Enriching Our Days with Poetry from Memoria Press {A TOS Review}

Thanks to the Homeschool Review Crew, we have become quite familiar with Memoria Press, a family-run publishing company that appears to be quite well known in Christian homeschooling circles. They carry classical curriculum in many subjects, several of which we have had the chance to review in the past. This time around I thought it would be fun to add some poetry into our days, and I was quite excited when I learned that Tabitha would be using the Poetry for the Grammar Stage Set.

The set we received contains three books: The Student Guide, the Teacher Guide, and the Anthology.

This set was designed to be used with Memoria Press' literature study guides as a supplemental study of the poems that are memorized. However, as we are discovering, this set can most definitely be used independently of the literature guides. If we were using this with the Classic Core Curriculum, it would take us four years to make our way through the poems. However, we have been working at a pace of one poem per week, which would mean we could potentially work through the poems in one school year. However, seeing as these poems do become longer and more complex toward the end of the book, it would make sense to work on these later poems at a slower rate. 

Here is a look at the list of poems and the books they would go with:

While we may not be combining this with literature studies, there is a lot to get out of these poems. Tabitha gets to listen to the poems being read, read them herself, work on vocabulary, analyze the poems, answer comprehension questions about the poems, and draw an illustration of her interpretation of the poem. There are quite a lot of skills being worked on with these poetry books.

Let's take a quick look at each of the books in this set.

Student Guide

This 159-page, softcover Student Guide starts with a Table of Contents and a section titled, "How to Teach a Poem," which offers some wonderful tips. From there we move into the actual poem pages. The majority of the 33 poems and their analysis take up four pages each and follow an identical layout. Obviously the longer poems take up more pages.

The poem is printed out on the page, and there is a framed space for the student to illustrate it.

The following page is lined for the student to write out the poem (or part of the poem as is the case with some of the longer poems toward the back of the book).

The next page lists vocabulary words with their meanings. Then the child is to answer some questions to analyze the poem, looking at such things as the rhyming scheme, the speaker of the poem, alliteration, metaphors, and personification. The poem is again printed out, this time with line numbers and a blank at the end of each line to label the rhyming scheme.

Each poem's analysis ends with comprehension questions which expect the child to think about what they are reading. These aren't all simple, find the answer in the poem questions. These questions require the student to give some thought to their answers.

The book conclude with an appendix that contains a glossary, which helps explain different poetry terms, plus a section titled, "The History of Paul Revere's Ride."

Teacher Guide

The 159-page, softcover Teacher Guide is identical to the Student Guide, except for the fact that the questions have answers printed in, and a few of the poems have an inset "Teacher Note" box to help the parent/teacher clarify a specific point.

For instance, in the poem "Try, Try Again" it explains that the rhyming structure included a refrain which was to be denoted with an "R." I actually almost missed this note, as this was the first poem to include one.

Anthology

This 62-page, softcover book is smaller than the guide books. It contains just the poems, some of which have a black and white illustration to go with them.

How did we use these books?

As I've mentioned, we have been focusing on one poem a week. At the beginning of each week I read the poem to all the children during our "Table Time." On another day I will have Tabitha read it. Each week, as we add more poems, I will read through all of them at least once during the week. Sometimes Tabitha joins in with parts she remembers. We will review the vocabulary words to make sure she understands them. Then, during "Individual Time," Tabitha will either head to her room to work on the questions and the copywork, or she will sit at the dining room table. 

I allow her to take the time she needs through the week to work on these pages. She's even been known to work in the van and in the doctor's office. And if she is struggling with the questions, she can come to myself or her dad for help.

I admit, there are times her father and I are just as stumped as she is, so we are quite grateful for the answers that are provided in the Teacher Guide. Poetry is not one of my strengths, which is one of the reasons I thought it would be fun to work through this poetry set. I am hoping to learn alongside Tabitha.

