In April schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets celebrate poetry's vital place in our culture. National Poetry Month was inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996.
Back then at library story times, I wore an apron with pockets in which I put my favorite poems. After we read some, kids made their own pockets--two felt squares that they sewed together with yarn-- and chose a favorite poem to put in their "pocket." There were so many wonderful choices. Here's one by Shel Silverstein:
I made myself a snowball as perfect as could be
I thought I'd keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for its head
And then last night it ran away
But first--it wet the bed!
Older kids had fun with words by writing their own poems for their pockets.
There are many different ways to write a poem.
One of the downloadable activities at Dawn Publications from my latest book,
Baby on Board, How Animals Carry Their Young encourages students to try haiku poetry. The poem has three lines of 17 syllables. The first line has 5, the second line has 7 and the third line has 5. Here's an example:
Sloths are very slow.
They sleep upside-down in trees.
That is where they live.
Check it out at: https://dawnpub.com/activities/BOB_PLAYING-WITH-POETRY2.pdf
Back then at library story times, I wore an apron with pockets in which I put my favorite poems. After we read some, kids made their own pockets--two felt squares that they sewed together with yarn-- and chose a favorite poem to put in their "pocket." There were so many wonderful choices. Here's one by Shel Silverstein:
I made myself a snowball as perfect as could be
I thought I'd keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for its head
And then last night it ran away
But first--it wet the bed!
Older kids had fun with words by writing their own poems for their pockets.
There are many different ways to write a poem.
One of the downloadable activities at Dawn Publications from my latest book,
Baby on Board, How Animals Carry Their Young encourages students to try haiku poetry. The poem has three lines of 17 syllables. The first line has 5, the second line has 7 and the third line has 5. Here's an example:
Sloths are very slow.
They sleep upside-down in trees.
That is where they live.
Check it out at: https://dawnpub.com/activities/BOB_PLAYING-WITH-POETRY2.pdf