- Sweet Pea enjoys his after-school tea time and a poem.
A love of poetry is developed at a young age. Have you ever noticed most of the time when someone references a poem it is one they learned in school? Sitting down and reading a book of poetry just for the joy of it is not something many of us do on a regular basis. That makes it all the more important for teachers and parents to not only expose children to good poetry but to encourage an appreciation of the art form. What better time to do that than in early childhood education?
I was reminded today of the importance of teaching children to appreciate poetry when I participated in Sweet Pea’s first grade “Fall Centers”. It was a morning of art and crafts and, happily for me, poetry. I was one of three moms who volunteered to help out with the Fall Centers by tending one of the stations. Having manned craft stations in the past I was excited to find there was a poetry center so I put dibs on it. The simple fall poem was posted where the kids could see it and they were also given a piece of paper with the poem to decorate and take home. We read the poem together, learned some sign language and motions to go along with it, then recited the poem and acted it out together.
Here is the very simple poem: