My Memory Masters

Gem and Shakespeare are involved in an academic based homeschool group called Classical Conversations that meets once a week to learn a common curriculum. The material is in "survey" form and consists of 7 subjects, which contain lists that the child must memorize (Classical Education style-for those of you who are familiar with the method). To give you an idea of the scope of a year's work, here are a few examples in each subject:

Science:
What are the classifications of living things? Child must answer, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
(24 questions like this)

Geography:
As I name the location, point to it on the map: Caspian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Uruguay, Ivory Coast, the ancient region of the Fertile Crescent
(about 120 locations)that span different areas of the world

English Grammar:
What is a preposition? A preposition relates a noun or pronoun to another word.
Please name all of them. (there are 53)
Now define and name the helping and linking verbs.

Latin: They have to memorize all the noun endings in their declensions. There are 5 declensions, singular and plural

History Sentences:
These are facts about events in history. There are 24 sentences. Example:
In 313 AD, Byzantine Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity. Emperor Justinian's Code gave rights to all men. After Basil II's Golden Age, Muslim Turks conquered parts of the Byzantine Empire, which led to the Crusades.

Math:
Multiplication facts 1-12 or skip counting 1-15 (depending on age), as well as memorizing formulas that the child will use later, like: the area of a circle is 3.14 x radius squared.

And the very best, most amazing subject that the kids do awesome on, is the TIMELINE CARDS(by Veritas Press). They are a series of 160 cards that piece together a framework of world history. When the kids say these it blows me away. (They also tack on American Presidents from Washington to Bush).

Here is a sampling pulled from the middle of the list: The Magna Carta, St. Thomas Aquinas, Marco Polo, The Hundred Years war, The Black Death, Joan of Arc, The Great Papal schism, John Wycliffe and John Huss, Prince Henry the Navigator, Fall of Constantinople to Mohammed II, etc.

That gives you an idea of the scope of the memorization.

At the end of the year, kids can voluntarily be tested on any of the subjects. If you recite one subject you are awarded a bronze memory master standing. If you do 3 subjects, silver, all 7, gold.

Shakespeare did English grammar, science and geography! Congratulations to my silver memory master (at 6 years old)!!!

Gem did all the subjects perfectly! Congratulations to my gold memory master!!!!!!

Shakespeare is getting a new video game this evening. Gem is getting $75. Well done and well earned.