So far we have really enjoyed being able to read and get deeper into these poems. One of Tabitha's favorite parts is being able to add her own illustrations. Honestly, I figured she would enjoy that part of the book, seeing as she is quite the artist. I appreciate that she is slowly learning more details regarding poetry terms, learning them as she comes across them in the poems and works on her analysis. 

I have to admit, I am not sure Hannah (my third grader) would be able to work through these poems the way Tabitha currently is. I was surprised to discover that this set is recommended for 3rd-7th grade. I realize we really haven't focused on poetry in our homeschool, so I can see the possibility of working through these slowly at a younger age, and building on the foundation. However, I'm sort of glad I decided to use it with Tabitha instead of Hannah, as there is a lot of writing that Hannah would definitely have struggled with. 

I'm so thankful that we were given this opportunity to add poetry into our homeschool. And I definitely feel that I can recommend Poetry For the Grammar Stage Set, though perhaps for children in the older part of the grade range as opposed to third or even fourth grade.  Though perhaps children who are used to a classical education would be better prepared for this at a younger age. 

You can find Memoria Press on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.

My fellow Crew Mates and I were given the choice of quite a few different products for this review. Some of them are reviewing the First Start Reading Program, which we reviewed four years ago. Others are reviewing various levels of Poetry. Still others are reviewing different levels of Latin, ranging from Prima Latina to Fourth Form Latin. We actually reviewed Latina Christiana two years ago.

So, don't forget to click on the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates think of these different products from Memoria Press.

A Round of Robins Picture Book {Review and Giveaway}

It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to review a picture book and offer my readers a giveaway. I just couldn't pass up the chance to share this cute book with you.

We received A Round of Robins by Katie Hesterman and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. This 34-page, hardcover picture book is published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. 

What a perfect time of year to receive this adorable book. It is perfect for springtime, as we love to watch the robins returning and building nests in our trees and around our house. This book shares the cycle of the robins' lives, starting with finding a place to build a home, through the egg laying, hatching, and growing up of the baby robins, to moving on to another brood. However, this book is not a non-fiction book. This lifecycle is told through a series of playful poems, which made the book's arrival even more timely, as we got to read it during National Poetry Month. 

Each poem describes one part of the cycle, with cartoon-style artwork to illustrate the verse, and is one to two stanzas in length, taking up one to two pages. 

Each of the poems has a title, some of which were quite entertaining.

Here, let's look at some of them.

"Turf Tune" is the first poem in the book. It tell of daddy robin claiming his territory, while the illustrations show dad standing at the edge of a branch while three angry birds look on in disgust. 

In "Home Sweet Home" mama robin is shown building the nest and getting comfortable in it.

"EGGcessories" shows the happy couple looking down on their nest full of the perfect amount of eggs, four.

 "Red-Hot Mama" talks about how mama incubates the eggs, while sharing pictures of her in her nest dreaming about her babies.

"Inside Job" tells of the babies in the egg, cramped in tightly as they only have one more night before they hatch. 

"Pop Patrol" shows daddy robin chasing away birds who were invading his space.

In total there are 16 poems included in this book. As you can see, the titles are quite intriguing. I found the poems to be quite cute and humorous, while telling the true story of a robin family's life. And I am a huge fan of rhyming verse in poetry, so that was a big plus in my eyes. I've read books with rhyming verse where it was quite the chore to read. I am happy to say that is not the case with this book. The verse flowed well as did the rhyming. Plus, the illustrations complemented the text very well. I loved the soft colors which are done in pen and ink and watercolor. 

If you are looking for a fun spring book, a book about robins, a poetry book, or all three, may I suggest checking out this debut book by Katie Hesterman. It is recommended for children ages 5-8, though I can see slightly younger or older children enjoying it as well. My children all did, and they range in age from 6-11. 

About the Author and Illustrator:

Katie Hesterman dreamed of being an ornithologist as a child, but now contents herself with watching them through her window and writing about them. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Sergio Ruzzier is a picture book author and illustrator whose work has received awards from American Illustrations, the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and the Society of Publication Designers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

And now for the great news! One of my readers will get to win their own copy of A Round of Robins!

