Can we talk about poetry?

[ForeverFamily]

Why do you think poetry is important to incorporate into your homeschool day?  Why do you think it is important to read, discuss, study, memorize? (I have some ideas of what I think the benefits of poetry are, but I would love to hear others thoughts on this)

 

How do you do poetry in your house?  Do you read one poem a day, spend a whole week or month on one poem or poet, etc.  Do you just read the poem, or do you study and discuss it.  I would love to know the details of how and when you incorporate poetry into your day.  If you have your kids memorize poems do you have any certain order to it (i.e. by poet, season, etc.) or do you let them pick a poem.  Do you memorize poetry as a family or let each student pick their own poem to memorize.  Any details of what you do would be very much appreciated. 

 

Right now I read one poem a day to my kids during circle time.  We have no specific order to it, I just open the book and pick one poem to read.  We also do some memorizing through FLL (I haven't been very good at either lately).  But I am wondering if there is a way that would make poetry more meaningful to my kids.  Growing up I was never a big fan of poetry, but now that I am an adult I can see that there is great value in it and would love to instill a love of poetry in my kids.  I would love any ideas and thoughts anyone has on this topic.

 

 

[SoCalLynn]

When my daughter was younger, we incorporated poetry as part of our daily reading together. I didn't have any background or knowledge so I just went to the bookstore and looked for something I thought had some recognizable poets' names in it. I ended up with Caroline Kennedy's A Family of Poems. It was a perfect place to begin, and my daughter went on to memorize many of the poems on her own just because she loved them so much. We moved to different anthologies ( I guess that's what they're called) that were age appropriate, along with some silly modern poets like Jeff Moss and Jack Prelutsky that we grew to love. We would have family "poetry jam nights" where we would all take turns reading or reciting favorites, which helps with reading and public speaking skills. Now that she is in high school, poetry is not intimidating at all and we still love reading it together and hashing out meaning, with a little (lots of) help from the internet. ;-)

 

Poety has a beauty of language that you just can't get from anything else. Metaphor and simile is easily learned by reading good poetry, and learning to convey emotion succinctly is a good skill to learn for later. I always recommend to friends just starting out that they teach poetry as soon as they can. It's fun.

[birchbark]

I absolutely love this scene from Dead Poet's Society on why poetry is important. 

 

 

 

We begin our daily read-aloud times with poetry. I will read the same one every day for a week or two, which is enough for the kiddos to get to know it pretty well, if not memorize it. Then we'll read a few others just for fun. I believe in whole-to-part teaching, so we don't pick apart the poems until Jr. High at the earliest. My goal is just to get them familiar with poetry and enjoying it. I may ask them a question or two, but that is it. I often choose poems according to the season.

[julie4]

We do poetry, tea & treats once a week (Bravewriter style). And I usually read some poetry at lunch time. And children memorize 1 poem per month. We mostly use selections from Harp & Laural Wreath for memorization. But anything goes for tea time, that's when I like to read the more silly poems. I just bought MCT poetry so we will begin to study it a little deeper.

[PeterPan]

bump

[walkermamaof4]

We use Hod so have been using their schedule. This year we studied Robert Frost poems, one per week. At the end of the week we watercolor painted a picture that related to the poem. We also tell the poem to each other to the best of our peaking ability. We memorized several of his poems throughout the year. It has been perfect. Next year is Emily Dickinson. Yay! Before HOD, we used Pudewa's http://iew.com/shop/products/linguistic-development-through-poetry-memorization-book-cds and memorized quite a lot of poetry that way. Both methods have been great. Even if you learn only one poem this year, that is great! They stick with you for life, are fun to learn, offer a sense of accomplishment, and add beauty to our days. We also memorize books of the Bible - one chapter per year. Some folks memorize much, much more than us. But for us, this works.

[Beth in Mint Hill]

...  Growing up I was never a big fan of poetry, but now that I am an adult I can see that there is great value in it and would love to instill a love of poetry in my kids.  I would love any ideas and thoughts anyone has on this topic.

 

Oh! how I identify with this. I, too, never appreciated poetry when younger. Even during homeschooling when my kids were young, though I had developed an appreciation myself, I did not do much with them, and I really regret this. I always wished that I had used something like the program from IEW, Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Although I get a little turned off by the way it makes it sound so utilitarian (Sigh--we always have to break it down and think of why *scientifically* we should experience poetry!)  it would have been a neat little 'system' of incorporating poetry, but I  didn't discover this til mine were grown. In our homeschool, we did read lots of great literature together, but I never got my 3 *very* active little boys to sit still for learning about poetry. It was a major failing.

 

SoCalLynn put it so well when she said:

 

Poetry has a beauty of language that you just can't get from anything else. Metaphor and simile is easily learned by reading good poetry, and learning to convey emotion succinctly is a good skill to learn for later....[/size]

 

 

I have a friend, Grace Kosloski, who has such a *passion* for the subject that she got a Ph.D. in poetry! She teaches writing with us at the Harvey Center and is offering a summer workshop on poetry--I'm actually going to sign up for it myself--I'm so looking forward to spending time really learning about poetry this summer. 

