Art of Poetry- Schoolhouse Review

Throughout time, many great works of literature have been written. A classical education is dependent on studying the classics. There are many genres of classics. Poetry is just one of those genres and it has been passed down for generations from all great societies and continues to be produced today. For many, poetry study can be daunting. Fortunately, Classical Academic Press  has published the Art of Poetry by Christine Perrin to assist in teaching poetry appreciation. It is primarily geared towards middle and high school students or 6 grade- adult.

There are several components to this curriculum available:The student edition costs $24.95 and is written to the student. It contains an anthology of poetry throughout time. Each chapter contains  explanations of the elements of poetry, guiding questions to help the student study the poem, activities and vocabulary from the chapter.  A sample chapter is available here.

The teacher edition is a reprint of the student text followed by several pages of explanations to the guiding questions from each poem, quizzes on the poetry, and an answer key. It is available for $29.95. A sample chapter is available here.

The art of poetry DVD set is available for $89.95. As of April 1, 2013 it will be available for $69.95. The complete video lecture set is 15 hours in length. The lesson begins with a brief introduction to the topic which is largely taken from the text. Then it moves into a discussion with a group of eighth grade students. At the end of a chapter, Ms. Perrin walks the students through the activities section of the book. There is a sample of the video at the above link.

Also available is the Art of Poetry Bundle. It costs $124.95 and contains the Student and Teacher editions as well as the DVD set. As of April 1, 2013 it will be $99.95.

This program can be used in many ways. A suggested schedule is available here. The Art of Poetry could be used as a year long poetry course, an intense unit study, a poetry appreciation course, or even as a co-op enrichment course. The suggested schedule, which is also found in the manuals, gives more details about how to use it in each scenario.

 

In my family I have elementary school students so I primarily used this for myself. Going through high school and college I sat in many literature classes where the teacher had come to a conclusion about the meaning of a particular literary work and then wanted the class to prove her point. I got a rather negative taste for analysis of literature. I felt like it wasn’t my place to decide what the author thought since I couldn’t ask the author. I loved that in the introduction of the teacher’s manual Ms. Perrin addressed this very topic. She noted that there are three aspects to consider when encountering a work. These aspects are “1) the author and her intentions, 2) the text and its living tissue, and 3) the reader and his relationship to the text.” Unlike my English teachers in school, the Art of Poetry teaches the reader to analyze not only the words, elements, shape, structure, and possible meaning from the author but also to reflect on how it effects the reader. This gives a more whole picture of the poem and also allows the student to gain more from it.

 

I primarily used the teacher manual for my studies. All of the answers and keys are separated from the text so I was able to read the lesson, go through reflection questions, and if I wanted to read the author’s discussion on the poem. As I come across poems that I think are valuable for my children, I share them out loud and we talk about them. Even elementary students can look at basic elements like personification and imagery. I appreciate the thoroughness of this curriculum.  I like that it starts with basics like recognizing imagery and moves towards more complex concepts like shape. Eventually, as I think this text is best suited for 8th grade and up, I will use this with Tiger and later the girls in their literature studies. 

 

Be sure to check out what other members of the Review Crew thought about the Art of Poetry. The crew also got to review Discovery of Deduction, so check out those reviews too.

 

Welcome to our newest student!

Wednesday 3-13-13 our new student arrived and enrolled in the Lighthouse Classical Academy. What a cool date to arrive! He was born after a short labor and his brother and sisters arriving to meet him within a minute or so of his birth. He was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long. For now I will call him Little One since he doesn’t have an official nickname yet.

When Pumpkin Pie was born we allowed Tiger to cut her cord. Then when Strawberry was born, Butterfly got to cut the cord. This time it was Pumpkin Pie’s turn to cut the cord. She likes to tell the riddle, “My brother cut my cord and I cut my brother’s cord. How is this possible?”

Tiger waited 11 years to have a little brother and is overjoyed. All of the girls are thrilled as well with their new brother.

In our home, we have had a tradition of a Birth Day cake and family picture. Each of the first 4 children I made a cake for. With Little One, I left the cake baking to Tiger.

