Over in the Meadow

This past week we had a long drive home from the Tar Pits in LA so I decided to listen to an audio I'd downloaded to my ipod called "Making the Heart Sing With Recitation" by Bonnie Buckingham.

She had a lot of good things to say on there. My 8yo daughter was the only one awake with me and as we listened along, there were many poems she read that we recognized. Having been raised on poetry read to her by her practical Mother, my daughter quickly noticed how lovely Bonnie read the poetry. "I like the way she says the poems Mommy."

I found myself wondering why I haven't allowed a more leisurely pace as I read my children's poems to them every day. Why not indulge in a pause here, one there - what's the rush? Why do I limit the inflection in my voice? I suppose it's out of character for me, in front of them. But hearing Bonnie, I think I might... try.

We also learned of a new poem, or maybe it's the lyrics to a song. Bonnie said she had heard Susan Macaulay, author of For The Children's Sake, on a panel at a L'Abri Conference answer the question "What was the first piece of literature that sparked that love of literature for a lifetime?" Susan said for her it was the poem "Over in The Meadow" that her Mother, Edith, often repeated in their home.

In case you've never heard it, here it is. Share it with your little ones; not only is it fun to read, they'll love it :)

Over in the Meadow
by Olive A. Wadsworth

Over in the meadow,
In the sand in the sun
Lived an old mother toadie
And her little toadie one
"Wink!" said the mother;
"I wink!" said the one,
So they winked and they blinked
In the sand in the sun

Over in the meadow,
Where the stream runs blue
Lived an old mother fish
And her little fishes two
"Swim!" said the mother;
"We swim!" said the two,
So they swam and they leaped
Where the stream runs blue

Over in the meadow,
In a hole in a tree
Lived an old mother bluebird
And her little birdies three
"Sing!" said the mother;
"We sing!" said the three
So they sang and were glad
In a hole in the tree

Over in the meadow,
In the reeds on the shore
Lived an old mother muskrat
And her little ratties four
"Dive!" said the mother;
"We dive!" said the four
So they dived and they burrowed
In the reeds on the shore

Over in the meadow,
In a snug beehive
Lived a mother honey bee
And her little bees five
"Buzz!" said the mother;
"We buzz!" said the five
So they buzzed and they hummed
In the snug beehive

Over in the meadow,
In a nest built of sticks
Lived a black mother crow
And her little crows six
"Caw!" said the mother;
"We caw!" said the six
So they cawed and they called
In their nest built of sticks

Over in the meadow,
Where the grass is so even
Lived a gay mother cricket
And her little crickets seven
"Chirp!" said the mother;
"We chirp!" said the seven
So they chirped cheery notes
In the grass soft and even

Over in the meadow,
By the old mossy gate
Lived a brown mother lizard
And her little lizards eight
"Bask!" said the mother;
"We bask!" said the eight
So they basked in the sun
On the old mossy gate

Over in the meadow,
Where the quiet pools shine
Lived a green mother frog
And her little froggies nine
"Croak!" said the mother;
"We croak!" said the nine
So they croaked and they splashed
Where the quiet pools shine

Over in the meadow,
In a sly little den
Lived a gray mother spider
And her little spiders ten
"Spin!" said the mother;
"We spin!" said the ten
So they spun lacy webs
In their sly little den

Speaking of Edith Schaeffer, have you seen or read any of the books she's written? Imagine the wisdom that woman might have about homemaking and family life as a Christian Wife and Mother.