Poetry preschool: My First Poems: 12 Great Poetry Books for Kids Ages 0 – 4
Poems for Kids | Academy of American Poets
The following selections of poems are curated around specific themes and are appropriate for young readers.
Find poetry lesson plans, essays about teaching, a glossary of poetry terms, and other educator resources on our Materials for Teachers page. Visit our Poetry for Teens page to find more selections of poems tailored to a high school audience. Encourage students to participate in the Dear Poet project. And, celebrate Poem In Your Pocket Day virtually on April 30.
Poems Kids Like
Read a selection of poems kids love by poets like Lewis Carroll, Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and more.
Animals: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about animals by poets like Alberto Blanco, Elizabeth Bishop, William Blake, Lewis Carroll, and more.
Arab American Heritage Month: Poems for Kids
To celebrate Arab American Heritage Month in April—and the rich tradition of Arabic poetry all year long—browse this selection of poems by classic and contemporary poets.
Autumn: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about the autumn season by poets like Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Brenda Hillman, Edward Hirsch, Amy Lowell, and more.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: Poems for Kids
Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month the following selection of poems features poets like Chen Chen, Tina Chang, Li-Young Lee, Marilyn Chin, and more.
Beginnings: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about beginnings by poets like Naomi Shihab Nye, Theodore Roethke, Walt Whitman, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and more.
Black History Month: Poems for Kids
The following poems celebrate Black History Month with poets like Jericho Brown, Kwame Dawes, and more.
Caribbean American Heritage Month: Poems for Kids
To celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month in June—and the rich tradition of Caribbean American poetry all year long—browse poems by both classic and contemporary poets.
Cities: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about cities, such as “New York at Night” by Amy Lowell, “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound, “Passers-by” by Carl Sandburg, and more.
Environment: Poems for Kids
A selection of poems about the environment and climate crisis by poets like Jeffrey Bean, Camille T. Dungy, Joy Harjo, and more.
Family: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about family by poets like Richard Blanco, Nikki Giovanni, Yesenia Montilla, and more.
Father’s Day: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about fathers and fatherhood by poets Jorge H. Aigla, Tina Chang, David St. John, E. E. Cummings, and more.
Food: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of poems about food that are appropriate for young people like “Tamales on Christmas ” by Christian Robinson, “This is Just To Say ” by William Carlos Williams, and more.
Friendship: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of poems about friendship by poets like Lucille Clifton, John Keats, Joanna Fuhrman, and more.
Graduation: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about graduating, moving forward, and getting older, with poems like “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, “Dreams” by Langston Hughes, and “Instructions on Not Giving Up” by Ada Limón.
Halloween: Poems for Kids
The following classic and contemporary poems are great for celebrating Halloween, including “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Black Cat” by Rainer Maria Rilke, “Dusk in Autumn” by Sara Teasdale, and more.
Hispanic Heritage Month: Poems for Kids
Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, the following selection of poems features poets like Francisco X. Alarcón, Brenda Cárdenas, John Olivares Espinoza, and more.
Holidays: Poems for Kids
To celebrate the holiday season, read a selection of holiday-themed poems like “Christmas Trees” by Robert Frost, “The Feast of Lights” by Emma Lazarus, “The Passing of the Year” by Robert W. Service, and more.
Hope: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about hope by poets like Maya Angelou, Jane Hirshfield, Langston Hughes, and more.
Humor: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of funny poems that are appropriate for young people like “Mother Doesn’t Want a Dog” by Judith Viorst, “The List of Famous Hats” by James Tate, and more.
Immigration: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about immigration featuring poets Lory Bedikian, Richard Blanco, Marilyn Chin, Kwame Dawes, and more.
LGBTQ Pride Month: Poems for Kids
Celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month, the following poems feature poets like Chen Chen, A. E. Housman, Donika Kelly, and more.
Libraries: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about libraries, librarians, and the joys of reading from poets like Nikki Giovanni, Philip Metres, Alberto Ríos, and more.
Love: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of poems about love, friendship, romance, and devotion like “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Love Comes Quietly” by Robert Creeley, and more.
Mother’s Day: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about mothers and motherhood like “Wonder Woman” by Angelo Geter, “Remember” by Joy Harjo, “La suavecita” by Lupe Mendez, and more.
Myths and Fairy Tales: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about fables, fairy tales, folklore, legends, and myths by poets Homer, Saeed Jones, Kim Addonizio, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, and more.
Native American Heritage Month: Poems for Kids
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month, the following poems feature poets like Richard Calmit Adams, Joy Harjo, Lois Red Elk, M. L. Smoker, and more.
