Homeschooling; why recitation is important

The most recent "Home School Court Report" (magazine published by the HSLDA) has an anecdote about a homeschooling mom making pizza for lunch for her three and eight year old children, and she found out that her three year old had been listening to Latin class with the eight year old.  How so?  The three year old started saying

Pizza pizzae pizzae pizzam pizza,

(for the non-latin learner, the three year old was declining the word for pizza)

In short, recitation--long neglected in the educational establishment--trains young minds to remember things that they will use later.