After just 4 days he has changed a lot. No more squished newborn!

Essentials in Writing- Schoolhouse Review

Writing is one subject that permeates all walks of life. Everyone needs to learn to write effectively. The problem is that sometimes it is difficult to teach how to write. Essentials in Writing has taken the difficult out of teaching writing. Their goal is to “help produce confident writers who enjoy the study of language.” When this review came up, I asked Tiger to help me pick his level. While Essentials in Writing is available for grades 1-12. We reviewed 7th Grade. The 7th grade course is available for $40.  Check the website for a short video example as well as scope and sequence and a sample lesson on the website for each grade.

Essentials in Writing is a complete curriculum with DVD lectures as well as workbook pages. There are 3 DVDs of lessons and 1 DVD with a PDF of the workbook. The lectures are taught by Mr. Stephens a former middle school English teacher. Each lesson includes a short video lesson where Mr. Stephens explains a new concept with examples followed by several written exercises to practice the concept. In the elementary grades, the focus moves from grammar into writing techniques. Once the middle grades are reached, the grammar is woven into the writing lessons. Many of the early written exercises are fill in the blank or correct the sentence and rewrite it illustrating the concept discussed in the lecture. The text moves quickly from sentence structure to topics like imagery and figurative language and then into paragraphs and essays. Later the workbook pages are assignments to complete pre-writing exercises or write a narrative, letter, and other lengthier pieces of writing.

Tiger enjoyed the first few lessons and was easily able to accomplish multiple worksheets in each day because they only took a few minutes. As he progressed to later lessons, he slowed down a little more because they required a little more writing involved. In each of the early lessons, he was encouraged to write or rewrite creatively within the bounds of the lesson being taught. He really enjoyed the lesson on hyperbole. A few days after completing the hyperbole lesson, we were in the car and he made a hyperbolic statement. I laughed and commented back that I didn’t think it was quite that extreme. He informed me that he was making good use of hyperbole! I guess the lesson sunk in.

Tiger liked the way that the lengthier writing assignments were broken down into smaller chunks to make them more manageable. First he spent some time pre-writing and brainstorming. Then another day writing a rough draft, then another revising it, etc. This helped him not feel bogged down in the writing process.  

Overall Tiger really liked Essentials in Writing and he is happy to continue using the program and I like anything that will help inspire him to write. He has such good thoughts that I have struggled to get him to put on paper. Essentials in Writing is helping to draw some of that out of him. I also like that he can use the DVD for the instruction and then work independently. Be sure to read what other members of the crew thought about Essentials in Writing. We all got to review different grades and had our own experiences.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. All prices are current as of the publishing of the review.

How do you Homeschool when life throws a curve?

Every homeschooler has something come up in life. It may be a severe crisis or it might just be illness that interrupts the daily routine. During these crises, the best way I have found to keep schooling is to have already established a good foundational routine. For our family that means family work, devotional, and then learning time. Generally part of learning time will include group time with at least an hour or two of exploration together. In a crisis or upheaval, this may be more time than we can dedicate to that group time. It is during those times that we pair down.

School will not look normal during a crisis. This is ok. Because we have a view that school is an everyday, all day thing, we will pick up the extra learning time somewhere else- maybe a museum trip during a vacation we go on, maybe it will be during dinner, maybe even a lesson in the car. I have found that the most important part of homeschooling in a crisis is to determine what are the necessities that must be accomplished, focus on those, and then whatever else is done is just bonus.

This is a blog hop. Be sure to check out what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew do during a crisis.

Toys, Games & Puzzles- for School and otherwise

I am always on the lookout for games and toys that inspire, engage, and are fun. I have a few rules though- toys cannot require batteries unless it adds to the learning aspect (Lego motors are fine but dolls that cry because of a battery are not fine), they must encourage creativity, and hopefully they aren’t plastic- if they are they are high quality.

Some of our favorite toys include dolls, doll clothes, Legos, and science materials. We also love board games. Below I will highlight some of our favorites. None of the links are affiliate in nature.