Nature: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of poems about nature, wildlife, and the outdoors like “Pursuit” by Elizabeth Bradfield, “Patience Taught by Nature” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more.
Politics: Poems for Kids
Read the following poems about politics, elections, and government by poets like Elizabeth Alexander, Richard Blanco, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, and more.
Reading and Writing: Poems for Kids
The following poems explore the themes of reading, writing, and poetry by poets like Yves Bonnefoy, Emily Dickinson, Martín Espada, and more.
School: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of poems about school, learning, and the classroom by poets like Catherine Barnett, Eamon Grennan, Brenda Hillman, and more.
Social Justice: Poems for Kids
Read the following poems about social justice, identity, and human rights by poets like Elizabeth Alexander, Maya Angelou, Ross Gay, Amanda Gorman, and more.
Spanish: Poems for Kids
A selection of poems in Spanish and English include “Arbolé, arbolé/Tree, tree” by Federico García Lorca, “Despedida/Farewell” by Francisca Aguirre, and more.
Sports: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about sports, including baseball, basketball, track, and wrestling with poems like “Victory” by Sherman Alexie, “The Trouble Ball” by Martín Espada, and more.
Spring: Poems for Kids
Read the following poems about spring, growth, and renewal by poets like E. E. Cummings, Toi Derricotte, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, John Keats, and more.
Summer: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about summer and warm weather with poems like “A Boat, Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Lewis Carroll, “Fishing on the Susquehanna in July” by Billy Collins, and more.
Technology: Poems for Kids
Read a selection of poems about technology, invention, and information by poets like James Arthur, Hannah Brooks-Moti, Noah Eli Gordon, and more.
Thanksgiving: Poems for Kids
To celebrate gratitude and the Thanksgiving season, read the following poems by poets like Joy Harjo, Lydia Maria Child, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and more.
Travel: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about vacations and travel like “Vacation” by Rita Dove, “Passing through Albuquerque” by John Balaban, “Road Trip” by Kurt Brown, and more.
Valentine’s Day: Poems for Kids
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the following classic and contemporary poems about love, heart, and friendship, are appropriate for young people.
Visual Art: Poems for Kids
The following poems are about paintings, sculptures, and other forms of visual art, as well as poems about artists and the artistic process.
War: Poems for Kids
Read the following classic and contemporary poems about war, wartime, and veterans by poets like Rita Dove, Jori Graham, June Jordan, and more.
Winter: Poems for Kids
The following poems explore the themes of winter, snow, and cold weather like “[‘Tis the first snow—]” by Matsuo Basho, “London Snow” by Robert Bridges, and more.
Women’s History Month: Poems for Kids
The following poems celebrate Women’s History month and honor the legacy of women poets.
30 Short Poems for Kids (for Every Occasion)
Nursery rhymes, song lyrics, Dr. Seuss books — without realizing it, we are surrounded by poetry every day. Poems can make children laugh, but more than that, they can help with cognitive development.
Short poems for kids can help your child understand patterns, which aids the brain in learning to process and retain information (1).
Poems can even help with the development of speech. Plus, children enjoy poetry when it’s age-appropriate.
Table of Contents
- Funny Poems for Kids
- Rhyming Poems for Kids
- Famous Short Poems for Kids
- Silly Poems for Kids
- Mother’s Day Poems for Kids
- Christmas Poems for Kids
- Easter Poems for Kids
- How To Choose Poems For Kids
- Tips for Teaching Your Kids Poetry
- The Last, Non-Rhyming, Word
Funny Poems for Kids
Funny poems are an excellent starting point when you begin to share poetry with kids. Whether it’s wordplay that makes the poem funny or a joke or a twist at the end, these poems will tickle their funny bone and encourage them to recite it.
Eletelephony
Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant—
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone—(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I’ve got it right.)
Howe’er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee—
(I fear I’d better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)— Laura Elizabeth Richard
)At the Zoo
First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;
Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys – mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt!— William Makepeace Thackeray
The Purple Cow
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!— Gelett Burgess
Our Kittens
Our kittens have the softest fur,
And the sweetest little purr,
And such little velvet paws
With such cunning little claws,
And blue eyes, just like the sky!
(Must they turn green, by and by?)Two are striped like tigers, three
Are as black as black can be,
And they run so fast and play
With their tails, and are so gay,
Is it not a pity that
Each must grow into a cat?— Evaleen Stein
The Picture-Book Giant
Once there was a fierce, defiant,
Greedy, grumpy, grizzly giant
In the pages of a picture-book, and he
Sometimes screamed, in sudden rages,
“I must jump out from these pages,
For this life’s a much too humdrum one for me!
Fiddle-dee!
