The Harp and the Laurel Wreath

[Coco_Clark]

I'm going back and forth on this purchase. I hate to buy something I haven't seen. We read a lot of poetry (and always have, starting with Mother Goose as babies) so my boys are comfortable with it. We haven't done any analysis or memorization, and I go back and forth on when to fold that in.

 

I know many here have used The Harp and the Laurel Wreath. Did you find it useful mainly as a poetry list? As an analysis help? As a memorization help? What ages do you recommend it for? Or do you like something else better?

[mama25angels]

I like The Harp and Laurel Wreath for memorization, and I've used it for a mixture of ages. The first year we used it I picked my own poems to memorize, this year I plan to use the grade level list she has in DYOCC. I would also like to recommend Favorite Poems Old And New, I will be adding it to our booklist this year.

[Mrs. A]

We use it as a source  from which to choose memory work. I like how it's divided into sections based on age/grade because it helps me get a feel for age appropriateness. I feel like it's a good resource to have around.

[arliemaria]

What about IEW's Lingustic Development Through Poetry Memorization?  Their poem lists are available on the IEW site, without the text, but the text is usually easily found via google searches.

[stripe]

I thought it looked a bit dull.

 

I bought some other poetry books. Actually, I have way too many poetry books. My kids aren't crazy about poetry. I guess I thought if I bought more, they would like it? ha. Anyway I guess different people use it for different purposes, but for poetry selection, it's not particularly imaginative.

[FloridaLisa]

I'm going back and forth on this purchase. I hate to buy something I haven't seen. We read a lot of poetry (and always have, starting with Mother Goose as babies) so my boys are comfortable with it. We haven't done any analysis or memorization, and I go back and forth on when to fold that in.

 

I know many here have used The Harp and the Laurel Wreath. Did you find it useful mainly as a poetry list? As an analysis help? As a memorization help? What ages do you recommend it for? Or do you like something else better?

 

I bought this when we first started homeschooling as one of the early resources for narration and poetry work.  I think it's a great resource, but with younger children, like yours, I would recommend IEW's Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization.  It's open and go, has a mix of silly poems and long-time favorites. That's what I began using with my 6- and 9-year-olds last year and we'll continue with it this year. 

 

Lisa

[arliemaria]

What did you end up using Coco_Clark?

[Bluegoat]

I bought this, but I probably would not again unless I got it used.

 

It is a nice enough selection in the younger years, but I find the older years had a lot of American themed poems that IMO weren't the greatest - a number seemed to have been chosen for being patriotic more than any other quality.

 

I found the selection fairly conventional, and it covered many of the same things that we already had in other books.  The selections for dictation didn't seem special in any way.

 

If I were looking for something again, I would probably just go to the used book store and get a few different poetry collections with the same amount of money.

[Nakia]

I like it, but I prefer Living Memory if you're looking for memory work selections.

[Coco_Clark]

I ended up buying a few anthologies for children and calling it good. They boys puck their own selections for copywork or memorization based on interest :)