Poem: Summer Stargazing

[Verbal Communications]

Author:  Marilyn Singer
Illustrator:  LeUyen Phan

Read poems to your children...often.   Better yet, memorize simple poems together.   Memorize this poem so that you are prepared to recite it the next time you look up and see the heavens lit up with stars.   Recite Stargazing by Marilyn Singer and then begin giving each star its own name...

Stargazing

Looking at the summer stars
is our latest game.
I like to count them one by one
while Dad gives each a name.

He says it's so much better
than trying to count sheep.
We make the stars our very own
before we fall asleep.

This poem comes from Singer's book, 

A Stick is an Excellent Thing.

Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play

Deni Corbett

Verbal Comm: Brown Bird

[Verbal Communications]

Reading poetry to young children is essential for language appreciation and development.  Even if you are not a fan of poetry, don't miss the opportunity to share its rhythm and rhyme with your children.

Brown Bird

"Little brown bird
Where do you live?
Up on yonder wood, sir,
On a hazel branch."

Author Unknown

Check out some more bird poems here.

Poem: RAIN by Shel Silverstein

[Verbal Communications]

I opened my eyes

And looked up at the rain,

And it dripped in my head

And flowed into my brain,

And all that I hear as I lie in my bed

Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,

I walk very slow,

I can't do a handstand--

I might overflow,

So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--

I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

                                                    Shel Silverstein

Enjoy reading this fun poem to your child.  Laugh at the silliness of it and encourage your child to finish select lines by remembering the rhyming word(s).   rain-brain   head-bed

Poem: The Cardboard Box

Thank you, Lara Dunning for this delightful poem.   Oh, the memories it stirred in my heart.   What child doesn't love an empty refrigerator box and some crayons?  Mine certainly did!

Deni Corbett

This is the perfect poem to go along with our Fireflies' Box Theme this month!

[Verbal Communications]

Photo credit and directions to make this airplane - minimocha blogspot

"Childhood Memories of The Cardboard Box" 

Enormous
Refrigerator box
Crayon
Markers
Scissors
Imagination

Fortress?
Sailboat?
Time Machine?
No…Rocket Ship!

Cut out windows
Colored dials
Bright red buttons
Pointed tip
Cardboard wings

Helmets on
Engine on
We’re ready

Blast Off!

by
Lara Dunning

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

[Verbal Communications]

Older children are quite capable of memorizing this poem by Robert Frost, but it is also a wonderful poem to simply read over and over again to a younger child.   Poetry is so important for language development because of the "music" of the words as well as the rhythm and rhyme of the word combinations used in the poem.   This poem is a prime example.    Read this poem often to a younger child and allow them to add the last rhyming word to select lines themselves. I encourage you to print out a copy of this poem and enjoy it together with your child(ren).

NOTE: We have highlighted this poem in our "S is for SNOW" script.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

by Robert Frost

This is a great Study Guide if you are interested in digging deeper into this poem.

The following is a reading of the poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

SBACS
Send us a video of your child reciting all or part of this poem 
for a chance to win a beautifully illustrated book by Susan Jeffers.
Send videos to Fireflies.

Poem: My Gift by Christina Rossetti

[Verbal Communications]

Consider having older children memorize this poem.  If you have younger children then simply print out this poem, post it on the refrigerator and recite it whenever you see it.  Your child will pick up on the rhyme and rhythm of the words.

Adoration of the Magi by Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337).
The Star of Bethlehem is shown as a comet above the child.
Giotto witnessed an appearance of Halley's Comet in 1301.

My Gift
by Christina Rossetti

What can I give Him

Poor as I am;

If I were a shepherd,

I would give Him a lamb,     

If I were a wise man,

I would do my part.

But what can I give Him?

I will give my heart.            

This poem is featured in this month's Fireflies Presents'  "C is for Christmas".

Over the River and Through the Woods

[Verbal Communications]

Over the river and through the woods

To Grandmother's house we go.
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
Through white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the woods,
Oh, how the wind does blow.
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods
To have a full day of play.
Oh, hear the bells ringing ting-a-ling-ling,
For it is Thanksgiving Day.

        Why not consider having an older child (or grandparent) read or recite this 
        traditional poem by adding it to your Fireflies Presents' program?

"Over the River and through the Wood" is a Thanksgiving song by Lydia Maria Child. Written originally as a poem, it appeared in her Flowers for Children, Volume 2, in 1844. The title of the poem is, "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day". It celebrates her childhood memories of visiting her Grandfather's House. Lydia Maria Child was a novelist, journalist, teacher, and wrote extensively about the need to eliminate slavery.

Poem: The Little Red Apple

A Little Red Apple

A little red apple
Hung high in a tree.

I looked up at it,
And it looked down at me.

"Come down, please," I called.

And what do you suppose?

That little red apple,
Dropped right on my nose!

Print out, post on the refrigerator door, memorize and recite together!

Verbal Comm: Casey at the Bat

Don't miss the opportunity to share this wonderful poem with your children.   Read it to them with all the drama and enthusiasm you can muster.  Consider adding to your home library by purchasing the version that is illustrated by one of our favorite author/illustrators - Patricia Polacco!