 

But--she is also hosting one of our free Great Issues Discussions, "Poetry Matters," and I know that she would love it if any moms interested in learning about the great value of poetry would come to discuss with us. It really is just a free discussion online (we are not trying to "sell" anything). She just wants to share the joy of poetry!  "Let us go then you and I, when evening is spread out against the sky.."*--to discuss poetry! It's on a Monday evening--May 5th. She was going to do it for National Poetry Month, but then fell and had to have surgery on her right hand! Hopefully it will be all better in May. 

 

*This is from one of my favorite poems--who knows it? ;')

 

 

[Critterfixer]

We have memorized poetry every year here. Some of it they remember very well, sometimes I have to jog their memory! I grew up memorizing a good deal of very bad poetry, but I think I ended up appreciating a good poem despite that!

We also use the Linguistic Development through Poetry resource, but I don't bother with the CD. It's simpler and a lot more enjoyable to read the poem and work on it right after we get done with lunch and walking our dogs. We get back from our walk (it takes about an hour to walk all four dogs a mile!) and I make a pot of tea, and the boys help me serve the tea treats. Then we review a poem or two and work on the one we are learning, and have tea. Every now and again we discuss meanings, or act one out. We add to the volume memorized by using the ones in FLL.

 

As far as the value goes, I can say that personally, I have been affected by poems I have read. Some of them I love simply for the beautiful language, others for the thought that went into them, others for the thoughts they provoke. I'm often finding ones that really touch me now that I would never have found on my own. Some of the most recent include The Hunting of the Dragon, by G.K.Chesterton. I do not know why that one just hits me as hard as it does, but I love it. I picked up The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems last year, and I love the beauty of the illustrations and the poems in that book. And recently, the boys memorized the first part of The Bells, by Poe and we got an illustrated copy of Poe's major poems and had that as a read aloud. 

Shel Silverstein gets checked out so often for light reading of poems that I've a mind to go ahead and purchase those volumes for the house. 

 

I guess if I had to say what poetry is to the world of literature, I'd say it is the song of humanity. And there are some truly awesome choices out there for boys as well as girls. My boys like their tea and poetry time, and if I accomplish nothing else but an appreciation of sitting down to reflect on beautiful language and words for a few minutes a day, I've done okay.

[Alice]

I'm not sure if I can express why I think poetry is important to include in our homeschool any more than I can say why art is important or music. To me, it's about the beauty of language and hearing things expressed in ways that are new and exciting or lovely or true. 

 

I do have my kids memorize poetry. We don't do a lot of memory work, really only poetry and things related to church. I think there is value in practicing memorization as a skill but I'd rather have them memorizing beautiful words than some of the other things we could spend our time memorizing. I don't expect they will remember all of the poems they have learned but I hope that phrases from their favorite poems stick with them. 

 

I don't have a specific schedule. We work on a poem until they know it, typically I'd say 1-2 months per poem, depending on length and difficulty. We will read more about a poet if the fancy strikes us. 

 

Lately we've started doing poetry teas as recommended by Bravewriter (which I haven't actually read but I've seen posts here about so I think that's where this comes from). I check out a bunch of poetry books from the library. We put them on the table, make tea and all read the books. Anyone who sees a poem they want to read out loud or have me read out loud (so the 4 year old can participate) can do so. I have found this to be a surprising favorite of my kids. I say surprising because they have never loved poetry even though we incorporate it into our learning. One son says he doesn't like it. Yet, this method of reading and sharing has really appealed to them. 

 

I don't normally link to my blog here but here are a few poetry related posts I've done...

 

How I choose the poems we memorize

Poems we've memorized and the process 

A poetry project I've done with both boys 

 

[ForeverFamily]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through all of your posts.  Thank you so much to all of you for taking the time to respond.  You have all given me a lot to ponder.  I will have to look into all the links you have provided as well.  I am sure I will have more questions come up.  I have always been so inspired by everyone's experience and thoughts I read here on the forum, I always feel so out of my league :).

 

I love the thoughts you have all had about the benefit of including poetry in the school day.  The main benefit that comes to mind for me has been the ability to fill my kids minds with beautiful language as well as a way for them to see the world through someone else's eyes (art with words).  You have all confirmed that idea, as well as added a couple more benefits that I hadn't thought of ;). 

 

A bit more background on why I asked about poetry... I loved writing books and stories when I was young.  Gradually I moved away from that and began to dread writing.  I now think of writing as one of my weak points.  I am guessing the reason for this change in attitude towards writing was not being equipped with the proper tools of writing.  My oldest Dd is now showing a strength and interest in writing as well.  She loves writing stories and books just like I did, as well as poems.  I am hoping to encourage this and equip her with the proper tools so she can continue to grow in writing.  I feel completely inadequate to do this.  It seems the most common piece of advice I hear for teaching writing is to Read, read, read.  So I have decided that one of the most important things I can do to help her with writing is filling her mind with words from great authors and poets.  All of the Circe threads have inspired me to do this by reading the classics.  Poetry also seems to be an important piece to the puzzle.  Thus why I have decided that along with reading the classics poetry needs to be a higher priority for our school days.  And as I mentioned earlier poetry is not my field of expertise so I am greatly appreciating all of the thoughts all of you have had.

