Homeschooling & National Poetry Month

Rafael enjoyed creating poetry.

It is a wonderful coincidence.  My son is working on poetry for his 5th grade work.  April is poetry month.  I love poetry.  Oh, I just love it when things come together!

I am a mother who loves to direct-teach her children...

when the subject fascinates me.  

Poetry is one of my most favorite subjects.  Wednesday, my son, Rafael, entered my room. I was engrossed in my laptop.  When I heard that he needed help, I stopped what I was doing.  My excitement arose when I saw what he needed help with.

Here's my 5th grade poem.

My passion for poetry began in elementary.  I entered a poetry contest.  I didn't win, but that was the first time that I was exposed to that new type of writing.  I enjoyed rhyming words.  It was a wonderful challenge to create a message but with sentences ending with rhyming words.

I realized later in high school that I didn't always have to rhyme.  I could create poems (or messages) with a minimum of words.  I could remove the articles like the word "the."  I could also use strong adjectives and verbs to more deliciously describe a scene.  I relished that new information.

Here's a poem I wrote in high school to explain a turning point (when I was 7 years-old) in my life:

A Funeral

Shockwaves, unrevivable

Nosy spectators inevitably come forward

My daddy--fallen.

Black garments

Silent shrills

Formal music

Stenchless body in open gray casket.

Luxurious gray limousine

Green canopy

American flag

Bugles' last call

Folded flag.

Do you feel the sadness?  I still do.  I can't believe I wrote that, much less experienced it.  I still get misty-eyed reading it.  It's as though another person, besides me, wrote that poem.

Now, not all poetry will evoke such anguish.  Some are funny.  Some are perhaps never to be understood.  Some are long.  Some are short.

Here is a funny poem by M.T Buckley that I still remember from high school:

Birthday

Geronimo.
I jumped into the world
No parachute. Bootless,
falling into enemy territory
into the night (had my eyes closed).
Didn't take them long to find me
These suicide missions are all the same
Name? Not yet. Unit? 82nd Newborn, ha ha
Slapped me around a bit
but I didn't talk
Made sure I wouldn't escape
Sentenced me to life. I guess I deserved it. 

Well, I think I've given you some background of poetry's impact in my life.  Of course, this is just a teaser.  I have so much more poetry I'd love to share.  We still have more days to this month left...Perhaps I should share some more of my poetry?

Let's get back to my son.  I gave him a little lecture and some instructions.  I told him that the types of poems he would be creating did not have to be wordy.  In fact, the directions in the workbook only gave him a few syllables per line to work with.  That was an interesting challenge.

Here is what he came up with:

Haiku poetry created by Rafael.

Yes, he's talking about our dog.

Here is the other poem:

Lantern poetry created by Rafael.

Yes, he talked about dogs, again.

Did I forget to mention that this is my hyper child?  If he were in public school, he's the one that would be put on drugs.  You can see that his hand-writing skills are not perfect.  Yet, he was able to construct this poem with his own words at his own pace.  Since I am homeschooling him, Rafael is thriving in his education.

Well, how about you, my readers?  Do you love poetry?  Do you write poetry?  Are you instilling that love of poetry onto the kids in your life?  I hope you will take advantage of National Poetry Month (April).  It's the perfect time to discuss poems with poetry lovers

God bless you all with His peace and wisdom, in Jesus' name.  Amen!

This has been an entry for Family Fun Fridays.