Teaching Poetry to Children - 3 Easy and Effective Ways to Teach Poetry to Child of Any Age

By Dana Susan Beasley
You can easily and effectively teach your children poetry reading and writing. You will know the secrets I know as a poet and student of poetry!

But as homeschooling parents you may be saying, "I don't have time" or "there's too many other important subjects like, Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic" or "I don't know anything about poetry, let alone teaching my child to write it."

Why is poetry important anyway? In these days of fast-paced TV shows and unlimited online games, why does this subject even matter? First of all, what captures your children's attention? Is it the latest essay written in a textbook or is it the coolest lyrics from their favorite Christian or secular rock group?

What is one of the most popular TV shows of all time? American Idol!

Poetry is as vitally important today as when it was in Shakespeare's time during the Elizabethan age! Poetry (in today's forms of lyrics) influences culture, which influences your children. Will it be for good or for bad?

Another reason why it's important to teach poetry is because it will teach your children how to communicate effectively and concisely. In this information age, I can't emphasize enough how important this is! It's the websites with excellent content that their audiences want that are making the most money. And face it, the Internet is here to stay! Mastering this skill of clearly communicating is vitally important in our changing economy!

I have heard it said that tomorrow's leaders will be the ones who possess creativity in great measure. Isn't that why we homeschool--so our kids will stand out as salt and light in a dark world?

Now that we're on the same page about why poetry is so important, I would like to share with you three easy and effective ways to teach poetry to any age child.

1) Find great examples. Teach the classic poets, definitely. Classic poets teach us about the power and beauty of words, timeless messages that touch people in profound ways, and the basic structure and flow of language.

A great place to start is Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. With this poem, you can teach about rhyming, rhythm, stanzas, and more. And as Christmas approaches, this poem is a perfect one to help you and your family get in that merry mood for the season!

Another great poet is Walt Whitman. He is one of the first free verse poets and you can tie your lesson in with American history! Of course, you can't lose by teaching Shakespeare. Combine learning his sonnets with going on a field trip to attend a Shakespeare play. Unbeatable!

2) Make it fun! I can't stress this enough. If you make poetry a drag, you will not be able to teach your children at all about it. As once was told to me, you can approach learning with a "Doberman Pincher" or a "Puppy Dog" attitude. Children learn better under the latter scenario.

How can you make it fun? Well, since it's almost Christmas, how about the famous poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas? Or Dr. Seuss is always fun, and yes, it is a type of poetry. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is full of wonderful learning possibilities.

Shel Silverstein is always a delight for young readers. Reading his poetry gives children much reading pleasure and is great fodder for inspiration. Then there are the words. Putting together words can be lots of fun.

Playing with a poetry magnet set can provide plenty of laughs while at the same time providing ample writing instruction. Another great game for learning poetry is ad libs. Why not create an ad lib for a poem? This could provide hours of fun and education.

3) Publish it! When your students have finished writing their poetry, be sure to publish it! Have them draw illustrations and then use a service like Blurb to show it to the world!

Or, have your students make a book the old-fashioned way--write out the poetry in their best handwriting (behold, a copywork lesson), have them draw some illustrations (art lesson), three-whole punch the paper, put a nice cover on it and tie the book together with a fancy ribbon. Then as an economic lesson, have your students sell the books as a business venture! To make it even more special, laminate the pages and have your children give the book as Christmas presents to their grandparents!

That's it! Three very simple, fun, and effective ways that will help you reach new heights in your homeschooling!

And now that you've been given the knowledge to make your poetry lessons easy and effective, how would you like a way to make it even easier?

Introducing my book Poetry Decoded. More than 40 suggested activities are given, including a detailed list of study questions, writing helps, vocabulary, unit study ideas, and notebooking pages. Also includes three advanced lessons on classical poets as well as detailed essay outline and poetry analysis forms that can be filled in with your computer.

With this lesson plan book, you can take the mystery out of poetry and teach it effectively.

