Put a Poem in Your Child's Heart Today

Thursday April 14, 2011


Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day, and you can read about it here. I'm a sucker for rhyme; I just love poetry.

Did you know April is National Poetry Month? Poets.org from the Academy of American Poets has a list of 30 great ways to celebrate the month.

But today, why don't you slip a poem into a loved one's pocket...or better yet, into his or her heart? Share a verse you loved as a child. Write one. Find one on the internet. Grab a rhyming storybook and read it in a loud, singsong voice. Give your kids a good dose of the beauty of poetry.

We had several kids' poetry books and I'd often read the boys a couple of poems before bed if I felt we didn't have time for a story. I'd like to think those stolen moments of poetry had an impact on them.

Some of my mom favorites? For silliness (for the older child and his parents), Calvin Miller's When the Aardvark Parked on the Ark. For vintage Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends. And for its classic beauty, A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.

So, enjoy Poem in Your Pocket Day. Tuck a poem in your loved one's heart today.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I have a bag of candy at school today - my seventh graders are reading their poems in their pockets aloud to me in exchange for a piece of candy. they are really excited - about poetry! i posted a Langston Hughes on my blog, but am carrying a different one of his - "Youth" - for my kids to hear. Enjoy your day!

Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.com said...

Ah ... It's so good to be able to see your page again. That crazy little photobucket icon is gone. Yay! :-)

My Lydia created a poem book this week at school. I'll share one of hers here in honor of Poetry Month:

The frog hops from pad to pad.
With his big, bullfrog dad.

They see a fly,
and both run and - BUMP! - nice try.

They hit each other very hard.
Now they're in the hospital (for frogs) getting cards.

Look at that bump that's red
sitting right on top of his head.

:)

Amy Sullivan said...

Even the title of this sounds fun. Clicking over now to check it out!

Erin said...

Love this idea!

Bobbi said...

Fun..I didn't know this...I might write some simple rhymes with the kids for DadE and slip them in his pocket...Surely Roses are Red is manageable, right? Smiles...and thanks for your kind comments to me today.

Heidi @ Decor & More said...

Love using poetry in my class! I'll read a poem to them and turn them loose with paper and crayons to artistically interpret what the poem meant to them. Always yields masterpieces!

Faith said...

we've been reading some cute poems in the kindergarten where i work...i love it! and my children both loved Where the Sidewalk ends...love his stuff! and i'm sooo glad I can see your blog again...i wanted to read those posts I saw...will try now...

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