EMILY DICKINSON

EMILY DICKINSON

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to be using Jeannie Fulbright's Culture and Craft in our homeschool opening time this year. I am really enjoyng it. It has created a perfect launch pad of so many different topics, especially with the arts. In particular, the past few days, we have spent time talking about Emily Dickinson. After reading our C&C section on this beautiful poetess, I pulled a couple more resources to share with my kids.

Emily by Michael Bedard and illustrated by the fabulous Barbara Cooney, is a fictional story, but it brings so many truths of Dickinson's life to life: the fact that she was a recluse later in her life, that she wore predominately white, her love of children, that she wrote poetry, and her use of metaphors in her work. While the picture book does not specifically talk about her usage of the metaphors, they are embedded within the story. It becomes a hunt/game for older students through high school to point them out and define what is being compared. Talk about the visual effect readers see as a result of these word pictures.

A Treasury of Poetry for Young People by miscellaneous authors-I used this book to immerse ourselves deeper into Dickinson's poetry. I had my kids take turns reading a poem out loud. Then, we discussed the poem, paying close attention to the metaphors used, the unique punctuation, the word choice, and more.

In this momma's opinion, it was a great branch-off study!