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| The center of my friend's weekly board |
We just finished our 5th year of Classical Conversations, a wonderful homeschool support group. The mission of CC is "To Know God and Make Him known". We do that by creating small support groups around the nation (and now around the world) where trained parent - tutors lead small classes either to introduce or review our weekly topics (depending on what program you are in)
The pinnacle challenge of the Foundations program is an option end of the year oral exam where students go through a series of proofs over a four week period reciting their memory work.
This is what a Student must know (thank you to a fellow CC tutor who posted this on FB):
History: 24 Major American History Dates and the significance of each, all 44 US Presidents, the Preamble to the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Science: Introductory to Anatomy (8 body systems and terminology) and Chemistry (atoms, elements, and memorizing the first 12 elements of the periodic table by number, element, symbol, and mass). As well as, major terminology including evolution, uniformitarianism, catastrophism, and natural selection.
Math: mastery of times tables through the 15s, squares, cubes, standard and metric measurements and equivalents, geometry formulas for area, and math laws.
Geography: this year, the emphasis was on the United States: all fifty states and capitols, and 72 prominent US Physical Features.
161 Major Timeline Dates of World History from Creation and 3500BC Mesopotamia and Sumer through the Present.
Latin: Translations 37 Prepositions, Conjunctions, Pronouns, Verbs, and Nouns, John 1:1 memorized in English and Latin, as well as foundational Latin Rules for Nouns, Verbs, and Articles.
English Grammar: definitions for Subject, Predicate, Phrase, Independent and Dependent Clause, the 4 Sentence Structures, 7 Sentence Patterns, Infinitive, Present and Past Participle, 5 Principal Parts for Verbs, and 13 Common Irregular Verbs and their principle parts.
This is approx 820 separate pieces of information.
Students proof each week beginning with a parent, then another adult, with their tutor (or another tutor in their community), and then a shorter proof with the director. There are guildelines along the way, stating how may misses a child may have to continue. Once a child gets to the third week- the tutor proof, they are expected to recite all memory work with zero misses...nope...not one! Now, a child may say something wrong, skip some information, or something like that but they must be the one to realize their miss, go back, and fix the mistake.
For instance, the child I proofed skipped almost 2 1/2 weeks of the timeline. I didn't say anything, just let him keep going and about 15 seconds later he stopped and said, "Wait...I just skipped a bunch, didn't I?" Yes, I said and then I had him start further back than when they missed.
So there is grace! Grace in recognizing that these are children, mostly between the ages of 8 and 12. Grace to know that even the smartest adult missteps every once in a while. Grace to know you don't have to be perfect, you can go back and correct your mistake. That is mastery....working hard to memorize it, knowing when you missed it, and then how to correct it.
Well, our sweet Nicole, in all honesty with much prompting from us, went forward with the task of working towards Memory Master this year. This was her second time through Cycle 3 and she obviously remembered quite a bit from when she was 5 years old. We worked really hard starting in week 19- learning the weeks ahead of schedule.
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| This is our handmade timeline with prompts for the history questions she struggled with at first. |
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| We will be doing our own timeline for now on- this truly was the key to helping her remember events, dates, and people. |
We put together this MM notebook that she took with her almost everywhere so she could study in the car, at the doctor, in her room...wherever she needed.
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| We worked together for about 2 hours on these drawings, alternating weeks. |
I spent hours with her proofing, drawing maps, making memory aids, etc.
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| I loved her ideas, and they stuck in her brain. |
It was a wonderful experience and pushed us both.
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| Our coffee shop "proof" date |
She proofed through the parent and 'other' adult proofs quite well. We worked hard and were ready to go! We even got on last proof in, as a date at a local coffee shop. It was sweet to share that time with her.
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| Our last tutor proof- a mommy- daughter date to a local coffee shop. I had some really cute pictures, but they were accidentally deleted. |
The Monday before our last day of CC, several moms and tutors met together, swapped children and did the final proof- the one that had to be 100%.
Nicole did amazing, easily retrieving the information we worked so hard to build into that sweet little brain of hers. However, near the end she was asked to translate the word "life" into Latin.
Thinking...
Thinking....
Thinking....
Nothing...nothing came to her mind. It was in there, lost amidst 820 other pieces of information, but it just wasn't coming to mind. She skipped the question and kept going, completing 1 more subject. When her tutor came back to her and asked for the translation of "life", she still couldn't grab that little word from her memory bank.
An hour and a few minutes later, I met her in the sanctuary, gave a big smile and asked how it went.
She smiled at me, said "good" then shrugged her shoulders and said, "but I couldn't remember one Latin word."
Oh No....my fear came true. What if it was Just one word! Just one word! How would she handle it? How would I?
I said, "OK, well...let's talk to Ms. Gabby and see what the right thing is to do." She smiled and then joined the rest of the kids outside to play.
