This week's favorite poetry book.

We found this gem (click it for the amazon link) at the library and read the whole thing in one sitting. The first 1/2 of the book consists of apology poems written by a fictional 4th grade class, inspired by William Carlos Williams poem "This is Just To Say" (see below). The 2nd half of the book is poem "responses" the class received. Excellent fun, and quite touching.








This Is Just To Say

by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

April is National Poetry Month!

As you may know, we are real poetry buffs around here...or at least aspire to be~


We visited the Harold Washington Library on Thursday after our trip to Bronzeville,


and found a new (old) collection of Shel Silverstein's earliest poems,


titled DON'T BUMP THE GLUMP, originally published in '64 and back in print now. The little boy and I laughed our entire way through the collection - check out Shel's website HERE for a wealth of fun stuff plus teaching materials! We plan to pick this book up for ourselves asap, and write our own Shel inspired poems this week...will post them soon.



Here is a FABULOUS (but too short) clip of Shel doing A BOY NAMED SUE (which he wrote) with Johnny Cash
-enjoy!

Bronzeville

The day following our Civil War Presentation, we had the privelege of touring Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood with a group of fellow Illinois HOUSE homeschoolers! Following up a civil war presentation with a trip to the (arguably) most important African-American neighborhood in our city was a fantastic experience. We also had a yummy lunch at Munchie's Free WiFi , friendly service & sandwiches under $5 with new and old friends...Check out Munchie's if you're ever in the neighborhood.

This statue is dedicated to WW1's 8th regiment -
"The Fighting 8th"










Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Bronzeville:

In the early 20th century, Bronzeville was known as the "Black Metropolis," one of the nation's most significant landmarks of African-American urban history. Between 1910 and 1920, during the peak of the "Great Migration," the population of the area increased dramatically when thousands of African-Americans fled the oppression of the south and emigrated to Chicago in search of industrial jobs. Many famous people were associated with the development of the area including: Andrew "Rube" Foster, founder of the Negro National Baseball League; Ida B. Wells, a civil rights activist, journalist and organizer of the NAACP; Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman pilot; Gwendolyn Brooks, famous author and first African-American recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, actress Marla Gibbs, the legendary singers, Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls, and Louis Armstrong, the legendary trumpet player and bandleader who performed at many of the area's night clubs.


















Above, our group shot at the WW1 Statue

Below is the little girl in front of a portion of
"Bronzeville to Harlem" by sculptor
Preston Jackson, inside the Heritage Center.

And a cool little video from the Heritage Center...

Civil War Presentation - Grassroots Homeschoolers

We had the wonderful experience of learning all about the Civil War this week at our homeschool gathering. A woman by the name of Robin Millner presented all kinds of interesting facts about the era. We learned, among other things, that toward the end of the war one of the main requirements was that you have a minimum of two teeth, which were to meet top & bottom! I wonder what the dental requirements are during our current conflict?! The kids all loved dressing up in costume, and were also given the opportunity to be Civil War medics, bandaging one another up. The big girl particularly enjoyed the hoop petticoats, and had read a book on the history of underwear while en-route to the gathering - so trying on hoop petticoats was rather timely! We also made checkerboards on cotton sheeting - the soldiers would play checkers on their sheets using small stones - and made "quilts" like those used on the Underground Railroad. We love hands-on-history!

More Garbage Bag Fashions

This was the little fashion designer's first attempt at a bag dress.
Isn't it fabulous?

Garbage Bag Fashion

The little girl and I went to the library yesterday, and inspired by some fashion books she'd checked out, she set right to work creating these designer duds! I must say, they are much more becoming on the younger set! Pardon my appearance, it was a low-maintainance/no make-up day for the mamma.

April Fool Stuff

England

In the Lake District, an April Fool is a - 'April noddy'.
April noddy's past and gone,You're the fool an' I'm none.

In Cornwall, an April Fool is a 'guckaw' or 'gowk', another word for cuckoo (a bird). If a child succeeded in 'taking in' another, he used to shout after him ~ "Fool, fool, the guckaw." On the other hand if the person resisited the trick, he would say ~ "The gowk and the titlene sit on a tree, You're a gowk as weel as me." Titlene refers to a hedge sparrow (a bird).

In Cheshire, an April Fool is a 'April gawby' or 'gobby or gob'.

In Christow in Devon, pranks had to be played in the afternoon. The day there was known as ‘Tail-pipe Day', because it was a custom to pin an inscription ‘Please kick me' to the coat-tails of an unsupecting victim.

Scotland

The day is known ‘Gowkie Day' or ‘Hunt the Gowk'.

In the Orkney Isles, the pranks are transferred to 2nd April, which is known as ‘Tailing Day'.

France
An April Fool is called a 'fish' - 'poisson d'Avril' - and it is the custom to send friends a dainty present made up in the form of a small fish.