The object of Friday's activity is to continue our rhyme scheme lesson and build our poetry wall, which we have aptly named Verses vs. Verses. It currently boasts 74 tercet people, who are like large paper dolls with three-line poems across them, and 75 colorful haiku leaves stuck in a tree made from packing paper. There are also bright neon thought bubbles attached to each tercet person explaining which three-line poem is a better example of poetry, the tercet or haiku (no-brainer -- they're both poetic forms). After bringing the wall to life today by adding the final elements and using up two rolls of wide tape to stick everything to the concrete blocks, everyone writes (or at least starts) two rime royals.
Next week are two open houses at the school, one Monday afternoon and one Tuesday night. The kids are going to bring their parents through and teach them how to write rime royals.
Don't worry, don't worry. I promise to let the parents use rhyming dictionaries; that's as close to cheating as poetry gets.
In honor of proving that I'll never ask the kiddos to do anything I'm not more than willing to do myself, here's a rime royal dedicated to my Saturday plans. You're welcome.
It's Saturday and I will plan to go
To local stores to sample all their wine
To choose a vintage maybe I don't know
That makes the taste of turkey seem sublime,
Which we will eat before we all recline.
Of course there is one problem to be seen:
Company means that I have to clean.
