I heard a little chortle from my 13-year-old son in the back seat of the car on our way into town one day. "I love poetry," he uttered merrily. We had used Institute for Excellence in Writing's Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization daily for one week and my children could recite the first seven poems in order plus several out-of-order. They took turns reciting and when they could not remember a line, they put their heads together to figure it out. It took us a whole month to memorize our first poem of the year, so I laugh at the thought that we could get through one level this year and memorize 20 poems.

Designed for K-12 students and up, Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization is a joy to use with my three homeschoolers who are 7, 11, and 13. Previously, my two older children attended a poetry class at a local co-op, and while they memorized and presented some of the Level Two poems in class each week, we didn't understand why or how we should memorize poetry or that we could enjoy it so much. 

Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization arrived in a beautiful boxed set. A glossy, spiral-bound copy of the Student Pages arrived with it; however, a free download of the Student Pages accompanies the boxed set, along with seven audio MP3 downloads: Nurturing Competent Communicators; Mastering Learning, Ability Development, and Individualized Education; Ten Thousand Times and Then Begins Understanding; On Listening; On Speaking; On Reading; and On Writing. 

Inside the box, I found a 200-page quality, spiral-bound Teacher's Manual, and a brown leather-style CD case with Nurturing Competent Communicators on DVD and five audio CDs (one for each level). Along with an introduction that addresses the Prerequisites for Effective Communication and answers the questions: Why Memorization? Why Poetry? and Masterly Learning—What is it? The Teacher's Manual explains the program and how to use it. It offers a birds-eye view of the Student Pages, teaching tips, a list of poems by level, large print versions of the poems with comments and tips, author biographies, bibliographies, and optional lesson plans, called Lesson Enhancements, for the poems in Levels One through Four— ideas you can use to study poetry with other subjects such as science, social studies, geography, literature, and more. 

The Student Pages includes the poems (some are illustrated), plus room to copy or attach your student's choice for the last poem in each level. The first four levels each contain 19 poems read by Mr. Pudewa himself. Level Five consists of 20 speeches also read by Mr. Pudewa, with Speech Suggestions at the end. In total, there are 96 poems and speeches. 

To get started with Level One, you start with the first poem, "Ooey Gooey," highlight it in the list, practice daily, use the audio to help you, recite the poem daily, and record your progress on the memory chart. I jumped right in and missed the part about working on one poem at a time, but thankfully, I caught the part about everyone starting in Level One.

Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization flowed nicely into our day, except it suddenly took precedence. We played the Level One CD over and over daily to help us memorize all the poems. We insert the disc into a DVD/CD player, push play, and listen to Mr. Pudewa recite while we cook, clean, and get ready for bed during our home blessing and bedtime hours. The children mostly give their recitations around the dinner and supper table; however, they recite any time or place that is opportune such as at the dentist office, in line at the grocery store, or while riding in the car. I can see their sense of accomplishment and confidence increasing as they memorize more each day.

My husband reports, "Hearing my children recite the poems is fun. I can feel their sense of accomplishment. I have seen their confidence levels soar and ability to speak in front of an audience improve dramatically. Their delight in telling me their favorite poems always brings a smile to my face."

The children memorized and recited all 19 poems in Level One, plus our first poem of the year (What the Winds Bring) for a total of 20 poems. Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization has been a fun way to introduce my children to formal memory work. Best of all, I am filling my children's environment with rich language that is full of meaning, and they enjoy it. 

Eliana, 11, says, "I like memorizing poems because it's fun. I like that some poems are silly, and some are wise. Some of my favorites are 'The Little Man Who Wasn't There,' 'The Yak,' and 'The Vulture,' but I like all Hilaire Belloc's poems. It's amazing how many you can memorize in such a short time." 

She is looking forward to memorizing "Rebecca, Who Slammed Doors for Fun and Perished Miserably" (another favorite by Hillaire Belloc), "The Duke of Plaza-Toro," and "The Height of the Ridiculous" next. I read Belloc's and Hughes Mearns' biographies to her from Appendix 1 and she grabbed the Student Pages book to read more on her own (and to me and then to her brothers). She loved all the background information on the authors and their poems. 

"I love all the poems. Some of my favorites are 'Ooey Gooey,' 'The Little Man Who Wasn't There,' and 'Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore,'" says Boaz, 7. "My favorite poem from Level One is "After the Party," by William Wise because it's funny how Jonathon Blake eats so much cake."

Boaz is looking forward to Level Two so he can learn "The Spider and the Fly."

Malachi, 13, says, "My two favorite poems from this course are 'Jabberwocky' and 'The Unknown Soldier.' I liked 'Jabberwocky' because it was (mostly) utter nonsense and I like that about Lewis Carroll's poems. However, 'The Unknown Soldier,' by Billy Rose, is my favorite of the two because it tells the story of a selfless man who died for his country."

Malachi is excited to (officially) move on to Level Two because of cool poems like "The Duke of Plaza-Toro," "The Height of the Ridiculous," "The Spider and the Fly," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," and "Jabberwocky."

We loved all the poems. I wish the speeches had a bit more finesse, especially "Give Me Liberty" by Patrick Henry; however, Mr. Pudewa is a gem. We like his flair, his slight chuckle after a couple of the poems, his familiar voice, and what a great role model and speaker he is. 

Priced at $65, Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization makes memorizing poems fun and meaningful and has inspired not only a love of poetry in my children but also a desire to share the joy of poetry with others through recitation. We arepleased!

-Product review by Michelle Gibson, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2019