One of the fundamentals of using the Charlotte Mason method for homeschooling is relying on your child's ability to absorb knowledge through observation. This proves true especially in copywork, in which a child will observe how the letter looks as well as spelling and punctuation. For us, copywork is essential. The reason we pulled our son out of public schools, was to help him develop skills to cope with add (primarily inattentive) and having him meticulously copy short passages, facts or poem stanzas, has certainly helped him improve his ability to focus. We usually do copywork three times per week. He especially enjoys copying poems, which fits right in with our poetry / poets study.
It is especially important to use proper printing or cursive when presenting these poems for copywork. Like Miss Mason wrote: "Set good copies before him, and see that he imitates his model dutifully: the writing lesson being not so many lines, or 'a copy'––that is, a page of writing––but a single line which is as exactly as possible a copy of the characters set. The child may have to write several lines before he succeeds in producing this. A certain sense of possession and delight may be added to this exercise if children are allowed to choose for transcription their favourite verse in one poem and another."
Below, you will find some poems especially suited for spring. The Notebooking Nook offers some lovely bird notebook pages Here. Enjoy!
THE BUILDING OF THE NEST
They’ll come again to the apple-tree -
Robin and all the rest -
When the orchard branches are fair to see,
In the snow of the blossom drest;
And the prettiest thing in' the world will be
The building of the nest.
Weaving it well, so round and trim,
Hollowing it with care,
Nothing too far away for him,
Nothing for her too fair,
Hanging it safe on the topmost limb,
Their castle in the air.
Ah ! Mother-bird, you’ll have weary days
When the eggs are under your breast,
And shadow may darken the dancing rays
When the wee ones leave the nest;
But they’ll find their wings in a glad amaze,
And God will see to the rest.
So come to the trees with all your train
When the apple blossoms blow;
Through the April shimmer of sun and rain,
Go flying to and fro;
And sing to our hearts as we watch again
Your fairy building grow.
Margaret Sangster
The Wind
I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies' skirts across the grass--
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all--
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Year’s at the Spring
The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his Heaven—
All's right with the world!
Robert Browning
Midges Dance Aboon the Burn
The midges dance aboon the burn;
The dews begin to fa’;
The pairtricks down the rushy holm
Set up their e’ening ca’.
Now loud and clear the blackbird’s sang
Rings through the briery shaw,
While, flitting gay, the swallows play
Around the castle wa’.
Beneath the golden gloamin’ sky
The mavis mends her lay;
The redbreast pours his sweetest strains
To charm the lingering day;
While weary yeldrins seem to wail
Their little nestlings torn,
The merry wren, frae den to den,
Gaes jinking through the thorn.
The roses fauld their silken leaves,
The foxglove shuts its bell;
The honeysuckle and the birk
Spread fragrance through the dell.
Let others crowd the giddy court
Of mirth and revelry,
The simple joys that nature yields
Are dearer far to me.
Robert Tannahill
(This last selection may seem rather difficult for children, but we use it because Robert Tannahill is a family ancestor from Scotland 1774-1810)