Yes, this life’s a quite too quiet one for me!”So one rainy day he did it,
Took the picture-book and hid it,
Stamped his foot, and shouting loudly,
“Now I’m free!”
Boldly started out, forgetting
That he could not stand a wetting!
He was just a paper giant, don’t you see?
Dearie me!
Just a gaudy, picture giant, don’t you see?— Evaleen Stein
Rebecca
Who Slammed Doors For Fun And Perished Miserably
A trick that everyone abhors
In little girls is slamming doors.
A wealthy banker’s little daughter
Who lived in Palace Green, Bayswater
(By name Rebecca Offendort),
Was given to this furious sport.She would deliberately go
And slam the door like billy-o!
To make her uncle Jacob start.
She was not really bad at heart,
But only rather rude and wild;
She was an aggravating child…— Hilaire Belloc
Rhyming Poems for Kids
Rhyming poetry gives children the opportunity to anticipate what’s coming next and sometimes have the satisfaction of being right.
Most nursery rhymes are basic rhyming poems. Beyond that, there are endless examples of rhyming poems for kids, some more modern than others.
A Million Little Diamonds
A million little diamonds
Twinkled on the trees;
And all the little children cried,
“A jewel, if you please!”But while they held their hands outstretched
To catch the diamonds gay,
A million little sunbeams came
And stole them all away.— Mary Frances Butts
Room For One More
There is always room for one more
I see by his coat he must be a stray,
The untidy look gives him away.
He’s lost his will and is so thin,
Hasn’t eaten since God knows when.
I know as I coax him through the door,
There’s always room for just one more.— Author Unknown
The Forest
The forest is the town of trees
Where they live quite at their ease,
With their neighbors at their side
Just as we in cities wide.— by Annette Wynne
Robin Redbreast
Goodbye, goodbye to Summer!
For Summer’s nearly done;
The garden smiling faintly,
Cool breezes in the sun;Our Thrushes now are silent,
Our Swallows flown away –
But Robin’s here, in coat of brown,
With ruddy breast-knot gay.Robin, Robin Redbreast,
O Robin dear!
Robin singing sweetly
In the falling of the year.— William Allingham
The Cow
The friendly cow, all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple tart.She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.— Robert Louis Stevenson
What is Pink?
What is pink? A rose is pink
By the fountain’s brink.
What is red? A poppy’s red
In its barley bed.What is blue? The sky is blue
Where the clouds float through.
What is white? A swan is white
Sailing in the light.What is yellow? Pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? The grass is green,
With small flowers between.What is violet? Clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!— Christina Rossetti
Ladybird Ladybird
Lady-bird, Lady-bird, fly away home
The field mouse is gone to her nest
The daisies have shut up their sleepy red eyes
And the birds and the bees are at restLady-bird, Lady-bird, fly away home
The glow worm is lighting her lamp
The dew’s falling fast, and your fine speckled wings
Will flag with the close clinging dampLady-bird, Lady-bird, fly away home
The fairy bells tinkle afar
Make haste or they’ll catch you and harness you fast
With a cobweb to Oberon’s star.— Author Unknown
Famous Short Poems for Kids
There is both modern and classical children’s poetry available. The issue of copyright prevents us from including some of the best modern children’s poetry, but you can find examples from poets such as Roald Dahl, Shel Silverstein, and Jacqueline Woodson all over the internet.
Here are some of our favorite classical examples.
When I Was One
When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I’m as clever as clever.
So I think I’ll be six
Now and forever.— A.A. Milne
My Shadow
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.The funniest things about him is the way he likes to grow-
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.— Robert Louis Stevenson
Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give the poor dog a bone;
When she came there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.— Author Unknown
As I Was Going To St. Ives
As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Every wife had seven sacks
Every sack had seven cats
Every cat had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks, wives
How many were going to St. Ives?— Author Unknown
Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey diddle diddle,
The Cat and the fiddle,
The Cow jumped over the moon,
The little Dog laughed to see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.— Author Unknown
Silly Poems for Kids
The beauty of silly poems for kids is that they can stimulate different thought processes as well as dissolve your little ones into puddles of giggles.
In our first silly poem for kids, there are some actions, through which your child can join in and play along. These actions are in brackets, after the relevant line.