Casey at the Bat
Written By Ernest Lawrence Thayer, 1888


The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two with but one inning left to play;


And then, when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.


A straggling few got up to go, in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which "springs eternal in the human breast;"

They thought, If only Casey could but get a whack at that,
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.


But Flynn procede Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a no-good and the latter was a fake;

So, upon that stricken multitude grim meloncholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.


But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball,

And when the dust had lifted and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second, and Flynn a-huggin' third.

Read Thayer's entire poem HERE

Another illustrated interpretation of Casey at the Bat. Illustrated by C. F. Payne.

Poem: My Spring Garden

[Verbal Communications]

April is National Poetry Month
Why not print out the following poem to enjoy with your children?

My Spring Garden

Here is my little garden,
Some seeds I’m going to sow.
Here is my rake to rake the ground,
Here is my handy hoe.

Here is the big, round yellow sun;
The sun warms everything.
Here are the rain clouds in the sky;
The birds will start to sing.

Little plants will wake up soon,
And lift their sleepy heads;
Little plants will grow and grow
In their little, warm earth beds.

~ Author Unknown ~

Poem: The Rain

[Verbal Communications]

The Rain

Girl in the Rain with Umbrella
oil painting
Artist: Debra Hurd

The rain is raining all around,

It falls on field and tree.
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

Robert Louis Stevenson

This is a great poem to memorize and recite with your child, especially every time it rains!  Children directly benefit from the rhythm and rhyme of poems. Don't miss these monthly opportunities to grow your child's language and memorization skills.

Poem: Who Has Seen the Wind?

Today we are switching themes from facing fears to wind & kites.  

We hope you enjoy our book choices and CLIP activities.

[SOC Verbal Communications: Reciting a Poem]

by Christina Rossetti

     Who has seen the wind?
     Neither I nor you;
     But when the leaves hang trembling
     The wind is passing through.

     Who has seen the wind?
     Neither you nor I;
     But when the trees bow down their heads
     The wind is passing by.

This is a great poem to memorize with your child.  Every age group can successfully memorize Rossetti's poem.   Keep a copy close by in the kitchen, in the car etc. so you can read/recite it often to your child.   Have them fill in words when you pause until they can recite it with you.  Sometimes clapping the poem's meter (four beats per line) helps children capture the rhythm of the poem.  If you are taking a walk with your child, step in rhythm to the poem as you recite it.  Have fun and enjoy.  Share with us other ways to help children memorize poems and Bible verses - comment below.

Then let them "perform" their poem for family and friends.   If you have other families participating in Fireflies, set aside an evening for the children to perform and display all of their communication projects: print, verbal, and visual.

Send us an audio file (this is easy with a Smartphone) of your child (or your family) reciting Who Has Seen the Wind? for a chance at a lovely book of poetry, courtesy of SBACS.   Email your file to us!

The Poem "Apology" by Judith Viorst

[Verbal Communications]

It’s hard to say, “I’m sorry,”

Although I’m feeling sorry.

The “s” always sticks in my throat.

And, “I made a big mistake”

Would produce a bellyache

That might last till I was old enough to vote.

“Please forgive me” sounds real good.

And I’d say it if I could,

But, between the “forgive” and the “please”

I would have to go to bed

With a pounding in my head

And a very shaky feeling in my knees.

“I was wrong” seems oh so right.

But it gives me such a fright

That my “was” always turns into “ain’t”.

So I hope you’ll take this rhyme

As my way of saying “I’m

Really sorry.”  Now excuse me while I faint.
______
"Apology" might not be a classic poem worth memorizing (like January's "Stopping by Woods...") - but it is great poem to enjoy reading and rereading to/with your young child!  It's also a good choice for an older child to read with expression during "Family Showtime".  The pauses and inflection used when reading this poem are what make it work.  What's "Showtime"?    Keep following Fireflies...we'll explain.

PEN IN HAND: Create a Cinquain Poem

[Print Communications] Cinquain is a form of a short poem.  It has only five lines that closely link to each other.  Cinquain is initially originated by Adelaide Crapsy (1878-1914).  She constructed this kind of poem based on Haiku.  (Haiku is a form of Japanese verse and is made up of five, seven, and five words in unrhymed lines of three.)     Have your child come up with the words to complete their own Cinquain poem.  If your child prints or you type the finished poem, be sure and highlight your child's first and last name in color, so the name stands out when you view the poem. Line 1     Your (child's) first name Line 2     Two words that describe you (your child) Line 3     A three word phrase that describes something they like to do Line 4     Four "feeling" words or adjectives Line 5     Your (child's) last name My grandson, Davis' first 3D experience Davis brother - grandson loves to ask questions smart - tender - silly - loved Corbett                                                          Remember that the presentation and the display is extremely important.   Consider creating a mat for your child's poem.  Perhaps you could add an image of your child to your poem and frame the completed project.     Please send us a .jpg of your child holding their print comm creation.   Email