January always brings a bit of a struggle for me.  The spiritual side of me wants to spend copious quantities of time in prayer and the scriptures, searching for God’s direction, asking Him to guide me and help me focus on His priorities for my life as we tackle our last school semester of the year.

But the spiritual side has to wrestle with the “practical” side that wants to DO SOMETHING. NOW.

I want to  PLAN everything myself,  make school bigger and better, add this over here and that over there, as well as insert another activity or two in an already busy schedule.

In other words, instead of seeking what God wants to do in and through my life, our family, our homeschool – I tend to want to make MY plans and just ask God to bless them.  How wise is that to act as if I know best?

I constantly have to remind myself that it isn’t about me, and rather than making ten New Year’s Resolutions, finding the perfect planner for 2010, or setting my personal and professional goals on my own, it would be a more profitable use of my time to seek more of HIS input first.  After all, He has the big picture!  He is already working in my life and that of our family’s, and it is my place to join Him in what He is doing rather than setting off in another direction.

Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:20-21

How puny my plans must be compared with the Maker of the Universe’s!

Here are some other verses I am praying over as I seek to know His plans for our family for the coming year:

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me. Psalm 57:2

The plans of the diligent surely lead to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Exodus 9:16

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be established.  Proverbs 16:3

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.  Ephesians 3:19-21

Am I the only one who struggles with this?  What do you do to keep yourself on the wise path?

God’s blessings on your New Year!

Active Ideas with Gourds!

One of the most positive ways we can celebrate Thanksgiving involves expressing our own thankfulness for all the ways that God blesses us!

1. Turkeys of Encouragement – this idea works best if you start at least a week before Thanksgiving to give everyone time to think. Make a turkey, minus the feathers, for each member of your family. Put the person’s name on the turkey body along with a favorite Bible verse. Hang the turkeys on a wall or door that is easily accessible for every family member. Cut out enough colorful feathers out of colored or construction paper to attach to each turkey. Place the feathers near the wall or door in an envelope (6×9 envelopes work well) along with a pencil or pen. Everyone, even visitors, can write reasons they’re thankful for that particular person on the feathers and then attach the feathers on the turkeys. Examples could be: I am thankful you read with me, I am thankful that you work so hard for our family, or Thank you for being obedient for mommy and daddy. You can overlap feathers, if necessary. On Thanksgiving, each person can take down their turkey and read the comments.

Many thanks to Jamie Sue Austin at freeprintablefun.org for the following turkey and feathers pattern. Right click on the image and copy into a document to print. You can use one of the feathers for a pattern to cut out colored feathers or print several sheets on different colors of paper.

2. Make it a Year of Giving – giving back to others when we have so much shouldn’t be limited to Thanksgiving and other holidays. Thanksgiving offers a wonderful time to brainstorm various ways your family can give to others in need throughout the year. Begin by brainstorming, with your children, ideas for serving other people. Be sure to allow your children to submit their ideas so they buy into the plan. You can help them focus by thinking of those who serve us or are in need. For example, sending care packages to soldiers, visiting nursing homes, supporting specific charities, inviting someone who doesn’t have a family to dinner, volunteering at an animal shelter or a hospital, collect donations to take to Goodwill, have a garage sale and donate the money to your church or a favorite charity, etc. Try to come up with enough ideas to do something once a month or so. Then take out a calendar and work with your children to schedule a way of giving each month. It’s best to schedule high exposure opportunities, such as visiting a nursing home or sending a care package to a soldier, for non-holiday months because so many people contribute during holidays and other times of the year are neglected. By your next Thanksgiving, you can delight in remembering the ways your family gave to others, being as Christ to them!

3. Cornucopia to share – sometimes children feel small or less than useful because they don’t realize all of the ways they can be helpful! Use a basket or a cornucopia and fill it with tried corn, small gourds, etc. Help your child brainstorm ways that he or she can helpful to others: praying for someone, specific cleaning ideas, sending a card, reading to a sibling, helping out a neighbor, etc. Write each of these ideas on a small pumpkin shaped (or other fall shape) piece of paper, then hole punch and tie each, using colorful fall ribbon, to one of the items in the cornucopia. Have your child select one each day to do throughout the holiday season. You can also reverse the activity by having your child select one to do and then tying it to an item in the cornucopia once it’s completed. For some children, this works better as an incentive to attach an idea to every item!

