Saturday, July 21, 2012

Poetry

There are many different types of poetry for kids. The following are just a few:

  • Alphabet (ABC)-Each line in the poetry begins with subsequent letters of the alphabet. The poetry doesn’t have to rhyme.
  • Ballad-Ballad is one of the types of poems for children that has to rhyme. The poetry retells a historical event or you can write about a personal experience in the form of rhyme.
  • Acrostic-This is a typical form of poetry where the first letter of each line form a word itself. The letters are vertically aligned to form a word that is usually the subject of the poem.
  • Autobiographical-This is really an essay about yourself in rhythm. It can rhyme.
  • Cinquain-A cinquain is composed of only 5 lines. The 5 lines are a noun (title), description, action, feeling (phrase)and the title (synonym).
  • Diamante-A diamante is a diamond shaped poem about whatever you want it to be about.
  • Haiku-Mainly a Japanese nature poem. It usually has 3 lines of poetry with the first line containing 3 syllables, the second line having 7 syllables, and the last line having 5 syllables.
  • Limerick-Poetry of 5 lines. The last word of the first, second and the fifth line rhyme and the last word of third and fourth line rhyme.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Patriotism

Patriotism means love and devotion to one's country. There are many ways to show patriotism, so it is important to make sure kids understand the basics.

  • Define patriotism in their language
  • Learn about the American flag, look for flags in your town, and learn how to fold a flag
  • Invite a veteran to talk to your child and share stories from their past.
  • Read the Declaration of Independence to your child. Have him pretend he is starting his own country. Tell him to and try writing his own Declaration of Independence.
  • Read through the Bill of Rights and discuss why they think our founding fathers thought these rights were important. Develop a Bill of Rights for your home.
  • Learn about voting rights and make a pretend voter’s registration card.
  • Discuss immigration. Trace your family tree.
  • Sing patriotic songs together. Write down the lyrics and discuss what they mean. Write your own patriotic song.
  • Learn what the words to the the Pledge of Allegiance mean.
  • Write a thank you card to a soldier.