She first started memorising Scripture when she was two years old. True. We started the catechism when she turned four. Kids of that age have absolutely phenomenal memories, and while they don't understand what they're learning, at least they're doing the ground work for later on. I know this isn't particularly Charlotte Mason in its pedagogological approach, but when it comes to hiding God's word in our hearts, I believe the earlier we begin the better.
Now that we have so many past questions to revise each week, Jemimah's progress on new questions is getting slower. It's still steady though. We revise five past questions each day, and if we get stuck on a particular answer we revise it over the next day - and the next - until it goes back into the memory where is belongs. We always have a new question on the go. At first I just read the question and answer aloud. When she feels she can, Jemimah inserts the words she know until she can say the whole lot. Once a question is learned we practise it every second day for a while before it is added to the 'learned question' rotation.
It requires constant effort to commit the entire Shorter Catechism to memory. I tried as a kid, but I only got part of the way through. Even now, learning them along side Jemimah, her recall of them is far, far better than mine. I don't think there are even very many tricks - excepting hard work and commitment. She does have the Westminster Confession Flashcard App on her iPod touch, which we use occasionally to vary the lesson, but mostly we just practise, practise, practise.
Sometimes I wonder whether all the hard work and concomitant angst is worth it, but when I do, I like to read the little piece by Princeton's Professor Benjamin Warfield called Is the Shorter Catechism Worthwhile?, which is found in the back of our catechism book. It's all inspirational reading, but this little story is worth quoting in full:
What is ‘the indelible mark of the Shorter Catechism’? We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: ‘What is the chief end of man?’ On receiving the countersign, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever’ — ‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!’ ‘Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,’ was the rejoinder.
It is worth while to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God. So apt, that we cannot afford to have them miss the chance of it. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.’
One day Jemimah will grow to be a woman. My greatest hope is that she will grow up to be a woman of God. If learning the catechism helps her to achieve this then all the angst and hard work will all have been worthwhile.
I don't know about you, but this section on memorisation in Charlotte Mason's first book, Home Education, has always intrigued me. It is long, but do take the time for a quick skim:
Recitation and committing to memory are not necessarily the same thing, and it is well to store a child's memory with a good deal of poetry, learnt without labour. Some years ago I chanced to visit a house, the mistress of which had educational notions of her own, upon which she was bringing up a niece. She presented me with a large foolscap sheet written all over with the titles of poems, some of them long and difficult: Tintern Abbey, for example. She told me that her niece could repeat to me any of those poems that I liked to ask for, and that she had never learnt a single verse by heart in her life. The girl did repeat several of the poems on the list, quite beautifully and without hesitation; and then the lady unfolded her secret. She thought she had made a discovery, and I thought so too. She read a poem through to E.; then the next day, while the little girl was making a doll's frock, perhaps, she read it again; once again the next day, while E.'s hair was being brushed. She got in about six or more readings, according to the length of the poem, at odd and unexpected times, and in the end E. could say the poem which she had not learned.
I have tried the plan often since, and found it effectual. The child must not try to recollect or to say the verse over to himself, but, as far as may be, present an open mind to receive an impression of interest. Half a dozen repetitions should give children possession of such poems as 'Dolly and Dick,' 'Do you ask what the birds say?' Little lamb, who made thee?' and the like. The gains of such a method of learning are, that the edge of the child's enjoyment is not taken off by weariful verse by verse repetitions, and, also, that the habit of making mental images is unconsciously formed.
I remember once discussing this subject with the late Miss Anna Swanwick in some connection with Browning of which I do not recall, but in the course of talk an extremely curious incident transpired. A lady, a niece of Miss Swanwick's, said that after a long illness, during which she had not been allowed to do anything, she read 'Lycidas' through, by way of a first treat to herself as a convalescent. She was surprised to find herself then next day repeating to herself long passages. Then she tried the whole poem and found she could say it off, the result of this single reading, for she had not learned the poem before her illness, nor read it with particular attention. She was much elated by the treasure-trove she had chanced upon, and to test her powers, she read the whole of 'Paradise Lost,' book by book, and with the same result, - she could repeat it book by book after a single reading! She enriched herself by acquiring other treasures during her convalescence; but as health returned, and her mind became preoccupied with many interests, she found she no longer had this astonishing power. It is possible that the disengaged mind of a child is as free to take and as strong to hold beautiful images clothed in beautiful words as was that of this lady during her convalescence. But, let me again say, every effort of the kind, however unconscious, means wear and tear of brain substance. Let the child lie fallow till he is six, and then, in this matter of memorising, as in others, attempt only a little, and let the poems the child learns be simple and within the range of his own thought and imagination. At the same time, when there is so much noble poetry within a child's compass, the pity of it, that he should be allowed to learn twaddle!