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Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of A Round of Robins in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.

Drawing Closer to Christ with Great Poetry from George Herbert {A TOS Review}

I have to be honest with you, poetry is not now, nor has it ever been, something I have been able to understand. I enjoy simple kids' rhyming poems, but long poems that have deep meaning? Nope. I just can't seem to wrap my mind around them. So, when the opportunity arose to review Working It Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert, I was intrigued. I had never heard of George Herbert before, but I was willing to give this a try when I read the information on the Everyday Education, LLC site that stated this could be a way to deepen my devotional reading. 

George Herbert was a 17th century poet who was also a priest in the Anglican Church. Prior to this he had been an instructor, and then an orator at Cambridge before becoming a member of Parliament. He is most definitely known for his poetry, which he had an interest in from a young age. It is said that he was C.S. Lewis's favorite lyric poet.

As I wasn't familiar with his poetry, before I received my digital download, I had plans of trying to read the poetry with the children. However, when I started reading through the book, I realized the poems would probably be over the children's heads. So, I have been using these poems during my personal devotional time. 

Working It Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert is written by Joseph L. Womack. Mr. Womack's analysis of George Herbert's poems focuses on the movement of thought within each poem. Compiled in this 216 page book are 51 poems. These poems are divided into the following topics:

• Looking Back, Moving Forward
• Letting Go
• Confession
• Grace
• Separation 
• Petition
• Praise
• Depending on God
• Grief
• Prayer
• Special Blessings of the Church

All of the above topics have between 2 and 6 poems. There are also 10 topics that only have 1 poem each.

• Dust to Dust (and lessons learned)
• Rebellion (and submission)
• Brevity
• Not Understanding the Ways of God or Self
• Restlessness
• Anxiety and Living in the Present Moment
• God Within Us
• God the Architect 
• Poetry
• The Bible

I really wasn't sure if I wanted to start at the beginning and just work my way through the book, or choose a topic and work on those poems. I started out at what is said to be the best place to start, the beginning, in this case, a poem titled "The Glance." So, during my devotional time in the morning, I would read the poem, then I would write a part of it down in my prayer journal (I always left enough room for the entire poem and analysis, even though I was only writing a small section to start with and my daily prayers and journaling continued on the following pages). Each day I only worked on one section of the poem, maybe a stanza, or maybe just a couple of lines or so, depending upon how the poem was broken up. Most of the time I was taking a week to go through the analysis. 

Each poem's analysis is broken into 3 sections, in addition to the poem itself.

• The Poem 
• The Big Picture (a general overview of the entire poem)
• The Parts of the Picture (a look at each stanza or part in more detail, looking at the development of thought)
• The Parts of the Picture Come Together (looking at how the poem comes together)

After these sections there are Reflection questions and Scriptures for Further Reflection.

In order to fully understand what the poet was writing about, a reader really needs to understand what the poet was going though at the time of the writing. That is one thing that is very helpful in these analyses. In The Big Picture section, Mr. Womack shares what George Herbert was experiencing in his life, if applicable. As these poems really delve into George Herbert's feelings, emotions, and religious experiences, this is quite helpful.

Reading Mr. Womack's insights into these poems has really opened my eyes to the meanings and relationships in the poems. Sadly, I still am not seeing these things when I read the poems myself. But when I reread the poem after reading through the Parts of the Picture section, I can usually see what it is the author is getting at.

For example, this is the first stanza of the poem "The Flower."

"How fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean
Are thy returns! even as the flowers in spring;
To which, besides their own demean,
The late-past frosts tributes of pleasure bring.
Grief melts away  
Like snow in May,
As if there were no such cold thing."

When I first read this poem, I had somewhat of an inkling on what was meant by the Lord's returns, as they relate to flowers coming back in spring after the cold winter. However, I couldn't fathom what lines 3 and 4 meant. Though I was able to understand the last three lines. After reading Mr. Womack's analysis, I was able to understand that there is pleasure in seeing the flowers, not just for being beautiful flowers, but because they are a sign that frost and winter are past. This parallels to grace returning "after a time of spiritual aridity."