There's a limited amount I will be selling at the current regular price, so grab yours soon!

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A Morning Routine For Homeschooling Families That Works

By Donna Pravel
One of the biggest challenges facing homeschooling families is trying to get everything done. Time management and home organization are probably the two biggest concerns for homeschooling mothers outside of actually teaching in a home school. If a homeschooling family does not stay on top of the housework, laundry, meals, and other day-to-day tasks, it can become a chaotic, disastrous situation very quickly. Here is a suggested schedule and tips for a morning routine that has been time-tested and proven to work.

1. Be the first one up in the morning, and rise early. If the school day begins at 8:30 A.M., plan to roll out of bed at 5:30 A.M. This may mean less time on the computer at night, but it is important to put the family's needs ahead of virtual social time. This early morning time is the perfect time to pray, read scripture, meditate, and plan out the day's activity before the rest of the family gets up. If there is a nursing baby in the house, this is a wonderful time to have a quiet feeding together.

2. Work out. Even with only 30 minutes a day, a homeschooling mother can stay in shape. Women need to fit exercising into their schedules in order to stay healthy and have enough energy for the long haul. Exercise not only provides physical health benefits, it stimulates endorphins, the "happy" hormones. If the children wake up, they can be directed to watch a DVD or they may join in on the fun. Babies can be placed in a swing or playpen right next to the mother as she works out.

3. Get dressed for the day at about 6:30 A.M. The older children can help dress the younger ones. A quick shower only takes about five minutes, and if the laundry is under control, everyone should have clothes available to choose from without much drama. Simple hairstyles are easy to fix. There are plenty of makeup videos available on You Tube that show makeup routines that only take five or ten minutes to apply.

4. Put the baby down for a nap if she needs it, then start breakfast at 7:00 A.M. Older children can certainly help with breakfast preparations. They can also help watch their younger siblings. If some young children need more sleep, then this might be the time to wake them up and get them dressed for the day.

5. Serve breakfast at 7:30 A.M. If the father of the family likes to have breakfast with the family before he leaves for work, then the family can adjust to his schedule by getting up earlier and going to bed earlier. Good communication is required at all times so that the family routines can run smoothly.

6. Do a morning devotional at the breakfast table while everyone is still seated. This does not have to be long or all that "spiritual." Just reading a few scripture verses or possibly some Proverbs is enough.

7.Get the morning chores done about 8 A.M.. Everyone who can walk can help in some way. Morning chores are individual for each family. This isn't the time to get the house ready for a magazine shoot. This is just time to get the house presentable. Toys get picked up, the kitchen is cleaned up, the toothpaste is wiped out of the bathroom sink, the beds are made, the towels are hung up, the animals are fed, and the laundry is started.

8. Gather school books and come to the table to begin school at 8:30 A.M.. The baby can be awakened, and fed and diapered at the table while the children get started on their assignments. With plenty of toys and activities for the preschoolers to do, the school should run fairly smoothly for a couple of concentrated hours. A mid-morning snack helps control blood sugar levels and offers an interesting break, then the family can settle back down for another couple of hours of study before lunch.

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Homeschooling - The Foot Equalizer

By Camille Rodriquez
Have you ever stuck your foot out from under the blanket at night, just to cool off a bit? Sometimes, we like to be cozy under the blankets, but we also need to level off the heat a bit by sticking out our foot and exposing it to the cooler air. Everyone's done this before, but how does it relate to homeschooling? Like your body temperature, using the "foot equalizer" in your homeschooling program is a vital part of preparing your kids for their future.

Homeschoolers are typically pretty protective of the things that they do and don't do with their children. They are known for exhibiting more stringent standards of behavior and for examining their hobbies closely. This is sometimes true, and sometimes not, but one thing can be said to be characteristic of all homeschoolers. They spend more time with their children than most parents, just by virtue of their educational choice, and this leads to more opportunities to shape and train their children.

