[syriacus]

Little Things Count

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Help to make earth happy
Like the Heaven above.

-Ebenezer Cofham Brewer
The American Citizens Handbook 1968 p476

[syriacus]

Golden Keys

A bunch of golden keys is mine
To make each day with gladness shine.

"God morning" is the golden key
That unlocks every day for me.

When at the table, "If you please"
I take off from my bunch of keys.

When friends give anything to me,
I use my little "Thank you" key.

"Excuse me"--"Beg your pardon" too
If by some mistake some harm I do.

When evening comes, "Goodnight" I say
And close the door of each glad day.

With a golden ring these keys I bind
This motto -- "Be ye kind."

I'll often use each golden key
And then a child polite I'll be.

Author unknown
American Citizens Handbook, 1968
p476

[Zechariah11]

FANTASTIC!!! That's a keeper which I'll use. Thanks very much.

[Zechariah11]

Thanks so much for these contributions. As I said in another post, I want my sixth graders to memorize some insightful quotations from Shakespeare and some inspirational poetry each week. I think adolescence is that time of development when youngsters are starving for an idealized look at life; to learn that life is far more than what is depicted in the mass media..

Unfortunately, these kids know only Langston Hughes and Shel Silversten.

I was about to abandon the poetry aspect of this approach to my teaching until your valuable contributions.

Again, thanks friends at Free Republic and especially you, syriacus.