Educational

Incorporating Thanksgiving into school can add fun to the usual routine.

1. Vocabulary cup – using the pattern on page 56 in The Big Book of Books and Activities: An Illustrated Guide for Teacher, Parents, and Anyone Who Works With Kids!,  have your child fold the cup.  Have your child brainstorm Thanksgiving words that come to mind (thankful, Pilgrims, turkey, etc) and have your child write each word on a corn, leaf, turkey or other seasonal cut out. If you don’t want your child to cut out the shapes, you can find them pre-cut in school supply stores. Older children can draw the words out of the cups to write sentences and/or paragraphs.
2. Startwrite worksheets – if you recall my review of the Startwrite software, holidays are an excellent time to use them to your advantage. In the example below, the student wrote words and phrases of things for which he is thankful using the acrostic for THANKS. You can add clipart from the software or have your child illustrate the white space at the bottom of the page. This can be a writing assignment to assess the written work or you can use it as a handwriting assignment or copy work by supplying a Bible verse or a Thanksgiving poem for older children, such as the one below, Ballad of the Mayflower. Another idea to consider is using this time to have your children write “thankful for you” notes to people explaining why they’re thankful for them. You can use this time to teach the friendly letter format and use this software to create a template for your children to follow. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children to write a note even when they haven’t received a gift!

By Linda G. Paulsen

There was a ship, Mayflower by name; Hey, Ho~
Took a trip, she crossed the main; Hey, Ho~
Full of people seeking peace,
Praying for freedom to increase;
Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o! The Pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock; Hey, Ho~
Simple people, strudy stock; Hey, Ho~
To be free they crossed the sea,
Thanked the Lord on bended knee; Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o!
How when the crops were gathered in; Hey, Ho~
A dinner party did begin; Hey, Ho~
Pilgrims, Indians, pumpkin pie, Turkey, venison, corn, oh my!
Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o! Bet you thought my song was done; Hey, Ho~
But I’ve really just begun; Hey, Ho~
Ever since that autumn day,
Thanksgiving has been here to stay, Hey, Ho, Dee-o, Dee-o!

Hope you have a blessed time with these activites and ideas! May God’s blessings pour out over your entire family this Thanksgiving! Please share your favorite Thanksgiving ideas with our readers by commenting on this blog.

In Christ,

I love lists and I like that feeling of accomplishment when I complete my list. However, at the end of the day, the quality of what I accomplished always weighs more on me than how much I completed. This definitely applies to our home schooling as well.  As I have established goals for my children over the years, my focus has generally fallen on the following general categories:

• Character training – without Christian character, the academics are meaningless
• A love for learning – instilling a desire for increased knowledge and skills even outside of “school”
• A habit of thinking – emphasizing extended and organized thought, whether in or out of the box, no matter what is being studied.

Examining these categories, I easily connect how Epi Kardia curriculum reinforces character training and helps instill a love for learning. With our emphasis on strong historical characters in the books that we select and the variety of activities, relating to all of the different learning styles, those goals are achievable. What about a habit of thinking? Does our curriculum promote that as well? I hope so!

I randomly chose an Epi Kardia historical unit and grade level from our Daily Lesson Plans, Immigration in 3^rd grade, and examined the projects associated with that unit. I hope what I discovered can assist you in creating great “thinking” projects for your children!

1. A thinking project doesn’t have to be complicated – after reading the book Liberty Rising: The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Pegi Shea students are asked to design a statue that they believe represents the United States of America. This type of activity promotes thinking on at least a couple of levels. First of all, a student has to develop some picture of the U.S. in his head. What does it mean to live in the United States? What types of symbols can he develop that represent this country? This requires moving from a known symbol, the Statue of Liberty, to a new idea. The next stage of thinking occurs when the student determines how to design their symbol. Even with a simple sketch, thinking through the design and implementing it is a higher level cognitive skill.

2. A thinking project can be messy and fun – following the reading of On the Banks of Plum Creek (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder, students create a model dugout. With this project, creating the dugout itself doesn’t require a tremendous amount of thinking. However, mixing up a batch of mud to form the model is definitely messy and fun. The student can add sod, a window and a door to make the project more detailed. The thinking comes into play after the model is designed and you discuss what it must have been like for Laura and her family to live in such an abode. By talking through their experiences and comparing them to how he lives, your child practices his processing and evaluating skills.