 

 

A couple of you have mentioned doing poetry tea times.  Does bravewriter talk more about how to go about doing this?  Do you read poetry the whole time or do you read other things as well?

 

walkermamaof4 you mentioned focusing on one poet for a whole year.  Do you and/or your kids enjoy this more than just reading from various poets?  Do you think they get more out of it?  This has been one idea I have been thinking about doing.  I am not sure if it would be better for my kids to hear a lot of different styles or have time to focus on one poet at a time. 

 

After reading through all of your thoughts it seems like spending a week or more focusing on one poem is a pretty good rule of thumb.  It sounds like your kids have more time to take ownership of the poetry that way. That makes more sense than what I have been doing, reading a new poem everyday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laughing lioness]

Pudewa has a great apologetic for Poetry Memorization in his intro to Language Aquisition Through Poetry Memorization progrma.

[Critterfixer]

For tea I simply brew tea, we talk poetry, recite, and then we have our tea and tea treat. Every now and again, if the cousins are up, or the boy next door comes over, tea gets more formal, and we go to the table to have it with a tablecloth and second helpings. :tongue_smilie: Once we took the bicycles and I took tea in a thermos, and we took tea and poetry on the road.

I've been known to take out funny poetry to read at breakfast. 

 

Depending on the length of the poem we may take several weeks to memorize it. I also like reviewing our other poems pretty often. I don't go through a large recitation, because the goal for me never was to be able to recite huge chunks of poetry, but simply to remember them and be able to connect a thought from one poem to another.

 

I think that poetry does help with writing. While I am sure that the rich language does filter into expression, for me the essence of poetry is what helps the creative process. It's something like music. I drive my DC and DH mad sometimes by playing one song over and over and over when I am creating. I may only listen to a certain style of music when I'm writing. I've actually sat down and written short stories while only playing the same song repeating until I am finished. What I find in poetry is the same emotional response over and over and over, and I may replay that idea and the expression of it like a broken record when I write until I've finished with it. Poetry is a great way to gnaw at the bone of an idea, and that's certainly part of creating something new.

Probably two things I would suggest in helping the creative writer: First, don't connect writing skills and the creative process. Creating is very sloppy, very messy and sometimes downright alarming in it's disjointed, disconnected wildness. And the young reader needs to know that not only is is perfectly normal to love a character, then go back and change everything about him, or to alter a plot in a major way three chapters in; it is actually helpful in writing. Fragments, run-on sentences, just conversation with a character in the middle of exposition is OK. It won't be when the work is done, but one should never attempt to polish a rock until the diamond is cut out of it. 

Second thing I would suggest; never assume that the creative writer doesn't need skill work! I got out of a lot of needed grammar, spelling and writing because "Oh, she writes all the time, she must know how to write!" I could really have used a tough English teacher who would have left my fiction and poems alone, let my fantasy life grown un-pruned, and really taught me how to write compositions, essays, non-fiction, and not listened to my whining and yowling about it. It was through learning how to be critical of writing, by seeing the mistakes of other writers, and by thinking and playing with ways to make the writing better that I learned how to be critical of my work, without being critical of myself, it that makes sense. When you work through fiction and poetry with your daughter, it might help to discuss what she thought of it, and to discuss ways that the author (even a classic author) could have done a better job with character, setting, choice of words, etc. I'd let her pick out the places, however, so that it is her opinion that is being consulted first. This may help with learning how to be critical in a way that is constructive. 

 

[prairiegirl]

The way we do poetry has varied every year.  Some years we just concentrate on one poet for a period of time and read one of his/hers poems a few times a week.  I might just pick a poem randomly and read one every day.  We have had poetry tea times where I put all of our poetry books on the table and each of us pick a poem that suits our fancy and read then individually out loud to the rest of us.   We have also attempted to memorize poetry but we are not very consistent with that. 

 

This year, I have tried to go a bit deeper with poetry.  I pick a poem that I would like everyone to memorize and I read it each day.  Each day we will discuss  a word that we don't  understand, a literary device that is used or discuss the meaning of a line or why the poet used that particular word, etc.  

 

I have just read  The Living Page  by Laurie Bestvater,  a book on how to notebook a la Charlotte Mason.  This book has given me the desire for my children to keep a poetry notebook.  We will start this  this week.   Each child will pick out a poem of their choosing and will copy out a few lines that spoke to them  or the whole poem if they wish.

 

There are so many ways  to bring poetry into our children's  lives.   It may require a bit of trial and error to find a way that is more natural  for your family.

[Chris in PA]

I have been reading this thread with great interest. I have an older student, rising 11th grader, who has not studied poetry. Would I use some of the ideas mentioned above? I was intrigued by IEW's Grammar of Poetry but didn't know if it was appropriate for a high schooler. I have no poetry background at all and would need something to help both of us understand what we are reading. Any suggestions for an older student?

