Question about poetry in Beyond

[busybee4]

We are currently finishing up Unit 4 in Beyond and are loving every bit of it but I do have a question. My dd7 has been copying the poems from the manual but started to dread it. (Writing is not her favorite thing to do!) Instead of stopping it completely I decided to set a little time for 10 minutes and told her that if she used her best penmanship and worked neatly she could stop when the timer went off. This cut down her complaints trumendously!! However I read somewhere that CM suggests that the child copy something from a book that she is reading. I loved that idea and when I mentioned it to my dd she was super excited! Since doing that she hasn't complained at all about copywork however after going through her collection of copywork in her notebook today I am wondering if I should still continue with the poetry. I loved the finished product of the poetry copywork MUCH more than the sentences from the books but am not sure what to do.

Any ideas?

[crlacey]

My DD doesn't like to copy the poetry. So she copies Bible verses instead. Not only does it help her handwriting, but as she's reading the verse, she often will discuss the verse with me or learn the verse. Not a bad side effect of copying verses!

[Tansy]

I loved the finished product of the poetry copywork MUCH more than the sentences from the books but am not sure what to do. Any ideas?

Do I have this formula right?
Copying Poetry = tears and frustrated child.
Copying what she is reading = content child
Hence
Mom Loves Finished Poetry = frustrated child

I loved Singapore Math but it = tears and frustrated child, I let it go altho it was hard to give up what I thought was the greatest Math program. Some day she will find a poem she loves and will copy it and Hang it in her room... Mine did.

My dd also hated copying the poetry I limited it to a few lines ~ well done (per Carries recommendation) and some times we did the bible verse. But if you have found something that is working I suggest "Don't mess with it!"

[busybee4]

Tansy,

No, my dd doesn't HATE to copy the poems but she much PREFERS to copy sentences from a book that we are reading. I guess I am just nervous about skipping the poems and causing her to miss out on some wonderful poetry.

[funkmomma71]

If you are doing the other things that go along with the poem you are probably getting quite alot of learning in, I wouldnt worry too much about what she is writing as long as she is doing it well. If you want a more permament memento of the poetry, maybe you could have her pick a line or two that really strikes a cord with her, have her copy those lines and illustrate them. For my dd, knowing that I'm going to make a book of her poetry and pictures inspires her to do her best.

[Mommamo]

C didn't like copying the whole poem either. I think it really overwhelmed her. She was capable, but she just likes things being obviously broken down into small parts. So, we decided just to do one stanza or appx 4-5 lines of each poem. I don't get the whole thing copied, which I really wanted, but she feels proud and her handwriting is improving. I say do what works best for your family. The point of copywork is handwriting. So.... if she wants to do her books-let her! Still read the poem, maybe draw a picture of it on the back of a copy of the poem, if she likes drawing, and let her practice handwriting in a way she enjoys.

[busybee4]

Thank you ladies for all of your input! I love this place! I think that I will just listen to her and continue with copying sentences from the books. I do like the idea of having her draw a picture on the back of a copy of the poems...she LOVES to draw so that might work well for her!

Appreciate each of you! Have a blessed weekend!

[my3sons]

I think I'd still have dd copy at least one line of poetry a day, so she ends up with a stanza copied by the end of the week. Then, she could eventually work up to copying the poem in its entirety by the end of the year. This is what we did with both of our dc during Beyond, and they were soon copying all of the poems more easily and quite cheerfully. Copywork is meant to be done from a timeless resource that is truly worthy of being copied. This is harder to find than one might first think. The poems chosen in the HOD guides are timeless and fit this guideline well. Of course, the Bible is always an outstanding resource for copywork. As we did the creative writing last year in PHFHG though, I could tell that one of the reasons my ds took to it so easily was because of all of the years prior of copying poetry in HOD's previous guides. He just knew what poetry should "look like". He automatically capitalized each word at the beginning of each line, and the length of each line and its rhythm/meter made sense - I think largely because of his earlier poetry copywork. Not to mention when dc do PHFHG and CTC, they are studying a specific poet for the entire year - and continual copywork of a specific poet's work really does help dc understand their style - even be able to mimic their style - which was a core foundation of CM's deference to poetry. Anyway, just some food for thought!

In Christ,
Julie

[busybee4]

Julie,
One line of poetry a day?! Why didn't I think of that?! I think that will work great! Thank you for your input! Blessings!

[erdrmom]

Ha! I could have written your post...in fact, I was going to post it here, but just haven't had the chance yet!

My dd sees no reason to copy anything! She hates copywork and is willing to PAY me to NOT do it! I have been breaking the poems up into 4 days and then having her copy part of her memory verse on the 5th day (only part because they have been so long the last couple of units). Earlier this week it took her 90 minutes to copy 3 lines! She focuses great on everything except copywork.

I think I will try out the one line per day method in her best handwriting and see how that works for us. Thanks for your suggestions ladies!