Poetry Time
Poetry uses rhyming and descriptive words to tell a story in a linguistically rich way. It can help boost your child’s phonemic awareness and vocabulary. Take time to read (and even write) poetry with your child this week.
Age-appropriate Adaptations:
- Two-year-olds—Read children’s books that include poetry or rhyming words. Check out poems by children’s author Shel Silverstein, including his books Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up.
- Three-year-olds—Sing familiar rhymes such as “Roses are Red” or “Down by the Bay” or make up your own sing-song rhymes. As your child learns them, encourage her to finish the rhymes on her own.
- Four-/Five-year-olds—Write a simple poem with your child. Pick a topic for the poem together. Then, ask your child to name descriptive words that tell about that topic. What do they typically see, hear, smell, taste, and feel about that topic? Help your child to assemble and write those words down into a poem. Read it together. Ask your child to describe how the final poem makes them feel. Can they really picture the topic after listening to the poem?
Skills Supported: poetry, rhyming words, phonemic awareness, vocabulary