[Chris in VA]

Chris, we used the Progeny Press guide for a quick poetry intro. I tried to talk to ds about some of my favorite poems, too--like sharing Emily Dickinson's A Bird Came Down A Walk, and showing how the jerky motion of the walking bird is conveyed via the word choice in the first part, and the lovely assonance (the "Os" "gently Rowed him home") in the second part conveys the soft flight of the bird. Things like that seemed to open poetry to him.

[mama27]

My kids and I all pick a poetry book and take turns reading whichever poem we pick, starting with my youngest. We do this once a week.

[Chrysalis Academy]

  

 

But--she is also hosting one of our free Great Issues Discussions, "Poetry Matters," and I know that she would love it if any moms interested in learning about the great value of poetry would come to discuss with us. It really is just a free discussion online (we are not trying to "sell" anything). She just wants to share the joy of poetry!  "Let us go then you and I, when evening is spread out against the sky.."*--to discuss poetry! It's on a Monday evening--May 5th. She was going to do it for National Poetry Month, but then fell and had to have surgery on her right hand! Hopefully it will be all better in May. 

 

*This is from one of my favorite poems--who knows it? ;')

 

Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock! One of my favorites, too.  :)

[Chrysalis Academy]

No. The first rule of poetry club is no talking about poetry.

 

:lol:

[ForeverFamily]

So I have been reading, and re-reading all the posts here.  Thank you so much to everyone for all of your responses.  I have been pondering what all of you have said.  I think I am going to make poetry a more organized part of our morning circle. I think I am planning on picking one or two poets a year and focusing on one new poem every week.  I think I will also read an additional seasonal poem as well.  I am going to have to think about this tea time idea some more as well.  I think my kids may really enjoy that.  I will have to incorporate that after we get a better sense of what this new year will be like in our new house ( I know moving is going to throw a huge wrench in things, but hopefully it will settle down before fall). 

 

For tea I simply brew tea, we talk poetry, recite, and then we have our tea and tea treat. Every now and again, if the cousins are up, or the boy next door comes over, tea gets more formal, and we go to the table to have it with a tablecloth and second helpings. :tongue_smilie: Once we took the bicycles and I took tea in a thermos, and we took tea and poetry on the road.

I've been known to take out funny poetry to read at breakfast. 

 

Depending on the length of the poem we may take several weeks to memorize it. I also like reviewing our other poems pretty often. I don't go through a large recitation, because the goal for me never was to be able to recite huge chunks of poetry, but simply to remember them and be able to connect a thought from one poem to another.

 

I think that poetry does help with writing. While I am sure that the rich language does filter into expression, for me the essence of poetry is what helps the creative process. It's something like music. I drive my DC and DH mad sometimes by playing one song over and over and over when I am creating. I may only listen to a certain style of music when I'm writing. I've actually sat down and written short stories while only playing the same song repeating until I am finished. What I find in poetry is the same emotional response over and over and over, and I may replay that idea and the expression of it like a broken record when I write until I've finished with it. Poetry is a great way to gnaw at the bone of an idea, and that's certainly part of creating something new.

Probably two things I would suggest in helping the creative writer: First, don't connect writing skills and the creative process. Creating is very sloppy, very messy and sometimes downright alarming in it's disjointed, disconnected wildness. And the young reader needs to know that not only is is perfectly normal to love a character, then go back and change everything about him, or to alter a plot in a major way three chapters in; it is actually helpful in writing. Fragments, run-on sentences, just conversation with a character in the middle of exposition is OK. It won't be when the work is done, but one should never attempt to polish a rock until the diamond is cut out of it. 

Second thing I would suggest; never assume that the creative writer doesn't need skill work! I got out of a lot of needed grammar, spelling and writing because "Oh, she writes all the time, she must know how to write!" I could really have used a tough English teacher who would have left my fiction and poems alone, let my fantasy life grown un-pruned, and really taught me how to write compositions, essays, non-fiction, and not listened to my whining and yowling about it. It was through learning how to be critical of writing, by seeing the mistakes of other writers, and by thinking and playing with ways to make the writing better that I learned how to be critical of my work, without being critical of myself, it that makes sense. When you work through fiction and poetry with your daughter, it might help to discuss what she thought of it, and to discuss ways that the author (even a classic author) could have done a better job with character, setting, choice of words, etc. I'd let her pick out the places, however, so that it is her opinion that is being consulted first. This may help with learning how to be critical in a way that is constructive. 

 

Critterfixer, I really appreciate this post.  I have been thinking a lot about your thoughts you shared here.  Thus far I have never critiqued any of my daughters free writing.  I have only offered praises. I have always planned to leave her free writing alone, and let her experiment and try new things without worrying about making sure it meets any criteria or approval.  I really appreciate your thoughts on this.  I relate to this as an artist, there are times I just want to draw and not have anyone give any critique.  Other times I appreciate critique but in those instances I ask for it.  So I understand this need of freedom to explore and try new things without the fear of being judged. I also really appreciate your words of wisdom with making sure I provide structured lessons on writing.  This is a trap I could see myself falling in to in the future if my daughter every pushes back against formal instruction.  At the moment she actually enjoys formal grammar (FLL and GWG) and writing instruction (WWW), it is one of her favorite subjects.  But she has pushed back with WWE, and I have decided to push ahead and I am very glad I made that decision because I can see her benefiting from it.  

