Poetry

I learned about two splendid resources for our homeschool today - Videos and Podcasts of classic poetry.  

Robert PinskyPoet Laureate of the US from 1997-2000 and author of 19 books, founded the Favorite Poem Project.. The Favorite Poem Project:

A collection of 50 short video documentaries showcases individual Americans reading and speaking personally about poems they love. The videos have been regular features on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and are a permanent part of the Library of Congress archive of recorded poetry and literature. They have also proven valuable as teaching and learning tools for a range of classrooms and ages.

I love how the individuals talk about the poem they are going to read. I'm convinced this is going to help show our children the deep meaning poetry can have in our lives.

Moving on to a very different poetry resource. The Classic Poetry Aloud Indexhas no people talking about their connection to poetry, it is purely a website of poetry read aloud very beautifully.

Welcome to the index for Classic Poetry Aloud, a podcast series for some of the greatest poetry in English.

The growing catalogue currently includes over two hours of recordings. Search by poet, by theme, or by using the search box to the right.

These free readings (over 200 poems, by over 80 poets) would fill two CDs, and many more are planned.

You can request a short email l with each new posting, containing a short paragraph on the featured poem or poet, or you can just subscribe to the podcasts through iTunes.

I plan on adding the poems to my children's iPods. Shira loves poetry. She drives Ben crazy with her readings. Of course, she chooses to read poetry to us when Ben and I are trying to read quietly to ourselves. Our school year starts in just over a week, so it will be back to weekly poetry memorization. Both kids can't wait to memorize poetry formally again. I find it amusing how they both memorize poetry and passages from books for fun and don't consider that school. Shira has a list longer than her arm of poems she wants us to memorize this year.


Hat Tip: Silvia at Po Moyemu
and Lydia at The Book Arts Bash