Poetry Post and Read-Alouds

There's an interesting new post on the ChildLight USA blog about composing poetry and having children write narrations (exams, actually) in poetic form. The author, Bonnie Buckingham, includes two examples of the poems produced by students in grades 11 and 12.

I've been reading a lot from Jim Trelease's book "The Read-Aloud Handbook", and I'm so encouraged to keep on keeping on with lots of reading, lots of reading aloud, lots of literature time, lots of poetry. These can be dark days of discouragement as we enter into the full impact of the new school year, the changing season, the burden of all our responsibilities coming to bloom. Reading something that is affirming what we do in a CM education, that validates so much of what we believe and know to be true about how children learn has been vital to me as I flounder around with "What am I doing" and "Why am I doing it" kind of questions. (Also vital has been interacting with other home educators and being honest about how overwhelmed and inadequate we are feeling right now - if that describes you, know that you are not alone!)

"The Read-Aloud Handbook" is in our WHHE library and is worth the time it takes to read. Part One builds the case for reading aloud to children, even very big children, providing the theory and research in a really readable form - very engaging, very thought-provoking, very well-written. Part Two is a "Treasury of Read-Alouds" covering Wordless Books (yes, for reading aloud!), Picture Books, Predictable Books, Reference Books, Short and Full-Length Novels, Poetry, Anthologies, and Fairy and Folk Tales. He includes several themed short lists as well, such as "Jim's Favorite Kindergarten Novels," "Out-of-Print Novels Too Good to Miss," and "Jim's Favorite Dog Stories." This book is a treasure.