Last year, I started memorizing poems with my kids. We started with "Spaghetti, Spaghetti" by Shel Silverstein and went on from there.
Sounds so simple, right?
But would you believe me if I told you that reading and memorizing poetry with your kids actually is simple . . . and fun, too? I don't know if I would have believed that a year ago since at that time I was strategically avoiding any and all poetry collections. But several things prompted me to change my mind, and now my kids and I love to sit down with a hefty volume and read poem after poem after poem.
Today I have a new post over at What Do We Do All Day. I'm pretending to be an authority on the subject and am sharing 7 tips for how to memorize poems with your kids (but trust me, these tips work).
You can read the full article here.
What is your favorite kid-friendly poem?
Great article! I'll have to try your suggestions. We love Shel Silverstein, and have informally memorized a few just due to repetition. (Lazy Jane is probably my kids' favorite.) I spout random stanzas at odd times, as well, but I don't know how much my kids have picked up from that. I really like your idea to memorize a few stanzas from a rhyming picture book. My mind is already thinking of some that would be perfect: "Snowmen at Night," "Monster Mama," "Is Your Mama a Llama?", and like you said--Dr. Seuss (of course). This will be fun!
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