3. A thinking project can train children to organize their thoughts – at Epi Kardia, we are great fans of graphic organizers and charts. We greatly appreciate such tools because they allow children to organize their thoughts in a more concrete way.  If we don’t control our thoughts and organize them in some logical way, they only become burdens, often misleading and confusing us. They float around in our head without definition or logic. It’s like cramming a bunch of documents in a file cabinet without sorting them into files. What’s the point? When you need them, they’re just a jumbled mess.  Children who utilize organizational tools starting from an early age develop the habit of organizing the information they’re processing. For example, after reading Along the Santa Fe Trail: Marion Russell’s Own Story by Marion Russell, students are asked to create a list of items they would take if they were heading on a trail out West with a wagon caravan. Now, you could have the student just make a list without any rhyme or reason, or you could suggest that the student organize his list in logical categories. So, first the student needs to determine which categories might be essential such as food and cooking supplies, animals and livestock, clothing, medicines, etc. The student also has to take into account the limited amount of space in the wagon. Assignment limitations often promote thinking skills that are very practical in real life since we all have limits placed on us when we’re trying to problem solve. This type of organizational thinking translates to many other areas of academics and to general life skills as well.

4. A thinking activity can promote further questioning and thoughts leading to more thinking! With all of our Daily Lesson Plans, we include comprehension questions for history and science. Our goal with these questions are twofold: firstly, lead the student to focusing on the most important aspects of the book and secondly, require him to think about what he has read. Too often children are asked to read material, but are never required to work through the process of thinking about it and evaluating what they’ve read. For example, questions from the 3^rd grade Immigration curriculum following the reading of Just So Stories, Illustrated Edition (Yesterday’s Classics) by Rudyard Kipling include:

• Do you think curiosity is a good thing?
• Is there a time when it could be negative?

Note how we start out with a seemingly simple question. The first answer could be a simple “yes” or “no.” If we stopped there, very little thinking or evaluation would take place. However, the second question requires more advanced thinking because it’s an open ended question. This style of question requires thought rather than just regurgitation of facts or a “yes” or “no.”

Another example may be derived from On the Banks of Plum Creek (Little House). The questions related to chapters 23-24 are as follows:

• How was the country party different than the town party?
• How did Laura’s church compare to your church?
• Why did Pa not get new boots?

The first and second questions require that your child compare and contrast. Comparing and contrasting require higher level thinking skills. Also, note that the third question begins with “why” which usually indicates that deeper thinking is involved to give a complete answer.

There are many other opportunities to train our children to think from puzzles to analogies to problem solving sets. With such a variety of options, we can work on these skills without having to focus on one type of activity or project.

Things We Do That Prevent Our Children From Becoming Thinkers

While none of us want to consider that we might have habits preventing our children from becoming strong thinkers, we very well may. By looking at our own habits, and reforming some of them, we can promote stronger thinking skills in ourselves and our children.

1. We don’t give our children time to think. When I was an education intern, I had a teacher who truly loved to teach. I was so blessed by the time I spent with her. She had a habit of counting to 30 slowly after she asked a question, whether it was addressed to the entire class or just one student. She explained that adults often do not give children enough time to think through answers and children develop the habit of hesitating, knowing that the adult will eventually give them the answer. Also, in a classroom setting or even with two or three children, the extra time allows for more students to think through a response. If one of your children is really quick and another requires more time to process, that second child often doesn’t get to think through the process and provide an answer. He may very well rely on the quicker child.

TEACHING TIP: If you have a student who really struggles and needs more time, give him the project directions, questions, etc in advance and let him mentally process what you’re requiring before you become involved.

REFORMING YOUR HABITS: Provide more time for your child to think through problems and projects by being patient.

2.  We don’t  follow through on projects and activities. It’s easy to assign a hands-on project or an activity, especially with older children, and walk away. When the project is done, you give a grade or make a comment and move on. With this habit, you’re missing on the most important part of the process…what was discovered or learned. If you don’t discuss the thinking behind the activity or inquire about the thought involved, then you are basically grading your child on his ability to follow directions.

TEACHING TIP: Before assigning a project or activity, develop a few questions or discussion topics to go along with the assignment. Also, understanding what you expect as outcomes, setting educational objectives, will be an enormous help. This does not have to be complicated or detailed. You can note one or two essential objectives or you could set up a rubric (for more information about rubrics, see the Epi Kardia Parents Manual) in a matter of minutes. Rubrics also reveal your expectations for your children, helping them better understand the significance of a project or activity.

