew 18:21-22
• John 15:16
• Joshua 1:9
• Phil 2:3-4
• Hebrews 11:6

For those wondering, First Daughter's Bible verses were:

• Psalm 118:105
• Matt 18:20

After the first one, I realized I should arrange the order differently than First Son learned them in kindergarten so they will not be reciting the same verses on the same days when the verses are moved back to the once-a-month category. You can find a list of the Bible verses First Son memorized in kindergarten here. First Son's first grade memory verses are here.

Poetry

We begin by reading the poem aloud each day. As First Son becomes more familiar, I ask him to fill in words and phrases until he's ready to attempt the entire poem on his own.

• Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson found in A Child's Garden of Verses
• Pirate Story by Robert Louis Stevenson found in A Child's Garden of Verses (I wouldn't have chosen another Stevenson poem so soon; First Son requested it.)
• Something Told the Wild Geese by Rachel Field found in Poetry By Heart
• Daddy Fell Into the Pond by Alfred Noyes found in Favorite Poems Old and New (Oh, how the children love this poem! They laugh and laugh.)
• Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti found in Favorite Poems Old and New
• The Woodpecker by Elizabeth Madox Roberts found in Favorite Poems Old and New
• Dragonfly by Florence Page-Jaques found in Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young (First Son selected this poem as well, mainly for its length or lack thereof.)
• Daffodowndilly by A. A. Milne found in When We Were Very Young
• Open Range by Kathryn and Bryon Jackson found in Favorite Poems Old and New (First Son didn't quite have this poem memorized at the end of the year, so we'll start with it again in the fall.)

First Daughter started at the end of March:

• Singing Time by Rose Fyleman which I think I found in Poems and Prayers for the Very Young (See a video of her performing it.)
• Flowers at Night by Aileen Fisher found in Tomie dePaola's Book of Poems (still in progress)

First Son's first grade poetry is listed in this post. I read poetry in kindergarten with him, but we didn't try to memorize any. We still read poetry together at least once a week (everyone listens!) but I consider that separate from our memory work.

Whenever I see a poem I think might be a good one to memorize, I add it to a Word document (one poem per page). Once a year, I print it out (and will do so twice now that we have two binders) and put it at the back of the memory binder. As the child masters a poem, I select one from my options based on the child's interests and the time of year. I have pulled poems from a great many books of poetry and the one I would most highly recommend for young children who want to memorize a poem or two is Poems and Prayers for the Very Young. This little book alone is enough for any preschool or kindergarten poetry memory work you'd like to do. It is a shame it's out of print, but I was able to request a copy from PaperBackSwap.com.

Other Stuff

We're always working on some other memory work, too. First Daughter finished the year learning to spell her full name. She's still working on it, but her middle and last names are hard! In second grade, First Son memorized:

• the Act of Contrition
• the Rite of Reconciliation
• Dad's cell phone number
• Mom's cell phone number
• St. Gertrude's prayer for souls in purgatory
• Grammy's cell phone number
• the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:12-13)
• how to spell all the months of the year
• an excerpt from St. Patrick's Breastplate (which has turned out to be really difficult; we worked on this the last couple months of the year and he still hasn't quite gotten it)

Catechism Questions (and Answers)
 
I also have room in our memory binder for catechism questions. In the past, I copied them from the Faith and Life book for the year. Next year, First Son will begin the questions from The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (No. 1) which we'll continue using through fifth grade. First Daughter will be memorizing the questions and answers from The New Saint Joseph First Communion Catechism (No. 0) which she'll continue through second grade.

Our memory work would go much easier in the fall if we continued it over the summer, but we don't. We just spend the first month or so reviewing it all at the beginning of the year.

Our First Grade Memory Verses

I love helping First Son and First Daughter to memorize parts of the Bible. It seems like such a blessing to have a mind

I mentioned before, we started using the memory verse system at Simply Charlotte Mason this year and it's working very well for us. I wrote up the verses we memorized last year and slipped them in on the odd/even days and into the days of the week. I skip Saturday and Sunday because I always forgot to read them. One day I'd like to make our memory verses and memory work a part of breakfast, but I have other more pressing habits to develop for the moment.

Everything works swimmingly as long as I remember to keep the box where Second Daughter can't reach it. She likes to rearrange the cards. In fact, between her rearranging and a couple of drops, I started numbering the cards so it would be a little easier to replace them properly.

Sometimes it's difficult to know which verses will be most appropriate for the young ones. I'm not sure I've selected the best ten or twelve verses for first graders, but they did seem to work well for us. I copied all our verses from the NRSV.

• Matt 18: 20
• Psalm 139: 13-14
• Matt 22: 37-38
• Rom 8: 28
• John 3: 5
• John 20: 22b-23
• John 6: 35
• Tobit 4: 16
• 1 Peter 4: 8
• Psalm 33: 22
• Genesis 1: 1-2

Before the year started, I selected a large number of verses I thought would be appropriate or that I particularly liked. I copied a great many onto index cards (though not all of them, once I realized how many I had selected) and stored them at the back of our box. When First Son has memorized a verse, I simple select a new one from the back of the box. Eventually I want to be sure we've memorized at least one verse from each book of the Bible, but we have plenty of time for that.

