Not gonna lie, just hearing the word "poetry" makes me want to run in the opposite direction of wherever the word was said.
I'm not sure where the angst and dislike began, but as it would be homeschooling my children means I am revisiting those topics I didn't so much like myself growing up. However, "buckle up, butter cup" is my mantra many days as this is an opportunity for me to expose my children to the joy in learning something new and topics that, perhaps, are not our natural bent-- poetry being mine! Needless to say, no need to "go big or go home" while learning about poetry! Start small. Start by exploring the things you see... like color!
Writing a color poem is a great first introduction to poetry for kids! Enjoy reading My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss and then write your own color poem with our free template!
However, I did encourage my son to think about things that were said color. It would be easy to simply write "Orange is a table, pencil, shirt.. etc," so I helped him brainstorm different things that were color specific. Or your child may complete the poem with feelings or thoughts or an event.
The main thing to remember is that poetry is all about the experience/ reality of the writer!
Once my son completed his poem, with things each color represented, I brought out some paint for him to continue to unleash his creativity.
Here is what he created:
If you would like to write your own color poem, I've made our Color Poem template available to you!
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WHAT IS POETRY?
To get a bit technical, poetry is a literary genre that expresses emotion and feelings through patterns, rhythm and structure.
SO HOW TO I TEACH POETRY TO MY KIDS?
As I mentioned above, start small. Listen to nursery rhymes and make a list of rhyming words. Read poems written by children. Listen to music. Write poems about what what you can see, like our color poem.
A way to make the topic a bit less intimidating is to read a book like, My Many Colored Days. It is unlike any other Dr. Seuss books, but it still is a treasure to read to explore emotions, colors, description words, poetry, and much more!
In the book, Dr. Seuss uses colors to describe feelings, for instance:
On bright red days,
how good it feels
to be a horse
and kick my heels!
With March being National Poetry Month, I made a color poem template and then worked through the poem with my 7 year old son.
There is no right or wrong way to complete this poem!
There is no right or wrong way to complete this poem!
However, I did encourage my son to think about things that were said color. It would be easy to simply write "Orange is a table, pencil, shirt.. etc," so I helped him brainstorm different things that were color specific. Or your child may complete the poem with feelings or thoughts or an event.
I think you will find that colors invoke certain images and feelings, so this color poem is a great first step into poetry.
As with any writing assignment, begin by brainstorming!
HOW TO WRITE A COLOR POEM
Ask questions to draw out things, ideas, and feelings.
- Name something that is orange.
- What does red remind you of?
- How do you feel when you see yellow?
- What color did you see when we visited the store? grandparent's house? on vacation?
The main thing to remember is that poetry is all about the experience/ reality of the writer!
Here is what he created:
If you would like to write your own color poem, I've made our Color Poem template available to you!
Just click the link. Hope you enjoy the updated printable that includes a color and black/white version:
