• Start Here
  • Home
  • Books
    • Classics
      • 20th Century Classics
    • Early Chapter Books
    • Easy Readers
    • Folktales
    • Holiday Books
    • Middle Grade (8-12 years)
    • Nonfiction
    • Picture Books
    • Read Aloud Chapter Books
  • Games
    • Traditional Games
  • Kids Activities
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Literacy & Writing
    • Math
    • Playful Activities
    • Science
    • Toddler
  • Parenting

What Do We Do All Day

Books and Activities for Kids

You are here: Home / Literacy / Poetry Challenge for Kids

Poetry Challenge for Kids

March 28, 2014

1096shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

When I shared my list of culturally diverse poetry books earlier this week I issued a casual challenge for National Poetry Month (April). Today I’m issuing a more formal poetry challenge for kids to encourage you to share the joy of reading poems as a family.

Join the weekly poetry challenge for kids and parents. Perfect way to participate in National Poetry Month.

Don’t worry, though, I’m still keeping things simple (as is my usual M.O.). If you want to make sure you don’t miss each week’s poem, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

How the Poetry Challenge Works:

Every Friday I will share a different, classic poem. (See below for today’s selection.) Read this poem with your kids at least once a day during the week. You can read it at breakfast, at bedtime, on the bus, or whatever works with your schedule and family life. That’s it! Are you old hats at poetry? Check out the extension activity selections below.

FAQ: (Just kidding, since this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned the poetry challenge so none of these questions have been asked, yet, much less “frequently”)

What if I don’t like the poem? Choose a different poem. There is no rule that says you have to choose the poem I supply. After all, I am only choosing poems in the public domain, so I don’t get in copyright hot water. I’m also choosing short poems so no one feels overwhelmed and even poetry newbies can play along. Do you have a favorite poetry collection at home? By all means, pick a poem from that book each day.

Why do I have to read the same poem every day? I hope you won’t balk at reading the same poem 7 times in a row. You are probably aware that kids like to hear the same material repetitively. That’s because it’s good for their brains! Just think of all those Thomas the Train books you’ve read a gazillion times, and these poems are a million times better! (Not to mention shorter.) Listening to the same material over and over allows your kids (and you) to find new meanings.

How old do my kids have to be? At least one day old.

All I’m doing is reading a poem? Isn’t that a little, well… basic? I don’t think there’s anything basic about repetitive reading of poetry at all. Repetition unlocks understanding. However,  if you want to do more with the poem, by all means do so. Speaking of which…

Poetry Challenge Extension Activities

If you want to add a bit more meat to the challenge try out these ideas.

  • Memorize the poem (Tips: How to memorize poetry)
  • Read a bit about the poet (online or get a book from the library)
  • Discuss the structure, grammar and punctuation of the poem
  • Write a poem on the same topic (Poetry writing ideas here!)
  • Read more of the poet’s work (since these are all public domain poets, you will find poems just with a little Google search)
  • Start a conversation about the poem’s topic
  • Build a spine poem on the same theme

This week’s poem

I’m starting off with a poem I loved when I was a kid because it described perfectly the happenings inside my brain. It’s by Robert Louis Stevenson, whose classic collection, A Child’s Garden of Verses (affiliate link) belongs on everyone’s shelf.

A Child's Thought poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Join the poetry challenge.

If you’d like to print this out, I have a printer friendly copy here –> A Child’s Thought poem

Here is the full poem if you want to go all out:

At seven, when I go to bed,
I find such pictures in my head:
Castles with dragons prowling round,
Gardens where magic fruits are found;
Fair ladies prisoned in a tower,
Or lost in an enchanted bower;
While gallant horsemen ride by streams
That border all this land of dreams
I find, so clearly in my head
At seven, when I go to bed.

At seven, when I wake again,
The magic land I seek in vain;
A chair stands where the castle frowned,
The carpet hides the garden ground,
No fairies trip across the floor,
Boots, and not horsemen, flank the door,
And where the blue streams rippling ran
Is now a bath and water-can;
I seek the magic land in vain
At seven, when I wake again.

The rest of the POETRY READING CHALLENGE:

Week 2: Emily Dickinson

Week 3: Edward Lear

Week 4: Christina Rossetti

Week 5: William Shakespeare

And try out the Poetry Writing Challenge!

My favorite books (affiliate links) with poems perfect for kids:

poems to learn by heart a child's book of poems children's poetry treasury

Want Your Kids to Love Being Unplugged?
Subscribe to our newsletter and as a thank you, receive 10 waiting games kids can play anytime anywhere.
Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
1096shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

by: Erica posted in: Literacy 19 Comments

« Game of the Month: Mine Shift
Splendid Read Aloud Chapter Books for 3rd Graders »

Comments

  1. Emma @ P is for Preschooler says

    March 28, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    What a good idea! I can always use with some good poems to read, and to introduce to my 5 year old! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kim andAmanda says

    March 28, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    Printed it out and put it on the fridge – I will read it to all 3 kiddos this week! GREAT challenge!

    Reply
  3. Jodie @ Growing Book by Book says

    March 28, 2014 at 8:28 pm

    Love this challenge!

    Reply
  4. Jill says

    March 29, 2014 at 11:21 am

    My boys (6 and 8) enjoyed this poem. I look forward to next week’s. (On a side note, I picked up several of your poetry recommendations for the library and the concrete poems in “A poke in the I” touched their funny bones with its bits of irony.)

