Celebrate Poetry with Children

by Julie Douglas, Family Program Specialist

Poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom.
Robert Frost

Have you enjoyed a poem today? Has your child?  Hearing poetry is an important stepping stone on the path to learning to read.  According to Mem Fox in her book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, "Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they're four years old, they're usually among the best readers by the time they are eight."

What is it about a simple poem that is so powerful?  T.S. Eliot described poetry as being "the perfect words in the perfect order."  For children, that seems especially true.  Young children take great pleasure in hearing the rhyme and rhythm of poetry.  Poetry provides a structure and orderliness to language, which is appealing to a little one who is just beginning to make sense of words.  In Poetry Aloud Here, author Sylvia Vardell states, "Poetry is primal: it speaks to a basic human need for expression and is made from the basic building blocks of language."  

Think of poetry as the superhero of language development.  Where else can a child be exposed to such rich vocabulary and imagery?  What can sharpen her phonological awareness better than a rhyme? Through poetry, the child is introduced to sophisticated word play that isn't found in our everyday conversations.  Poetry invites the child to clap and move along to the beat, to imitate the rhythm and inflection with her own voice, and to eventually recite the words.  A poem is meant to be heard and spoken.  

Surrounding a child with poetry comes quite naturally.  Singing lullabies to a baby, bouncing a child on our knee while chanting, and reciting nursery rhymes with a child are examples of how parents participate in the oral tradition of poetry.  How can parents take that next step into the world of poetry with their children?

The Academy of American Poets recommends 30 Ways to Celebrate Poetry at www.poets.org.  Several of their suggestions are easily adapted to the under five set.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Take a poem to lunch.  When your child is perched in his high chair or booster seat and enjoying a meal, pull out a book of poems and read a few. Or let your inner poet loose and make up some rhymes about the food the child is munching.

Recite a poem to family or friends.  Find a poem that you love and make it part of your child's daily routine.  Read or recite a poem at bath time or to signal the beginning of the bedtime routine. Read a special poem as part of a birthday or holiday celebration.

Start a "commonplace book."  A commonplace book is a book where one copies down favorite poems and quotes to keep as a personal anthology of words they love.  Create a notebook of poems, song lyrics, chants, and wordplay that you and your child enjoy.  Jot down funny rhymes that you create together.

Put a poem in your child's pocket (or book bag or lunch box).  Surprise your young reader with a poem tucked into her pocket.
 
Participate in Young People's Poetry Week.  Sponsored by the Children's Book Council, Young People's Poetry Week is held the third week of April.  Visit www.cbc.org for ideas on how to celebrate poetry in your home, daycare, or classroom.

Read a book of poetry.  Here a few to get you started.

Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1986)

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky (Random House, 2000)

My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells. (Candlewick, 1996)

Welcome, Baby! Baby Rhymes for Baby Times by Stephanie Calmenson (HarperCollins, 2002)

My First Action Rhymes pictures by Lynne Cravath. (HarperCollins, 2000)

The Baby's Playtime Book by Kay Chorao (Dutton Juvenile, 2006)

There's a Wocket in my Pocket! Dr. Seuss's Book of Ridiculous Rhymes  by Dr. Seuss (Random House Books for Young Readers; Board edition, 1996)

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein (HarperCollins; 1st ed edition, 1974)

A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion, 2005)

Love to Mama: A Tribute to Mothers by Pat Mora (Lee & Low Books; Bilingual edition 2004)

Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha Alexander (Random House Books for Young Readers,1973)

Splash! Poems of Our Watery World  by Constance Levy. (Orchard, 2004)

Happy Reading!