Spring Arts Blog 2 – February

Hi everyone!

We are now halfway through the month of February. This is the shortest month of the year and only has 28 days in it!

Do you know the rhyme about the months of the year? It goes like this:

Thirty days has September, April, June and November.                        

All the rest have thirty-one,

Except for February, which alone

Has twenty-eight with one day more

In Leap Year, falling once in four!

This little rhyme was written to help people remember how many days are in each month.

It also reminds people that Leap Year happens every four years and adds an extra day to February.

Poets write poems and rhymes about all sorts of things. A poet called William Wordsworth wrote a poem about

Daffodils and how they cheered him up when he thought about them. Daffodils are a flower that we see coming

back to life in the early Spring, so now is the perfect time for reading a poem about them!

You can read the poem by clicking here if you like.

Reading poetry can be a nice way to pass the time, and so can writing your own poems and stories.

Here is an easy writing activity that you might like to try.

Materials Needed:

Sheets of Paper

Pens or markers

(You can use a computer or mobile device to write with if you prefer)

Writing Activity:

1. Pick something that you can see that looks interesting to you.
2. Spell out the name of the thing in big letters that are spaced far apart.
3. Look at the first letter. Think of some words that start with that letter and write them down beside it.
4. Look at the next letter. Think of some words that start with this letter and write them down beside it.
5. Keep going with all the letters until you have at least one word for each of them.
6. Now pick out one word from each list and circle it.
7. Write the name of the object down the side of a new sheet of paper. Write the words you picked beside the matching latter. Decorate the sheet with pictures or colours.

a) Choose something to write about. I chose an orange!

b) Make lists of words that start with each letter of your chosen word.

c) Pick one word from each list and circle it.

d) Now get a new sheet. Write your chosen word down the side.

Add the list words beside each letter. Decorate it!

Now try the same activity using the name of someone you care about. Match each letter of their name to a nice word that describes them 😊

Out and About:

Keep an eye out for garden birds this week, you might see more of them around as they look for shelter from the cold weather. If possible, try to leave some food and water out for the birds. There is a helpful article from Birdwatch Ireland about feeding birds, you can click here to read it.

Photo Opportunity:

Take a picture of your poem beside the thing that inspired it! Send your pictures to nadia.dorcey@lakers.ie

Read the next blog here

Read the previous blog here