How You Can Help Your Child Be A Poet?

drawing of a library shelf with an open book in the foreground

I became a poet because I loved the poetry of Shel Silverstein, especially Where the Sidewalk Ends, and I wanted to share my ideas and sense of humor with my own students. So I started writing poems for them and my two daughters.

One way you can help your child write poetry is to encourage them to write poems by using a "recipe" for the poem or simply by completing sentences in an organized manner.

Each month I post a new recipe poem and samples to encourage kids to write poetry. These poems don't have to be great to win. They have to be interesting.

What follows are three partial poems from Picture Poetry on Parade. You have my permission to use these with your kids or students. I got the idea for using the "IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF THE SCHOOL POEM," when I visited a fourth grade class. The teacher who loved poetry gave the class the choice of asking me a question about writing or reading me their version of the school poem. Most chose to read to me. They were delighted by what they had created and a chance to share. I thought that some of their lines were better than mine!

So parents, please give the following a try. Writing poetry isn't difficult if the writer has a "recipe." That's what the next three poems are all about. After writing the poems, your child will enjoy sharing them with others. I hope he or she does that. Write on!