A home for their hearts Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We poetry memorization in years. I would like to add it back into our day but I want poems that would appeal to a boy. I get enough eye rolling throughout the day! I want something that wouldn't make their eyes roll too far back into their heads. :lol: Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnrmom Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I don't know if this is considered "twaddle" around here, but my boys love Shel Silverstein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I recommend 100 Great Poems for Boys. It's got a lot of great poems that are appropriate for boys. There are also silly limericks and tongue twisters to mix it up and keep it from being heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 If you can get hold of a copy of the The Dangerous Book for Boys, it has a list of great poems for boys. Calvin remembers Invictus, Ozymandias, Sea Fever and If being on it. Calvin also suggests St Crispin's Day from Henry V and The Destruction of Sennacherib. There's also The Charge of the Light Brigade. You might want to look at some more Rudyard Kipling - some of it is over-the-top sons-of-empire stuff, but there's some good stuff too. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsmomma Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 IF by Rudyard Kipling is one we're learning next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 IF by Rudyard Kipling is one we're learning next month. This is in the book I linked above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alveraz Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 but I want poems that would appeal to a boy. I get enough eye rolling throughout the day! I want something that wouldn't make their eyes roll too far back into their heads. :lol: Any suggestions? Personally, I'd consider addressing the issue. What are they insecure about? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Figure out what's making them roll their eyes and help them open up to the variety of poetry that exists, instead of pushing it away to make it easier for you. Maybe that's just me. I happen to be a writer for a living and spent many years publishing poetry. It's a craft that needs exploration. You can't deny an entire style of writing because you don't want your kids to "roll their eyes". I remember my boys once told me "pink is for girls". Guess what color binders I bough them the very next day? They have since opened up to understanding colors are just that, colors. I hope I didn't offend you, just trying to help. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetterthanIdeserve Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I second Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. I just pulled it out today to start with my DD and it seems that many of them would be appealing to boys. In Andrew Pudewa's list of criteria for his selections, he listed humor and enjoyment at the beginning of the list. The very first poem is "Ooey Gooey" -Author unknown. Ooey Gooey was a worm, A mighty worm was he. He stepped upon the railroad tracks, Ooooey Goooey! Of course the poems increase in quality and classic literacy but I'm really excited to start this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest qwerty087 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Favorite Poems of Childhood (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) by Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Eugene Field and Sarah Josepha Hale (Paperback - Sep 18, 1992) Buy new: $2.00 37 new from $0.72 102 used from $0.01 Only 1 left in stock - order soon. [/url] (4) Books: See all 3 items on amazon.com Excellent and fun choices for boys & girls! My boys love many of these classic poems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Invictus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Pick poems that are silly, gross, aggressive, and/or disgusting. I have 2 boys (5 and 8 y/o) who LOVE poetry because I dropped the gentle "girl" poems about swings and nature and found stuff that caught their attention (sorry girls...) They LOVE to memorize these "boy" poems! There are great classic poems like this that that are not "twaddle". Have fun with it! I learned to even though I am a girly girl! : ) I cannot think of our favorite poet right now, but I will look him up and get back to you. CP Edited July 19, 2011 by Rhapsody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 This is one of my favourites: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~natinfo/lawson/andysgonewithcattle.htm I think a boy would like this one too: http://www.4to40.com/poems/index.asp?p=Pardon_My_Garden&c=English (There's a couple of unfamiliar veggies in it, which in the version in our book have been changed to gerkins.) We have an amusing book called "Ogre in a Toga" which has some poems boys would like. I can't tell you the names though because I've lent the book to Keptwoman :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Got it! Poet = Hilaire Belloc, 1870-1953. Great boy poems. Some found in poetry collection books. "Cautionary Verses" is a collection of all Belloc! :) Enjoy! CP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Personally, I'd consider addressing the issue. What are they insecure about? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Figure out what's making them roll their eyes and help them open up to the variety of poetry that exists, instead of pushing it away to make it easier for you. Maybe that's just me. I happen to be a writer for a living and spent many years publishing poetry. It's a craft that needs exploration. You can't deny an entire style of writing because you don't want your kids to "roll their eyes". I remember my boys once told me "pink is for girls". Guess what color binders I bough them the very next day? They have since opened up to understanding colors are just that, colors. I hope I didn't offend you, just trying to help. :) No offense take, and you bring up a good point! Pick poems that are silly, gross, aggressive, and/or disgusting. I have 2 boys (5 and 8 y/o) who LOVE poetry because I dropped the gentle "girl" poems about swings and nature and found stuff that caught their attention (sorry girls...) They LOVE to memorize these "boy" poems! There are great classic poems like this that that are not "twaddle". Have fun with it! I learned to even though I am a girly girl! : ) I cannot think of our favorite poet right now, but I will look him up and get back to you. CP The bolded part is what I was thinking, my boys are boys and those gentle girl poems are what cause the eye rolling to commence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My 10 yo liked Jabberwocky, anything by Jack Prelutsky (silly stuff like The Turkey Shot Out Of The Oven) and strangely The Ride of Paul Revere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I wouldn't say poetry memorization is my son's favorite thing. I think the thing that has worked the best for us is to do a mix of poems. So after doing a more difficult or serious poem I'll let him pick one from Shel Silverstein. We've used sections of poems instead of the whole poem so we could do ones like Casey at the Bat or Horatio by Thomas Babbington Macauley that went along with something else we were studying. One he really liked was a section