The remainder of this poem talks about times of renewal after hard times. Mr. Womack has a way of explaining how each of the lines and stanzas work together, making me see what I didn't see when I first read the poem.

Here are some of the insights I received and wrote down from this poem's analysis.

The Lord can and does renew.
We await Paradise, but we can also experience peace that passes understanding here on earth.
Speaks of the dangers of pride and the need to rely on God and his power.
A relationship with God can have ups and downs but He is always there for us.
Lean on the Lord. Trust Him. Go to Him when down, he will lift us up.
The movement was described as a gliding, and the analysis talks about it being an up and down movement. I was also thinking that perhaps we can also glide on the wind of the Holy Spirit, tossed about by life, but can cling to Him and trust Him to take us where we belong.

I also appreciated the Bible verses that were shared at the end of each analysis. On the last day of the week, I would spend time reading each of these verses/passages, and I found them to be quite relevant to the poem. To continue on using my example of "The Flower," here are a few of the Bible verses that were suggested for further reflection:

Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Lamentations 5:21 - Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old."
Isaiah 40:29-31 - He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

As suggested in the introduction, it is very helpful to write out the poem and recite it out loud. I am hoping, that after a year of reading and digging into these poems, I will be able to see these details without being shown them. Working on a poem a week, I will be able to have all of these poems read and analyzed by this time next year. I pray that these devotional readings will help me to continue to draw closer to Jesus.

Though I had never heard of the 17th century poet before, I am glad I now have a chance to read his works. Working It Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert is available in PDF digital download format like I received, or as a physical paperback book. I would definitely say the book is more suited for older children and adults. Tabitha has expressed an interest in the poems, so I may start reading them to the children, just to see how it goes.

You can find Everyday Education, LLC/Janice Campbell on Pinterest, Facebook (Janice Campbell), Facebook (Excellence in Literature), LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter.

As Homeschool Review Crew members, we were actually given a choice of 3 different products. You can check out my Crew Mates' thoughts on Working It Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert, or Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting, or Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers. Just click on the banner below:

Toddler Ideas Tuesday: February 24, 2015

Welcome back to Toddler Idea Tuesdays! I hope you will join with me again in sharing the fun activities, crafts, and lessons that you are doing with your young children. 

The children and I have been looking at some poetry with our Poppins Book Nook theme this month. I posted my Animal Poetry Fun post yesterday, and I wanted to share what we did as a continuation of those lessons. Though I really spent time with Tabitha and Amelia doing the poetry, Hannah joined in to make Rhyming Books yesterday.

I like to use Google to find coloring sheet pictures of images I would like to use. Then I shrink them down to about 2 inch wide images so I can fit a lot on the page. So, I found pictures of 6 different animals, then I found a picture of a rhyming object for each animal. I cut construction paper into quarters to make pages for the books.

Then I had them glue on the animals, one per page, before I allowed them to see the rhyming pictures. They had to decide which pictures to add to each page.

The decorated their covers and chose a title, then I stapled the pages together. 

Though all three girls made books, I will only be sharing Hannah's book as this is the Toddler Idea post. The older girls wrote their own words next to each picture, but I wrote them for Hannah.

Now onto:

Toddler Idea Tuesday Features

On my last Toddler Idea Tuesday post, there were 4 wonderful posts linked up. I will be picking two randomly selected posts to share as there were no clicks last week.

This week's randomly selected post is:

Christianity Cove shared Every Action Counts! A Homemade Bubbles Science Experiment.

This week's 2nd randomly selected post is:

Shala from HomeSweetGrown shared What To Do with Preschoolers When You Are Homeschooling Older Children?

