Poetry! How to fit it in already busy schedule?

[ritamarj]

Are we going to be ok without poetry/Shakespeare, lol

I always wanted to read more poetry with my dd ( almost 8) ! So we will start, but within few weeks it will not be getting done in the regular basis. It seems that there is always something else , more important that needs to be done, places to go.....and before I know we are not doing it at all.

Please share your positive experience with poetry ( if you have)😜 and how to fit it in !!!

 

Thank you

[Coco_Clark]

We read poetry everyday as part of our morning read aloud, it takes 3-5 minutes :). In the beginning we read a new poem every day, but eventually we switched to picking one poem for the week and reading it every morning. We read less quantity-wise that way but retention and appreciation go up manifold.

 

Once a month or so we do a poetry "tea" with treats. I'm the only one that drinks tea. The kids get cocoa. We have a binder full of favorite poems I've copied and the kids have illustrated over the past 3 years. I read a bunch and sometimes we have something to add. This is harder to plan for- because it's not often enough to be part of our routine. I tend to do it on whatever Friday is rainy and we can't do nature study (or someone is sick or we just all feel lazy, whatever reason for skipping nature study).

[athomeontheprairie]

Pick me! Of all the things I've learned from the hive, this is possible my favorite :-)

Poetry tea. We pull out the fancy cups, fancy kettle, cream and sugar. Snacks.

My kids will gladly read poetry for well over an hour! They have favorites, never thought I would be able to say my kids LIKED poetry. But really because of tea time they LOVE it.

We aim for once a week. Reality is not as often.

[Kalmia]

We included it with the things we did first thing in the morning. So during the first 30 minutes of the day we'd have a read aloud, art appreciation, read one new poem, and did poetry memory work, and other memory work. We could take two weeks to memorize a poem (The Raven in 7th grade took a month), but the daily investment was only a few minutes. 

[JRmommy]

We started out just reading a poem everyday for 1-2 weeks. The first day we discussed the poet and the poem itself. But the rest of the time, it only took a few minutes per day. He memorized some and recited them for Dad. Then we added poetry teas and poetry smoothies 😃 thanks to Bravewriter. We would read poems to each other from various anthologies. He really gravitated to poetry and I would catch him reading poetry in his room, at the kitchen table, on the toilet! 😳 Then I checked out "R is for Rhyme" from the library which explains different types of poetry with an example (A is for acrostic poem, B is for ballad, etc.). Now, my 8 year old thinks he is a poet. It only took a month or two for him to really appreciate and love poetry.

[ALB]

We read it often and used to use poetry as part of our morning time.  Now, my oldest is using Memoria Press' Poetry for the Grammar Stage and we love it!  She copies the poem, we analyze it and she answers questions about it.  We memorize them over longish periods of time, so its more of a pleasure than drudgery.

[Sneezyone]

We incorporated it into our morning time. The kids love it. We do a mix of low-brow like Shel Silverstein and high-brow like Langston Hughes but pick a theme that unites them. I think it helps them appreciate just how important it is to understand and use more complex words and sentences. When you're telling a story, painting a picture, or invoking a feeling with so few words, each one matters so much more.

[displace]

Maybe consider an abbreviated schedule. Do poetry instead of other lit for one month. Base copy work, read alouds, etc on it for that time and call it good?

[RootAnn]

Agree w/most of the others that trying to add it to your morning routine is best & having special poetry tea times is the icing on the cake.  :tongue_smilie:

 

We haven't had the tea times at all this year & the kids miss them. I have to put them back in for next year, shooting for once per month.

[Ethel Mertz]

We also do poetry (along with select read alouds, artist/composer studies, and Shakespeare) during our Morning Time. I'm hoping to add in a once a month poetry tea next year.

[MrsWeasley]

I shoot for a weekly poetry tea party, too, though it happens more like a few times a month. I also encourage poetry memorization. We play audiobooks of poetry kind of in the background while the kids play, and it's amazing how much of it they absorb without me formally working on it. With my eldest, once a month we memorize a poem that gets added to our memory work.

[Raining Pineapples]

Another big fan of poetry teas here. We try for twice a month now. The kids get hot chocolate, lemonade, or a fancy water, since neither are a fan of tea. If we have time, I help them prepare snacks ahead of the event. Everyone is responsible for finding a poem to read (again- ahead of time) and then we read and talk about the poems for 20-30 min while we relax. Very lighthearted for us because they are so young. Eventually we will have more meaningful and deeper discussions. 

 

 

When you are on the go, a local coffee shop can be a great place to have a poetry tea too. No prep work (except throwing the book in the car) and no clean up. This is the only time my kids have Italian sodas, so it's an extra special treat for them.

 

 

Our first exposure was through FLL, and the kids still love to recite the poems they memorized through it.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

We used Junior Great Books in a coop, and every third lesson was based on poetry.

So that naturally led to writing it, and to writing it with the coop as a group exercise sometimes.

 

We also bought the IEW poetry CD's and played them in the car.

 

Every so often I would find a poem that fit something else we were doing and read it aloud.

 

Also I read the KJV Bible versions of some passages, especially psalms, the Christmas story, and some prophesies.

 

We used "A Kick in the Head" to learn poetic forms, and played with them verbally to try to write them occasionally.

 

We always read complex fiction and watched plays that were far harder than anything we would read.  By junior high Shakespeare plays were not unusual, even though DD did not entirely understand them.  