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      March 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

      Comments like yours, make my day! Thank you for telling me that. I hope you continue to enjoy the poem each day until next week!

      Reply
  5. Jenny says

    March 29, 2014 at 2:20 pm

    What fun! I just printed it- thank you for making it so convenient!

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      March 30, 2014 at 10:22 am

      Glad you are playing along!

      Reply
  6. Amy says

    March 29, 2014 at 2:45 pm

    Just want to say thank you for this idea, along with all of your other great posts. You have enriched my family’s life in many ways.

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      March 29, 2014 at 4:23 pm

      Thank you so much for telling me, Amy! I’m so glad to hear it!

      Reply
  7. Hilary says

    March 29, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    What a great idea. I hate poetry and I don’t want that getting passed onto my kids. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      March 30, 2014 at 10:22 am

      It’s funny, because I’ve never been really into poetry either (despite loving literature and theater) but decided to make a greater effort when it comes to my kids. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m getting there!

      Reply
  8. Even in Australia says

    March 31, 2014 at 9:05 am

    I drove myself crazy trying to find this in A Child’s Garden of Verses (the only book in which I indulged by buying multiple copies, all with different illustrators), only to realize you never said it was actually in there!! Nonetheless, it has several similar poems with the same theme. Needless to say, I love them all.

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      March 31, 2014 at 9:22 am

      Oh my goodness, I’m sorry! I found it in a general anthology that includes poems by different poets. “Poems and Rhymes” published by Anness. I don’t like the illustrations in this one, but I found it at the library.

      Reply
  9. Leana S says

    April 11, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    I’m doing the poetry reading challenge with my 4 year old son. We started the poem by E. Dickinson, but this morning he asked me to read him A Child’s Thought. I was busy preparing breakfast and asked him to wait a second. Before I knew it he was “reading” a poem to himself! My jaw dropped to the floor and I held my breath through the whole poem. I haven’t tried to memorize the poem with him we would just read it almost every day, sometimes a couple of times a day. I know he has a great memory and he is learning to read, so it was probably a mix of both, but in that moment I was amazed and proud of him, I also see the benefits of reading poetry together every day and how fun and thought-provoking it can be.

    Since I’m writing here, the first time I read him “A Word” he just sat in silence and then slowly said: “O-o-o-kay” as in “I don’t know what you’ve just read.” But then he wanted to read it again and we talked about it.

    Thank you for putting all these ideas together to help me have more fun reading with my children.

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      April 13, 2015 at 5:04 am

      That is so wonderful! I noticed my kids easily (more so than I did!) memorized the poems. The Dickinson and Stevenson poems are so different, I’m not surprised at his reaction! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it is going for you!

      Reply
  10. Nancy Tupper Ling says

    August 7, 2015 at 10:54 am

    Thanks for the mention of Double Happiness! Love this post!

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      August 7, 2015 at 10:57 am

      We love Double Happiness! Spoiler: It’s going to be on my next favorite picture books of the year post.

      Reply
  11. Christa says

    April 3, 2018 at 10:17 am

    Are you a BraveWriter momma? Their theme this month on the Braver Writer Lifestyle is Poetry Tea Time! This will help me be intentional about that this month. Thanks for the gentle nudge.

    Reply
  12. Margie says

    April 6, 2018 at 9:40 am

    I think POETRY CHALLENGE is a terrific idea for expanding the interests of children ages 1-100! My granddaughter
    and I often do bedtime stories by phone and this will be a fun addition to that! Thank you for the ‘heartwork’ you put into your planned activities!

    Reply

Feed My Comment Addiction Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

STOP THE WHINING!

SAY, "YES I WANT TO UNPLUG MY KIDS." JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER LIST AND GET 10 WAITING GAMES YOUR KIDS CAN PLAY ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.

Join over 12,000 parents who subscribe to the most useful newsletter on the planet. 

    We won't send you spam (yuck). Unsubscribe at any time.

    Search

    What Have We Done Lately?

    Best Games for Small Families (2-4 Players)

    Picture Books for Older Children

    Indoor Nature Activities for Winter that Kids Love

    Winter Bookmark Coloring Page

    Martin Luther King, Jr. Books for Kids

    A Year of Family Audiobooks

    Favorite Winter Craft: Ice Wreaths


    We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
    Copyright 2007-2020 What Do We Do All Day? All rights reserved.

    EXPLORE MORE:

    Awesome Newsletter
    Favorite Resources for Parents
    100s of Book Lists
    Gigantic List of Indoor Activities
    Best Games on the Planet
    Stay At Home Parent Resources


    Privacy, disclosure and copyright policy

    Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme Description: This is the Foodie Pro child theme created for the Genesis Framework. Author: Shay Bocks Author URI: http://shaybocks.com/ Version: 2.0.5 Tags: black, orange, white, one-column, two-columns, three-columns, fixed-width, custom-menu, full-width-template, sticky-post, theme-options, threaded-comments, translation-ready Template: genesis Template Version: 2.0.1 License: GPL-2.0+ License URI: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php by Shay Bocks

    Want Your Kids to Love Being Unplugged?
    Subscribe to our newsletter and as a thank you, receive 10 waiting games kids can play anytime anywhere.
    Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
    Want More Free Activity Ideas?
    Join our email list and as a thank you gift I'll send you a list of 10 waiting games that will make your kids smarter.
    Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
    Want your kids to love being unplugged?
    Join our newsletter and as a thank you, I'll send you a list of 10 waiting games.
    Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you keep using this website we will assume you are OK with that. Read our privacy policy for more.OKRead more