Special Words for Special Needs ~ Making an Ode to Fall
12:44 PM, Oct. 9, 2009
Fall is a wonderful time of year. The bright colors and change in temperature have me reaching for a book and apple cider. I also get the warm fuzzies. All the holiday planning, harvesting is finished and it's time to take a breath and relax. I didn't realize how much I still connect with my roots. I was raised in the middle of farm country in northern Ohio. October and late fall were always a time of joy. The hard work of the season was over and your silos and pantries were full.
Today the kids and I sat down to talk about fall. We discussed the science of fall earlier this week. Now we were going to discuss the emotions of fall. My children with autism found this exercise to be particularly hard. They knew things about fall they liked but could not connect these things together. As we worked through the day each child had a break through moment where they understood what I was asking of them. This hard work really paid off not just in understanding fall but in understanding emotional response.
So I thought I might share this exercise. We focused on making an ode, which is a lyrical poem showing enthusiastic, emotional response.
1. Together we brainstormed on the chalkboard all the things about fall that we loved and were enthusiastic about.
2. Then each child wrote or drew a picture about the 3 things that "made their heart sing"
3. I then read several poems and showed them several poems. They needed to see exactly what a poem looked like.
4. With each child I had them talk through with me one single part of their idea until it made a working stanza. I wrote it down for them to rewrite, or for the older one I just looked over spelling. This was the tough step. We needed to step forward and push, then relax several times until that light turned on. Take your time here this is where we are hoping to reach an emotional understanding of poetry.
5. We proceeded to work through each idea and find a common link to focus the poem.
6. Finally they rewrote the poem and tomorrow we are going to glue on leaves and other fall like objects.
This turned out to be a great fun mini unit. The real fun (for mom) is that since it wasn't in our normal book they didn't consider it work. Mom knows better. We made a huge step forward in understanding literature and humanity today. Poetry is a wonderful way to reach beyond just telling a story. If you chose to write an ode to fall please post it! In fact I'll post my children's odes to fall on my homeschool blogger page!
Heather lives in West Virginia. She and her husband have been homeschooling their 5 children for 8 years. Due to a genetic disorder their children have multiple special needs. Living life to the fullest for the glory of God is their goal! Visit Heather's page at www.homeschoolblogger.com/gfcfmomofmany/ or at Special Needs Homeschooling.
Magazine but not quite ready to commit to a subscription without seeing it first?
Check it out for FREE! We're so certain you'll love our publication that we'll gladly send a FREE sample to anyone new to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - we even cover the shipping!
Welcome to the HSB announcement blogboard from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine,
LLC. We hope you will enjoy the articles posted here by the Porch Team. Please feel free to leave comments!
~ Tia Linschied, Senior Editor of HSB
Our E-Newsletters give you wonderful, informative information about homeschooling, news bits, contests and PRIZES for homeschoolers, articles to encourage you, calls for writers, free unit studies and lesson plans, and just a lot of FUN. Bring the community to your inbox, and no worries, we never sell, trade or give your email or any other information out to anyone.
Come join the homeschool party!
The Homeschool Minute is our most
popular newsletter, full of encouragement and support just for YOU!
Subscribe to *FREE* newsletters offered by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
