Why...Little Miss Muffet?

Hi Everyone,

Why Little Miss Muffet?  Because last night the clock beside my bed read 2:03am and I was lying there wide awake! 

Again, why?  Because this nursery rhyme and memories of my mother were running over and over in my mind.  I remembered my mother often saying "What are you doing Miss Muffet!"  and "Are you ever going to be ready Miss Muffet!"  I remembered all this with a smile.

As the words ran through my mind I realised the poetic qualities in the rhyme.  I had never done so before.  I wish we had been given these kinds of poetic devices to study over the last few years.  It is simple, but there are many avenues that can be looked at with it.  The rhyme is obvious, the repetitive sounds also are easily distinguished.  But what about the metaphoric options that could be dragged out.  I know it is just a nursery rhyme, but we could use these simple rhymes to teach kids metaphorically also. 

How?  Well why did she run away?  In all the picture books the spider is cute!  In my country spiders are harmless but we still carry the genetic fear of them.  Why?  And, if we took the spider as metaphoric what was she running from.... what could the spider metaphorically be?  To some this may sound like a little too much thinking! But for a child trying to understand poetic devices this could be so much more understandable.

Anyway, I did get back to sleep and enjoyed the memories and the poetic form that I discovered from a treasured childhood nursery rhyme.  What is your favourite nursery rhyme?

Happy reading