Poetry memory work

If you have a reluctant writer and/or reader. You might be able to reach them through Poetry. This has been one way to get little Moonbeam to do copywork with minimal complaints. She has a a keen skill for memorization which will help her so much later in life. When we first discussed Poetry 2 years ago at the end of Kindergarten I was shocked I could still recite Paul Revers Ride from 3rd grade, but ask me what I had for breakfast forget it.

So little Moonbeam has a few poems stored in her memory and this week we are adding

Manners By. Florence A. Richardson

Water and soap will make you sweet;
Brush and comb will keep you neat
But "Thank you," "Please," and "Pardon me,"
Will make a sweeter child of thee.

With clothes that have no spot or rent,
With shoes that shine, be not content,
But polish up your manners, too;
Make courtesy a part of you.

We have a schedule for learning our poetry as follows,

Mondays We review/recite last weeks poem and I read this weeks poem to her twice then we read it together a third time.

Tuesdays Again I read the poem twice and we read it together once then we do the copy work. I use Worksheetworks.com I title the page the same as the poem and set it to have a space between so not only does she trace the words in the poem she is re writing them too.

Wednesday We do the say recite/ say together and, we start making a lapbook for the poem.
some poems its easier to find things to use in a lap book. I let Moonbeam decorate the front of the lapbook and we staple our copy work to the wide center part then use the smaller sides to put a typed copy of the poem, colored images for example for this poem I might print out some clothes and combs for her to color. Sometimes we even use things she has cut from magazines or newspapers.

Thursdays Again we use the same recite twice, together once, and then finish up our lapbook.

Friday 98% of the time she is ready to recite alone and we choose next weeks poem.

This method has worked well for her and I.