 

This was far less than the 'Tuesday Teatime' recommendation in Bravewriter, and sometimes that bothered me, but you can only do so much.  Anyway, fast forward 5 years--now she is studying the creative writing of poetry as a freshman in college.  Sometimes it doesn't take that much to go a long way.  Whew!

[Eagle]

We read poems 3-5 days a week, usually while eating breakfast. At the beginning we did poetry tea, but I found it too much work/time, which gave me an excuse to not do it every week. I realized ds LOVED poetry and if we skipped the tea we could do it all the time. We still sometimes do poetry tea, usually with guests included, but it is in addition to all the poetry we read most days.

 

Originally I had to fake an interest in poetry as I had less than stellar experiences of poetry memorization and dissection from high school. I soon realized how much ds enjoyed hearing and reading poems, and then realized I did too! We have somewhat of an addiction to acquiring poetry books and have 15 or so which we keep handy on the kitchen shelf. Ds chooses which book(s) he wants each day and selects his own poems to read aloud. We alternate reading our selections and occasionally discuss something about the poem, but nothing planned and no memorizing (although ds has memorized a few just by repeated reading). The whole experience is relaxed and enjoyable, and even our 2yo participates by choosing his favourites for me to read.

 

We incorporate Shakespeare by having a book of Shakespeare's poetry in the mix:

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Greenwood-Tree-Shakespeare-People/dp/0880450290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427729662&sr=8-1&keywords=shakespeare+under+the+greenwood+tree+Barbara

(The paperback is beautifully illustrated, I assume the Kindle one listed is not related.)

[Stellalarella]

We make memorizing poems a part of the daily routine.  It takes about five minutes a day.  The kids get to hear one another's poems, which is an added benefit.  I often select poems from the "What Your ____ Grader Needs to Know" series.  I just put it on their checklist and after I introduce the poem, the kids work on memorizing it.  

 

Recently we listened to Sharon Creech's books--Love that Dog and Hate that Cat.  Both books incorporate many poems and the stories were enjoyable for the whole family.  It delighted the kids that some of the poems they  had learned were mentioned.  We listened to the audio books while driving. 

 

In the winter we also enjoyed memorizing "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."  We had an illustrated picture book to go with it and that made it accessible for even my youngest kids.  Because they were paging through the picture book while memorizing, I thought that it added to their ability to do it independently.

 

These "Poetry for Young People" picture books are nice--having books like that around the house invites the kids to read poetry on their own time, outside of "school time."   

[Reefgazer]

We read poetry once per week for pleasure and exposure.  Longer poetry analysis takes the place of our literature reading/analysis one wee per month. 

[Momto6inIN]

We read poems in place of our normal read-aloud at lunchtime on Fridays.  After we finish a book of poetry, or a section of a book, they all get to choose 1 they particularly liked to memorize.  They get a couple of weeks to work on it and then they perform it for Dad in the evening.  Easy peasy and they like poetry!

[pehp]

I read a poem or three :) to my children at breakfast or lunch--easy and simple!!  

 

As for Shakespeare, we pick a play, find the Bruce Coville book to go with it, if applicable, read that, listen to it if available on audio, and see it sometime during the year if possible.  (Check w/ the theatre to make sure it's appropriate for your age-child, though; I did this recently w/ Midsummer and was so glad I did, since the production involved *NUDITY!*  Just email the director!)  My son is 7 and this is working out great for us. It's  a good, no-pressure way to enjoy Shakespeare together. 

 

 

[ritamarj]

Thank you very much for a wonderful ideas!!!!

[KrissiK]

We memorize a poem a month and do it during our daily recitation time. This month it's "My shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. We don't study it. We just memorize it. But, we've also done several passages from Shakespeare, lots of Walter de la Mare, my favorite "Solitude" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, some Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, "Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron (the kids loved that one, it has a great cadence, "The Wind and the Moon" by George MacDonald also has great cadence). So, you can introduce your kids to poetry without it being a big time drain.

[jaderbee]

1st grader- it's in her ELTL lessons

Eldest DD- I printed out Ambleside's year 3 poetry book from kindle (via screen shot, so if someone knows a better way...) and put a new poem on her clip board daily.

5th grader- I bought her poetry books for Rudyard Kipling, Anne Bradstreet and Phyllis Wheatly and she reads a poem a day.

All three have a book to copy or paste favorite poems from the year.

We bring those books, and our collection of poetry anthologies to our weekly tea and poetry to share- lots of repeat reading goes on here. So having a lot of poetry about and ready for reading helps.

Hth

[rimk3]

My 7 year olds have a poem included in every ELTL lesson, I read this aloud to all my children.

We also do a weekly tea time. This year we loop poetry, Shakespeare, and music study. Next year for tea time I'm going to try a focus for each term and add things Ive been wanting to do without adding to our schedule. We do six, six week terms.
1. Poetry
2. Folk songs
3. Shakespheare
4. Poetry
5. Philosophy
6. Music study

[raptor_dad]

One easy way we have broadened our poetry reading is by looking up the allusions in classic books we're reading. That could be "Stag at Eve" from Scott's "Lady of the Lake" in "Understood Betsy" or "The Lady of Shallot" from "Anne of Green Gables"(Anne is full poetry allusions). It is organic and deepens the message in the original book. Classic children's books from the ~1880-1930 have lots of poetry allusions.

 

We also do a fair amount of poetry as bed time read alouds. The kids are always clamoring for us to read more and poems are a great way to allow that in a contained and calming way.