Regardless of the age of your readers, poetry techniques generally apply. When you write or select poems to read to children, consider these additional considerations with some examples I've written to illustrate:
Children often like cheery poems such as this haiku.
Autumn air creates
wispy streamers of white clouds
like strings
from a kite.
Children like poems that express their feelings such as fear.
When thunder rumbles,
I scramble under my bed
and cover
my head.
Nature poems help children enjoy the natural world.
Uncut grass tickles
the tummy of a squirrel.
He leaps
like a deer.
Children like poems reflecting their experiences such as a pillow fight or a flannel board!
Pillows fill the sky –
Waiting to be tossed around.
That’s how angels fight!
…
Someone tossed cotton
balls against a blue flannel
sky! See
how they stick!
Children enjoy word games and puzzles.
Two months sound airy.
Three cool months end in embers.
Most months stop on “Y?”
…
“Three Clichés in Three Lines”
Night: On the window
frog Prince Elmer sticks like gum,
waiting for a kiss.
Playful poems appeal to kids and also help them learn.
Hey, Magellan!
What’ you smelling?
Did you sniff the sea?
You found the Pacific!
Oh, how terrific!
Now you’ve made history!
…
“Starting an Alphabet Poem in All Caps”
A = Side view of a roof or a swing set in the park.
B = Owl eyes staring sideways in a cartoon in the dark.
C = Pour that much into my cup and please add nothing more.
D = This whitener made my teeth so bright, I'm giggling on the floor.
That last poem came from my book The
ABC’s of Poetry: A Dictionary for Children and for Fun, which, according to my research, is the
only poetry dictionary for kids out there. In this tech-oriented society, creative arts are needed more than ever!
Children are meant to be
creative!
And it’s up to us to encourage that creativity. For example, you might order poetry books as Christmas gifts for classrooms, creative kids, or poets of all ages. They might also welcome The ABC's of Poetry: A Dictionary for Children and for Fun. To find out more, visit my previous blog post about the poetry dictionary, which includes its Introduction page and several examples from the book.
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