The Homeschool How To
I don't claim to know anything about homeschooling, so I set out on a journey to ask the people who do! Join me as I chat with homeschoolers to discuss; "why are people homeschooling," "what are all the ways people are using to homeschool today," and ultimately, "should I homeschool my kids?"
The Homeschool How To
Curriculum Series: The Grammar of Poetry (Why Do Our Kids Need Poetry, Anyway?)
Could adding poetry to your homeschool curriculum unlock a powerful communication skill set in your children? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Lisa Nehring, a fervent supporter of poetry in education, as she passionately advocates for its inclusion in homeschooling. Lisa shares insights on the transformative potential of "The Grammar of Poetry" by Matt Whitley, revealing how engaging with poetry's rhythm, meter, and tropes can cultivate eloquent and stylish communicators. This episode promises to open your eyes to the myriad benefits poetry offers in teaching children the art of effective expression, a crucial asset as they prepare for the demands of a global economy.
Discover the creative genius of Ian Dosher, who has reimagined the Star Wars saga in the timeless language of iambic pentameter, creating an entertaining bridge for reluctant readers and writers to explore language with enthusiasm. Through Lisa's insights, you'll not only learn about the natural cadence of poetry mirroring speech but also how mastering figures of speech like alliteration, similes, and metaphors can set your children apart as compelling writers and speakers. This episode offers practical inspiration for incorporating poetry into your homeschooling journey, ensuring your kids are equipped with essential communication skills for the future.
The Grammar of Poetry
Ian Doescher's Star Wars
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Welcome to the Homeschool How-To Find my Curriculum, a series where we talk all about curriculum. I've been interviewing homeschooling families for over a year now on my main podcast, the Homeschool How-To, but I really wanted to zero in on curriculum. There's so much out there. How do I know what would work best for me and my child? How do I know what works for one child would work for the other? I might like the curriculum I'm using now, but how do I know there's not a better one out there, Especially if I don't know all the curriculums? And what about supplemental curriculum? Should I be using that too? This series is to help you decide just that. I'm going to interview parents who are using all the curriculums so that you can decide the absolute best way to unfold your homeschooling journey. The absolute best way to unfold your homeschooling journey. Welcome and with us today.
Speaker 2:I have Lisa Neering here with me. Lisa, thank you so much for being on the show. Thanks for having me. It's delightful to be here. I love the Grammar of Poetry by Matt Whitley and a lot of parents are like poetry. Who cares? But I'll tell you why you should. Yeah, no, I'm one of those.
Speaker 1:I was like why do my kids need poetry? Because it's in our nature study. And I'm like I get it. But I know there's got to be something further to this. Tell us what is it.
Speaker 2:I want to tell you about it. So one of the things about poetry, what it does, especially if you learn formal poetry, where in the grammar of poetry he goes through iambic pentameter or iambic trochaic, anapestic and dactylic Don't ask me to define all those, but it's meter. And one of the things that your kids will learn if they study formal poetry is the meter of language and how it flows together. The other thing that's so cool about poetry is it uses a lot of tropes together. The other thing that's so cool about poetry is it uses a lot of tropes. Tropes are figures of speech like alliteration, similes, metaphors. If your kids learn tropes, they now have style.
Speaker 2:So we've all heard bad speakers, right Like. We've all suffered through a really awful PowerPoint where the presenter was like they're using simple sentences and they don't even. They're like my dog, they don't even care what they're telling you. You know, it's just so bad and so boring. And then we've all heard phenomenal speakers, right, that we're just like. You've got to go hear them. You've got to go hear them because they're using figures of speech, they're using assimilies and alliteration and metaphors and they're using stories. And that's what poetry teaches our kids to do. It teaches them to use alliteration. Alliteration is so very powerful. It's telling them that metaphors are going to be like really important, and metaphors are. They're more of an abstract concept, but you use metaphor in everything. As you get older, I mean, like you know, in every subject metaphor is important, and so that's what I love so much about formal poetry it teaches them the rhythm and cadence of speech and also it teaches them figures of speech.
Speaker 2:Ian Dosher wrote this amazing trilogy. It's called the Star Wars Trilogy. I'm blanking on the title of it, but he takes the Star Wars trilogies and all the Star Wars franchise Now they call him to do this with all of their movies and he puts it in iambic pentameter and it's hysterical. So you've got Darth Vader talking in iambic pentameter, which is also the language of Shakespeare, which also, by the way, mimics your heartbeat.
Speaker 2:And so it's this amazing, hysterical Star Wars story, taught in poetry, like Shakespeare would have written, and it's just a great way for especially reluctant readers to, or writers to, really have fun with language, and that's how we get good writers right. That's how we get good communicators, which is going to be a skill all of our kids need, especially in this fourth industrial revolution. Communication is the number one need our kids have. They're going to live and work in a global gig economy. If they can communicate well, they're going to be so far out ahead of everybody else. Teaching them to play with language and enjoy it is going to really be a great step towards that. So formal poetry it's such a great tool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is called grammar of poetry, so I'll link that. That's so cool. And you know what? Yes, they teach you like you read. You know Shakespeare a little bit of Shakespeare in high school, but they never tell you that about it. And I've heard of iambic pentameter or not, you know, I don't know what it is Like. You know, maybe it has two short lines and one long line, I don't know.
Speaker 1:But, um, but they never teach you about that and how you can become a better speaker and more engaging to listen to that. If you asked me what makes a speaker engaging, I would say, oh well, someone that has a little bit of animation as they talk. You know, you don't realize there's a whole background to what you're hearing and and and that storytelling, that metaphor is, yeah, you're right, it really like when you teach your kids history. I mean, that's, that is such a um, a big thing to get them to connect with it. Like, oh, like that. Yes, well, that's. And I really have to check out the star wars thing as my son gets older, I I assume he'd be into that. So, um, that'll be really cool, wow. Well, thank you for explaining that. I've always wanted to write a book. I've started um, like the like, um, um memoir.
Speaker 2:I've wrote you know my emergency book for kids but um, but writing a memoir.
Speaker 1:But as I'm writing, I always get stuck and I wonder if that's what it is, but maybe, as I go through this curriculum with my kids, that'll give me more of a oh, this is how you should say that part of the story and this is how you can make that engaging. So that really makes a lot of sense. Wow, mind blown, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yep, well, good, good, ian Dozier, he's the. He's the guy who does the Star Wars trilogies.
Speaker 1:So fun. Ian Dozier All right, I will. So he's separate from the grammar of poetry. Yep, Okay, All right, Ian Dozier books I will have to link that in here too, because that's so cool. All right, Lisa, thank you so much. You're welcome. It's been so fun. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening. Please consider sharing this podcast or my main podcast, the Homeschool how To with friends, family on Instagram or in your favorite homeschool group Facebook page. The more this podcast is shared, the longer we can keep it going and the more hope we have for the future. Thank you for your love of the next generation.