Charlotte Mason Home Education pp 224-226
I find this ability compelling.
Now I have often spoken of Jemimah's ability to memorise. She is easily able to learn long passages of Scripture of a chapter or more, and, more amusingly, can recite ad verbatim much of the Classical Kids CDs that we listen to for composer study, funny Canadian accents and all. But these are not Tintern Abbey. Tintern Abbey is L..O..N..G . (If you don't know Wordsworth's poem, here it is - look at the length.)
Well, her theories on health and evolution aside, I have rarely found Miss Mason to be wrong. Certainly not on her area of expertise - education.
Just over two weeks ago, I decided to put Miss Mason's experience to the test. I am aware that our ability to memorise diminishes as we grow older - the Grammar Stage of the Classical Educationalists - that time when they cram their kids full of facts - only lasts until the age of 8 or 9 because that is when they do it best. At seven, I decided that for Jemimah the time was ripe.
Instead of Tintern Abbey we chose an Australian classic poem, Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River.
The Man From Snowy River, by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around That the colt from old Regret had got away, And had joined the wild bush horses - he was worth a thousand pound, So all the cracks had gathered to the fray. All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far Had mustered at the homestead overnight, For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are, And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup, The old man with his hair as white as snow; But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up - He would go wherever horse and man could go. And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand, No better horseman ever held the reins; For never horse could throw him while the saddle-girths would stand - He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast; He was something like a racehorse undersized, With a touch of Timor pony - three parts thoroughbred at least - And such as are by mountain horsemen prized. He was hard and tough and wiry - just the sort that won't say die - There was courage in his quick impatient tread; And he bore the badge of gameness in his quick and fiery eye, And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.
But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay, And the old man said, "That horse will never do For a long and tiring gallop - lad, you'd better stop away, These hills are far too rough for such as you." So he waited, sad and wistful - only Clancy stood his friend - "I think we ought to let him come," he said; "I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end, For both his horse and he are mountain bred.
"He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side, Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough; Where a horse's hooves strike firelight from the flintstones every stride, The man that holds his own is good enough. And the Snowy river riders on the mountains make their home, Where the river runs those giant hills between; I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam, But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen."
So he went: they found the horses by the big mimosa clump, They raced away towards the mountain's brow, And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump, No use to try for fancy riding now. And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right. Ride boldly lad, and never fear the spills, For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight, If once they gain the shelter of those hills."
So Clancy rode to wheel them - he was racing on the wing Where the best and boldest riders take their place, And he raced his stock-horse past them and he made the ranges ring With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face. Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash, But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view, And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash, And off into the mountain scrub they flew.
Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black, Resounded to the thunder of their tread, And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead. And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way, Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide; And the old man muttered fiercely, "We may bid the mob good day, NO man can hold them down the other side."
When they reached the mountain's summit, even Clancy took a pull - It well might make the boldest hold their breath; The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full Of wombat holes, and any slip was death. But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head, And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer, And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed, While the others stood and watched in very fear.
He sent the flint-stones flying, but the pony kept his feet, He cleared the fallen timber in his stride, And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat - It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride. Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground, Down the hillside at a racing pace he went; And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound At the bottom of that terrible descent.
He was right among the horses as they climbed the farther hill, And the watchers on the mountain, standing mute, Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely; he was right among them still, As he raced across the clearing in pursuit. Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met In the ranges - but a final glimpse reveals On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet, With the man from Snowy River at their heels.
And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam; He followed like a bloodhound on their track, Till they halted, cowed and beaten; then he turned their heads for home, And alone and unassisted brought them back. But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot, He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur; But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot, For never yet was mountain horse a cur.
And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise Their torn and rugged battlements on high, Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze At midnight in the cold and frosty sky, And where around the Overflow the reed-beds sweep and sway To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide, The Man from Snowy River is a household word today, And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
A.B. "Banjo" Paterson
If anything, The Man from Snowy River is longer than Tintern Abbey, but there is more of a story. We decided to give it a try.
Every day I've been reading her the poem while she plays. Sometimes it doesn't even look like she's listening. Some afternoons I've put our iPod recording of the poem read by David Tredinnick on while she follows along through the pages of this book illustrated by Freya Blackwood.
