Stories and poems

This picture was taken pre-Buttercup.
This is not what all of our homeschool
mornings look like, but a few of them!

We've been studying poetry and writing some of our own. So we thought we'd share! But first, one of Naomi's favorite stories from Grandpa Les and Grandma Jan's recent visit. Naomi adores this story and requests it often, and I tell it as often as I can manage, usually to the accompaniment of giggles and ear-to-ear smiles. For this reason, I try to make it as cute as possible, so some of the details may be a bit fluffy:

Once there was a soft little grey and white bunny. She lived in the bin of a gift shop on a children's farm. There were many other soft animals with her in the bin, including horses, cows, sheep, pigs and even roosters! One by one, the other animals were all chosen by children and bought, and taken out of the gift shop. But no one chose the little bunny.

The little bunny really wanted to be chosen, and she used to dream of who she'd like to be her owner. Most of all, she wanted to be owned by a nice little girl who would take good care of her, and play with her, and read books with her, and cuddle her, and take her out on adventures, and sleep with her. She also thought it might be fun if there were other stuffed animals to play with, too, and especially other bunnies. But day after day, she wasn't chosen.

Then one day, a family with three girls came in: a bigger girl, a middle-sized girl, and a littler girl, who was still pretty big. The bunny became excited: this looked like a lovely family to belong to! She thought the littlest girl looked like she would make an especially nice owner, and she hoped the girl would pick her up and choose her.

She watched as the girl walked right over to the bin and then she felt herself being lifted, and carried in the girl's arms! The bunny was delighted--would the little girl choose her? She heard the girl say something to her mommy, and then saw the mommy shake her head. The little girl put the bunny back down into the bin, nestling her in with the other stuffed animals, and slowly walk away.

The little bunny was disappointed, but knew there would be other children in the store. Someone was sure to by her sometime. She nestled in among the other stuffed animals and took a nap.

The bunny was just finishing her nap when she felt herself being lifted again. The little girl was back! But why was she back? She wasn't able to buy the bunny, so what was she doing? The little girl tucked the bunny under her arm, and went up to the counter. She set the bunny on the counter, and the bunny could see the girls' grandma paying money to the cashier. Then, the bunny was returned to the little girl, who tucked her under her arm again. Soon, the whole family was leaving the store.

And the bunny realized, I've just been bought! I belong to this little girl! The bunny was couldn't believe her happiness! And the adventures began right away, as the little girl showed the bunny around the farmyard--pointing out real bunnies--before bringing her home.

At home, the girl named the bunny Buttercup, which Buttercup thought was the most perfect name in the whole world. Just as she'd hoped, there were other stuffies to play with, including bunnies. And they all lived happily ever after.

__________

As you can see, Grandpa and Grandma's visit was magical, in so many ways--not the least of which was that they managed to see three end-of-year events and several activities the girls are involved in. How nice of everyone to plan everything the same week! The week was possibly even busier than the one before our wedding or any of the weeks after bringing a new baby home from the hospital, but the girls relished the chance to show off their stuff to their grandparents.

___________

To finish out the school year, the older girls and I have been doing a poetry unit. We've read famous poetry, turned at least a couple poets into household names and written some of our own. Here are some of our favorites:

The Cow, by Kalina
There was a cow who wouldn't moo.
The farmer said, "What should I do?"
So he gave it a scare,
And tickled its hair,
And then it gave him an "achoo!"

The Stream's Song, by Kalina
The stream has its own special song.
It sings and sings all day long.
When it rains, the stream's song increases,
When it's dry, the stream's song ceases.

Grandma's project: wool felt
snakes! How perfect!

The stream sings and sings like a bird,
It sings so it can be heard.
It flows and whooshes along,
While the rocks take part in its song.

Haiku by Kalina
Looking up so high
Leafy branches spreading out
Dancing in the wind

A clerihew poem by Kalina
Tommy, the fixer,
Got caught in a mixer!
He's still stuck in there,
And he's caught by his hair!

Ready to perform!

A diamante poem by Kalina
Music
Full, amazing
Drifting, floating, inspiring
Violin, conductor, artist, paintbrush
Beautifying, coloring, amazing
Bright, peaceful
Painting





An acrostic by Kalina
Kind to mice
Animals love her
Loves her family
Ice cream, her favorite!
Never forgetting friends
Always ready for fun.

The Squirrel in the Tree, by Elise
There once was a squirrel in a tree
He said, "Oh hehehe!"
Then he climbed down
And made a big frown
But then laughed a big "hehehe!"

Flowers, by Elise
Seeds are fun because they grow so big
When they're big they turn into a flower.
Maybe they grow an inch a minute,
Maybe they grow an inch an hour.

Watch them grow day by day,
It's so great.
They're so big and colorful--oh how fun.
Many shapes, riffles and smooth petals
And at the flower contest, I won!

Tadpole, by Elise
Tadpole
Black, little
Splishing, splashing, swimming
Resting on the bottom
Polywog.

Naomi, by Elise
Naomi
Silly, little
Running, shouting, singing
Makes us laugh
Little sister

Enjoying a good story together.

Acrostic poem, by Elise
Energetic Elise
Loves to climb trees
I love to explore the stream
Swimming is great
Everything's fun with Elise

Beautiful Giants, by Elise
Trees are like houses,
Dear and strong,
Except for our animal friends.
Their big, sturdy branches
And long limbs are great,
For the animals' beautiful nests.

And finally, a narrative poem (kind of?) by Naomi
The bunnies hop
Between the grass
They see some carrots and hop over them.
They have so much fun hopping over them.
And they eat some, too.

A little girl comes outside and the bunnies hop into her arms.
She doesn't notice that there are bunnies in her arms.
She goes inside.
Then, the bunnies start playing with her and jump on her head and say, "Ready, set, we'll go!"
And they were all babies.
And the bunnies all took good care of her.

In return for all this work, I wrote limericks for the girls!

Naomi "teaches" Grandpa
Les how to play Candyland.
Lots of giggles, mostly from
Naomi!

All day, Naomi happily
Each one of her sweet, furry friends.
She gives them her best,
Pretty blankets for rest,
And ice cream, for breakfast, intends.

Elise, who climbed everything high
Just felt more at home in the sky.
With the squirrels and breeze
She perched in the trees
Even when people called out, "Oh my!"

Our beautiful ballerina danced
as a flower in Alice in
Wonderland!

There once was a girl named Kalina,
Who danced as a sweet ballerina.
But she liked piano too,
And wore out her shoe,
As she danced, and played a sonatina.