REFORMING YOUR HABITS: Don’t assign a project or activity without thinking through what you want your child to think about in the process.

3.  We have too low or too high of expectations. Sometimes we underestimate our children and don’t challenge them enough. At other times, we have enormous expectations that greatly exceed their abilities. If you notice that school bores your child or he is continually flying through his reading, writing and other assignments, it may be that he is just not being challenged. This same child may also be a behavior problem or he may drive you crazy because he has too much time on his hands. He isn’t learning to think because his work is too easy. Other times, we seriously frustrate our children because we expect them to be like us or other people’s children, when we really just need to give them work on their level. Work that is on the correct level for a child requires some measure of challenge without pushing him into frustration.

TEACHING TIP: Pay attention to how your child responds to projects and assignments. Note if there’s a specific type of activity that causes him more difficulty than others. Avoid taking the easy road by making assignments too simple, but pay attention if you find that he is getting seriously frustrated.

REFORMING YOUR HABITS: Take time to regularly communicate with your child about his work. Most children will tell you if something feels impossible to them or if they think it’s just plain boring. There are so many different ways to instill skills, adapting to your child’s level of learning is certainly possible.

4. We get stuck in ruts. Sometimes we teach our children the way we liked to be taught. For example, comprehension questions really appeal to certain types of people because they simply have to answer them and move on. Some moms love doing hands on projects and they become so involved in the process that they forget the purpose. Using a variety of activities and projects allows your child to think in different ways and situations. If you’re always doing the same type of activity and evaluation, your child will struggle when life throws him a different type of problem to solve.

TEACHING TIP: Definitely use your personal gifts when teaching your children, but don’t just rely on those gifts. If you never step out of your comfort zone, how can you expect your child to do so?

REFORMING YOUR HABITS: If you have an area that you know is a weakness, such as hands-on projects or maybe you don’t love reading, let your children see you working on them. Discuss how you struggle with these types of assignments, but point out that you’re not ending your education with adulthood. This type of situation is ideal for teaching your child about lifelong learning!

Hopefully, this blog has given you plenty to think about! I would love to hear how you train your children to think. Maybe you’ve overcome a habit in teaching and we could all benefit from that encouragement!

May God give you a spirit of joy, a compassionate heart and a mind that dwells on His glory!

In Him,

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln wrote poetry? He also wrote several letters to Stephen Douglas prior  to their infamous debates. You can read one of his poems and some of the letters, in Lincoln’s own  handwriting, online at the Library of Congress. I know I can be pretty nerdy and I do love history more  than many people, but when I discovered these primary source documents and realized that they  were within a few clicks on the computer of being in my grasp, I became giddy! By the way, Lincoln had less than perfect handwriting!

In our American History I high school curriculum, we teach students about primary source documents:

Letters, diaries, legal documents and photographs all may be considered primary sources as well as other documents created during the actual time period in history being studied.  Primary sources contain first-hand accounts or contain direct evidence of historical events.

Just as a detective looks for the details of first-hand accounts and evidence to help him solve crimes, an Epi Kardia student uses primary source materials to acquire a thorough study of history.

Primary source documents present a beautifully relevant way to help our students examine the truth in history. So often, our children read books that present historical figures and events as biased, based on the author’s own opinions and impressions. Primary source documents leave less room for such error. Bias can occur innocently or with malice. It can also be extreme, with one author presenting all of our founding fathers as pure men of God while another author focuses only on their human weaknesses. Neither of these extremes is realistic or healthy for our children to study. We know that all men are born with a sin nature and can only be saved by the grace of God, and what we really desire is for our children (and for us) to learn from other people’s mistakes, rather than repeat them. History, when studied properly, is a wonderful tool for seeing God in all things, even the past.

Some examples of primary source materials from our American History I course include:

• Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography – You can’t read Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography without hearing a hint of arrogance, or at least an abundance of confidence. The words are his exclusively and he knew what he was writing when he wrote it to his son. It’s fascinating to learn about the man while examining his historical contributions, as well.
• Benjamin Banneker’s letter to President Thomas Jefferson - pleading on behalf of slaves, Banneker’s humbleness and intelligence could never be questioned. I was emotionally moved when I first read this letter as it moved slavery from a philosophical issue to a real life event for me. Banneker’s character is revealed through the letter as he demonstrates his compassion for slaves and his respect for Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States.
• Photographs from the Civil War – these sources offer a realistic and sometimes devastating view demonstrating the affects and seriousness of war.
• Strategy Maps from the Civil War – Maps created and used during various time periods offer a   clearer picture of specific battles and allows students to see the tools that soldiers worked with during that time.