And the verdict thus far? After 2 1/2 weeks - 13 school days - Jemimah knows to 'So he went'. That's 5/13 verses. I'm pretty impressed. Well, to tell you the truth, I'm gobsmacked. Miss Mason was right again. We'll keep going with the poem until the end of term or so, another threeish weeks. I'll report back with our progress then, if you're interested.
The opening lines of this poem are amongst the best known words in Australian literature, and The Man gained popularity for another generation of Aussies when it was used in the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Who will forget that solitary horserider galloping into the arena and cracking his stockwhip to 'Let the Games begin'?
This is an ideal poem for memorising. Its grippingly exciting story coupled with a wonderful galloping rhythm make it wonderful to read out loud, and easier to remember. It is also a bit of Australiana that is oft quoted and oftener talked about. The opening lines are part of our family's vernacular - when somebody rises late after the rest of us are up and about they will often be greeted with "Ah, there was movement at the station"!
If Miss Mason's method of memorisation really works - as indeed it appears to - then this poem will be a wonderful one to know... It is a true blue Aussie Classic.
Rote learning was big when I was at schoool in the 70's. Every morning we'd chant our times tables out loud. Our eyes would glaze over; the time would drag; the naughty kids down the back would play up - but at least we would learn. I remember that in later years we would have tables competitions. The teacher would write a multiplication fact to start at, and we would see who could write out the most equations from that point on. I often won...I always was a quick writer.
When I was in grade 5 we went on our first overseas trip. I learned far more than I missed during my time away from school, but one thing I never covered was my 8 times tables. I can do all the other tables to this day; I still can't do my 8's!!
Whether you approve of the method or not, most kids my age knew their tables - most kids now don't. I don't know how they survive without even basic mental maths skills.
Now that Jemimah is midway through MEP 2b, multiplication is becoming a daily activity in my life once again. I was keen to make her times tables less painful for her than it was for me, but equally, I was keen that she know them - and know them well.
Rhymes and songs draw on auditory memory. I have found them particularly useful for Jemimah, who seems to learn tunes, songs, and poems easily. All parts of the song - rhythm, repetition, melody and rhyme can all aid memory in their own way. I knew that from learning the Psalms as a child, and it has been reaffirmed by Jemimah's knowledge of Scripture set to Colin Buchanan's catchy tunes. (I even remember learning the Kreb's Cycle in second year biochemistry by singing it to a familiar tune!) I was rather hopeful that a recording of the times tables might do the trick in the same way.
The problem was finding a recording that was palatable to both her and me...after all to learn it we both have to listen to the thing!!
I'm pleased to announce that I have finally found the perfect CD - perfect for its purpose, anyway!!
Musical Times Tables, by Playschool's Don Spencer and Terry Murray, is a compilation of fun songs for kids sung with an Aussie accent. Each song is merely the maths facts set to music, and each table is repeated three times in a row to aid memory. It has only taken Jemimah two days to get her 2s, 3s, and 4s straight! Pretty impressive I think.
We have been listening to the CD a couple of times a day this week, and I'm still not sick of the thing - high praise indeed from me!! Goodness...I may even learn my 8s...now that would be something to write home about!!
Robert Hamill Nassau, 1835-1921, medical missionary to Gaboon in West Africa, was once complimented for his ability to answer questions in the language of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. He replied:
I thus had a reply for any one who objected to children being taught Catechism, on the ground that they could not understand it. Of course, they did not. Neither had I, in my childhood. But memorising is easy in childhood. With that Catechism in memory it was an advantage to have its splendid 'form of words' when I reached an age at which I could understand them.
History of Princeton Seminary, Vol 1: Faith and Learning (1812 - 1868) 1994 p363
Here, here!
You can read about our take on Catechising our daughter here.
Nassau's book, Fetichism in West Africa: Forty Years' Observation of Native Customs and Superstitions, written in 1904 is available online here if anyone is interested in learning about the Africa of those early days.
Not all Australian Christians love Colin Buchanan: "too irreverent": "too silly"; "full of twaddle"; "makes fun of God"; these are just some of the things I've heard people say about the larrikin songwriter/performer - but these people are in the minority. They must be.
Colin is Australia's #1 selling Christian artist. He is the #1 children's Christian artist, with seven top selling CD's and five DVD and video releases. He's an 8-times Golden Guitar winner. He's an APRA and ARIA award winner. He's a leading children's entertainer. The Sydney Morning Herald has declared him "...simply the best singer/songwriter to emerge in the Australian CM scene in the last decade." He has played with Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar-Daley, Melinda Schneider, Adam Brand and Beccy Cole.
