Furnish Your Child’s Mind by Helping Them Memorize Poetry

Christine Hanus promotes memorization of poetry to help children learn to think and communicate with truth, facility, and creativity.  

As an educator, and now as a grandparent, I often think about how we can train our children to reason well, share their ideas effectively, and make a positive impact on the world for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.  

In order to do this, they first need to “possess” within themselves a host of words, ideas, images, and word-based infrastructure. How can we draw out of them that which has not been put in their little minds in the first place?  

Furnishing the Mind  

One way that we can teach them to think and communicate well is simple, but it packs a punch: The Institute for Excellence in Writing frequently refers to it as “furnishing the mind.” It is especially helpful for children to memorize good poetry and other sources of rich language and imagery, so that they can rummage around in the brain for all kinds of good building blocks which will help them to think, speak, and write more effectively.  

I recently taught a class to middle-schoolers in which we memorized quite a bit of poetry. One day, I asked the class to remind me where we had left off reading a certain novel, but no one could remember. I urged them to try a little harder, saying, “Think! Where did we leave off?”

A popular 7th-grade boy piped up, “Somewhere ages and ages hence.” While this answer was not practically helpful, it thrilled me, because it is a line from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost — a poem we had memorized as a class several weeks earlier. Now that poem was “furnishing” his mind!  

Memory work can also add to a child’s confidence by increasing their familiarity with words and various arrangements of words. For example, many readers feel intimidated by Shakespeare's plays or sonnets, but teach a child to memorize a speech from The Merchant of Venice or Hamlet and, suddenly, Shakespeare is something they feel they can access. The mysterious language of Shakespeare “belongs” to them. 

A Place for Everything …  

One way we can help our children memorize poetry or other worthwhile selections is to learn the piece together as a family. But making time for memorization can be tricky, especially since it is a slow process and selections should be reviewed over time for retention. So instead of making time for it, try making a place for it. Identify the places where your family spends time together and put a copy of the poems to be memorized in that place. Tape it to the dashboard of your car or write it on a whiteboard in the living room where everyone can read it together after night prayers or before watching a movie. 

Memorization Tools  

• Keep a physical notebook with pieces in it that you have memorized/are memorizing. It is a great way to keep track and occasionally review all memorized pieces.  

• Make simple, laminated placemats, with three or four selections printed on it, for the supper table. Use the placemats all year long to help you memorize before or after meals and do quick reviews for long-term mastery. 

• Use IEW’s Memory Mentor app. I have recently been geeking out over this excellent, versatile way to memorize whatever you aim to learn by heart. Among other items, I have recently uploaded a YouTube video which is helping me to memorize the Our Father in Spanish. 

• Use melody to memorize! I wrote Sing Your Way to Memorization: Helping Your Children Internalize the Faith last month, which contains numerous links to help you teach your children the faith. Poetry selections can also be set to music.  

Memorize poetry as a family, and “furnish your minds” together! 

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Copyright 2025 Christine Hanus
Images: Canva