That being said, homeschool parents usually place more emphasis on family values and character training. These are fantastic things, but in some cases, homeschoolers forget to prepare for when the children leave the home. Some homeschool parents can fail to train their children for interactions with the world outside, and that leaves homeschool children a little uneasy or cautious about how to engage in the non-homeschooling arena.

By "sticking out your foot" from time to time, and looking for ways in which your children can be active participants with non-homeschoolers, you are actually helping them prepare for their adult life. This is vitally important if we want our homeschool children to grow up to be leaders and men and women of positive influence on their communities. They will have to know how to be in the world, but not overcome by situations and values that are different than their own.

When we stick our foot out from under the covers at night, the majority of our bodies are still covered and protected. Only a smaller portion of our body, our foot, is moved out to the colder air. Likewise, for homeschoolers, the "covering" of the home and family support system should still be a major emphasis of all of the daily interactions. But a smaller portion of time can, and should be spent on learning to interact with those who are in less familiar environments. This teaches homeschool students valuable people skills, leadership, and self-management. This prepares them more fully for future relationships, and it does so while they are in a safe environment from which to branch out.

So, stay warm, stay cozy, but help your homeschool children stick out their feet from time to time.

You can read more about Camille Rodriquez, author of "When I Die" and creator of "The VEEP Channel," by visiting her websites,

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5 Tips for Enriching Your Child's Education

By Amber L Bishop
You have to feed your kids good stuff. Not just good food, but good life experiences too. I love homeschooling but realize it is not possible for every family. Lately I have been getting emails of admiration from non homeschooling Moms who want a little help on how to supplement their child's education. I love it! I thought I would write down some of the things we have done over the years as a jumping off point.

* First I would recommend taking stock of were your child is, physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally, spiritually and academically. Make a list if you have to. Maybe we get things turned around when we hyper focus on academics and leave other very important formational stuff out? Let the Lord lead you, on things that you see that your child needs.
* Do they need a good dose of habit training, how to do chores or how to take care of their hygiene? These skills are as important as academics.
* Do they need to read some deep literature, other then fast food type stuff that is typically marketed to early elementary readers? If you have never read a classic to your child or if they have never read one to themselves, then I would say that is something you need to work on.

You get the idea. Only you will now that for each of your children and if you don't know, maybe you are just too busy or too over committed and you need to slow down a bit so you can take stock or where you and your littles are at. I would recommend you intentionally add a few things into your family rhythm to help give you some well balanced nutrition for you growing brood, weather home educated or not.

* Reading with your child is a major buzzword right not, but what your read is rarely talked about. Pick a family read aloud. Stretch and pick a classic or even some Shakespeare. Charles and Mary Lamb make a great version just for kids. Living literature will take you and your child into deeper things like geography and history and science. These books are simply outstanding and every family would do well to read through them together. We have gone through seasons of this on and off in our family and are right now back in this season. Read a chapter after dinner, or pick one night a week to read out loud to each other, everyone taking turns at reading out loud.
* Make your children earn video game or TV time by reading 3 for 1. For every 3 minutes they read, they can earn one minute of TV or video game time. It works for us, umm when I stick with it. Instead of filling your house with the sound of a TV on, play some music quietly in the background.

Think through some practical things you can do with your kids.

* Take them to the post office and have them do the whole deal, buy the stamp, address, and mail the letter, use the automated kiosk etc.
* Go to the hardware story and but the supplies for a family project and involved them in actually checking out and paying for the items.
* Involve them in your whole life. Even the simple things can be a learning moment. You don't have to be teacher or a school to schedule a field trip. You can make a few phone calls in your local area and set up some family things for you all to do together.

Okay, I know that is technically eight but I was on a roll. Life is short, and there are so many things you can do and accomplish when your kids are big and have flown the coop. So fight the urge to have it all and do it all right now. Take a little time, in whatever way you can, to add a little richness to your child's education today.

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