I would love to hear your thoughts on using a formal writing program like Classical Writing, it seems pretty rigorous.  Do you think something that rigorous would benefit a natural writer or hinder them?  I just thought I would ask because it seems from your post have some writing expertise. :)  Thanks again!

[Chrysalis Academy]

So here is an idea for something that is a little more structured than 'just reading" but isn't a full structured poetry lesson:  Rose, Where Did You Get That Red: Teaching Great Poetry to Children by Kenneth Koch.  He shows how he teaches kids about poetry, and about writing poetry, by reading great poems.  The book has 10 lesson plans, where you read and talk about the poem and then give the kid a prompt to write a poem in the same spirit as the one you've been discussing.  The ten lessons are followed by a wonderful poetry anthology, with ideas of doing similar lessons for each of the poems - more than 50, I think.  Anyway, I'm going to try this as a once a week "poetry day" during literature next year.  I think we will all enjoy it.  It's an appealing approach

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Where-Did-You-That/dp/0679724710/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397866293&sr=1-1&keywords=rose+where+did+you+get+that+red

 

 

[kristinannie]

It sounds like I do what you do! We read a poem every day.  I do take some care in picking them out (based on the season or animals they like or whatever).  We don't discuss it much at all.  Sometimes I ask the kids to narrate the poem (they actually say some interesting things).  Usually we just read it and move on.  We were doing really well with memorization, but I lost our memory box and everything fell apart.   :banghead:

[ForeverFamily]

So here is an idea for something that is a little more structured than 'just reading" but isn't a full structured poetry lesson:  Rose, Where Did You Get That Red: Teaching Great Poetry to Children by Kenneth Koch.  He shows how he teaches kids about poetry, and about writing poetry, by reading great poems.  The book has 10 lesson plans, where you read and talk about the poem and then give the kid a prompt to write a poem in the same spirit as the one you've been discussing.  The ten lessons are followed by a wonderful poetry anthology, with ideas of doing similar lessons for each of the poems - more than 50, I think.  Anyway, I'm going to try this as a once a week "poetry day" during literature next year.  I think we will all enjoy it.  It's an appealing approach

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Where-Did-You-That/dp/0679724710/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397866293&sr=1-1&keywords=rose+where+did+you+get+that+red

 

This looks like a great book!  Thank you!  I may have to find some way to incorporate this into our day, I think my Dd could handle it if we work through it slowly. I would love to hear updates on how this works out for you! :)

[Beth in Mint Hill]

...

I would love to hear your thoughts on using a formal writing program like Classical Writing, it seems pretty rigorous.  Do you think something that rigorous would benefit a natural writer or hinder them?

 

We loved Lene's Classical Writing: Poetry (and the Intermediate Poetry) ... there is a very informative description of the course at her website linked here. It was a great, systematic way to enjoy poetry and yet learn lots about the subject, including the terminology to discuss poetry. Her books were too heavy with desk work and structure for my boys to do when they were young, but I really think it is worthwhile to use when they are older--or just for us adult members of the homeschool to use! As teacher training. (So much of the curriculum I bought ended up as teacher training materials!)

 

The analysis of poetry through the imitation of poems is one of the activities that still stands out to me from an American literature class I took in college over 40 years ago!! (to give away my age)

:laugh:

[Mswin15]

My daughter attends a UMS school 2 days a week but on our "homeschool days" we have poetry and tea time. We have a lovely stack of poetry books and we snuggle on the couch or sit out on the screened porch and drink our tea and take turns reading poems. We probably spend 15 to 20 minutes doing this and it has become something she and I both look forward to so much! She was hesitant at first but by the end of our first time she was asking for more, took the book from me and was asking if she could read some. She is starting to recognize poets names ( hey . . . Emily Dickinson! I remember that other poem she wrote . . .). I can't ask for more from a 2nd grader. I just love this deep, rich time as we listen to and read something beautiful together. I walk away from that time really thankful that we didn't spend that 15 minutes on a worksheet. It is a reminder of WHY I'm doing this homeschool thing. It's because of rich time like that.

 

Her school has poetry memorization that we work on as part of her memory work. They tackle longer poems - may 2 or 3 a semester.

 

www.storywarren.com is a fantastic resource for all things poetry.

[scrapbabe]

This thread is beautiful. Thanks everyone!

[Heidi]

We did IEW's poetry memorization last year, but with three kids memorizing/reciting poems everyday, it became cumbersome.

My kids love poetry tea time. We go outside, if possible, with a picnic blanket and a bowl of popcorn. Each kid grabs a book of poetry. We take turns reading a poem from our books. The kids that don't read just point to which poem they want to hear and I will read it to them. We try to do this once a week.

Additionally I am having my kids pick a poem they like, copy it into their poetry notebook, and work on memorizing their poem for the next week. They get to recite their memorized poem at poetry tea time.

