Why Poetry

If variety is the spice of Life, then poetry might be considered the spice of writing. It is also a simple and painless way to introduce children to the world of words. For instance, a child who is not yet ready to read an entire story can read “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson or “Who has seen the Wind?” by Christina Rossetti. And that same child who is not yet capable of writing a book report could copy Robert Louis Stevenson’s lines, “The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” Another benefit of using poetry for handwriting exercise is that it provides a model of correct spelling and usage of the written word. Similarly, recording short simple poems into a composition book is an excellent handwriting exercise for younger students, and provides a keepsake record of the continual improvement such an activity affords. In brief, the literature of poetry is a good starting point for beginning writers, but it is only a starting point for the use of poetry.

There are numerous reasons for using poetry in your home education. To begin with, poetry blends well with academic studies. If you happen to be studying flowers or trees, there are literally hundreds of poems on these two topics alone. After listening to some of these poems your child might be ready to write something of his own, or to draw a picture to illustrate a particular piece of poetry. Either way, it is a pleasurable way to immerse your child into the world of words. This process can also be reversed. Great art can lead to great poetry if you find a painting that captures your child’s interest. Your child might be inspired by one of Winslow Homer’s ships, one of Frederic Remington’s cowboys, or one of Mary Cassatt’s mother and child scenes. Whatever you choose, the next step is to see if your child can make the picture “speak” by writing a poem. This is not a new idea. The poet Edwin Markham was inspired to write “The Man with the Hoe,” after being deeply moved by Jean-Francois Millet’s painting of the same name.

Poetry can also be studied as a topic in and of itself. You can explore a particular children’s poet such as Eve Merriam or Karla Kuskin. Or, you can choose a topic and see what different poets have written about it. With the availability of the internet this no longer requires the time it once took to thumb through children’s poetry anthologies. It only requires a quick search in Google. Additionally, the explosion of children’s poetry books in the last decade has produced numerous anthologies written or edited according to themes such as animals, sports, family and friends, school, and even the weather. And as children especially love to laugh, much of the poetry written for them is delightfully humorous. Two poems which quickl comes to mind are “Miss Veronica Blair” from the book Miles Of Smiles and Shel Silverstein’s “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout,” who was, of course, the girl who would not take the garbage out.  Unfortunately, a note of caution is in order. Some of the newer poetry on the market falls into the category of “not wholesome.” Don’t let this deter you however, from finding the pearls of poetry. And as a general rule, older books found in public libraries tend to be tamer than some of the newer offerings sold at the large bookstores. At any rate, regardless of the way in which you choose to explore the world of poetry, you are sure to come across some delightful poems.

And whether you explore a particular author or a particular topic, how you go about it is another matter. You may want to do a short unit study during the summer months, in order to keep your child’s brain from “rewinding” during your downtime. Or you might prefer to read poetry aloud once a week for a breath of fresh air. Other options would be reading one poem per day, or taking a weeklong break from grammar and reading poetry instead. I remember vividly when my third grade homeroom class took a brief interlude from the dreary study of syllabification and learned how to write Haiku poetry. Oh how refreshing it was! And you, too, will be refreshed when you plunge into the world of poetry. After all, some poetry is simply too good to miss.

Poetry can also be used to teach grammar, and it takes less creativity than you might think. After all, poetry is comprised of nouns and verbs, just like all other sentences in the English language.  On a similar note, poetry can be used as a vehicle to teach figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, and personification. And I would argue that it is the most excellent way. For example, the use of personification is wonderfully illustrated in a handful of poems from Douglas Florian’s book Winter Eyes: Poems and Paintings. Winter trees are “fast asleep” and the winter sun is a “grumpy guy” are a couple of quick examples; the point being that having a concrete model of something in order to teach it is always the best and easiest way for a child’s mind to grasp something. I believe the adage here is “Don’t tell me, show me.” Most importantly, the possibilities for using poetry to teach grammar and figures of speech are endless, as every poem is full of words.

An additional aspect of poetry is its beauty. This beauty is only fully revealed when poetry is read aloud. In fact, poetry begs to be read aloud, and children can better learn to read or recite poetry by first hearing you read it aloud to them. In this manner, poetry painlessly teaches children the rhyme, rhythm, and syntax of the English language. Hearing good enunciation is also a steppingstone to speaking with clarity. And since English is jumbled with phonetic roadblocks, a child will be more likely to conquer a non-phonetically pronounced word he comes across in print if he has first heard it pronounced.  I am persuaded this is one reason I did not have to cover an exhaustive list of phonics rules when I taught my children to read. They had heard so many thousands of words read aloud that the mysteries of the English language were somewhat intuited. My third daughter, at five years of age, was able to pick up a King James Bible and read from it fluently. Of course, she first heard her parents read from it. I also believe that the content of age-appropriate poetry is often more stimulating than that of many beginning readers. Some children desire this extra “spark,” especially once basic phonics have been mastered. Or perhaps the hidden truth is that poetry speaks more directly to the spirit of a child. Regardless, the aesthetic aspect of poetry is not one to be overlooked.

