Tag: poetry

A FREE Book of Poems for Second Grade

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

Here’s a FREE book of poems I made for my son with Down Syndrome for second grade. If you and your kids enjoyed Poems for First Grade, you’ll enjoy this compilation of poems and illustrations.

Memorizing and reciting is becoming a lost art, but there is so much to be gained from it — for all children. Memorizing and reciting poetry develops the memory and the imagination and fills the mind with beautiful imagery and language. For children with speech delays, it also helps to develop articulation and pacing in speech.

But most of all, poetry should be studied for the enjoyment and beauty of it!

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Poems for First Grade

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

Here’s a FREE book for poems for first grade that I compiled for my son with Down Syndrome. All my children have copied, memorized, and recited poems throughout their homeschooling years. So I certainly wasn’t going to let my youngest off the hook just because he has T21! Especially because memorizing and reciting poetry is so great for developing memory skills and working on articulation and pacing in speech. But most importantly, poetry fills the mind with beautiful imagery.

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More Poems for Copywork and Memorization

Published on by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

Having a repertoire of memorized poetry is something my kids secretly enjoy… although some would never admit it.  Sometimes when the younger ones are reciting their poetry, the older ones jump right in, remembering the same poems they had learned in earlier years.

There are many good reasons for copying and memorizing poetry: The rhythm and rhyme of poetry is catchy and fun. As they get older, the kids learn to appreciate the imagery and the way poets play with words, rhyme, and meter. More importantly, it is an excellent way to fill our children’s minds with beautiful imagery and rich vocabulary. In a world so devoid of culture and beauty, memorizing poetry is one way to help our children appreciate that which is true, beautiful, and good.

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How We Use FaceTime to Improve Writing and Reading

Published on by susieclement12 Comments

A little background….Mary and I met over 15 years ago in Tempe, Arizona when our husbands were in graduate school at Arizona State.  We have been great friends for such a long time.  God has blessed our families with kids who are the same age and sex and obviously, the call to homeschool.   We now live in different states but try to get together several times per year.  The kids disappear for the weekend, the husbands work on research, and Mary and I laugh, serve meals, and talk about all kinds of great stuff!

A few years ago we decided to meet weekly via FaceTime to work on writing.   We wanted our oldest daughters especially to have more time together.  What we didn’t realize was how effective our weekly meetings would be.

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