Another budding Preparing Poet...

[Kathleen]

I know I'm only in my 2nd week of Preparing, but I just have to say that the poetry and creative writing lessons are awesome!! They are a HUGE hit at our house!!

Grant had a l-o-n-g list of favorites from Preparing already as he was talking to Grandpa on the phone, but he's said that the days he gets to write poems are his favorite so far. (We've even had Skype chats with his cousins so he could read poetry to them. Yep, the 9 yo boy reading poetry to his 6,4,and 1 yo boy cousins.) I love it!

And, I never would have guessed that this is something he would enjoy so much! (I definitely know that he's one who is never at a loss for words, so maybe it shouldn't have surprised me.) I just know that Robert Louis Stevenson is inspiring and Carrie's plans are wonderfully fun to complete and so unintimidating - and they really get the wheels turning!

Here is today's creation: (Grant's part is red.)

Bed in Summer

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The dogs still playing by the tree,
The skid loader drives in the yard
I hear my dad still working hard.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Robert Louis Stevenson
With
Grant Michael Fincham

The only thing I helped with was leading him to the word "hard" to rhyme with yard. ("How does Dad work?")
He was having so much fun, he wrote another example, just to be silly.

The cats still fighting by the tree,
I hear my mom washing dishes,
But I don’t hear splashing fishes.


Here is last week's poem, too, while I'm so busy sharing! (Grant's part is blue.)

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Hackberry and sparrows and starlings and all
Over the forest wide –

Till I look down on the garden weeds,
And swallows flying close to the ground –
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!


Robert Louis Stevenson
With
Grant Michael Fincham

Thanks for the great plans, Carrie! We're having a blast!
Kathleen

[playschool]

Kathleen,
He is doing wonderful! I love his choice of words. All of this positive talk about Preparing makes me excited to start in the next couple of weeks.

[my3sons]

Oh Kathleen - Grant did an amazing job! He has such a great knowledge base of the outdoors, and that comes through in his word selection. PHFHG did a great job of letting Wyatt put his own twist on the poems, while still ensuring a good writing product at the end by using RLS's words for portions of the assignment. It was neat to see RLS's part get less, and Wyatt's part get more by the end of the year. Grant is going to really love the poetry all year - I can't wait to hear more from him!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Kathleen,

How exciting that Grant is loving the poetry writing in Preparing Hearts. He did a wonderful job co-authoring with Robert Louis Stevenson! I just love to read other kiddo's poetry ideas. You can really see their personalities shine through!

I do think that a love of poetry can take some time to foster (as it's one thing I didn't ever get in my public school education years). So, I'm glad to see Grant's trip through Bigger Hearts last year did much to excite his interest in poetry .

Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed it immensely.

Blessings,
Carrie