I’m a Little Teapot
I’m a little teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle (one hand on hip)
Here is my spout (other arm out straight)When I get all steamed up
Hear me shout
“Tip me over
and pour me out!” (lean over toward spout)I’m a clever teapot,
Yes, it’s true
Here let me show you
What I can do
I can change my handle
And my spout (switch arm positions)
Just tip me over and pour me out! (lean over toward spout)— George Harold Sanders
There Once Was A Man With A Beard
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said “It is just how I feared,”
Two Owls and a hen,
For Larks and a wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard— Edward Lear
There Was A Young Lady Whose Eyes
There was a young lady whose eyes,
Were unique as to color and size,
When she opened them wide,
People all turned aside,
And then ran away in surprise.— Edward Lear
Mother’s Day Poems for Kids
Mother’s Day poems for kids are often short and sweet.
This makes them excellent not only for reciting, but for putting inside or on a Mother’s Day card or craft.
Dear Mother
Dear mother, your love is special,
I cannot help but show.
Like flowers in a garden,
Your love makes me grow.— Author Unknown
I Love My Mommy
I love my mommy, yessiree!
She is very good to me!
She makes me cookies and yummy treats,
That’s my mom and she’s real neat!Oh, oh, oh, who wouldn’t know?
Oh, oh, oh, who wouldn’t know?
I love my mommy and she loves me,
That’s the way it’s supposed to be!— Author Unknown
Dear Mother
You sew the buttons on my clothes
You give me a hankie for my nose
You make good things for me to eat
You buy me candy for a treat
You wash my clothes and mend my socks
Dear Mother, I love you lots and lots!— Author Unknown
Christmas Poems for Kids
Google Christmas poems for kids and you’ll find page after page of Christmas songs, carols, and the like.
We’ve included some lesser-known children’s poems for Christmas, along with some of the actions for those interactive rhymes. Just remember not to read the words in brackets!
Christmas Is Coming
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please to put a penny in the old man’s hat;
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’ penny will do,
If you haven’t got a ha’ penny then God bless you!— Author Unknown
When Santa Comes To Our House
When Santa comes to our house (hands point to roof)
I would like to peek (peek through fingers)
But I know he’ll never come (shake head no)
Until I’m fast asleep (tilt and rest head on hands together)Isn’t it the strangest thing
That Santa is so shy
We can never, never catch him
No matter how we try— Author Unknown
Peppermint Stick
I took a lick of my peppermint stick (pretend to lick candy)
And was it ever yummy (lick lips and rub your belly)
It used to be on my Christmas tree (form tree shape with hands)
But now, it’s in my tummy (Point to belly)— Author Unknown
Easter Poems for Kids
Use these poems in the weeks before Easter.
Enjoy plenty of fun, laughter, and bunny-focused dance moves before the real Easter bunny comes to make his chocolatey deliveries.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha’ penny,
Two ha’ penny,
Hot Cross Buns!— Author Unknown
Easter Is Here
Easter time at last is here
Bunnies, chickies, let us cheer
(clap and cheer)
Easter Bunny hops with joy
Eggs for every girl and boy
(hop around)
Easter time at last is here
Bunnies, chickies, let us cheer— Author Unknown
I’m An Easter Bunny
Here is a bunny (raise two fingers and bend them)
With ears so funny
And here is a hole in the ground. (make hole with the fingers of the other hand)
At the first sound she hears,
She pricks up her ears (straighten fingers)
And pops right into the ground.I’m an Easter Bunny, watch me hop, (hop around)
Here are my two ears, see how they flop. (hold hands at sides of head and flop them)
Here is my cottontail, here is my nose, (wiggle hips, then point to nose)
I’m all furry from my head to my toes. (point to head, then to toes)— Author Unknown
(put fingers in hole)How To Choose Poems For Kids
If you’re unsure about how to find suitable poems for children, here are some tips that will help:
- When you are choosing poems for children, look for examples of poetry that cover familiar topics.
- Don’t break out the abstract, freeform poetry to share with your children. Stick to poems that rhyme and have a simple, clear, distinct rhythm.
- The poems you choose can encourage wordplay. That stimulates your child to see words and the way they are used in a different fashion.
- Your poems of choice should be vivid and allow your child to create a clear mental picture of what’s going on.
- With young children, the sillier or the funnier the poem is, the better.
- With younger children, poems that can be accompanied by physical actions are an excellent way to help “paint the picture.”
- Think about attention spans. The poems here are short enough to keep your child interested right to the end.
Tips for Teaching Your Kids Poetry
To help teach your kids poetry, we’ve put together our best hints and tips.
- Make it fun. Don’t sit your child down and inform them they’re going to learn some poems. Instead, introduce them casually.
- If you are going to read a new poem to your child, be sure to run through it so you can read it aloud, without hesitation, and not ruin the experience for you both.
- Use an expressive voice when you’re reading your child a poem. Different voices for characters, the appropriate emotions, raising your voice or lowering it where appropriate will all enhance the experience.