I think in middle school I will get a program that will get into analyzing poetry, but for now I just want it to be enjoyed and loved. And my kids do love poetry. It has always been a part of our homeschool in one way or another.

[laughing lioness]

I just published a review of The Grammar of Poetry by Matt Whitiling. This will be my 3rd round using it. GREAT program!

[Chrysalis Academy]

Awesome review, Lisa, that answered a lot of my questions!   When you review The Greeks, will you post a link to your review on the boards? I've had my eye on that program, too . . . 

[Critterfixer]

I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this thread this morning. Now I have something else to add to my "want" list.

 

As far as blow back on writing instruction for a natural or creative writer, I think it is to be expected. I didn't get a lot of writing instruction, and when I did get it, I was almost combative about it. Very unteachable. Downright obnoxious, which is why I didn't get much... 

My best teachers were the authors I loved, and the poetry I devoured as a child.

 

I would have loved to have my creative impulse divorced from the reality of writing. That would have made it so much easier. But I couldn't help but put myself into everything I wrote, and I am only now able to do some honest assessment without self-mutilation. I don't know how to get a child to that point, however. I think the classical approach taken in imitation, rather than in forcing the student to come up with his or her own words is useful. It's not as personal? That may be it. When I ask my boys to imitate, it becomes less about them and more about the story they are imitating, and because it is so mechanical, it is less dreadful to dissect it.

But honestly, the best advice I can give for a natural writer is to read about three times as much as anyone else, and to read the best. The best literature, the best poems. And love them. And want to write that way. I think we imitate best what we love the most. So loving the beautiful is probably the single greatest thing that contributes to beauty in writing.

[Saddlemomma]

I was just looking at the Greeks & Romans from Roman Roads as well.  The Iliad, Odyssey & Aeneid line up nicely time wise (at 4 weeks each) and would fit right in with TOG Y1 Literature Rhetoric students.  I would have to do some minor jumping between Greeks and Romans programs, but I don't see that as a problem.  I will definitely be ordering these once we get to that point.

[scrapbabe]

 

 

www.storywarren.com is a fantastic resource for all things poetry.

This is simply beautiful!  My gosh, I've been spending time on this blog this afternoon and it is amazing.  For some reason it has really touched my soul.  I want to share this kind of beauty with my children.  I've been lost and struggling in a world of depression for a couple of years now, and for some silly reason, this blog really reached out to me today.  There is so much beauty out there!  Thanks for sharing.

[helena]

I think it's important for a lot of reasons, my favorite being able to recite a line or stanza in an appropriate moment of life. It's like, sometimes there are no words for a feeling, an event, an energy, an experience... and then one of us finds ourselves quietly reciting or loudly declaring someone's good words, and we're all like "YEAH!!" "EXACTLY!!" It's happened in both sad and happy moments. I'm glad for that. I feel like they speak another language. One that has way more words to express love, frustration, pain, beauty, silence, awe... even though it's still english :)

 

How do we do it? Casually. :) Casual but consistent. Mechanics have been lightly covered in different LA curricula, and in writing instruction books they've read. We're mostly just readers and lovers of poetry. 

 

We memorize one poem per month. I keep a pretty little bulletin board to post the poem, a photo of the poet, and a name plate. Everyday they read it to themselves, sometimes out loud, and sometimes while one of us dramatizes it with great flair and silliness.  :tongue_smilie:

This year, because they are so short, I did a collection one month of haiku and another of limericks. At the end of the month they recite from memory and we discuss a bit. On that last day I also take out our box of past memorized poetry so that they can read through old favorites. I have some nice boxes that I bought at Paper Source to make it all feel special and beautiful. I can't believe how much they've studied over the years!

 

We do other poetry reading but that's the main thing we do... I collect vintage children's poetry books, so we use those too. 

 

Next year we have something new and exciting planned! For the past few years we've read and enjoyed The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden as part of our nature studies. We're now hoping to create our own versions of this book, following her use of written observations, poetry, quotes, sketches, and paintings. A culmination of many things we've enjoyed over the years. I'm hoping it'll help them seek out the poetry that speaks to them. Up till now I've chosen most of the poetry. 

[laughing lioness]

Awesome review, Lisa, that answered a lot of my questions!   When you review The Greeks, will you post a link to your review on the boards? I've had my eye on that program, too . . . 

 

I usually link reviews to my weekly report. I'm not sure about just a general post, though because anything that looks like a blog promo is against bd. rules. 

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Greeks. I mean- it is fantastic. So, my review will be more thorough, but it is worth every penny, esp for anyone attempting classical ed. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'll look for your weekly report!

[KrissiK]

We memorize a poem a month. This month we are memorizing "the Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Another notable poem has been "the Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron. Last year we did some Shakespeare, Lewis Carrol, and my favorite by Ella Wheeler Wilcox "Solitude". The kids loved "Five Eyes" by Walter de la Mare and the moon poem by Goerge MacDonald.