from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz. It's a collection of poems in the voice of medieval children. It sounds boring, but he loved it. We read them all together and then I had him pick the one he wanted to memorize. The one he picked was a child whose dad works with the hounds and so it's all about the fleas biting and itching. Another he enjoyed was from Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill. It's a collection of poems about colors. I had him do black, which is his favorite color. He just did a part of the poem but liked it. I think one he enjoyed the most was The Months by Sara Coleridge but only because we wrote our own version and illustrated it along with the memorization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My 7 year old son loved the poems I posted on this thread- many other good ones listed here too... http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202107&highlight=poems+for+boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I second Laura's suggestion of Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" for your older boys. It's ds10's favorite all time poem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuzor Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Great suggestions I will into these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Jack Prelutsky has some good ones (and ones I really don't care for as well). The Dragons are Singing Tonight and Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast are favorites of my 6.5 yo boy. We have enjoyed a anthology he did as well, Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young (just don't tell your boy the title!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) The Ride of Paul Revere- yes O Captain, My Captain Belloc and also Edward Lear, oh and Robert Lewis Stevenson I make them do A little Brother Follows Me ;) We've also enjoyed most of Linguistic Developement Mary Carolyn Davies- A fishing pole Edited July 19, 2011 by Mallory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2blessed Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My favorite poet for boys is Edgar Guest. You can find his poems here:http://sofinesjoyfulmoments.com/quotes/edguest.htm Some of our favorites are "You", "Can't", "It Couldn't be Done", "See it Through", "Out Fishin", and "Home" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I remember my boys once told me "pink is for girls". Guess what color binders I bough them the very next day? They have since opened up to understanding colors are just that, colors. I hope I didn't offend you, just trying to help. :) Or as my son would say "pink is powerful". (I don't know where that one came from.) He also had a pink t-shirt (he choose it) that said "all my black shirts are dirty". he's definitely a boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 I make them do A little Brother Follows Me ;) Love this one! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 My son enjoyed memorizing Casey at the Bat this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) That Dover poem book is good--we got it as part of my son's Sonlight Core last year. But I'm mostly going link crazy for you in this post. I think the best way to approach poetry memorization is to give your children choices of which poems to memorize, or to read poetry to them and see if there are any in particular they seem to enjoy and then make that their memorization project. I'd stick with good poets, instead of going straight to the silly, shallow ones, since the whole point of this is that these poems will (hopefully) stick with them for a long time, or maybe their whole life. Poems for Children has a bunch of good classic poems. I'll second Robert Louis Stevenson--A Child's Garden of Verses is good, and it's free. "Whole Duty of Children" and "Bed in Summer" are particularly good for beginners, I think. Robert Frost has some poetry that's appropriate for children--particularly "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," of course, although I personally have a weakness for "Fireflies in the Garden." "The Road Not Taken" is extraordinarily well-known and appropriate for older students. An overachiever can try "Mending Wall." For light verse, I'll also second Lear (although I personally have never been terribly fond of limericks) and recommend Ogden Nash ("God in His wisdom made the fly / And then forgot to tell us why.") and definitely A. A. Milne: check out "Halfway Down," "Cottleson Pie," and "Knight in Armour". (That last was very hard to find in any reasonable form; trust me, I tried to do better than a random blog entry.) I'm actually ashamed of the Silverstein I memorized as a child, because now I wonder, Why was I filling my head up with garbage? If you're going to make your child memorize something, make sure that it's something worth the effort they'll put into it! (They may, of course, choose to memorize trash all on their own, like I did. I still resent the teacher that made us memorize the pseudo-poem that started "If you open it, close it," and went on in the same stupid vein, though.) As for Kipling, "If" is great for middle schoolers, but "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" is also a wonderful poem for when your kids get older. (It's a poem that is, in part, condemnatory of adultery, so I don't think it's necessarily appropriate for younger kids.) I'd also be tempted to pair Edward Rowland Sill's "Opportunity" with "If," since they deal with similar issues and are about the same level of difficulty. Edited July 21, 2011 by morosophe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Just remembered another good "boy" poetry book. "Monster Goose" by Judy Sierra. I hope this does not offend any "die hard" Mother Goose fans, but it really is hillarrious. Especially the one "Hush Little Monster Don't You Cry"...yes to the tune of Hush Little Baby. Some girls would like these poems too. My 13 year old daughter does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I don't know if this is considered "twaddle" around here, but my boys love Shel Silverstein. I was going to ask if Shel Silverstein counts:lol:. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Just remembered another good "boy" poetry book. "Monster Goose" by Judy Sierra. I hope this does not offend any "die hard" Mother Goose fans, but it really is hillarrious. Especially the one "Hush Little Monster Don't You Cry"...yes to the tune of Hush Little Baby. Some girls would like these poems too. My 13 year old daughter does. :lol::lol::lol: I will have to see if I can get that through inter-library loan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 These are some of my son's favorites for memorization: Humorous: "The Skippery Boo" by Earl L. Newton "How to Know the Wild Animals" by Carolyn Wells "The Shark" by Lord Alfred Douglas "The Crocodile" by Lewis Carrol "The Fishing Pole" by Mary Carolyn Davies "A Fairy in Armor" by Joseph Rodman Drake And these more serious: "Dragonflies" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (especially if you are studying bugs and how they shed their exoskeletons) "End of Summer Poem" by Rowena Bastin Bennett "The Eagle" by Alfred Lord Tennyson "The Tiger" by William Blake "The Secret Cavern" by Margaret Widdemer "The Cave Boy" by Laura E. Richards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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