- For older kids, have them choose a favorite song, and recite them as a poem. They’ll discover they already know plenty of poetry.
- Use poems in artwork, crafts, and other places so they are an everyday feature. That way, when the time comes for your child to learn about poetry at school, they’ll have a headstart in poetry appreciation.
- Dress up as a character in the poem you’re reciting. That will increase their interest.
- Make it age-appropriate. For toddlers, stick to a poem with four or six lines.
They’ll discover they already know plenty of poetry.The Last, Non-Rhyming, Word
Just the word poetry can be an instant turn-off for some people, but don’t let it put you off.
Sharing poems with your child can help you bond, aid their development, and it can be a whole lot of fun.
So use some of our poems or find some of your own, and discover short poems for kids — you’ll be glad you did.
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Project “Poetry for Children” to introduce children of primary preschool age to fiction | Fiction project (junior group):
CHILDREN’S INSTITUTION HELL OF COMBINED TYPE No.
3 “FIREFLY”
(MBDO No. 3)
155043, Ivanovo region, Teikovo, Molodezhnaya st., 12A,
tel. 8(4932)-92-96-64, 8-963-152-96-64, e-mail: [email protected]
TIN 3704002708 KPP 370401001
Project
“Poetry for Children”
for the involvement of children
90 002 junior preschool age
to fiction
Developed by:
E.Yu. Mikhailichenko
Teikovo
2019
Type of project: educational and creative.
Project duration: mid-term
Project participants: children of the second junior group of kindergarten (4-5 years old),
9000 2 . . . parents of pupils.
Educational area: Cognitive,
speech,
artistic and aesthetic,
social and communicative development.
Relevance of the project:
– Memorizing poems broadens the horizons of the child, enriches the vocabulary;
– Develops the skills of pronunciation of sounds in words and phrases;
– Develops auditory attention, memorization abilities, sense of rhythm and rhyme.
Objectives:
– Formation of a valuable attitude to the book among preschoolers through cognitive and creative activities;
– Introducing children to the world of culture and cultivating artistic taste through the formation of children’s interest in poetry, the ability to expressively read poetry;
– Education of aesthetic taste;
– Continue to develop a respect for books.
Tasks:
– Raise interest in poetry, develop the ability for a holistic perception of poetic works, ensure the assimilation of the content of works and emotional responsiveness to it;
– To form initial ideas about the features of a poetic work, about its specific features, about composition, about the simplest elements of imagery in the language;
– To cultivate literary and artistic taste, the ability to understand and feel the mood of a poetic work;
– Capture the musicality, sonority, rhythm, beauty and poetry of works; develop a poetic ear.
Expected results:
– Children improve their speech skills, the ability to pronounce full sentences;
– Children will enrich and activate the vocabulary;
– Learn to understand the idea of the poem about who did a good deed and who did a bad one.
– There will be an interest in poetry, a desire to tell them with a natural intonation, loudly enough.
– Poems will teach children the skills of a culture of behavior: to be polite, kind, disciplined.
– To involve parents in the life of the kindergarten, to actively introduce children to fiction and poetry.
Stages of work:
1. Preparatory stage:
– Definition of the goals and objectives of the project.
– Selection of riddles, proverbs and poems about the book.
– Selection of methodological literature, fiction for reading, audio recordings, table theater set.
– Selection of information and literature for compiling a card index “Poetry for children”.
– Drawing up an action plan for the implementation of the project.
2. Milestone:
Work with children:
– Exhibition of favorite books;
– Conversation with children on the topic: “Different books are needed, different books are important”;
– Examination of illustrations for poems;
– Draw your favorite characters;
– We introduce children to poems about books;
– Reading poems by children’s poets;
– Replenishment of the corner “Knizhkin House”;
– Repair of books;
– Making bookmarks for books;
– Dramatization of the poem “Fly-Tsokotuha”
– Drawing up a card index “Poetry for children”
Work with parents:
– Conversation on the topic: “Reading together”;
– Consultations for parents: “Knizhkin hospital”. Together with children, “cure” books;
– Acquaintance with the card index “Poetry for children”;
– Replenishment of the group’s library.
3. Final stage
– Summing up the project;
– Drawing up a photo report.
Introducing poetry to children | Material:
Introducing poetry to children
Acquaintance of preschool children with poetic works is an integral component of the educational work of the kindergarten.
Poetic art develops in children the aesthetic perception of the text, a sense of harmony, beauty, fantasy, initiative, brings up artistic taste, the ability to respond emotionally to figurative speaking.
Poetry lays the foundations of spirituality, patriotism, enables the child to perceive the world around him in all its inseparable unity.
