Swings - Poetry and Art

When Alfie was asked what is important to him he said the playground, especially the swings.

Robert Lewis Stevenson lived long ago and he wrote a poem called "The Swing". The children were intrigued with the fact that he's dead and wanted to know more about him. We did some research and discovered that he died in 1894, hundreds of years ago! He was a Scottish writer and he also wrote poetry for children.                                                                                                                                     

Robert Lewis Stevenson

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--

                                      Till I look down on the garden green,
                                      Down on the roof so brown--
                                      Up in the air I go flying again,
                                      Up in the air and down! 

To express the swinging motion that Alfie loves so much we built a pendulum painter using an empty honey container hung from the ceiling with string! The children were thrilled to have a turn and watch the paint form "ovals" and "space" pictures!