Memorize

My second-grade teacher recognized that I had a good memory. She encouraged me to develop my memory by giving me things to memorize.

Several times during the school year there was a program presented to the parents and anyone else who wished to attend. It was not a large school and every class was expected to have an offering. It might be a song, or dance, or short play,

As I said it was a small town. For some reason there were more boys than girls attending classes. If one classroom needed girls to fill in for their portion of the program girls were recruited from another room. We had so much fun.

Another fun thing was that I was always given poems to recite. I memorized poems like The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere's Ride, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, and Little Orphant Annie. Mom also had me memorize The Raven. She was a big fan of alliteration. All of these are fun poems for many reasons. 

Imagine my delight when I learned that my oldest niece was learning Little Ophant Annie in school. 

These are all great poems to read to children. Although you may want to consider the age of your child for Little Orphant Annie. It is just a bit scary.