For preschoolers, poetry is, first of all, a discovery. Discovery of figurative sounding of a word, poetic rhyme, magic melody, artistic image.
Introducing the little listener to the real sources of high poetry is the main goal of the work of educators. The realization of this goal largely depends on the teacher himself, on his ability to convey the artistic image to the child in an interesting, bright, accessible way, to evoke an emotional response to this image, to reveal the aesthetic qualities of a poetic work.
Preschoolers should not only listen to poems, but also feel them in their hearts. K. Chukovsky called such a process of introducing a child to poetic art “poetic education.”
When to introduce children to poetry?
Acquaintance of children with poetic works can take place not only in the process of special classes, but also individually during short minutes of poetry, in the course of other activities, during preparation for calendar and folk holidays.
Most of the poems that preschoolers learn in kindergarten are memorized. Therefore, their artistic reading by children depends on the pedagogical skill of educators.
A teacher can use some poetic works not only for memorization with preschoolers, but also for familiarizing young listeners with the melody of the sound of a literary word, its imagery and expressiveness.
Children can act out the poetic content of poetic works, stage them.
Memorizing poems with a child helps to develop the skills of correct and clear pronunciation of sounds, words, and phrases.
Methods of introducing children to poetry
Preschool age is considered the most favorable period for the artistic perception of poetry. Preschoolers love to listen and read poetry. They give them a clear advantage over prose works.
In early childhood, when listening to an artistic poetic work, its direct content has no significance for children and remains in the background.
Poems that the teacher introduces to preschoolers should be highly artistic, understandable to children, able to evoke certain emotions in them.
The methodology of work to familiarize preschoolers with poetry has its own characteristics. For younger preschoolers, it is necessary to select poems that are small in volume (4-6 lines), close and accessible in content, rhythmic. They must necessarily have dynamic movement, musical rhyme, convey the full action.
To a greater extent, these requirements are met by poetic works of oral folk art, such as the rhymes “Ladushki-ladushki”, “Magpie-crow”, “There is a horned goat”, songs (“Hare”, “Sleep, dear little son”), chants (“Sun”, “Rain”, “Ladybug”, etc.
).
Poetry in the younger group
Acquaintance of preschoolers with poetic works in the first younger group of kindergarten takes place in the process of daily communication. So, while observing natural phenomena, the educator can emphasize their beauty, clarify some features, talk about their properties with the help of a magical artistic word. This is helped by such poems as “Snowflakes” by A. Deruzhinsky, “Bee” by S. Sokolov-Voyush, etc.
Children will be much more interested in those regime moments where poetic works will sound: “I myself”, “The cat is waking up”, etc.
Reading poems
Acquaintance of children with toys can also be accompanied by reading interesting poems.
These include: “Bird”, “Fox”, “Bear” by A. Yakimovich, etc. It is desirable to use the same works for reading during independent games of children with appropriate toys.
An example of artistic reading of a poem by an educator allows him to set the time in artistic and speech activity for a certain emotional contact with children.
And the repeated repetition of a poetic work, which is accompanied by certain actions aimed at determining the main features of the thing, enables the child to visually see what is being told in beautiful figurative words.
So, when reading the poem “My Horse”, looking at the toy is simultaneously accompanied by the word and movements of the educator. The attention of children is directed to identifying parts of the horse’s body, describing its beautiful harness. Such reading directly includes the child in active artistic and speech activity.
Playing techniques in getting acquainted with poetry
The main place in introducing poetry to younger preschoolers belongs to play techniques. The game form of acquaintance with poetic works encourages children to remember them better, and then to recreate them clearly and figuratively. So, before reading the poem by T. Klyashtornaya “The Mistress”, you can create a game situation “Let’s drink Mishka with tea”, and after that, read the verse itself to the children.
It is desirable to accompany the reading of N. Galinovskaya’s poem “Lullaby” with a doll game.
After the educator introduces the poem to the children using various techniques, you can call the children, if they so wish, to repeat the poem on their own. When reading a poem to children, the teacher should encourage them to tell further, suggest words or whole lines that the child did not have time to remember.
Artistic and speech classes
Artistic and speech classes for memorizing poems with younger preschoolers are determined by a certain structure. Reading a poem is always accompanied by the performance of active actions.
Poetry, which is memorized with children in the classroom, can be repeated in the morning, in daily activities during the day, during games, while getting acquainted with the outside world, in the classroom of other sections of the program.
Familiarization with poetry in middle groups
Methods and techniques for conducting classes to familiarize children of middle preschool age with poetry are expanding significantly.
