Bouquet
Gather
quickly (grabbing air)
Out of darkness (swimming motion)
All the songs you know (hug self)
And throw them at the sun (fling arms upwards)
Before they melt
Like snow (Melt to the ground)
-Langston Hughes
Out of darkness (swimming motion)
All the songs you know (hug self)
And throw them at the sun (fling arms upwards)
Before they melt
Like snow (Melt to the ground)
-Langston Hughes
This week we learned about the poet Langston Hughes, and what poetry means. We will practice this poem throughout the month as we explore black history in music, along with the amazing cultural heritage of jazz and also African storytelling. The kids were entertained as I made up some impromptu rhymes using their name, and we also explored what "free verse" meant. To learn Langston's wonderful poem, we used the body movements above with scarves and I was truly impressed with how quickly the kids memorized the stanzas (especially the four-year-old class!). Make sure to ask your child about it!
We also had fun with another poem set to motion with scarves:
THE PANCAKE POEM
Mix a pancake (stirring motion with scarf)
Stir a pancake
Pop it in the pan (Downward motion with scarf, make sizzle sound)
Fry a pancake
Toss a pancake (Throw scarf up in the air)
Catch it if you can! (Catch the scarf in the air!)
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD
1) Do you know what a poem is?
2) In "Bouquet" by Langston Hughes, the poem says to gather the songs you know and throw them at the sun, before they melt like what? SNOW!
3) Did you catch your scarf after you threw it in the air?