Teach Your Child to Appreciate and Write Poetry

Poetry is a pleasurable, and sometimes funny, sound to the ears. Just as it is a sultry, creative, fond, joy to write to the soul. There are as many forms of poetry as there are genres of movies. Whether you want your children to appreciate and write prose, free verse, haiku, rhyming, non-rhyming, traditional, or satire you’ll find all the tips you need here. All forms of poetry are creative and fun forms to write and read no matter what your or your children’s age is.

The sooner you introduce poetry to children the easier it will be for them to understand, appreciate and enjoy poetry. Yet, younger children enjoy the rhyming poetry the most, it is the most fun to read and it seems to always tickle their funny bone. Therefore it is always a good idea to start out younger children with rhyming poetry, such as nursery rhymes. You can start children out with this type of poetry as young as two or three years old.

Preschool
Preschool children love silly rhyming poetry and nursery rhymes. Read fun nursery rhymes and rhyming poetry together whenever you can. Start with short poetry with only a few lines, as with those of nursery rhymes. Then work your way up to poetry that is a little longer as your children grow.

Beyond the normal nursery rhymes and rhyming poetry, making up poetry or rhyming sentences is a fun way to get your children to appreciate poetry. No matter what you are doing throughout the day you can make it rhyme. Such as when you are making dinner, “I got chicken, cause it’s finger-lickin E I know you like it too, cause the soup helps you with the flue. EIt’s all about the fun of it.

Main points to address:

• Make up fun rhythms throughout the day with various situations.
• Read rhyming books to your children.

Grades K-3rd
Reading poetry aloud together not only emphasizes the poem itself, it really draws out the limerick side of the poetry plus it helps children appreciate poetry on a more distinctive level. One of the greatest books for this are any of the poetry volume books by Shell Silverton like “Where the sidewalk ends Eor “A Light in the Attic. EEither of these two books are so much fun for this age group to read a loud. You and your child can take turns reading a loud to each other out of these pages.

Once you have read the poetry together talk about the poem. What do you think the poem means? How does the poem make you feel? What message was the author attempting to apply through this poem? These are just a few of the questions you can ask your child about the poetry you all read together.

Main points to address:

• Read poetry aloud to your children.
• Have your children read poetry aloud to you.
• Talk about what they believe poetry means.

Grades 4th-6th
Once children understand poetry and learn how to read them accurately the next funniest thing to do will be to write a poem. This can be something fun you both do together. Poetry doesn’t just stimulate a child’s creativity, it also helps the stimulate patterns in the brain. Then add the fun of reading and writing poetry, you’ll have unbeatable combinations for your child.

Another fun way to really dig into the author’s mind of a poem is to analyze each of line of poetry that you read or write together. Just as talking and asking questions about a certain poem helps children understand the poem itself, analyzing each line will do the same for your child. Have fun with this literary ear candy. Your kids will only gain important lessons from doing so.

Main points to address:

• Write poetry together.
• Analyze the lines of poetry together.

Resources
Resources that can help you in your venture include:

• Net Poets – http://www.netpoets.com
• 30 days of Poetry – http://www.msrogers.com
• Poems for Kids – http://www.starfall.com
• Teaching Limericks – http://www.teachingideas.co.uk
• Magnetic Poetry – http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk
• Children’s poetry Bookshelf – http://www.childrenspoetrybookshelf.co.uk/
• Brownie Locks – http://www.brownielocks.com
• Poetry 4 Kids – http://www.poetry4kids.com

Posted in Education.

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