Introductory conversations
So, at the beginning of the lessons, it is already possible to conduct an introductory conversation with them. At the same time, the teacher addresses preschoolers with questions that are related to the content of the work, or invites them to recall the relevant events. Here you can also show a picture or a thing about which children will learn a poem.
Such a conversation before reading a poem will provide an opportunity to refer to the child’s own experience, evokes appropriate associations in him.
Thus, when memorizing Y. Kolas’s poem “The Song of Spring”, the teacher remembers with the children what changes have taken place in nature. What interesting and new things did they see in the spring when they went to kindergarten?
Examining reproductions of paintings
You can look at a reproduction of Levitan’s painting “March”, note what signs depicted in this painting tell about the onset of spring. Ask to list them, ask why there have been such changes in nature.
A short talk about the squirrel, the mistress of the forest, will help children to better understand the meaning of the poem “Squirrel” by Y. Pechaly.
During the conversation, the children are asked what forest animals they know. Which of the forest dwellers, more than other sweets, loves nuts?
They offer to describe this animal in such a way that everyone would immediately guess. After such a conversation, the educator reads a poem to the children.
As already noted, in addition to the introductory conversation before reading the poem, you can examine with children a certain thing or toy, living creature or plant.
So, before reciting the poem “Pencils” by S. Sokolov-Voyush, consider children’s drawings that are drawn with multi-colored pencils; before memorizing the poem “Snowdrop” by Deruzhinsky – a bunch of snowdrops.
Game situations and problem tasks
You can start art and speech classes for memorizing poetry in middle preschool age by creating a game situation or solving a problem task.
Game situations
The game form of familiarizing the child with poetic works encourages them to be firmly remembered, and then reproduced figuratively and clearly. For example, before reading Y. Tuwim’s poem “Vegetables”, invite children to play the game “Vegetable Shop”.
The educator himself can buy all the vegetables that are described in the story in this store, and then read the poem to the children.
Problem tasks
A problem question before memorizing the poem “Bunny” by E. Los will make its perception more interesting. Children must answer whether it is possible to see a sunbeam on the wall and things when the sun hides behind a cloud.
Having prepared the children for the perception of the poem, the teacher expressively reads the text, after which an elementary analysis is made.
Questions are put in such a way as to determine whether the child understands the text, as well as in order to reinforce individual words and expressions.
At the same time, it is desirable to include words and expressions from the verse itself in the questions. Then the teacher encourages the children to listen to the poem again and memorize it.
If necessary, the teacher can read the poem again. Then the memorization of poems with the child begins individually, the children themselves read by heart.
The reading of the poem begins with those who remember well. While telling a poem, children can prompt them with individual words and even whole lines, at the same time it is necessary to teach children to tell the work expressively, with intonation.
Memorizing poems with a child or staging during storytelling
On this occasion, it is even desirable to spend time in staging a verse, where the educator reads a poem from the author, and the child performs a certain role in accordance with the content of the poem.
With the further restoration of this poetic work, two children can volunteer. This technique contributes to a more conscious assimilation of the content of the poem, helps to master the appropriate intonation, expressiveness of reading.
Pupils of middle preschool age should be able to reproduce the poem clearly and accurately. At the same time, the teacher directs more attention to the development of their executive skills.
It is necessary to teach preschoolers to control the power of the voice, to convey the meaning of what is read by placing stress, pauses. Children should already be able to notice where the intonation changes and why.
Gestures and facial expressions
Gestures and facial expressions play an equally important role during the reading of a poem. To work them out, you can invite children to convey the content of poetic lines with expressive gestures.
At the same time, the teacher reads a poem, and the child “tells it with his hands”.
Preschoolers find precise and very expressive gestures while reading Russian folk rhymes and songs.
When offering poems for memorization, children of this age should be given the right to choose, taking into account their interests.
So that poems are not forgotten, they must be read more often: at holidays, evenings of rest, short moments of poetry, etc.
Poetry in the life of older preschoolers
Poems with more complex content and larger size are selected for older preschool children.
In order for pupils to perceive the poem more deeply and understand its meaning, the teacher conducts observations of natural phenomena.
So, memorizing poems with a child “Golden Autumn” by S. Novikov prevents children from observing this time of the year, identifying colors, smells, and language.
Before you start memorizing poems with your child R. Borodulin’s Riddles in the Garden, you can see real vegetables. Consideration of pictures with images of animals prevents the memorization of the poem “About a cat and a mouse” by E. Los.
The educator should pay special attention to verses that are rich in poetic expressions and unfamiliar words.
So, in the poem “Autumn is coming” by V.
