Introducing Poetry to Children

Poetry is such a delightful way to introduce children to the beauty that is a collection of words. Poetry in itself is not always about telling a story, but capturing a moment, as a photographer might when seeing an amazing landscape in front of them.

Through exposure to poetry we can then slowly introduce children to writing their own pieces and developing a collection of words which can express what they see with their eyes and feel with their hearts.

I don’t often share poetry with my children, but I am determined to do so.  As part of this new daily provocation I have gathered a few of my favorite poetry anthologies and plan on creating a little space to keep this collection so we can touch on it daily.  My children often enjoy listening to a chapter books in the car as we wait for friends or before school and I may introduce one of these books to our audio book listening adventures.

Below is my small collection so far…

1. If Poems  is available as a book and as an app.  The application is just beautiful as it has the ability to listen to a reading of the poem, as well as recording your own version. With over 200 classic poems at your fingertips, this is the perfect starting point for those who have yet to build their poetry collection.   Helena Bonham Carter is the most perfect voice for this application.

Below is a little link to see Helena discuss the application….

2. When We Were Very Young | A.A. Milne

3. The Puffin Book of Modern Children’s Verse | Edited by Brian Patten

4. A Light in the Attic | Shel Silverstein

5. Falling Up | Shel Silverstein

6. Runny Babbit | Shel Silverstein

7. Random House Book of Poetry

I am also considering the Magnetic Poetry Kit to encourage my eldest son to create a flow of words he likes to look of and the sound of together.