How to Teach Something Using a Song - two children singing
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How to Teach Something Using a Song

Memorization of facts is easiest to a song or rhythm because music provides structure for the brain with its predictable patterns of rhythms and placement of words. If you want to use this powerful mnemonic device to assist your children with their memory work, here are some tips on how to teach something for memory work using a song. Tips on How to Teach Something Using a Song Let’s use “The Star Spangled Banner” as an example. 1. Listen to a recording of the whole song or as the teacher, sing the whole song through. While you may listen to…

How to memorize something using a song
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How to Memorize Something Using a Song

Do you need help with how to memorize something? Memorizing to a song or rhythm is effective and engaging because music has structure of melody and rhythm to make it a powerful mnemonic device. Tips on How to Memorize Something Aurally Using a Song Let’s use “America the Beautiful” as an example. 1. Listen to the whole song. Think about where the natural breaks are in the song – these will be short sections of words or a natural phrase in the music. 2. Starting with the first section of the song, listen to the melody and words of that…

10 Reasons to Study Art and the Great Artists
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10 Reasons to Study Art and the Great Artists

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” So goes an old saying, for each person on this earth has his or her own interpretation of what is beautiful, what is good art, and what one likes. What you consider to be meaningful art, I may not, but as educators of our children, it is important to expose our children to formal art and the Great Artists. (Of course, our opinions may also vary as to who the Great Artists really are, but there are generally accepted famous and influential artists whose work and lives are worthy of study.) So…

Man studying pictures on wall because Memorization is important.
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Memorization: Why It Is Important and How It Is Mentally Liberating

Memorization gets a bad name these days in educational circles (especially those related to the government schools.)  Certainly, rote memorization may not make sense if we think that the information will not be used later on, but what is the brain for? To think! In order to think, one must memorize, review, and build on that information to create a foundation of knowledge in the long-term memory! An athlete practices drills and physical movements over and over and a musician rehearses a musical phrase repeatedly so that fine motor skills become gross motor skills and the actions become easy and…

The Purpose of Christian Classical Education
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The Purpose of Christian Classical Education

The Purpose of Christian Classical Education What is the purpose of classical education? I will suggest several goals. First, as the Westminster Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” With this in mind, classical education should be pursued with a Christian focus; it should be Christian classical education. God’s character and work can and should be identified and highlighted throughout all the disciplines of study. For example, in math, one learns process and order, and thus, children see that God is a God of order, not confusion. It is up to God to…

Why Participate in Classical Conversations
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Why Participate in Classical Conversations

I discovered Classical Conversations (CC)  when my friend’s daughter sang a few skip counting and history songs to me.  “Where can I find those great skip counting songs?” I asked. As I looked into Classical Conversations, I loved that you can find a song to learn anything and actually memorize meaningful information! But it is the depth of the program that has kept me participating and growing along with my children. Why Participate in Classical Conversations Classical Conversations because it is a Christian homeschool community which utilizes the classical model. Their byline is classical Christian community: classical means how we…

Image showing a girl reading and enjoying the freedom and sensibility of a Christian classical education.
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The Power of Christian Classical Education

I first heard of classical education from an eighty-year-old former teacher, whom I had over for tea. She shared her concerns about the current public school system and government-funded homeschool programs and advocated for a Christian classical education. To learn about classical education, I dived into the book The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer, and then a friend told me of a program her children participated in one day a week called Classical Conversations, a Christian classical education program. When I heard of the foundation of knowledge her daughter was learning, I looked into Classical Conversations myself. Within a week,…

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