Thursday, April 12, 2012

Children's Poems-Pass The Love Along

 Jan, my older sister by just over 2 years, had to memorize a poem when she was a little girl. (Do children even memorize poems anymore?)  I remember with great fondness the way she would recite this poem. I could only remember the beginning and ending lines of the poem and always liked the sound of it.  Thanks to the search engines, I was able to find it, which for some unknown reason has pleased me greatly.  Do you know this poem too?

Grandpa dropped his glasses
in a pot of dye,
And when he put them on again
He saw a purple sky.
Purple fires were rising up
From a purple hill.
Men were grinding
purple cider at a purple mill.
Purple Adeline
was playing with
a purple doll,
LIttle purple dragonflies
were climbing up the wall.
And at the supper table,
He got crazy as a loon,
From eating purple apple dumplings
With a purple spoon.

This poem was by Leroy F. Jackson and he was born in Canada but moved to North Dakota as a child and later, moved to Asheville, North Carolina and taught at a university there.  There is something about the rhythm of poetry, especially for children that I truly love.  My son remembers how much I would read to him, Dr. Seuss being one of my favorites, and hopefully, his too!  (As a child, I would read to my younger brother and sister, all the Dr. Seuss and Beatrix Potter books that I could.)

Pretty poppies, Pretty trees,
Pretty little lettuce leaves,
Pretty pebbles, red and brown,
Pretty floating thistledown,
Pretty baby, curly head,
Standing in a pansy bed.
Pretty clouds all white and curled,
Oh, the great big pretty world!

This poem is also by the same poet and it reminded me so much of Audrey when she wrote recently of her family and her baby standing up with no hands!  www.audreygoeslocal.blogspot.com

That is Audrey's blog name.  Audrey, I hope you will read these to your girls! And for anyone reading this, please read to your children.  I am sure that anyone who reads my blog also are great lovers of books but we need to make sure that we pass that love along.  Feel the love and beauty of words and pass it on!

47 comments:

  1. I agree with you, Kay, and I do think that if you give kids poetry by heart, you give them a gift that will not leave them, and might console them and interest them in years to come.

    Oh and what a beautiful poppy!

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    1. Dear Jenny,
      Thanks, I hope that I have passed on my love for rhyme, I have tried to, time after time! :-)
      And that poppy? That photo was taken in May of 2010 and it was right behind the Hydro Hotel in Eastbourne!

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  2. Wonderful poems, Kay...I read them both out loud and felt delighted. Thank you. I enjoy reading children's books very much and do miss the days when I got to read them to my children(until Benjamin somehow taught himself to read at four and started reading to me!) Funny you should ask the question about whether children memorize poems any more. My husband and I were listening one evening to Ken Burn's Civil War series and marveling at the beauty of the letters that even the more uneducated soldiers sent home. We couldn't help but wonder if they learned to write so beautifully from learning to recite poetry in the few years of schooling they had. I wish teachers still required that. I think it is a wonderful way to learn to hear the music in language.

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    1. Dear Beth,
      Thanks, I am glad you liked them too. I know what you mean about those letters from the Civil War, such beautiful language.
      I suppose poetry has gone the way of recess and art, not considered necessary...

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  3. Good Morning Kay, beautiful poems. What a shame that today children do not appreciate the beauty of poetry or literature. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it

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    1. Oh, I am glad you liked them too! You can believe that any children that I know have been read to, and also received books as presents. Thank you for your comment!

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  4. I don't think we can generally say that children today do not appreciate the beauty of poetry or literature; a lot of children love reading, and writing, and are pretty good at both :-)

    Kay, I know you read a lot, usually non-fiction; how come you never post a review? You know I'd be interested!

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    1. Dear Meike,
      There must be lots of children in the world who love reading, but I've not seen any around lately. The ones I see usually have video games instead of books. Most of the mini-vans that you see have movies playing, you can see them up on a small screen.
      And I have been thinking of doing a post about a book (nonfiction, of course) so you will have to look out for it and remember I mentioned it here to you first! (If I can ever find the words to do a review, I find them very difficult.) And Meike, you will have to honestly tell me if the review makes any sense! (You lucky sit-at-a-table-with-Chris-De-Burgh person!)

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    2. When you want to write a review, just imagine what you would tell a friend about the book, a friend you would want to read the book as well. And then write it down :-)

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  5. When I was a teacher, not so long ago, I had students memorize poems, memorization is a great skill. And I still remember a poem I memorized in 7th grade, about a 100 years ago.

