A Winter Poem and A Poetry Resource
A light dusting of snow this morning–the second snowy morning this month–reminds me that winter still has a gentle hold upon the land West of the Cascades.
The wintry weather inspires me to share a poem my kids and I learned in January. But first . . .
Some Background
During this current school year, my children and I have enjoyed reading and reciting seasonal poetry as part of our morning circle. I usually select two or three poems that appeal to me to bring to the children each month. These works help to illustrate the sounds, sights, tastes, feel, and emotional stirrings of a particular season. I believe that introducing children to good poetry brings the season alive and heightens their awareness of the experiences of that particular time of year. Bringing only a couple-few selections at a time allows the children to truly internalize each poem; it gives time for a bit of the poet’s soul to be planted in their own young hearts.
“Poetry is the music of the soul; and above all, of great and feeling souls.” – Voltaire
At the beginning of the month, I introduce the poems to the children. Each morning the poems are read aloud again, and the children are invited to join me in reciting as they feel inclined. As time goes on, I begin to memorize the poems. Soon the children do the same. By the end of the month we are all able to recite our poems from memory, as the poems have become a part of us.
A Poetry Resource
A group of dedicated home educators–inspired by the ideas and methods employed by nineteenth century British philosopher and educator Charlotte Mason–have compiled a wonderful curriculum known as AmblesideOnline.
The curriculum at AmblesideOnline is lovely. Just lovely. But I don’t use it. Not really, anyway. I tried for a couple of years, but it just wasn’t a good fit for my Little Monkeys. That tiny detail aside, the AmblesideOnline website is a wellspring of valuable information and resources for the thoughtful home educator. And I do refer back to it from time to time.
This year I have used Ambleside’s Year 1 Poetry Anthology to select several of the seasonal poems for my homeschool. Arranged by month, the anthology contains 229 children’s poems that highlight the four seasons of the northern hemisphere. Ambleside’s Poetry Schedule page is another fabulous and exhaustive resource for those looking for an entire curriculum’s-plus worth of poetry.
Allow me to share one of the poems I chose for the children and I to learn this year.
A Winter Poem
White Fields
In the winter time we go
Walking in the fields of snow;
Where there is no grass at all;
Where the top of every wall,
Every fence and every tree,
Is as white as white can be.
Pointing out the way we came,
Everyone of them the same–
All across the fields there be
Prints in silver filigree;
And our mothers always know,
By our footprints in the snow,
Where the children go.
- James Stephens, published 1909
Each morning that we recited this poem, I could never help but say those last few lines with a smile. And each time I did, my smile was reflected in my daughter’s face.
Mama’s Little Princeling
(This high-quality photo brought to you by the handiest picture taking device I had at the moment: my iPhone.)
A mother’s plea. Please . . . someone . . . reassure me that there is just too much boy beneath the tiara to successfully carry off this look?
Princess MM admitted that she had something to do with my Little Monkey’s Friday afternoon ‘pwincess’ makeover.
Farmguy says this picture will be good fodder for a laugh when our little man is 14.
Do you think my youngest boy’s 14 year-old self will forgive his Mama for publishing a picture of his 3 year-old-pwincess self for all to see?
The rest of the story. Since the elastic waist was a bit too wide, the skirt wouldn’t stay up, so as the afternoon progressed, and he grew tired of tripping over the bottom hem, he doffed the skirt and remained in the bodice and his skivvies. A priceless look, as you might imagine.
Meanwhile, as he played, I did some Friday cleaning, laundering, bed linen changing, etc. Later, I asked him to go get his ‘regular’ clothes back on. He got as far as taking off the bodice, then spent the remainder of the afternoon running around in nothing but his favorite Thomas the Tank undies. The ones with his ‘fav-wint’ green trim.
Undies-only is a rare and wonderful experience for my little man. I continued with my chores, and he played energetically. Games like ‘take-repeated flying-leaps-off-the-nightstand.’ I love how liberating the no-clothes look is for small children.
A Mommy-Daughter Date
At the beginning of the new year, Farmguy and I launched a new program for our family: Accountable Kids. The multiple aspects of the program would be the subjects of many great posts–if I had the time and wherewithal to attempt such an undertaking. Suffice it to say, this program has already been a great blessing to family life here on the Hobby Farm. Please follow the link if you’d like to learn more about the program itself.
One important aspect of the program is training appreciation for delayed gratification and working toward long-term goals and rewards. Each of my Little Monkeys has already earned a one-on-one date of their choice with either Mom or Dad. And my daughter just earned her second date last night.
This post is a report on her first date. For this particular date, she chose to go with Mom to meet Tuffy, her friend and occasional childcare provider, Melanie’s, horse.
First, some background.
Like many little girls, my Princess Middle Monkey wants a horse. Horses are pretty important to many folks in these here parts. But believe me when I say, a horse is not even on the Hobby Farm’s radar. However, Farmguy and I have taken the time to explain that to our daughter that having a horse requires a lot of committment, equipment, time, and money.
Needless to say, our Princess remains undeterred. A few months ago she explained how she would first acquire her own equipment–important things like a pair of boots, a cowgirl hat, and spurs (!)–then she would get the things she needed for her horse.
Knowing about her wish for a horse–and although it wasn’t on her Christmas list–Santa brought our girl a stick horse that she named Caramel Rose. Santa had planned ahead for this gift and ordered it well in advance from the etsy shop TJ’s Trotters. Closer to the appointed day, Santa realized that this one stick horse might become the object of another Little Monkey’s desire, and hence, a point of contention.
Santa likes to avoid contention.
Lucky for him, Santa found that there were still a few horseys available from TJ’s–one just happened to have eyes and mane highlights in our Littlest Monkey’s ”fav-wint” color, green. Chalk up another point for the Big Guy in red. (Please pardon the glare from the froggie LED headlamp. It was a stocking stuffer.)
So that’s how we’ve come to have two whimsical stick horses stabled in the playroom.
Now, back to the date.
It had originally been planned that Princess MM would be able to ride Tuffy during her visit. But during the previous week, Tuffy had sustained an ankle (is that what it’s called in horses?) sprain. She was off-limits for riding while she healed. That was okay with Princess, though. She was still interested in combing Tuffy’s mane, and giving her an apple.
Here’s Melanie and my Princess with Tuffy.
Many thanks to Melanie for generously taking time out of her Saturday to show and tell my girl all about how to care for a horse. Melanie taught Princess about everything from watering and feeding, to grooming and supplementing. Princess MM was shown through the stable, climbed over bales of hay, and tried her hand at brushing out Tuffy’s mane and tail. And of course, she fed Tuffy the apple that she brought along.
Melanie talked to us about horse temperament, breed, size, and markings. I also appreciated how clear Melanie was about the high level of responsibility that horse ownership requires. Melanie explained to Princess that she didn’t get her first horse until she was eighteen, and that she’s always paid for her own horse’s expenses.
A report on my date with my girl would not be complete without mention of Sam the dog. He may just be the best family dog I’ve ever met.
While Princess MM was busy doting over Tuffy, Sam and I played with his two slobbery tennis balls. I wasn’t about to pick up the balls that he happily retrieved and dropped at my feet, but he was satisfied if I simply kicked them his way. I think he would have kept the game up all day long, had I been willing.
At then end of our visit, we went inside Melanie’s family home on the hill for a potty break and to see the horse quilt Melanie recently completed with her mother’s help. When we went back to the porch to slip our shoes on again, there were Sam’s two messy tennis balls, dropped neatly alongside the shoes. And there was Sam nearby, patiently waiting for us to come out and play again.
