Melody's and Eliza's Poems

A day late, but not a dollar short!

America

by Melody

Sun-bleached, sandy seashores,

With seashells in the sand.

The lazy, quiet rivers,

That run through the land.

The mossy, quiet forests,

With trees all around.

The snow-capped, majestic mountains,

Rising from the ground.

The green, perfect plains,

With the May, spring air.

People, who are loving and kind,

And at night would say their prayer.

America

by Eliza

The sparkling, white seashores

That glitter in the sunlight.

The broad, rushing rivers

That splash day and night.

The quiet, mossy forests

Of the majestic mountains.

The perfect, golden plains,

With the beautiful smell of jasmine.

The smooth and delightful melody

That hangs in the air.

The people who care for their families

With a loving heart.

They sputtered out a bit at the end because they were working on a deadline, but overall, I think they did a great job!

The next lesson also is poetic. Rebekah and Joel are working on them now. I'm dividing up the two poems for the little girls, so they're working on the first now and will write the second next week.

SDG!

English Assignments: poetry

School is getting off to a good start!

We began the Tuesday after Labor Day (even though schools here start in early August, I'll never think that's a good idea; fortunately, homeschoolers have the flexibility to do it our own way!)

Rebekah, Melody, Eliza, and Joel are working through IEW's U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons this year. The two olders will work through Volume 1 and Volume 2, while the two little work through Volume 1.

The first lesson was about strong adjectives and used a poem as the model, sort of. I must say I wasn't really impressed with this assignment and the kids thought the model was lame (not their word). It purported to be a poem, but had no instructions about rhythm or rhyme (since the lesson wasn't about that, I understand, but I think choosing a real poem as a model would have been a better idea). I know poetry without rhyme and rhythm is considered acceptable, but I've always had a hard time seeing blank verse as real poetry. However, I thought that, since it's only one assignment and things should improve as we go through the book, I wouldn't make a big deal about it.

The two older kids' assignment was due today. Rebekah had the same idea that I did - simply get through it, but Joel added in rhythm and rhyme. Here are their creations:

America

by Rebekah

Land of sunny, shell-strewn seashores,

Dark, mossy forests of evergreens,

Majestic, snow-capped mountain ranges;

Broad, rushing, and lazy rivers travelling

Among rolling, golden plains.

America, a land populated by thriving,

Independent men and women whose

Lives are paving the way for generations.

America

By Joel

Sparkling and sunny seashores,

Sandy and with shells galore.

Forests leafy, mossy, dark,

Mountains majestic and stark.

Rivers rushing, rocky, broad,

Plains great, created by God.

Men who fought for freedom old

Men, courageous, free, and bold.

I'll post the little girls' poems tomorrow. They've been playing with rhyme and rhythm, too! I can't wait to see what they've come up with!