The value of primary source documents when studying history can’t be overstated. The interest level for students tends to be much higher if they feel connected to the history they’re studying. They can relate better to a historical character when they realize that they’re studying a real person, and not a flat character from history who is only known for his accomplishments or failures.

With Epi Kardia, we strive to use primary source materials in our curriculum. In our recently published American History I, we incorporated all of the above examples and more. Through primary source books and internet sites,  Epi Kardia students have the opportunity to see the reality of history and the impact of primary sources makes history more memorable for many students.

The next time you choose curriculum, consider not just what you want your children to learn but also how you want them to learn. Living books, primary sources and other valuable materials create a path to learning that teaches children not only a specific subject matter, but also instills in them a methodology of learning and hopefully, a love for learning that will be useful to them all of their lives.

As you consider purchasing curriculum, don’t miss out on our current special! If you order our American History I by midnight on Monday, October 26^th, at our discounted introductory price of $34.95, you may also receive a second high school course of your choosing for half price*.  That’s a great savings on two courses!

At Epi Kardia, Dana and I have worked hard to create curriculum that teaches more than just content. We hope to empower you to instill in your children a love for learning and a Biblical worldview as well as the educational skills they need.

*Note: if you order online, your American History I curriculum order will show the reduced price, but the discount for your half off curriculum will not show up in your shopping cart until your credit card is actually processed. We do not process any credit cards until the order is actually shipped. Please let us know in the note section of your order form which curriculum you are ordering for the half price option.

In Christ,

Have you ever wished that you could customize worksheets for phonics or other skills easily and quickly, as you need them? How wonderful would it be to have those worksheets in the same handwriting style that you’re teaching your children, allowing you to teach a skill and have your children practice handwriting at the same time? We’ve found a reasonably priced program that allows you do all of the above and more! You can download Startwrite directly from the internet to begin using immediately!

Startwrite works similar to a word processor making it very user friendly. Some of the features that we found attractive include:

• Fonts, in a variety of sizes, that are actually handwriting styles: manuscript, manuscript-simple, modern manuscript, italic and cursive.
• Handwriting helps such as guideline lines, again in various sizes and colors; dotted, dashed and solid letters; starting dots and directional arrows.
• Clip art to make pages interesting and unique.
• You can design relevant copy work and handwriting materials to integrate subjects and books.
• You print out the portrait or landscape worksheets on your own paper instead of having to buy handwriting book and copy work books that aren’t as relevant to your history and science topics.
• Spell check allows you to make sure your worksheets are accurate.

Initially, we viewed this software as a great resource for phonics. In fact, we used Startwrite to create all of the phonics worksheets in our Kindergarten curriculum. Eventually, we realized that there were so many other opportunities to use this software! Some ideas we have utilized, other than phonics, are as follows:

1. Copy work – with my son, I pulled sentences and paragraphs out of the living books we were reading (for history, fine arts and science). I looked for material that emphasized a specific event or accomplishment, a concept or a language arts skill that my son needed to learn. I printed it out in the handwriting font he was learning. Early on, I simply used the lightest font or dotted letters so that he could trace the words. As he grew, I used the regular handwriting font and printed out lined blank paper so he could copy onto the same size lines as he was reading.
2. Creating books – by printing out the pages half lined and half blank, you can have your child write on one part of the page and illustrate on the other half. You could put photos on the other half and have your child write about each. For a very young child, you could type up what he tells you and let him trace the writing. One idea we did that I really loved was taking poetry selections and making our own anthology to give away at Christmas.
3. Letter writing and other models – I still have a thank you letter from one of my dear friend’s children that was created on Startwrite. Any type of written model may be created with this program from a basic friendly letter to addressing an envelope to learning to write the heading on an assignment. We used this software to model how I wanted vocabulary set up. By having my son trace the first few words and definitions, it instilled how vocabulary should be completed when writing on his own.
4. Worksheets for any subject – You can create all kinds of worksheets for any subject using creative and fun clip art to assess your child’s learning. This program is so flexible that it even includes Spanish letters and math fonts!

