The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The lake doth glitter
The small birds twitter,
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing
Their heads never raising
There are forty feeding as one.
Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The plowboy is whooping-anon—anon!
There’s joy in the mountains;
There’s life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;
The rain is over and gone!
Poems by William Wordsworth Vol. II (1815) | William Wordsworth (1674–1748)
Suggestions
Have your children do one or more of the following:
- Read the poem aloud (or read it aloud for younger children).
- After reading, narrate the various ways Wordsworth shows that it is spring. How many can you remember without looking?
- What does the word anon mean?
- Clap your hands with the rhythm of the poem while reciting it out loud.
- Identify the lines that rhyme.
- What is the rhyme scheme? (AABBCDDEEC)
- There are seven indications of spring painted in the first stanza. Choose one, or a combination, to draw and illustrate that stanza. Copy the stanza below your illustration.
- Memorize the poem and recite it to your family.
- Compare and contrast this poem to “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” In that poem, what season do daffodils represent?
- Make a list of five ways you know it is spring where you live.
Additional Resources
7 Things to Do This Spring
Ways to encourage creativity and learning while getting outside!
Floral Illustrations of the Seasons ~ Free eBook
Beautiful illustrations of garden flowers as they bloom throughout the seasons.