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    1. What, and you didn't share the poem with me here? Do tell!

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  6. Oh Kay, that really warmed my heart. I've been having a rough week...just the demands of motherhood, etc. And this made me smile so hard. I LOVE the poem and it reminds me of both of my girls, but especially Clara. I will be reading it to them tonight. Thank you so much for sharing that and thinking of us. You are such a precious soul! I'm still thinking of the post with your Dad and that top photo of him. I love his spunk! You're both so lucky to have one another. Wish I could meet him and have one of his biscuits! :-)

    My childhood poem:
    Nature's first green is gold.
    Her hardest hue to hold.
    Her early leaf's a flower.
    But only so an hour.
    So leaf subsides to leaf.
    So Eden sank to grief.
    So Dawn goes down to Day.
    Nothing Gold can stay.
    (Robert Frost)
    * No time to check so I hope I got all of the words right!

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    1. Oh, I am so glad you liked the poems too! And that poem that you have here? In 10th grade, we had to have a poetry folder with poems and pictures to go with the poems and that Robert Frost poem is one that I chose!
      And if there are any words wrong, I wouldn't know, it's close enough for me!

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    2. Oh, and I would love to see your face when you eat one of my Dad's biscuits, they are so, so good! Come on down!

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  7. I agree, it is a good thing to pass poems along to our children. I was unfamiliar with these, but it such a pleasure to discover new 'rhymes'.

    Hope you are well,
    e

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    1. Dear e,
      The world won't stop if you don't memorize nonsense rhymes but it helps to make it go around in a more pleasant manner! ;-)
      Hope you are well!

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  8. "Do children even memorize poems anymore?" I don't know but my children did. Learning poems was one of the highlights of my childhood and one of the ways in which I miss my Mum is because we would quote poerry at each other and fill in the blanks when the other got stuck. Even in her 90s she still remembered the poems she learned as a child.

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    1. Dear John,
      Of course, you would love poetry! My son memorized rhymes too, not because he had to for school, it was just because he wanted to and enjoyed it.
      I love that your Mum would still remember poems from her childhood. Thank you for sharing that with me, that you would fill in the blanks with the bits of poetry!

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  9. Yes, i read to my younger brother, as well as to my children. The poem i had to memorize was the very funny Eletelephony, and my kids laughed over that one a good bit growing up.

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    1. Dear Mimi,
      I just looked that poem up and I like it! Never heard of it before, so thank you!

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  10. Fun poem. Remembering and reciting poetry was a regular thing in my child hood. Don't think they do it as much in school today.

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    1. Dear Barbara,
      Thanks! Do you remember on the news from years ago, a story of a little girl in the USA trapped in a well? They rescued her and she was fine but before they did, they could hear her reciting nursery rhymes and singing songs to herself. What would kids do now?

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    2. Kay, that gave me chills. I am always amazed and touched at how people get through difficult situations in their lives. What a sweet story this is. Her parents must have been so proud when they heard that...

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    3. Dear Audrey,

      This was from years ago, but I remember it so well and marvelled at the innocence and faith of this little girl.

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  11. I will try to memorise a poem sometimes. I think it's good for the brain.

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    1. Hey John!
      I gave you one on your blog recently, just the last stanza is what I memorized, it was Daffodils by William Wordsworth. And I don't know about you, but my brain needs all the help it can get! :-) I inserted a smiley face here, but I really mean it.

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  12. Beautiful poppy photo! Like the poems too.
    Dorothy

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  13. Hey Dorothy!
    Thank you! And I took the poppy photo! (My husband usually takes the best ones!) And did you see the photo of my Dad's dog on the last post, she was such a sweet dog.

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  14. Somehow I have missed visiting your blog regularly so I just went back and caught up. The greatest compliment I ever received as an English Lit teacher was from an 11th grade boy who was not the greatest student in the world and who said that I taught him to appreciate Shakespeare. That was about ten years ago. So there's hope for the world yet.

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    1. Oh, how that must have made your heart swell with pride! And thank you for reading my blog, I hope I didn't put you to sleep!! :-) There is always hope, always!

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  15. Dear Kay,

    I enjoyed every word and photograph AND I LOVED what you wrote on my latest birdie blog posting and give-away contest. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your number is the one that comes up when Jeff plugs into the random number generator.