Obviously most Australians must love Colin Buchanan (or just 'Colin', as he is known to thousands of Aussie kids.
We do.
Colin's album, BAA BAA DOO BAA BAA is the best CD I know for cementing memory verses in your kids' heads - or your own head, for that matter. It is a compilation CD, bringing together many favourite memory verses from Colin's popular Aussie Praise for kids releases, including Isaiah 53:6 (can you say it without the 'ooh' as the end?), Rev 3:20, James 4:7, the books of the Old and New Testaments and more.
Colin's live performances for kids are well worth making time for too. He toured in our area of Central Victoria earlier this year, visiting towns ravaged by drought. The sound of kids and adults singing "10, 9, 8... God Is Great!" and "Jesus Rocks the World!" off by heart - and at the top of their voices - has to be heard to be believed!
We started Colin's devotional, Remember the Lord, this morning. It's quirky, colourful, chaotic and fun...a bit like Colin, really! Colin describes his book as a cross between an activity book, a picture book and a songbook with a book of biblical devotions for families. That's a pretty good description too.
Colin is quite a gifted cartoonist amongst his numerous other talents, and he has put his pen to work to create a uniquely Colin collection based on truths from 14 of his songs. You will need to buy the Remember the Lord CD if you want to sing the songs with each day's devotion, and the words really add to the message.
Colin helps us discover more about God, His Word, His works and how we can place our trust in Jesus...no matter what! The book includes a CD of Colin reading sections of the devotional as well as singing five of his most popular songs.
The devotional is much more light weight that our usual fare, but we begin the long summer holidays in three more days and we were looking for something light and fun to fill the gap between serious school and Christmas devotions in a few weeks time. This looks like it will fit the bill perfectly!
We live a long way from our home church - three hours away. During the weeks we are not able to get to our RPCA church we attend a local independent church, which is part of the Baptist Union of Australia.
This means that Jemimah has a pretty good idea that all Christians do not worship in the same way.
Now, when Jemimah was baptised, we as her parents made the following promises before God:
Do you acknowledge your child as a covenant child and, according to the gracious design of Christian baptism, do you dedicate your child to God and present her for recognition as a member of the visible church?
Do you promise to perform the following parental duties:
To pray that your child may be renewed and brought into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as signified in this sacrament;
To seek that your child may come to know the Holy Scriptures and to know the duty of committing herself to God;
To rule well your household, exercising parental authority with firmness and love, setting the example of a holy and consistent life, and attending with regularity to personal, family and public worship;
To seek that your child may while young come to understand the history, doctrine and practice of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and may be helped to experience the blessings of loving obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can see that we promised not only that Jemimah might know the Holy Scriptures, but also that she might be raised as a Reformed Presbyterian, understanding Church history, doctrine and practice. How we live is based upon what we believe.
Susan Hunt along with her son, Richie, aim to help parents systematically teach their kids the basic truths of faith so that they live for the Lord.
Their purpose is:
To teach children that they are created for God's glory.
To show some practical implications of this life purpose.
To repeatedly emphasise to children their need for God's grace to glorify Him.
They do this by working through the questions and answers of the First Catechism. This excellent updated version of the children's catechism was originally created in 1840 by Joseph P. Engles as a way to introduce younger children to the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Each lesson begins with the simple questions and answers and is followed by a story of two siblings, Caleb and Cassie, which illustrates how that truth can be applied.
The important thing is, these kids are like Jemimah. They have Family Worship - like we do. They believe there are two sacraments, - like we do. They celebrate the Lord's Supper the same way we do. They believe in infant baptism, explaining that baptism is a sign and seal of God's covenant to be our God and the God of our children - like we do. They keep the Sabbath holy - like we do. The book teaches a Christian Worldview that is really close to the Reformed Presbyterian Worldview that we promised to impart to our daughter while still young. This book helps us to achieve that goal.
We memorise the Westminster Shorter Catechism in our home, so I didn't expect Jemimah to learn the answers to these questions as well, but children have prodigious memories, and it is amazing the number of answers she has retained just from one or two readings. Most importantly she has learned the application of the doctrine - she is learning how to apply it to her own life.
How shall a young man cleanse his way? Let him with care Thy word observe. With all my heart I have Thee sought; From Thy commands let me not swerve.
Thy word I've treasured in my heart, That I give no offense to Thee. Thou, O Jehovah, blessed art; Thy statutes teach Thou unto me.
I with my lips have oft declared The judgments which Thy mouth has shown, More joy Thy testimonies gave Than all the riches I haveknown.
