In 1999, Mother of Divine Grace School founder Laura Berquist published The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum. In this book, Laura collected over 400 pages of beautiful poetry and prose for memorization. The book has become a staple in classical homeschools across the country.
"Poetry appeals to the emotions, as does music, and like music, beautiful and rightly ordered poetry can habituate or train the soul to the right kind of internal movement. Familiarity with truly good poetry will encourage children to love the good, to hope for its victory, and to feel sad at its demise."
-from the Introduction to Laura Berquist’s book The Harp and the Laurel Wreath
We have assembled a selection of four Christmas poems from The Harp and Laurel Wreath. During this Advent and Christmas season, consider taking a moment each day to work on these poems with your children.
Here are some ideas for how to incorporate these poems into your daily routine:
- Print our Christmas Poem Printables and post them on the wall in your homeschool room, by your dinner table, or by your nativity set.
- Assign one age-appropriate poem to each child and have them read it to themselves 3 times at every breakfast and lunch.
- Pick one poem for the whole family to work on and read it aloud 3 times at every meal. (For longer poems, work on one stanza at a time.)
- Plan a family Christmas poetry recital for before or after Christmas dinner.
- Pick one poem and recite it together as a family in front of your nativity scene every night of the Christmas octave.
We hope these poems help to enrich your family life as you anticipate the coming of Christ!
God bless you!
Mother of Divine Grace School Staff