Zoom Poetry Club!
Poetry for Children ~ at home
Many moons ago, I used to hold a Poetry Club in the bookshop for children aged 7 – 10 years old. While wondering how best I could help with ‘home-schooling’ my four grand-children, I realised that the obvious thing for me to do was to establish a way of reading and enjoying poetry in the virtual world – hence the Zoom Poetry Club! The first one was such fun to do that I thought I could offer it not just to my grand-children but to any who might like it – so jump in, adapt to your own needs and enjoy yourselves!
Just a tip, I encourage the children to have blank paper and crayons/felt tips etc on the table while we are ‘zooming’, and I invite them to doodle during any of the longer poems ~ this seems to help them to listen! Short poems I often read more than once. I don’t ask the children to analyse the poems in any way at all – these sessions are all about the fun and pleasure of listening to the rhymes and rhythms, the musicality of the poems.
POEMS FOR MONDAY
POEMS FOR WEDNESDAY
Travel Genesis by Michael Lockwood from Orange, Silver, Sausage edited by James Carter & Graham Denton, published by Walker Books.
From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson from I Like this Poem: A Classic Anthology to Treasure, edited by Kaye Webb, published by Puffin
I looked and I looked but I never found
The Nee Naw Mummy by Justin Coe from The Magic of Mums by Justin Coe, published by Otter-Barry Books
Windy Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson from I Like this Poem: A Classic Anthology to Treasure, edited by Kaye Webb, published by Puffin
The Train to Glasgow from Clinkerdump by Wilma Horsbrugh, published by Methuen, 1954
Automobile Mechanics by Dorothy Birch from Haven’t You Grown, poems about families selected by Belinda Hollyer, published by Kingfisher
Where Go the Boats? by Robert Louis Stevenson from I Like this Poem: A Classic Anthology to Treasure, edited by Kaye Webb, published by Puffin
The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes from Shout, Whisper & Sing, 101 Poems to Read Aloud, complied by Beverley Matthias, published by The Bodley Head.
Skimbleshanks , the Railway Cat by T S Eliot published by Faber
Ride by Matt Goodfellow, from Bright Bursts of Colour – Poems by Matt Goodfellow, Bloomsbury
Sea Fever by John Masefield from I Like this Poem: A Classic Anthology to Treasure, edited by Kaye Webb, published by Puffin
https://youtu.be/TCYsLqV2CyU
A Boat in the Snow by Brian Patten from Orange, Silver, Sausage edited by James Carter & Graham Denton, published by Walker Books.
The Car Trip by Michael Rosen from Orange, Silver, Sausage edited by James Carter & Graham Denton, published by Walker Books.
Skimbleshanks , the Railway Cat by T S Eliot published by Faber
The Train to Glasgow from Clinkerdump by Wilma Horsbrugh, published by Methuen, 1954
We had such fun with whistles, recorders and harmonicas as the children blew their whistles like the Guard from Donibristle!
And for Friday Favourites we reprised:
The Car Trip by Michael Rosen from Orange, Silver, Sausage edited by James Carter & Graham Denton, published by Walker Books.
Skimbleshanks , the Railway Cat by T S Eliot published by Faber
The Train to Glasgow from Clinkerdump by Wilma Horsbrugh, published by Methuen, 1954
You’ll have noticed that we love our wordsearches. They are always based on one of the poems we have read, so they help not only with spellings, but also with getting to know a poem better (without even trying!)
SKIMBLESHANKS PARTS 1 & 2
Skimbleshanks is the Railway Cat on the overnight sleeper from Crewe to … where? When I caught this train, I was going to Inverness as part of my journey to the Outer Hebrides! Why don’t you plan a journey and see how many different forms of transport it takes to get from Shrewsbury (or your nearest train station) to Berneray!
Have a go at making a picture of this very cheeky looking cat! Can you make a flag, too? Perhaps you can use a cocktail stick, and a small piece of material, or thicker paper, and then stick it onto your picture? Or draw it on using felt poens, or paint?
Now that you have planned your journey, write a short story or a poem about some of the things that might happen on the way: did you meet a friendly fellow traveller? Did you have breakfast on the train? Did you get lost? What did you see from the windows of your train, or bus, or ferry? Were you seasick …
I hope you’ve had fun! See you next time!
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It’s 5.30 in the morning and, wide awake in bed, decided to get up and do some catching up on the computer. And what a pleasure it’s been – to just give myself time to study your blog, Anna. It’s far too early for gardening, too early for baking, too early to stretch my body and exercise, too early to plan what I’m going to do today. But it’s not too early to read poetry, to study your beautiful children’s poetry sessions. I’ve just started to do an English lesson on Skype every Monday and we began last week. First I chose some children’s poems to read to her and talk about a little and then we went on to some spelling and me making up a silly story with words in that she should be able to spell in her Keystage and stopping every now and then for her to write down a word and see if she could spell it. I loved every moment. I have mentioned your Poetry Zoom to Naomi and will do so again. It sounds gorgeous. Meanwhile I will continue to read poems to her myself and gain inspiration from your choices. Loved hearing Criccieth too and hoping that we shall all, indeed, enjoy its beach and sun and wind and chelsea buns again in November.
Thank you for a gorgeous too-early-to-be-up-really morning. With much love and gratitude – Ruth xxx
Ah, thank you Ruth – I’m so glad it gave you something lovely to do at that quiet hour! The Zoom Poetry Club is there for exactly that reason – share the poems, and enjoy them with your own little ones!The wordier chef are quite a good tool, too! Enjoy the rest fo your day, Lots of love, Anna x