One of our roles as parents is teaching our children things that we feel are important. It begins by helping them learn about the little world around them when they are tiny and expands into teaching them about the great big world out there as they grow. Soon, we’re helping them get ready to start school and before long, helping them with homework.
Memorizing facts, and especially lists, can often become monotonous. One of the great ways to make memorization more fun -not to mention more effective- is to make up little songs. I remember being taught this way in elementary school as well as in Sunday School when I was a child.
To this day I remember “be, am, is, are, was, were, been, has, have, had, (la, la, la) shall, will, should, would, does, do, did, must, may, might, can, could,” from fifth grade. I can also still recite the books of the Bible, both Old and New Testament (as the tunes run through my head) which I also learned at a young age. Yeah, I know it’s been a while. That’s the point; this stuff has stuck with me all these years. I’m definitely not saying how many years!
You can make up your own songs, add silly words or phrases, or simply recite the items that need to be memorized using the tune from a well-known song (this may well be how “Now I Know My ABCs” originated, considering that is uses the same tune as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”).
You can make up rhymes to use as teaching tools too, which is also helpful, but there’s just something about singing the words that helps them stick with a person. It may also help avoid frustration when attempting to memorize, because music tends to lift spirits. Give it a try!
Teaching Children Through Song
Family Fun: Word Games and Palindromes