Science Toys: Snap Circuits, Science Whiz kits like Electricity, and Lego Technics

Toys and Games: Mr. Potato Head, Felt Flower Lacing toys, Pattern Snap board, Dominion, Settlers of Catan, and of course logic puzzles and games by Think Fun.

This is a blog hop. Be sure to check out what the other Schoolhouse Review Crew members have to say about Toys, Games, and Puzzles.

Learning in Every Room

Most days we spend most of our learning time in our school area/office. Sometimes we are in the family room so we have access to the TV. We like to contain our school so we don’t end up spread all over the house and looking for materials. That said, every room in the house can be a tool. One place most people don’t think about is the kitchen. Obviously there is the typical cooking lessons in the kitchen… but how about an impromptu lesson on water pressure?

The other day I mentioned we had some water pressure issues. Tiger came to me and asked me, “You can’t compress water. If you can’t compress water, how is it that we had such high water pressure?”  I am not as technical and couldn’t really explain in words like B would but I wondered to myself how I could illustrate the answer to his question.

In a moment of sheer genius I took him to the kitchen to explain. I realized if I could show him water flowing through a pipe of some kind with a back log of water that he would understand that even though the pipe doesn’t change size the water pressure can increase.

I grabbed a funnel and turned on the kitchen sink.  First we observed that low water coming into the funnel would create a stream through the tube but with little pressure. Then I turned the faucet up. He could physically feel what happened to the pressure of the water coming out.

 

Success! Tiger understood the answer to his inquiry. Ah! The joys of schooling in the kitchen.

This is a blog hop! Find out what other Schoolhouse Review Crew members are teaching in their kitchens!

Catching Sparks

One of the things that many people who don’t understand Leadership Education philosophy have a problem with is the idea to Inspire not Require. Many people assume this means never require anything of the children, allow them free reign to learn whatever or whenever they want, don’t suggest anything and wait for all learning to happen. Furthermore, many believe this will extend to all areas of life- don’t require chores, don’t require healthy habits, etc. I must admit I struggled with this principle for a long time. After all, that is what it appears to say! 

As a parent, it is my responsibility to make sure they receive the best education possible, are prepared to enter the world academically and socially, and fulfill their mission in life.  This means it is my responsibility to make sure that my children know proper manners, proper behavior, how to clean house, how to cook, how to take care of basic maintenance, and how to be an adult. It is also my responsibility to make sure that I have given my children the opportunity to learn all they can and know how to learn. Does this have to be accomplished through endless worksheets? I don’t think so. Can everything be inspired? Maybe as they grow older, but for now I am not sure. For now family work is a requirement… but then again there are times the children are inspired to work hard on even family work without being asked.

So what does Inspire mean? Some call it Delight Directed learning. Others take it to one end of the spectrum and call it Unschooling. Still others have a very rigorous schedule but find ways to encourage their children to want to work hard on something. No matter how inspiration is accomplished, it is definitely a balancing act. With one child it might mean setting up an accountability program with stars. Another it might mean setting up a schedule for each day. Others thrive with input and then run with it. The key is to know the child and how to inspire that child best.

One way to inspire is, as Diann Jeppson says, to look for sparks from your children. What is a spark? A spark is a question or a comment the child makes. I wonder…, Why?…, etc. These are good jumping off points to help inspire learning. These sparks can pave the way for other things that you, as the parent, know the child needs to succeed. Sometimes these sparks are unexpected. Tiger needs to learn how to slow down, take his time, and be a bit methodical. I could harp on him but that won’t really do a whole lot of good. A spark for him is computer programming. He is currently working through Computer Science for Kids. Each lesson he MUST slow down. At first, he would get frustrated that he was missing something or had not inputted something correctly. Now he recognizes after several encounters that if he slows down and looks line by line he will find his error. Tomorrow I will talk about a mini-spark lesson in the kitchen.
This is a blog hop. Be sure to check out what the other Schoolhouse Review Crew are doing to light sparks and inspire their children.