The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum

by Laura M. Berquist

Convinced that a critical part of education is to foster in our children a love of the beautiful and true, teacher and writer Laura Berquist presents this wide selection of poetry for every age level from grades one to twelve. Language development is significantly enriched by exposure to good poetry. This book is an important resource because it provides in one volume many poems that concern noble actions or ideas presented in beautiful patterns of sound. This book contains all the poems recommended in Berquist's best-selling Designing Your Classical Curriculum . The extensive selection includes poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Browning, William Shakespeare, G.K. Chesterton, William Butler Yeats, Robert Frost, and many others. There are three indices to help locate specific poems. This book also includes dictation selections that are useful tools in the development of the child's writing ability, as well as study questions and answers for each poem.

Genres: Poetry, Education, Literature, Childrens, Reference, Young Adult, 2nd Grade

493 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my friends here on GRs just asked me about a good poetry anthology and it reminded me of this collection which I used with my children in their later grade school years, but it could be used into high school and also enjoyed by adults just as a nice collection of poetry with helpful information for greater appreciation. I purchased copies for each of my children and myself since I thought they would like to take it with them, and they have. A good book to have in your personal collection. And now I want to rescue my own copy and re-peruse it!

[Loretta]

Excellent tool to have on hand, even if you never homeschool.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect resource for children and adults, whether or not you’re homeschooling. Something to learn for everyone.

[Mary Prudence · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, there are not many collections of poems equal to this.

[Maria Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

School curriculum.
Memorizing prose and lines.
Learned haiku too.

[Emily M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me over a year to get through this because I wanted to review it with some real life experience! This is an excellent resource for homeschool parents who want to understand why and how to introduce poetry to their children. I really liked the poems included, though my own kids definitely wanted more funny poems in our family memory work, so I would use this as a stepping off point, taking your own family's interests and preferences into account.

One struggle I have with many formal poetry programs is that the range of my big kids is 8-14, and following this progression exactly as written wouldn't work for families like mine. Poems that my oldest can discuss and memorize are not always as fun or interesting for my younger ones, and since we do poetry together as a family during our morning time, I usually default to poems that everyone can enjoy. I probably won't hit the types of poems in the last section of this book until I'm doing British lit with my oldest two in another year or two. My little ones can definitely handle Shakespeare, but after a few sonnets and speeches this fall (Benedict, Beatrice, and Portia), they requested a break! This is where having a bunch of resources and poetry compliations comes in, and the author would definitely agree.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for memory/copywork