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How Poetry Benefits Young Children
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Helping to instill a lifelong love of poetry in your child is one of
the greatest gifts you can give. Countless benefits result from
reading, writing, and otherwise experiencing poetry. |
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Poetry can stimulate a child’s awareness of the world around him, his
sense of awe, and his creativity. But throwing a big tome of Wordsworth
at him is likely to be confusing and turn him off of the stuff.
Introduce poetry to your kids when they are small by reading nursery
rhymes, singing lullabies, and chanting jump rope rhymes. Poetry is one
of the best tools for teaching kids to read, because rhythm and rhyme
help hold their interest while taking the guesswork out of phonics.
Poetry helps kids discover delight in language. Also, reading in verse
or in spurts is less intimidating than reading large blocks of text. |
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Poetry gives children a vehicle to express themselves. Learning to put
feelings into words is the most basic communication skill. As adults,
we often complain that our loved ones or peers don’t communicate what
they are feeling, and we are expected to read their minds. But often,
the problem goes deeper than simply withholding information. The person
in question may not even know how to put their feelings into words.
Kids learn this easily early on if they are encouraged to read and
write poetry. This is wonderful when encouraging communication of love
for Grandma, or to process sorrow when a pet has died. But it can be
life saving when a child needs to communicate serious matters to a
teacher or parent. "Poetry breaks through the skin of suffering in
which children are often imprisoned: silent, confused, scared. A
child's poetry is an intimate, trusting gift,” said African-American
novelist and poet Alice Walker. By showing children how others have
used poetry to describe feelings of desperation or grief, or to talk
about racism or bullying, you help give your kids a voice when they
need one. |
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Of course, poetry doesn’t have to be heavy-handed on themes like
depression or war. Nonsense poetry is very popular with kids- where
would we be without Shel Silverstein or Dr. Seuss? Kidslove finding
patterns and surprises and hidden meanings in all kinds of poetry, and
the more they read as children, the more they’ll retain a sense of
imagination and wonder as adults. Poet Robert Frost described poetry as
“serious play.” |
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Kids who love poetry are seldom bored, because they can find poetry
everywhere they look: in spring, in snowflakes, in sacred holidays, in
playground chants. Poetry helps to open the senses, and asks kids to
look more closely at the world around them. It sharpens their powers of
observation. It also helps them listen better to others, and to listen
with an ear for understanding, not just hearing. |
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National Poetry Month is April, and that’s the perfect time to get your
kids inspired by poetry. But don’t just toss a pile of poems at your
kids and leave them on their own. They’ll need a guide, and you don’t
need a better reason to dust off your imagination and plunge right in
with them. Pick up an array of silly poems and classics from the
children’s department of your bookstore or library. Haul out your old
favourites and share them. And commit to devoting some time every April
for poetry writing exercises and related activities. There are dozens
of ways in which poetry can enrich a child’s life, a joy that can
continue into maturity. |
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Click here for some great poetry
activities. |
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