April 2013 - Page 5 of 5 - A Brave Writer's Life in Brief A Brave Writer's Life in Brief
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A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Archive for April, 2013

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Less is more

Less is moreYou’ll always be tempted to think more is more.

For instance, your child shows interest in planting seeds. You think, “We can create a garden! We can till away part of the yard, start a compost heap, get a variety of seeds, and grow berries while we’re at it. Then my kids can take notes about the rate of growth, they can draw pictures as the plants emerge, they can water the plants and learn which need shade and which need sun, then we can harvest the vegetables and I can teach them to make ratatouille… after they write recipes on notecards, converting the French Metric measurement system to our cups and ounces…”

Right? Or some nutty version of that.

The child wanted to stick a little seed in the ground to see what would happen, and you are imagining starting an organic farm with a restaurant.

Your child asks about one artist, and you envision weekly art lessons combined with study of each period of art, organized by month, with narrations and illustrations, culminating in a trip to Florence! Yes, I did some version of this one and my youngest daughter said at the end of the trip to Italy, “I hate art.”

This was our daughter who could not get enough of the Cincinnati Art Museum before that very expensive trip. But I killed art. I overdid it. I plunged the knife into the chest of art and it bled out.

We did rekindle a love of art years later through fashion and today this 16 year old can say she loves art again and wants to visit the Art Institute in Chicago…. but it took 8 years.

Less is more.

If your child asks to bake cookies, bake cookies with your child. Don’t expect to now go through each cookie recipe one at a time until he hates baking.

If you see a glimpse of interest in computers, don’t assume that means your child wants to be a web designer, developer, or programmer. Most likely your kid wants to be a computer game-player. Understanding a little about how all that works is great and if it leads to genuine interest, offer some resources to look at when she’s ready, when he feels like it! Don’t pile on lessons and requirements, thinking you can turn “computer-love” into a Valuable Lesson.

If you find yourself excited about potting, quilting, the history of music, birding, hiking, bathroom remodeling, even —composting—, you do it! Do what feels good to you (you’ll find that you have a rhythm to your interest and parts of the subject will not interest you at all). That model will help you remember the pace and process of how interests grow. Then you can gently support the interests your kids have without jumping on the bandwagon so heavily, you launch them accidentally over the other side and right out of the wagon!

Trust the process of your passion more than the organization of your lessons.

Less is more.

 

image by !anaughty!

Posted in Homeschool Advice | 3 Comments »

Poetry Teatime: Outside!

Poetry Teatime

Warm enough for an outdoor tea time today with poetry by Michael Rosen. Yes, we still have Christmas lights up.

The book was titled “Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy”. The illustrations in this book are by Quentin Blake. My five year old son Cooper liked the poem “Shorts” because of the funny pictures accompanying it. He also liked “Something’s Drastic” because of the funny pictures.

Charlotte, age 9, liked “Bathroom Fiddler” because “it had a good rhythm.”

I wasn’t as fond of these poems as other books we’ve read, but the kids liked them. The pictures helped. By the end I had Cooper on my lap and Charlotte hanging on my back so they could see better.

We were pretty rushed today so food was quick and simple-some chocolate wafer cookies, animal crackers, and American cheese slices. None of us like tea so I had water and the kids had chocolate almond milk. I pull out the good china and cloth napkins and we make a toast. Today’s toasts were all related to the beautiful, warm weather.

~Ann

Poetry Teatime

Posted in Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Poetry Teatime: Outside!

April: National Poetry Month

SPECIAL OFFER THIS WEEK!

To get you started, check out our SPECIAL:

The Arrow Poetry Guide is only $4.99 this week (April 1-8). Regular price: $9.95.

 

    You Read to Me...

 

If you’ve never tried the Tuesday Poetry Teatimes, this is the month to start! There are many benefits to reading poetry, not the least of which is the sugar-sweet fun of rhyme, and the playful pop of alliteration and consonance as words trip their way over your tongue.

For the intimidated (you know who you are—you worry that you don’t “get” poetry or that you’ll fail at discovering meanings and themes and imagery), I have tips to make it easy for you to wade into these (I promise) friendly waters.
 

    Bapa

 

  1. Start with limericks and nursery rhymes. They’re easy to read/say, easy to understand (insofar as understanding even matters), and easy to repeat (leading your family in reciting them together. I don’t know why Jack jumped a candlestick or how an old woman turned a shoe into a family home, but for children, these images are direct and delightful. And that’s all that matters in this poetry ready. You’re delighting in sound, silly images, words, and linguistic music. You get to “go dense” on meaning for a change and know that that’s okay!
  2.  

  3. Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. Get their books, ready them, enjoy them. One poem at a time— no need to read like a chapter book. Note that these two “get” children. They share the same sense of humor and level of insight that children enjoy.
  4.  

  5. Riddles and jokes are a kind of poetry. They may not rhyme and they don’t follow poetic structure, exactly. But they are all about puns and language play. Include them in your poetry teatimes.
  6.  

  7. Read poems in tandem. The poetry book featured above is one my grandfather gave me in junior high (you can tell it was well-loved as the frayed paper cover indicates). In it is a collection of poems that are written in alternating blue and black ink. Each reader picks a color and together, two people read a poem aloud! This book You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You is still in print, if you want to try it.

That’s enough to get your started. Seriously!

Set the table for tea, pull out the Oreo cookies or bake a batch of brownies or slice Pippin apples! Whatever is your family’s pleasure. Then, read aloud, laugh, read to yourself, try your hand at making your own rhymes, and notice all the while that you’re doing what you always say you want to do—bringing learning to life.

We’ll post some poetry resources on the blog over the course of the month so stay tuned!

SPECIAL OFFER THIS WEEK!

To get you started, check out our SPECIAL:

The Arrow Poetry Guide is only $4.99 this week (April 1-8). Regular price: $9.95.

Posted in General, Poetry, Poetry Teatime | 2 Comments »

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