It's poetic!

 As part of our homeschool curriculum, I have decided that we will study Poetry. Why do I think that poetry is needed in lessons for 9, 5, and 3 year old? It's because I think that poetry has more to offer to students than mere words. It provides opportunity for examining words as conveyors of not only meaning but also feelings. Poetry gives the kids an opportunity to practice their memory and learn to express themselves in few words. It can also help them in grammar by teaching rhyming, poetic terms like oxymoron or onomatopoeia, or metaphors, composition, and word use. Poetry can help kids paint verbal imagery with words. Poetry is ....... well, poetic.
   Teaching poetry to kids doesn't have to be a chore, even if you are not particularly fond of poetry. At younger age, Nursery Rhymes are a perfect introduction to poetry. Rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, Jack be Nimble, or Hickory, Dickory, Dock, or songs like Baa, Baa Black Sheep, or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star are fun for even the youngest of children to memorize.
They also can provide comfort and security when used in times of stress for the child. When Little Monkey was little we sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to him before he would fall asleep and eventually he learned that this song meant "relax and go to sleep". It was truly a life saver in those early days.
   Once kids get a bit older introducing one poem a week is plenty. What we do in our home is I first read a poem out loud on Monday and we discuss what we think it means and we talk a bit about the author of it. I then have Monkeys repeat it after me, one line at a time. We do the repeating every day, slowly increasing to 2 lines at a time, then 3. On Friday, we see who can recite the whole poem by themselves. Monkeys love seeing who gets the whole poem right the first time. It really is a fun activity.
   The good news is that over time Monkeys have remembered few of their favorites and quote them often. One of the most popular ones in our house is this traditional rhyme:

Moses supposes his toeses are roses

But Moses supposes erroneously

for nobody's toeses are posies of roses

As Moses supposes his toeses to be

At any point in the day, any one of the Monkeys can start quoting it. Even Little Monkey is now able to recite the whole thing. Another favorite in our house is this one:

Remember, Remember the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason, why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

I really thing that it's the rhyming and the sound of this rhyme that really appeals to the Monkeys and not the meaning of this poem. 

  So where do we get our poetry from? A little while back, I have bought Great Poems from Chapters. It was on sale for only 14 dollars. It's a collection of over 300 classic poems for us to study. Recently, I have also bought online 2 other poetry books: 100 Great Poems for Boys and 100 Great Poems for Girls. Plus internet is full of poetry, all you need to do is Google it.
   I usually pick a poem every week, at random, except for special days or holidays where I try to match a poem to the special event. It's fun and the kids love hearing and reciting new poem every week. I highly recommend teaching poetry to all kids since most kids have a little poet living in them already!
   And for your enjoyment, here is a fun version of Moses supposes rhyme:

Happy Watching and Learning!