I'll on Thy precepts meditate, And have respect to all Thy ways. I in Thy statutes will delight, Thy word remember all mydays.
Psalm 119B 9-16 The Book of Psalms for Singing
We began catechising our daughter using a conservatively modernised text of the Westminster Shorter catechism prepared by Rowland Ward when Jemimah was three - at the same time as she began learning Scripture memory verses. At this stage, of course, she had no idea what she was saying, but as time goes on she is able to grasp more and more of the truths contained in these questions and answers. We learn slowly and thoroughly using the method I blogged about here.
Recently I have been profoundly influenced by the words in this interesting book by Donald Van Dyken, pastor of the Orthodox Christian Reformed Church in Sunnyside, Washington.
Pastor Van Dyken believed that the best way to prepare our children for a call by God is by a return to catechism teaching, a method of instruction in biblical truth that the church has used for centuries. His book is divided into two sections. The first half covers the meaning and history of catechising; the second is the practicalities of how to catechise productively. You can read either section first.
What I found most interesting about the book is its application to Scripture catechism, not just to the Confessions. We can use the principles of review and repetition to teach our children help them understand, and most importantly to retain, the major truths of the Bible as well as the Confessions.
Matthew Henry wrote a Scripture catechism for, said he, "The history of Scripture is most proper to acquaint your children with in the first place."
The Scripture catechism we have chosen to use with great success is free online!! Yes, another free resource!! You can find it here on the Reformed Sovereign Grace Literature Homepage.
Containing only the Q's&A's, you simply read the passage of Scripture and reinforce with the questions. What could be more simple than that!! The first books are for the early primary years - the course runs through to sixth grade.
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:18
The ability of young children to memorise and remember even long passages is just amazing, and it is only natural that we should want to take advantage of this skill to help them memorise and remember those things that we consider important for their spiritual well being throughout their lives.
Charlotte Mason also felt that the learning of Bible passages was important. She says this:
The learning by heart of Bible passages should begin while the children are quite young, six or seven. It is a delightful thing to have the memory stored with beautiful, comforting, and inspiring passages, and we cannot tell when and how this manner of seed may spring up, grow, and bear fruit; but the learning of the parable of the Prodigal son, for example, should not be laid on the children as a burden. The whole parable should be read to them in a way to bring out its beauty and tenderness; and then, day by day, the teacher should recite a short passage, perhaps two or three verses, saying it over some three or four times until the children think they know it. Then, but not before, let them recite the passage. Next day the children will recite what they have already learned, and so on, until they are able to say the whole parable. Home Education page 253
Miss Mason believes that children should learn whole passages of Scripture rather than individual verses. I am inclined to agree that children find it easier to remember even quite long sections of Scripture if the verses are in context, and we regularly memorise long passages. We also learn isolated verses - especially those that 'one should know'! We also learn questions and answers from The Shorter Westminster Catechism, learning one by heart and then commencing another. We learn catechism questions in English only, but learn Scripture in French and English.
Our system of learning the verse is not difficult - I simply read the verse or passage through two or three times for a day or two and then when Jemimah feels that she knows a section, she repeats it back to me. It generally only takes a day or two to learn a verse - a week or two for a passage of six or more verses.
It is important that we regularly review learned passages so that they pass in to long-term memory. We are all guilty of learning verses so that we could recite them at Sunday School only to forget them the very next week when we begin learning the new one.
In order to prevent this occuring, we use an adaptation of the Scripture Memory System described at Simply Charlotte Mason.com.
We adapted the system in these ways: The system recommends dividers as follows:
1 divider — Daily 1 divider — Odd 1 divider — Even 7 dividers — Days of the Week (Sunday, Monday, etc.) 31 dividers — Numbered 1-31
In our home we divide our verses up as follows:
1 divider — Daily 1 divider — Odd 1 divider — Even 5 dividers — Days of the Week (Monday-Friday) 1 divider — Monthly
We do not practice our verses on the weekends. Our Scripture memory is counted as past of personal devotions - not school, and is carried on year round - even during holidays, but we find it helpful to take a break each week.
We also found that for young children it takes a very long time before a verse is known so well that it can be placed in the weekly section - let alone the monthly section. To divide this latter group into days seemed unnecessary - we simply do two or three of the monthly verses daily.
After a three years using this system our six year old knows many verses and much of the catechism. She knows - and remembers several whole psalms, and a number of long passages of Scripture, many of them in two languages.
I cannot recommend this system enough for hiding God's word in the heart of your child.
Jemimah's up to Question 85 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. 22 left to go. What a phenomenal achievement!