[VaKim]

When we did poetry, I went through a chronological list of well known poets and we would study one every 4-6 weeks. We would read about the poet, pick one of his poems (generally the most well known) to memorize, and read a different one of his poems each day. I used several poetry websites for this. It was really fun. Makes me wish I had another batch of kiddos to homeschool.  :(

[Violet Crown]

Poetry is in a way the most fundamental form of literature. It's the place where language shows itself to be of value for its own qualities, rather than as a mere utilitarian means of conveying information. It's fundamental to every culture.

 

In our home, a child is expected to be working on memorizing a poem at all times. Different ages and length or difficulty of a poem means of course that it may take a day, a week, or longer to learn.

 

Selection is a matter of personal preference, with strong guidance. As with other literature, I steer the child toward verse that will be a good challenge level for her. I mostly want them to see how, in Pope's famous words, the sound is an echo to the sense. For example, Wee Girl is learning Eleanor Farjeon's "The Tide in the River":

 

The tide in the river

The tide in the river

The tide in the river runs deep.

 

I saw a shiver

Pass over the river

As the tide turned in its sleep.

 

We talked about her experience of tides from our recent trip to the coast, and what "tide turned" meant; then we talked about how the poet makes the river seem like a person rolling over in bed without waking up. Then we looked more closely at how the poem is like a song, with repeating, easy-to-say verses, but then the last verse is difficult to read because of the arrangement of sounds (this is especially marked for Wee Girl, who has speech difficulties), and how the forced slowing resembles the almost imperceptible turning of the tide. Naturally we didn't have all this discussion at once. My goal is to draw their attention to how poetry works in a pleasing, gentle way that leads them to enjoy reading, learning, and reciting.

 

YMMV.

[momto2Cs]

So here is an idea for something that is a little more structured than 'just reading" but isn't a full structured poetry lesson:  Rose, Where Did You Get That Red: Teaching Great Poetry to Children by Kenneth Koch.  He shows how he teaches kids about poetry, and about writing poetry, by reading great poems.  The book has 10 lesson plans, where you read and talk about the poem and then give the kid a prompt to write a poem in the same spirit as the one you've been discussing.  The ten lessons are followed by a wonderful poetry anthology, with ideas of doing similar lessons for each of the poems - more than 50, I think.  Anyway, I'm going to try this as a once a week "poetry day" during literature next year.  I think we will all enjoy it.  It's an appealing approach

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Where-Did-You-That/dp/0679724710/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397866293&sr=1-1&keywords=rose+where+did+you+get+that+red

 

And something else that will end up on my Amazon Homeschooling 2014-15 Wish List!

[Violet Crown]

And something else that will end up on my Amazon Homeschooling 2014-15 Wish List!

I strongly second the recommendation of Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? It has been very successful as a resource for my family.

[Beth in Mint Hill]

Reminder about this.....

 

I have a friend, Grace Kosloski, who has such a *passion* for the subject that she got a Ph.D. in poetry! She teaches writing with us at the Harvey Center and is offering a summer workshop on poetry--I'm actually going to sign up for it myself--I'm so looking forward to spending time really learning about poetry this summer. 

 
But--she is also hosting one of our free Great Issues Discussions, "Poetry Matters," and I know that she would love it if any moms interested in learning about the great value of poetry would come to discuss with us. It really is just a free discussion online (we are not trying to "sell" anything). She just wants to share the joy of poetry!  "Let us go then you and I, when evening is spread out against the sky.."*--to discuss poetry! It's on a Monday evening--May 5th. She was going to do it for National Poetry Month, but then fell and had to have surgery on her right hand! Hopefully it will be all better in May. 

 

*This is from one of my favorite poems--who knows it? ;')

 

 

Just wanted to let you know that this "Poetry Matters" discussion is coming soon, and there is still room. See the details in the left column of this page.

[pehp]

I've not read the other replies.  But I am a poet so poetry is VERY important to me.  (I have a Master's Degree in poetry and occasionally publish in journals; I'm also in a poetry critique group that meets twice a month.)

 

Poetry puts us in touch with what it means to be human.  It uses language--just ordinary language--to create a whole that is so much more than the sum of its parts.  The best poets do this brilliantly (in my opinion). It teaches the listener to LISTEN.  And it asks the reader/listener to draw inferences. Poetry can be explicit, but usually it is impressionistic.  There are ideas and allusions implied and the reader can draw his or her own conclusions from the work in a way that is uniquely individualized.

 

Plus, it is just FUN. 

 

I went to public school. In my spare time I spent hours reading poetry--from the earliest days of illustrated Robert Louis Stevenson poems to the predictable 17 year old-girl obsession w/ Sylvia Plath :).  So I don't really think that one needs to have a lot of bells and whistles when teaching or introducing poetry to children. My own approach is simple, as most of my approaches to homeschooling are--I just read poems to them.  AA Milne, Robert Louis Stevenson, poems out of a children's anthology, TS Eliot's cats....we read poems.  I often *try* to do this at breakfast, but if I haven't had my tea I don't do anything but stare at the teapot.  We typically read poems casually several times a week--some days we might spend half an hour curled up w/ RL Stevenson; another day we might just read one poem at breakfast. 

