Poetry must be the richest form of language available: It's efficient, condensed and loaded with imagery. And poetry has provided slews of contemporary cultures with the feelings and opinions of old, which connect each to the other via similar and palpable emotions. Historically, it is not what really happened that is remembered, but what the poets wrote about a matter that stood as facts in minds. Truly, he who wields the pen, rules the world.When a child is young, the most important factor is that poetry should be enjoyable. Mother Goose is an obvious choice for very young students, and Robert Louis Stevenson's Garden of Verse cannot be beat for a fine introduction to verse written especially for children. Year after year, he continues to be the favorite in my home, as my older children huddle around the youngest student's poetry reading with sighs and smiles of sweet remembrance.
But then what, you might ask?
Well, the answer is so easy that I'm ashamed to publish an entire post about it.
Ambleside Online has it all figured out. Plus--can it get any easier than this?!--AO offers links to free files of a poet's selections for an entire term!
Cha-ching!
A little copying, a bit of pasting, and I've myself a document filled with rich verse and by very little effort.
Now, how you use them is a matter of personal preference. Some people might study one poem over the week, some may chose to study one poet all together across the grade levels, but we read one poem each day and my children each have their very own age-appropriate poet selections. With the younger children, I read aloud to them, but my eldest daughter is now capable of reading to herself. And then everyone narrates, which is just a fancy way of saying that they tell me everything they can about what I just read, which often leads to wonderful emotionally responsive rabbit trails.
At the end of the week, both my younger and eldest children choose the poem they liked best from the week and give it a shot themselves. I use this time to teach and encourage elocution and its partner, expression. And to really spice up the end of our week, we will sometimes listen to the vast number of poems one can find at Librivox. It's absolutely fascinating to hear how differently one poem can be interpreted and read by others.
Oh! I also choose one poem from the term and use it for Copywork and Recitation, which means by the end of the term, my children will know at least one of the poet's works by heart, although they always seem to recall more.
And yes, I've always been this fruity when it comes to language.
What's in the Pan for Next Year:
Superman ~ Mother Goose
Sassafras ~ Walter de la Mare, Eugene Field,/James Whitcombe Riley, and Christina Rossetti
The Negotiator ~ Alfred Tennyson, Emily Dickenson, and William Wordsworth
Newshound 'bout Town ~ Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, and Alfred Noyes
Fun! Yes. I found the poetry on Ambelside just the other day. We've used poetry throughout our schooling (7years), but I'm in the process of reforming some things for "next" year and this is one of the areas:). I've also started writing poetry and post them on Sundays. This has helped me appreciate it more too. Thank you for the links and sharing how you enjoy this with your children! Blessings! Amanda:)
ReplyDeleteWe all love poetry. I still haven't been real organized about it. We love Burns, Frost, Cummings, Shakespeare, Dickenson, etc. We just read whatever we are in the mood for. Maybe I should look at AO's schedule.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, from the little bit you and the kids were here, we're the better for your influence. Keep it coming, your mind is impeccable, and whets the appetite for higher bars in our too-comfy neck of the woods.
ReplyDelete--JMH