Sturdy for Common Things

April is Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month! Exposing children to poetry has a myriad of benefits in creativity and literacy, even at the earliest of ages. You can never start reading poetry too early!  To kick things off, I’ve compiled  a short list of ways kids (and adults!) can enjoy learning about and engaging in poetry throughout the month.

Tomorrow, 100 Scope Notes will reveal a gallery of Spine Poetry to celebrate the month. Want in on the fun? Email your poems to Travis at scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com. He’ll be adding spine poems to his gallery throughout the month. Here are Travis’ tips on making your own spine poem. I made the one above on a quiet day at the library last week.

Last year I created a variety of poetry themed storytimes throughout the month of April as a way to introduce different poetry concepts to even the youngest of children. You can read about the books read and the activities created in the following posts:  “Poetry is FUN!” Storytime, “Poetry as Story” Storytime, “Poetry in Nature” Storytime, “Poetry is Music” Storytime.

Also check out this fun wordplay activity with Legos and the PoeTree the library kids made last year.

Want to learn about the Children’s Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis?  Or enjoy children’s poetry videos and articles about children’s poetry? The Poetry Foundation has a variety of resources both kids and adults will enjoy.

Scholastic has a great  poetry book list by age for kids that’s worth looking over, as well as poetry writing activities.

Choose your state on the National Poetry Map to find local poets, poems, events, literary journals, writing programs, and poetry organizations via Poets.org.

I’ll be pinning ideas ways in which kids can celebrate on my National Poetry Month board throughout April if you need further inspiration.

How are you planning to celebrate National Poetry Month?