Rabkevich, it is said that “autumn is riding through the field on a pockmarked horse.” Therefore, after reading the poem, you need to ask the children how they understand this expression. Why does autumn ride on a “pockmarked horse”? Overwhelmed with impressions, children will become interested in verse, its poetic images will become close and understandable to them.
After the first reading with the children, certain words and phrases are clarified. After re-reading, they conduct a conversation on the content of the poem.
The educator warns that children will learn the poem by heart and therefore it is necessary to listen to it carefully. She reads the text one more time, and then calls the children one by one to repeat the poem.
Choral memorization of poems with a child in kindergarten is not recommended.
Older children quickly memorize a poem, but do not always consciously assimilate its content. If a poetic work belongs to lyrics, then the nature of the verification of its perception will have its own characteristics.
Acquaintance of children with landscape lyrics
For example, if this is landscape lyrics, then it would be right to help children see, feel and remember the picture that the poet created, the state of nature, which is displayed in poetic lines, feel the melody, music of the verse, its mood, determine the personal mood when reading the poem. At the same time, it is very important to pay attention to the figurative language in which the poems are written, to their rhythm.
In this case, you can advise the child to draw what he imagined while reading the poem. “Oral drawing” is very useful. So, children are offered to remember and orally draw their ideas of those visions of nature that are described in the verse.
Humor in verse
Separately, it is necessary to dwell on the perception of humorous poetic works by preschoolers. The teacher should draw the attention of the children to the funny lines in the text, but not engage in their detailed explanation.
What is funny, cheerful is accepted not by logic, not by analysis, but by a special sense, a sense of humor.
If the teacher still tries to explain such works, then the funny ceases to be funny. For a preschooler, all humorous works, first of all, are a kind of verbal game, the rules of which are determined by the very purpose of the verse.
Memorizing poems with a child – how to teach?
At senior preschool age, when playing a poem, the child reads it from beginning to end. The teacher only prompts individual words or puts leading questions up to those words that the child forgets.
For example, memorizing poems with a child by N. Gilevich “Our Mother” you can help tell the poem with the help of the following questions: “How did mother take care of us?”, “What did she teach to speak in her native language?”
Imitating the teacher, children learn to read expressively, with the appropriate intonation.
The teacher can explain to preschoolers how to read certain parts of the verse, sometimes with tenderness, with tenderness, sometimes with a special intonation.
Role-play reading
Senior preschoolers read role-play texts and act them out.
After memorizing the poem, the educator distributes roles among the children and explains to them when and what part of the verse should be read. Role-playing develops the child’s attention, makes him follow the text.
Children of senior preschool age can get acquainted with several poems by different authors on one close topic in one lesson. At the same time, one verse is memorized from memory, while others are simply read with their subsequent artistic analysis.
It is very interesting for children to find in different verses the words by which poets convey the same events, to compare, contrast them with each other.
Every teacher faces difficulties in memorizing poetry. If it is intended for matinees, then the easiest option is to give it away, let them teach with their parents.
And most often with this approach there is neither clarity, nor intonation, nor the beauty of poetry and words.
How is memorization of poems carried out in the senior and preparatory groups?
Didactic games like “Find a word that sounds similar” are held both as part of classes and in free time. Before the text sounds, you need to explain unfamiliar words.
On the example of Y. Kolas’s poem “The Coming of Winter” we will try to show a simple method of memorizing a poem.
You can start playing the game “Find a similar sounding word” already in a week, for example: matu – cotton wool, spirit – fluff, sleigh – Vane and other phrases.
Then one morning or evening, when a snowstorm howls outside the window, frost on the windows, which are described in the poem, you draw the attention of the children to this.
And again, not immediately: “Look, the frost left traces.” Let them see for themselves without electric light, look out the window at the street, while you yourself quietly read one or two lines: “Close the house tightly so that the cold does not blow.
Snow lies like a sea, like a white ocean, doesn’t it?
Walk around showing that white ocean of snow. On a sheet of paper, children freely apply strokes, and you prompt: “Draw both along and across!” Or call the children to you not just: “Come here,” but joyfully: “Come here!” This is how children learn new words.
And now it’s time to listen to a poem about winter. You are reading, and half of the words are familiar. You only need to establish logical connections.
Educator: “Why do you need to tightly close the house? So that … “The children finish saying:” So that the cold does not blow. If the lyrics are not a line of poetry, then read it so that the children hear the author’s word. And echoed again. The game is called “Echo”. The teacher reads the line, and the children repeat.
Then the content is analyzed, but not by standard questions, but by focusing on emotional perception: “Did you hear what I read to you, or did you see it?
What did you want to do when I read the lines? What music should sound when we listened to a poem? Cheerful, frozen, angry, fantastic? Let the children think and express themselves.