 

My oldest is 6 and my youngest is 3. They have their favorites and request them frequently.

 

As for memorization--my own experience is that it comes with frequent reading. You can be really diligent and plan-ful, but it also comes naturally after a while. I memorized The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock when I was in high school simply by reading it every night before bed. I do plan to have them memorize Longfellow's Paul Revere--it is just such an exciting one to recite!!!!! this year.  It is nice to start memorizing with simple poems like "Bed in Summer."

 

I hope that helps.  Poetry is my passion and I'm always happy when others take it seriously and read it, write it and teach it.

[RegularMom]

I, too, am a poet (no masters degree here, but I've been a poet laureate, and have published in journals and have a chapbook out), so this has been an interesting thread to read through.

 

When my girls were younger, we read a poem each night before bed. We'd also memorize the occasional poem, usually as an assignment out of FLL. But I've never been fussed about memorization in general, really. We've done our share, but usually by the end of each academic year, memory work falls off the schedule. Also when they were younger, I'd require them to check out one book of poetry every week at the library. They could choose the titles, but they had to find some poetry. We found a few favorites over the years. Lately, we haven't been doing this because they're both in a book club and the reading for that has taken priority over free choice library titles. (Those of you with littles: don't blink, btw, because if you do, you'll find yourself typing the phrase "when they were younger" way more than you want to.) 

 

In their early elementary years, I'd occasionally come across a poem or two they'd written and forgotten and I'd save it away in my office. Someday, I'll return them to each girl. 

 

Now that they're older, they also write their own poetry. They attend poetry readings with me, and occasionally step up to the open mic if there is one. I've taught free verse poetry writing to them and their friends for a year or so now, and some of my students have submitted and been published and won contests, but even without all of that excitement, there's something satisfying to these kids about writing poetry. Maybe it's not as daunting as a full essay or story, or maybe it's just because all their friends are writing poems too, so maybe it's okay, but what I've found is that even my most reluctant (eg: my mom is totally making me take this poetry class!) writers find themselves accidentally expressing themselves with words. Not only do they find that they CAN write poetry, but that it's not boring or scary, and that they, too, have something to say, and then the next thing you know, they see how language can make magic. 

 

Next year, my two will be in 6th and 8th grades, so I'll be putting together a more traditional study of poetry and poets for us at home, but I've found that, for us, teaching poetry needs to involve both the reading and the writing of poems, not just one or the other. I've also found that writing poetry improves all other forms of writing as well. It makes you pay closer attention to language. Practice paying attention in poetry tends to spill over into fiction or essays, public speaking, etc. And in the end, the best part is: there's always time for poetry, always room for poetry, always something new to discover in poetry. Enjoy!

 

 

[Critterfixer]

I've been thinking lately about how reading poems helps me settle my thoughts when I am stuck in writing.

Perhaps I ought to give more thought to how writing poems could help me find my voice, too.

[MiMi 4under3]

Why do I think poetry is important?  I sum it up to my kids like this:  "It's like piano - It's good for your brain!"

 

(I also tell them the same thing about Latin)   :laugh:

[Beth in Mint Hill]

Below I've put an excerpt from the last section of my favorite book length poem! This is going to be out of context, and I'm almost afraid to put it up. Because it doesn't do justice to a great poem to cut it up like this--but there are lines here that are so  awesome, and so beautifully show the power of poetry:

This comes at the end of a long, very deep poem!...  Forgive me for murdering it this way:

 

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make and end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. And every phrase
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
Every poem an epitaph. ...

...

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this
Calling

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
....

 

Read the rest of this stanza of "Little Gidding" from Four Quartets here.

I'm hoping to inspire some of you to read T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. It is so deep and has layers of meaning. And I don't even pretend to understand half of it. (And btw --readingThe Divine Comedy first--will help!  :P  )

[Jennifer132]

We do one poem a week, and read it every day. On the first day we go over new words in the poem as well as difficult phrases. The second and third, we might talk about rhyming patterns or something like simile or personification. The next day we get deeper into the meaning of the poem and how it relates to life (of course this is discussed all week long as well). And the last day we review past poems of their choice.

 

I'm not really sure why I think it's important, I just like the idea of expressing ideas in beautiful ways. I want my kids to appreciate that as well. I don't make mine copy or memorize poems, but it's important to me that they know certain poets and can recognize their works. My kids have really enjoyed our poetry time!

[Mandylubug]

We read poetry. It was poetry that solidified my concerns with my DDs. They could hear no patterns, rhythm or rhymes. They just didn't get it and my boys alwaysbhad loved poems for so long. They can memorize poems if we take it really slow like in WWE1 but they still can't tell you the words and patterns that work together. We have learned since that they are dyslexic so I have stopped pushing them with it and we just enjoy them as a family without much discussion at this point.

 

Eta: my oldest was motivated to learn to read due to his love of poetry. Especially Where the Sidewalk Ends and books like it. He was obsessed. Still is but doesn't admit it often LOL we are currently enjoying a book called The Night Emperor or something along those lines. Poems about nocturnal animals.