I would love to have you join in this week! What sort of activities do you do with your toddlers and preschoolers? Do you have some favorite activities you would like to share? I invite you to link up below. I will be pinning posts on my Toddler Ideas board and I would love to feature some of the activities each week from what is linked up. Please know I may share a picture from your post and link back to it, along with sharing how we used your idea in our toddler time. By linking up you are giving me permission to use a picture from your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. Additionally, if you choose to try out any of the ideas with your toddler, please make sure you give credit where credit is due.

Linky will be open through Sunday night, to give me time to check out all the posts and get the Features organized. Please take the time to visit some of the other wonderful posts linked up.

<a href="http://totsandme.blogspot.com/search/label/Toddler%20Ideas "><img alt="Tots and Me" src="http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58/kewkewphoto/ToddlerIdeaTuesdays2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>

Animal Poetry Fun With Poppins Book Nook

Welcome to the February edition of Poppins Book Nook! 

This month's theme was: Poetry    

I admit, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do for this month. I didn't want to grab a treasury/collection book of poetry and base my post on that. I wanted to see if I could find a book that I could feature. Our small library didn't have a lot of poetry book for children, but I was thrilled to find this cute book:

Oh, Theodore: Guinea Pig Poems by Susan Katz tells the story of a boy and his pet guinea pig though a series of poems. We follow the story from the very beginning, when the boy is deciding on a pet, through the timid beginnings, and even a time when Theodore gets lost. The poems do a lovely job of describing how the cute guinea pig and the young boy relate.

As this book focused on a specific animal, I then decided to read some other animal poems to the children. Our library had a wonderful little book of children's poetry called, A New Treasury of Children's Poetry by Joanna Cole. 

There is a section in the book called "Animal Fair" that is devoted to animal poems. Here is a list of the poems I read:

• Cat in the Snow by Aileen Fisher
• Mice by Rose Fyleman
• from A Bird by Emily Dickinson
• Mrs. Peck-Pigeon by Eleanor Farjeon
• Holding Hands by Lenore M. Link
• The Cow by Robert Louis Stevenson

I then had the girls pick an animal to write about. They were to write a few things that described the animal physically, and then a few things they knew that their chosen animal did. 

Amelia described a Robin:

• It has a sharp beck
• It has lots of fethers
• It has sharp feet
• It lay's eggs
• It eat's
• It dreek's

Then she drew a picture and wrote:

The robin layd a blue egg

The robin layd a egg.

Tabitha described a duck:

• It has yelow flufy fethers
• It has a orang beak
• It is small
• It eat's fish
• It swim's in water
• It plays in gras

Then she drew a picture and wrote:

The duck

Swam     

A Fish    

Swam    

The Duck

Ate it      

Technically, I guess I ended up basing our Poppins Book Nook on a book and a treasury. I plan on continuing on with some more poetry lessons with the children. In fact, as an extra lesson, the girls made Rhyming Books today. I will be sharing those in my Toddler Idea Tuesday post tomorrow, so I invite you to stop on by to see what they made. 

Don't forget to check out what the other Poppins Book Nook co-hosts have been up to this month. Then, don't forget to link up your own posts! Lastly, enter the Kid's Poetry Bundle Giveaway.

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God's Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual Mayhem~ Preschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies ~ Kathy's Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy's Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~ World for Learning ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ Our Simple Kinda Life ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Simplicity Breeds Happiness ~ Raventhreads ~ Water on the Floor ~ Learning Fundamentals ~ Tots and Me ~ As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~ Mom's Heart ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ Suncoast Momma ~ The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A "Peace" of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama

Kid’s Poetry Bundle Giveaway! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook or product that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky entrant will win the Kid’s Poetry Bundle. The winner will enjoy two books full of poetry for children. The two books that they will win is the Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry and Poetry Speaks to Children (*kindly note that these are affiliate links and your purchase helps to run this book club). These two magical books will help your children learn about and have fun with poetry.

Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms & conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom's disclosures found here {http://enchantedhomeschoolingmom.org/disclosures/}.  Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win

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Come and find out more information about Poppins Book Nook at Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, on Facebook and on Pinterest.

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