While there are many tools and resources for homeschooling, we feel strongly that Startwrite has the attributes of a resource that every homeschool mom needs because it:

• • saves money (no more workbooks to buy!)
  • saves time (you can quickly and expertly put together the specific materials you need when you need them)
  • integrates subjects (working smart rather than hard)
  • makes learning relevant (you choose the skills that your child needs to learn).

It’s not often that you read one of our blogs and we’re endorsing specific products. However, with this program we felt that too many moms had never heard of it and were missing out on its value.

If you currently use Startwrite or decide to try it after reading this blog, please comment and let us know what you think. We’d love hear about any creative ways that moms use the program. If you have a Startwrite worksheet that you liked to share with other moms, email it as an attachment to info@epikardia.com and we’ll forward all worksheets to our mailing list of Epi Kardia moms.

I hope this product review was helpful and that you’ll find the program as useful as we have. May all of your homes be Christ-filled and joyful!

In Him,

In the busy lives of home school families, taking time to share intimate or romantic moments can be challenging. It seems like such a sweet thought to write a poem for your spouse or even your child, but the actual act of writing poetry is daunting for many people. Yet, poetry is a very personal gift that can be enjoyed repeatedly over many years and best of all, it costs almost nothing! You can follow these basic steps to make your poetry writing more successful and less frustrating!

· Read Poetry – look online or at your local library (or bookshelf!) to read through poetry that might inspire you. Don’t neglect Scripture in your research. Books such as Song of Solomon and Psalm offer beautiful, lyrical poetry. As you read, be sure to note any phrases or words that strike your fancy. Some online resources you might want to check out include:

o www.poemhunter.com/classics/

o http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com/ (if you’d rather listen than read)

o http://www.poetry-online.org/christian-poetry-index.htm

· Brainstorm – Fill up a sheet of paper with thoughts and feelings about your poem’s subject. List your favorite qualities about the subject of your poem, be it your spouse or child, and recall the memories that you share. Think of how you felt when you first fell in love or first held your child. Include a list of descriptive words that remind you of these qualities and memories. Some examples might include: heartfelt, passionate, never ending, infinite and precious. Also list strong verbs related to these feelings like: enjoy, promise, remember and compel. Look through a photo album or reread old cards and letters from your spouse to help you get started.

· Create Comparisons – Robert Burns once compared his love with a red, red rose. Shakespeare contrasted his love with a summer’s day. What comparisons could you use with your love? Is your love as certain as the rising of the sun or as deep as the oceans? One solid comparison may offer the full theme of your poem or you may decide to include a couple of comparisons to express yourself completely.

· -To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme – Don’t be intimidated by writing poetry that rhymes. Beautiful poetry flows.

Think of your poetry like song lyrics with a specific rhythm. You decide whether you like free verse or rhymed verses. If you need help rhyming, Rhymer.com offers a free online rhyming dictionary.

· Be Succinct – Use your poetry to create word pictures and express your feelings. Using strong verbs and fewer words strengthens your poem’s meaning. For example, consider these two ways of expressing the same feelings:

Version A: When I think of you, I feel warm and comfortable, like when I look at all of the beautiful colors in a sunset.

Version B: You warm my heart like a brilliant sunset painted across the sky.

Once you have your poetry written, consider your presentation. Options include memorizing and reciting it or simply writing it down on decorative parchment or stationery. At the turn of the century, cross stitched poetry was all the rage, either framed as wall hangings or pillow tops. Accordion books or other types of mini books can be designed to hold poetry as well as a journal that would allow you to continue adding poetry. You can embellish your poem with ribbon, spritz it with perfume or tuck it in a colored bottle. Creating a shadow box with photos, momentos and your poem make a memorable gift. It’s even fun to mail a poem to your spouse or child. Everyone loves to get mail! Simply tucking the poem into a briefcase, notebook or wallet to be discovered at a later date offers a sweet surprise. No matter how you present your poem, the time and effort you put into the verses are sure to delight the recipient.

Poetry offers a beautiful way of sharing your feelings but requires little expense. Rather than just seeing poetry as another teaching obligation, consider it as a way to demonstrate your love for your family.

If you have a creative way of sharing your poetry, questions about poetry or suggestions for writing poems, be sure to respond to this blog!

God bless and happy writing!

Beth