    All spring joys to you,

    Sharon

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    1. Dear Sharon,
      Oh, I was afraid that it was TOO silly, I have been called that before! Sharon, you know I am for the birds! Here's hoping for the win, but I have already won, because I have a comment from Sharon Lovejoy on my blog! Cannot wait for your bird book for children, I will do a post about it!!!

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  16. Lovely poems, Kay. When I was young, poetry was part of our English language teaching. I even used to write poetry regularly when I was a teen and young adult (my philosophical stage :) I miss my kids being young; I used to read to them and it was such a wonderful time together. If I am blessed with grandchildren one day, well, you know that I'll be reading to them! Especially those wacky Dr. Seuss stories.

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    1. Dear Martha,
      You know you are a poet at heart, go on, admit it! You are such a great gardener, writer and photographer, might as well write your poems again...you can't help it if you are an artist. Own your talents and use them!
      (And we can be grandmothers together and let each other know the best books, what do you say? Let's hope our children will co-operate, just not too soon, eh?)

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    2. Ha ha ha...yes, not too soon! My daughters are only 14 and 19! I hope it won't happen for awhile. Especially with the 14-year-old. Yes, I should own my talents. I will write a post soon of one of them that I will be trying to enhance. Stay tuned...

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    3. HA! As I was typing that I remembered your daughters are teenagers! Oh, I can't wait to read that post. "Trying to enhance",I like that! :-)

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  17. kay, do you know the poem/song "my grandfather's clock'? you've brought me back to my favorite memories-izations.

    i am happy to say that my 5 year old mr. ryan and i rhyme as we go. one line, and then another. it is a legacy i hope to give to my grand children. i tell him he's a poet and he smiles.

    and when i read dr. seuss i pray that i can write story rhymes one smidgin as well as he does.

    thaks for a fun time here tonight, kay. ♥

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    1. My son and I also had great fun with poems and lyrics and he remembers it, he is 22 now! I didn't mention lyrics to songs, but really, they are poems too and my son learned so very many, and still does!
      Dr. Seuss is one of my heroes. I too wish that I could write just a BIT like him! And if he couldn't find a word, he'd make one up instead. Fantastic! My son and I were very disappointed at the look of the new Lorax movie, all so Hollywood and all so ORANGE!
      I didn't know that "My Grandfather's Clock". Thank you for sharing it!

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  18. Hi Kay, That first poem is so silly - just the kind of thing children respond to :) The second one sure has a wonderful rhythm. A fab poppy pic - I read the 'history' behind it above. That last nature scene with the big rock seems very familiar... I wonder where that was taken (wink, wink) - Btw, we are all ready for another walking tour - It's been days now... :(

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  19. Dear Jane,
    HA! That silly poem is one that I still love, am I a sad case or what? :-)
    Oh, and I am happy that you like the poppy photo, those poppies...I just want to drink them in, they are so gorgeous.
    Oh, let's see...I wonder if I can remember where I took that next photo...hmmmm, that IS a puzzle, isn't it? You know me, I am either at Stone Mountain or Arabia Mountain, the next post will be on Stone Mountain, we were just there on Tuesday, since I took that day off! Thank you so much for your comment, you do make me laugh.

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    1. Dear Sara,
      I love poppies so much and they are so pretty!

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  21. I searched the web to find the poem about Grandpa dropping his glasses and found your blog. That poem is special to me and I was trying to remember it. I read that poem to my Grandpa when I was 9 in 1970, I remember him laughing so hard with me about that poem. He died that same day a few hours later, unexpectedly. When I recall the events of that sad day the poem always was a happy part of my memory. I am glad to have found the entire poem. Thank you. Susan from Missouri

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    1. Thank YOU Susan from Missouri for leaving me this wonderful comment. I cannot tell you how much this means to me. I LOVE your memory of reading that poem to your Grandfather. I am crying as I am typing this.
      If anyone ever asks me why I like to have my own blog, I will remember to point them to this post and have them read what you wrote here. Thank you.

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  22. I have to say, though I feel I should enjoy the mature poetic art more, it's always the kid's poems that are my favourite, they're all so mischievous and full of joy, and these are no exception! This is a beautiful post, I'm enamoured by that orange flower.

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    1. Thank you! The flower is a poppy, it was in the garden of my in-laws in England.
      Thank you for your comment!

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