Introducing Kids to Poetry

Teaching poetry to kids is an interesting habit that needs to be inculcated in your child’s formative years. This practice will in turn help your child enjoy reading and make him appreciate words too. Learn ways to introduce poetry to your children with interesting tricks that will inspire them.

As kids, the first stories we were all told were probably verses and poems. Most of us tend to approach storytelling through poems. For children especially toddlers and pre-schoolers,the benefits of reading and learning through poetry is vast. Poetry can make you smile and keep your child entertained. One of the countless benefits of poetry is that it conveys feelings and thoughts through minimum and carefully chosen words.

Teaching poetry to children will make them appreciate words and cultivate them to pick up reading too. Believe it or not, introducing poetry to kids at an early age helps them enrich and develop rich vocabulary; phonological awareness through repetition, rhythm and rhyme; and their imagination knows no boundaries.It’s fun and children love it! What’s more? With so many benefits, one wonders how to get them started early, so they can revel in the beautiful woven words of a poem. There are some tips that you can follow to introduce your kids to poetry and cease your quandary.

Poetry and Children – How to Develop This Relationship

1. The ‘I Am’ Poem

One of the best ways to introduce your child to poetry is to start with the simple ‘I Am’ series of poems. These poems contain three stanzas of six lines each and usually describe an object or a person. It enlists all the good qualities of that person or thing. This would be one of the best ways of introducing your kid to the world of poems. You could also help your children come up with an ‘I Am’ poem, describing themselves. This will improve his imaginative skills and vocabulary.

2. Poem Illustrations

One of the most effective ways to inculcate imagination in the child is to allow them to illustrate the poem with colours. Ask them to draw a picture, which best represents what the poem means to them. You will be surprised to see how creative kids can get. Involve the child in a discussion later to understand his interpretation of the poem. In this manner you are inculcating poem reading habit in children and also allowing them to think beyond their limits!

3. The Musical Way

Another effective way of making your child love poetry is to get your hands on musical versions of the poems. Play them at home through your smartphone or your laptop. Your kid will soon grow to adore poems because of the whole musical effect of the activity. This is a great way to get your little one to like poetry in the long run. You could always make a rhyme of your own, and you will be amazed to see how excited your little one is.

4. Bedtime Poetry

One of the best ways to introduce your child to poetry would be to read the poem to them like you’d read a bedtime story. Sound imaginative and create interest, while you read the poem aloud. Most children’s poetry has a soothing and relaxing element to it. Before you know it, she would be reminding you to read them to her even when you’re a deadbeat. Poems like ‘Princess Sleepyhead’ is a perfect bedtime poem for little girls.

5. The Rhyming Game

Poetry for kids can be fun and informative, if you make it into one. Choose fruits or any objects in the house and ask your kid to come up with words that rhyme with that object. However, you might not want to point out to fruits like apples and oranges; in short, words that are difficult to rhyme. In time, your kid will get the hang of it and enjoy this wordplay.

Introducing your kids to poetry should start when they are young. This is because poems expand the mental and creative horizons of a child and will also make your child develop a liking for words. Furthermore, inculcating this habit will also help increase your child’s vocabulary. This would not just increase their knowledge, but will also make your child stand out.