Why does it seem like such a challenge to gather fun activities for kids to do at home that combine elements of brain stimulation, strengthening writing/word recognition, and it’s borderline educational? Is that so much to ask?
Wherever your Google searches have been sending you, we’re glad you’ve come across these whimsy and awesome poetry activities for kids!
Poetry can have a bit of a stigma attached to it. An old emo guy with a raven on his shoulder or over-dramatic stanzas of boredom. But poetry holds so much more than the classics you heard in the classroom. There’s a place for everyone in the world of poetry, and there’s a lot more fun than meets the eye.
Not only is this a terrific way to engage with your kids and tap into their creativity (and yours!), but it’s also a fantastic effort to lessen screen time and elevate quality time.
In this article, we’re going to share some top-notch fun, creative, and easy-to-follow poetry activities for kids, and by the end, you’ll be wanting to do some poetry activities yourself!
Why Poetry Activities for Kids?
Poetry is something for moody middle schoolers or woke college students; why would you make it into activities for kids?
Let’s pump the breaks there. Many misconceptions about poetry can steer people away from it as a leisure activity or a healthy creative outlet.
Poetry is very innocent and whimsical at its core. Can you think of something more wholesome than a child holding a piece of paper with a poem they just poured their heart and imagination into? Super adorable, right?
Let’s explain why poetry activities for kids are a wonderful avenue for you and your kiddo to explore before we get into the super duper fun activities themselves.
- Trying out poetry can open up other creative doors
- This kiddo could end up discovering something they love to do
- Learning how to write a poem can assist in finding their creative writing voice
- Writing poetry can help children learn more words and develop a keen sense of word recognition
- These activities for kids promote writing skills while embracing creativity
- This kiddo gets to put their individuality into their poetry, and this can help with their confidence
- Doing poetry activities together is a great way to spend quality time and make wholesome memories
- It’s activities for kids that don’t involve screens!
Awesome Poetry Activities for Kids
And now, for the main event, let’s hear about these fantastical poetry activities for kids! All of these activities for kids can be done in the comfort of your home, at a picnic table on a nice day, in the classroom, or even on a long car ride if you’re feeling ambitious!
- Take a few minutes to each draw a picture (in secret), exchange drawings, and write a poem based on the doodle (Extra fun for a parent-child activity!)
- Reading children’s poetry books together
- Try Black Out Poetry together
- Write or print off slips of paper that each have a word on it, shuffle them up (slips facing down), and have your kiddo pick a small handful, then try to create a silly poem out of the words picked out
- Participating in Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 27th)
- Go to the library and see how many children’s poetry books you can find
- Have your child give you a word, and you give them a word, set a timer, and see how many rhyming words you can list. Then, try to make a rhyming poem using as many of those words as possible!
- Celebrate National Poetry Month by reading poetry together and handing out poems at school
- Give your kiddo a topic to write a poem about. Kids love to be gently challenged with topics to draw or write about! (Ex: Birthday parties, a trip to the zoo, Christmas, favorite memories, what do you think your stuffed animal does when you’re not in the room)
- Challenge your kiddo to write a poem that incorporates the 5 senses
Below we’ve got some more in-depth poetry activities for kids with easy-to-follow instructions!
I Am Poem
This is a very fun poetry activity for kids that encourages them to embrace who they are and be proud of it! An I Am Poem is a great starting point for kids to get a feel for poetry. It doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme (not all poems do!), but if your kiddo wants to, more power to them! What they’re doing is filling in the blanks of the I Am statements, and they’re getting in touch with who they are; it’s an incredible uplifting activities for kids.
The basic universal structure can be found below:
I am _____
I wonder _____
I hear _____
I see _____
I want _____
I am _____
I pretend _____
I feel _____
I touch _____
I worry _____
I cry _____
I am _____
I understand _____
I say _____
I dream _____
I try _____
I hope _____
I am _____
Name Poem
Creating name poems is a fun and creative way to embrace poetry activities for kids because there are so many different paths you can take with this one poem technique!
How a Name Poem works is you start with a topic; for this example, we’ll use Birthday. You take a piece of paper and write the word ‘Birthday’ vertically like so:
B
I
R
T
H
D
A
Y
Now, the kiddo writes a poem about a birthday or their birthday using the letters provided as the first letter in each sentence! The Name Poem activities for kids is awesome because it is a fun way to challenge their mind to think of words outside the box while sticking to a theme.
Here are some fun topic ideas for Name Poems:
- Seasonal (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn)
- Memorable trip (Road trip, Specific State or City Name, Grandma’s House)
- Their own name
- Name of a relative or friend (Can make for a super cute gift!)
- Colors
- Nature
- Pet’s names
- School year grade (Ex: Second Grade)
- Teacher’s name (Framing a Name Poem with a teacher’s name that your kiddo took the time to create would make an amazing Teacher Appreciation gift)
- Activity (Ex: Swimming, Camping, Playing)
- Beloved TV show/movie title
Once again, this poem isn’t required to have a rhyming quality, but it’s always welcomed!
Perform Together
This heading may have you tilting your head in confusion, but stay with us because this is a super fun activity for kids that they’ll love!
Did you ever put on a little show for your family? You can tap back into that childlike frame of mind with your kiddo by engaging in this idea.
- Go to the library with your kiddo and check out a Shel Silverstein book, read through the poems and have some silly laughs, then pick out a poem together.
- Now, here comes the performing part! One of you reads the poem in front of your little audience while the other mimes out what’s going on in the poem.
- Shel Silverstein’s poetry books are perfect for this activities for kids because they are often goofy and light-hearted with plenty of action.
Even if your audience consists of your immediate family or a quick video you can post online for distant relatives, kids take pride in performing when you’re 100% in it with them.
When to Break Out Poetry Activities for Kids
Now that you’ve got some ideas flowing, when should you break out these cool poetry activities for kids? As long as the kiddos are interested, there really isn’t a wrong time. But here’s a brainstorming list to get things rocking and rolling!
- Rainy day
- If the boredom monster strikes
- Snow day
- During National Poetry Month (April)
- On Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 27th)
- Fun holiday activities for kids (Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving)
- Creating wholesome and sweet personal poetry gifts
- Group family poetry session
- Classroom activity
- Reading time
What an inspirational and imaginative journey you just partook on; what a rush! We hope you enjoyed diving deeper into poetry activities for kids and sincerely wish you and your kiddo all the best with their poetry endeavors.
Get your poetry on even further beyond activities for kids by getting some unique poetry tips and learning how to write a poem!