The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum

Poetry is SO important and often gets neglected in curriculum-while either homeschooling or in brick and mortar schools . This book has been a staple in our home for over 20 years. My adult children love that they have memorized poems and passages of Shakespeare, etc. They really appreciate it now. EASY TO USE. VERY GOOD CURRICULUM FOR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. COMPREHENSIVE. I can't say enough good things about Laura Berquist and her contributions to education! Use this book and Enjoy!

As a homeschooling parent who wishes to emphasize a more classical education, I am so very happy with this book. The featured poems are classics of the Western canon, age-appropriate, and fun to learn. The book is divided into age-appropriate sections, which I greatly appreciated. Too many books of this type will throw in children's poetry with epics and sonnets; Ms. Berquist's collection gets progressively older and more challenging as one advances through the book. My six- and four-year-old now recite various Robert Louis Stevenson poems from memory, as well as Psalm 23, Psalm 100, and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. It's amazing and gratifying to see them take so quickly to such beautiful literature. I highly recommend this book for any homeschoolers in your life.

There are so many fantastic poems altogether in one volume! This was recommended for my homeschool curriculum and I am so happy with this purchase.

We have several poetry books, so I was skeptical to purchase another. However, after seeing many recommendations from different sources, I went ahead and ordered The Harp and Laurel Wreath. I am SO happy I did. We do poetry memorization with our 4 children (elementary aged) and this has, by far, the best selections I have seen. My four year old loves all the selections for his age group. The book is divided for children of different ages/stages of learning. As you get into the older ages/grades it includes some questions and dictations. It could easily be used as curriculum for homeschool. We use it as part of our morning basket, and it's probably the favorite from the entire year.

I checked this out from the library as part of my homeschool curriculum and immediately knew I needed to buy it because I would be using it daily for a very long time. It has the most beautiful prayers, poems and speeches. Every child should be exposed to this lovely material whether they are homeschooled or not. It's truly a perfect compilation of what everyone should read and memorize.

OK...so I was printing off free poems and then having my children draw a picture of what they imagined the poem meant, define words they were unfamiliar with, re-write for copy-work, recite poem and acknowledge the author and poem title. This book makes it easier but most if not all are available online. This just organizes them by grade level and makes them readily available. There is a section that includes questions but most poems do not have this. It would be better if it were in pdf format.

This is a must have in any home with children. It’s a very nicely put together collection of the best poems for children!

This book is a wonderful collection of fun poems and serious poems, poems geared for younger children and poems geared for older children. Helpful questions are also included at the end of a lot of the poems to aid in understanding the poems (as well as helpful suggested answers to those questions). There is too a section on poetic terms that is very helpful.

As a homeschooler, this is the collection I've been looking for to brings together samples of good literature for copywork & dictation, reading, studying and enjoying. A must for anyone doing classical or Charlotte-Mason education.

Laura Berquist has years of experience building and evaluating curricula. Her input is invaluable. Our daughter is just starting out with interest in books and reading. I am already building her library thanks to Laura Berquist. As our daughter reaches school age, we will have already ready together many books and she will be familiar with some of the kindergarten material. We are slowly introducing her to art and reading. This is all very easy as it is a natural interest. Thank you Laura Berquist for all of the time and energy you have exhausted creating such a great tool! Pleased Parent

An excellent book for classical education

My children and I are enjoying the selections in this book; my 5 year old boy requests it for bedtime reading now, and my 10 year old girl has been seeking out books by some of the poets after we've gone through a selection. This has been a lovely, gentle inclusion into our homeschool day.

Way too religious. I thought it would mostly be poetry etc, but it is heavy and thick with god, jesus, and all that jazz. If that's your thing, cool. If you lean more towards Humanist... Do not waste your money as I did!