My plan was to continue reading our memory verses through the summer, but we've been a bit lazy. Hopefully posting about it will renew my dedication.

Our Memory Book

Before the school year started, I made a little box for our memory verses based on the system at Simply Charlotte Mason. It has worked really well for us, though I still haven't gotten into the habit of reading our verses or doing any memory work on the weekends.

After a conversation over at Afterthoughts (which I thoughtlessly did not bookmark), I was inspired to make a memory book for all of our other memory work (in addition to our memory verses).

Daily, we read through a poem, catechism questions and "other stuff." As First Son memorizes them, I move them behind the other tabs and place new sheets at the front.

So far this year, First Son has memorized these poems:

• The Little Turtle by Vachel Lindsay
• Singing Time by Rose Fyleman
• Night by William Blake (just the first four lines)
• Out in the Fields with God by Louise Imogen Guiney
• Our Brother Is Born by Harry and Eleanor Farjeon (just the first verse)
• The Sun by John Drinkwater
• The Creation by Cecil Frances Alexander (the first two verses and the last two verses)
• Ants by Mary Ann Hoberman (search for "ants" on the link)
• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
• Psalm 23 (KJV)
• How Doth the Little Crocodile by Lewis Carroll
• We're currently working on Bed in Summer by Robert Lewis Stevenson

I have other selections ready to go for the summer and into the fall.

For those that are interested, the poems above were found in:

• The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum - This book was the source for most of our poems.
• Poems and Prayers for the Very Young - This book was just full of poems we enjoyed and wanted to memorize! I think I might be biased, though, because I may have had this book when I was a child.
• Eric Carle's Animals Animals - Another one of our favorite books of poetry to read aloud and enjoy.

I typed out the catechism questions from First Son's first grade catechism book, Faith and Life's Our Heavenly Father. Next year, we'll use the questions from Jesus Our Life. I haven't decided if I'll keep the first year questions in the review pages. Any thoughts? First Daughter has already learned most of them as well.

The "other stuff" category (which really needs a more impressive name) started with First Son's address and phone number. We've moved on to some more exciting lists like the Ten Commandments, the tribes of Israel and the names of all the apostles.

Lest you think we concentrate overly much on our memory work, we really do just read through the poems and catechism questions. After he seems to have mastered each a bit, I ask him to attempt to recite them on his own. Now I often ask First Daughter some of the questions or to recite some of the poems as well. She's learned them simply by listening in. The memory of children truly astounds me.

Interesting Copywork

First Son's handwriting varies from day to day. We're working through a practice book, usually on Mondays. I've printed pages listing days of the week, months of the year, or our address and phone number. When he's memorized a memory verse, I print it out for him to write himself for his memory verse book. This is the one he wrote out today.

I'm not sure if I should be impressed at his writing against the lines or demand he do it again properly. (I lightly suggested he start a new page and write on the lines, but he refused. Today, I let it go.)

Grammy's Favorite Verse

First Son has memorized his first verse! He can say Psalm 118:105 by heart. Starting today, we're working on Grammy's favorite verse (another one selected from the first grade suggestions in Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum).

Be still, and know that I am God.
-- Psalm 45:10

I'll be making a folder with all of our previous memory verses. For now, we'll read through them all on Fridays (all two of them). After a while, I may set some of them aside to read through only once a month. We'll see how it goes.

Doing What Must Be Done

Well, what I really wanted to do today was go through our pictures so I can have them ready to order and so I can write posts on Second Daughter's birthday party (last Sunday), our first field trip (last Monday), our first Nature Study Club (last Friday) or one of the many other topics rolling around in my head.

Instead, I spent my bit of free time revising our schedule and writing my rough lesson plans for October, which needed to be done. (Um, I also took a long nap but that's not really important here.) Here's the new and improved more-likely-to-fit-our-real-life schedule:



I've changed our start time to 9:10 am, to reflect the fact that we always started at 9 anyway. I moved lunch earlier because Second Daughter is much happier all day long if she eats lunch at 11:30 am instead of 12 pm. I moved some reading to after lunch and had to cut some outside time, but it was hard getting out twice in the morning anyway (and I don't think it would be easier with the dog). Let's see...other changes...I cut out the math review on Tuesdays and Thursdays because First Son is doing so well with it (maybe someday I'll post about math...). I moved poetry to Wednesday and history to Friday because we're more likely to miss on Wednesdays and we all like history more than poetry here on the Range. I eliminated our formal Nature Study time on Fridays and hope to explain why in another post. I'm eliminating our video watching on Tuesdays and Thursdays and identifying who gets to choose the video on the other days. I'm hoping this will cut down on some of the squabbling we've had (though Kansas Dad rightly pointed out they'll probably just bicker over something else).

There were some other tweaks, too. We'll give this a try for October and see how it goes.

I'm also adding a memory verse this week. Kansas Dad looked over the recommended list for first graders in Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education and picked one for us: "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 118:105)

I wasn't tired of homeschooling, but having a new schedule adds some excitement back for this week. I'm also looking forward to a new month: a new opening song (Glory and Praise To Our God) and a new composer for our music appreciation, both of which we'll start on Friday.