Some of the children’s poetry anthologies that I am familiar with are: David McCord’s One At A Time: Collected Poems For The Young and Speak Up: More Rhymes. Another classic is The Random House Book Of Poetry, with poems selected by children’s author Jack Prelutsky. Not only did I read aloud from this book, my children also chose selected poems to write into their composition books as part of their daily copywork. And I would mention here that my three younger children who used this method exclusively are excellent spellers. Three other compilations which deserves mention are The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse In America, chosen and edited by Donald Hall, One Thousand Poems for Children, and The Best Loved Poems of the American People. Also, for the student with a funny bone, Lee Bennett Hopkins has written some humorous poems, although I do not necessarily recommend his books.  However, I do recommend the following authors of classic children’s poetry: Lillian Moore, Valerie Worth,  Ralph Fletcher, Myra Cohn Livingston, Rachel Field, Vachel Lindsay, Eugene Field, George Cooper, Edward Lear, and Margaret Wise Brown. Pick up a children’s anthology and you will soon discover who your favorite poets are. You may even be surprised to find poems written by popular adult authors such as Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg. An additional benefit is that many children’s anthologies are beautifully illustrated, even by such well known illustrators as Eloise Wilkin and Tasha Tudor.

A few authors and books in particular also need to be mentioned. One old favorite is Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill. Also noteworthy, especially for budding poetry lovers, is Paul Fleischner’s Joyful Noise, a book meant to be read aloud by two voices.  If your child does not have a sibling who is able to share this experience, then you can take a starring role in this verbal experience. Your child will love you for it! Jack Prelutsky is another popular author, although I don’t necessarily recommend all of his poetry. Primarily, the point that needs to be made is that there are numerous poetry books for the entire family to enjoy, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Most of these books are available at your local library. Remember also that you can make requests for your library to purchase newly published books. And after exhausting the resources at your local library, many of these types of books can be picked up at library book sales and used book stores. I once picked up a volume entitled 742 Heart-Warming Poems which cost all of fifty cents. Another time, I picked up a poetry book in an antique store, and surprisingly, the cost was only two dollars. These treasures are everywhere, if one is willing to go and search them out.

What about older students? Some of the poetry books aimed at the junior and high school level focus not only on exposing students to various types of poetry, but also on giving guidelines and assignments for students to write their own poetry. Sometimes it has been nothing but hard work for my children to complete some of these assignments, but the reward has been having tangible evidence of what came from head, heart and soul; and in many cases, outstanding poetry! Our family has used books such as The Roar on the Other Side by Suzanne U. Clark, which is aimed at the upper high school level. Another resource, one we are currently using, is Matt Whitlock’s The Grammar of Poetry. We have also used Reading and Writing Poetry With Teenagers by Walch Publishing. Although this book was not written from a Biblical worldview perspective, it is a valuable tool for introducing students to numerous types of poetry and giving advice and guidelines for writing it. When I used this book, I read selected excerpts and advice from it, and then chose which assignments I wanted my children to complete. And finally, a poetry workbook which we found to be fun and quite manageable was Painting the Sky: Writing Poetry with Children.  Although it is geared toward older elementary students, it is ideal for junior high students who have had little or no previous exposure to poetry. At any rate, all of these books have prompted my children to write some memorable poetry.

When it comes to studying poetry with older children however, I do have some strong opinions. Ideally, I would recommend introducing poetry at a younger age, when a student can enjoy the fun and playfulness of poetry, simply by listening to it being read aloud. I would not skip over this part. If an older student is not already acquainted with poetry, I would not expect him to write balanced, metered lines of poetry and to learn the difference between trochees and breves, and tetrameter and pentameter. Neither would I expect him to write an Italian Sonnet. No, if I were introducing poetry to an older student, I would first begin by allowing him to spend time with great poets, reading selections from different historical periods. I would also teach him to discern the difference between the worldviews inherent in the poetry of the Age of Enlightenment versus the poetry of the Romantic Era. In other words, what is the worldview that produced the poetry? And who were the Christians and how does their poetry reflect their faith? These are just a few quick examples. The point to be made is that I would never hand over a book and simply say, “do it” unless the student was already steeped in good poetry, and I knew for a certainty that he was capable of accomplishing the task at hand. It is important for a student to first enjoy poetry for poetry’s sake. Along these lines, one must be careful not to bring an older student to the point where he hates poetry. After all, words are beautiful—they are not to be despised.

These are just a few ideas and recommendations for your family to begin its own exploration into the world of poetry. Of course, there are always newer resources coming into the market, in comparison to some of the ones I have mentioned.  My goal however, has merely been to give you enough to whet your poetic appetite, and to inspire you to journey into the world of poems and poets. And I will confess here that I am not a poet, I am only a poetry lover who agrees with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who said, “Poetry is a record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.” In summary, however, I think St. Augustine touched on something more profound which speaks directly to the Christian homeschool community today when he said, “In every poem there is some of the substance of God.” Now that is a reason to study and enjoy poetry!