I sat down and cried. One stinkin' word! What would we do. The rules are very clear....100% mastery- no misses. But, there is grace in looking toward the stress, anxiety, and work the children had accomplished.
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| This was her last weekend memory board- with clues for the last few items she struggled with. Notice the word "life" isn't up there- or any Latin for that matter! |
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| The center of her little memory board. "I can do it. 100%" |
We didn't know what the director would decide until the next day (And let's be real...I'm also thinking "What would I do as the director!")
That night, Jeremy and I talked a lot. We talked to Nicole, we prayed, and I cried a lot more. I didn't want her to miss out on being a Memory Master for one word. I know the
Spirit of MM is to encourage and celebrate the children and their hard work. However, I also wanted to
honor the integrity of the program and the incredibly high standards that the award is.
I spent several hours trying to find a loophole, scouring the internet for blog posts from moms whose children came up a bit short. I found nothing.
I knew in my gut what was right....and it wasn't the easy way- it was the hard way! Although the director and Support Manager both agreed that she could go forward with the director proof, we (Jeremy and I ) decided to say "No thank you". We knew that in our situation....that was the right, but hard decision to make.
Nicole knew she missed the word, and she knew she couldn't remember it. At one point I asked her what we thought should happen and she said, "Mommy, I know I missed and I know I had to get 100%. So, it's ok if I can't director proof. I also know that I am actually a memory master because I did work hard and I do know all of the information, I just couldn't remember that one word right then. But, I also know that if Ms. Gabby lets me go through the director proof she would be giving me a second chance and showing me grace."
Whew- where in the world did that maturity come from in an 8 year old girl? Any and all good that is in her is most certainly from God!
More talking and praying on our part, and then we asked one more, important question. I asked Nicole, "If you are allowed to go through after missing one question, would you expect them to let you do the same next year if you miss a question as well."
She thought about this for a minute and said, "Well, yeah- I think so. I mean, what is the difference between this year and next if I miss one. But, I still know it would be really nice of them to let me go through since I missed one anyway."
It was at this point that we absolutely knew we couldn't let her do the final director proof. We certainly wanted to uphold the integrity of the program and
not set a precedent, and it was clear that any decision besides stopping would set a precedent in the mind of our daughter, and perhaps in any others who knew about our circumstances. The choice was clear- but still not easy.
The final conversation with Nicole was to tell her that we have decided not to let her director proof and earn the Title Memory Master (and T-shirt that goes along with it) because she missed a question. We also acknowledged that she worked really hard this year studying, memorizing, and learning and that she would have a reward from us at acknowledgment of her discipline and hard work.
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| The first page in our MM Notbook- inspiration and reminders for what we are doing and why. |
The rules of Memory Master are rigorous, but the Spirit of Memory Master is something different. We want to take the time to build the character of our children through the hard work and discipline or working toward a difficult task. Sometimes it is failure that builds the character. Sometimes it is the discipline to study each day or work hard in areas that are difficult. Sometimes it is the accomplishment and reward that builds character (can you be proud of completing the task, while not bragging about it others or having compassion towards those who didn't complete the task?)
The memory work is
not the finish line. In a way,
it is the means to build a foundation for lifelong learning, and the opportunity to build your character in a unique way.
How do you handle success?
How do you handle failure?
Can you do both and give glory and honor to God.
What is your ultimate goal?
Who is it you are actually working for?
These questions, and many more should be at the forefront of our minds as we pursue a goal such as MM.
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| Playing with the other children who attempted MM at the beach later that week. |
We did celebrate our children- all of them and their hard work this year.
Our 5 year old has a great deal of memory pegs in his little mind and often corrects his sisters' missteps. He managed to be in class without mommy with him and obey his tutor, stand for presentations, and begin the process of learning beyond what I've taught him.
Our 6 year old was a "1st six weeks" Memory Master and was proud of that accomplishment all year. She also worked hard to memorize much of the work and has a solid foundation for her next time through cycle 3.
And our 8 year old, although not officially, is Memory Master to us. She has an unbelievable amount of knowledge stored up as pegs- ready to hang all sorts of additional information on.
She received a new Lego set- one her eyes have been looking at for many months. The gift was perfect to her and a good reflection of her work.
Most importantly- her reward came in the creation of greater character in her own life. She walked humbly through what others would call defeat. She handled the word "No" with grace and dignity. She encouraged her friends who succeeded, and came to a better understanding of the task at hand. She learned discipline to study, and was given the opportunity to step outside of her comfort zone and be put under pressure, in a safe- supportive environment. And, she wants to try again next year. I am so proud of my little Nicole, and Hannah, and Nathan too.
Whatever good things I see in my daughter are a direct result of the Holy Spirit working in her life. Shaping and forming her to be more like Him. Praise the Lord- even when you come up short!
