Over the past few years I have been slowly adding poetry books for reading aloud to our homeschool library. I read quite a bit of poetry to my children, but I actually am not crazy about poetry myself. I can appreciate Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson. However, when I have free time, I don’t sit down and read a poem. None of this means I dislike poetry, but it does mean that I am not naturally drawn to it. Despite that, I still think it’s good to ask yourself what interesting poetry books to include in your homeschool library. After all, you don’t want a book of poetry your children will dislike.
Every two weeks I have my children memorize a poem. Currently, the poems are from the Sonoran Desert Nature Study I am making, but in the past, I pulled poems from children’s poetry books. I put them in a binder and we reviewed them every day. I should go back and get that binder out and reform that habit that I lost. Isn’t that annoying? Forgetting about a really good habit?
Why Include Poetry?
I used to teach elementary school, so I know how important poetry is for kids. It helps language development because children can hear the differences in the rhyming words. Children also hear rich vocabulary and the cadence and rhythm of poetry. I like to reread poetry to my kids because it slowly helps them memorize the poem, and memorizing poetry improves memory. There are all these reasons to teach poetry, and sometimes reasons like that can motivate us. However, what I have found to be more motivating than a list of reasons is when you find a poet that you like, and you kind of start to enjoy poetry. Isn’t that movitating?
I have found that over time, as I read more poetry aloud to my children, I enjoy it more. Christina Rossetti’s poems always please me. They are short and simple, but yet beautiful in its simplicity. She was able to observe her world around her and paint with words. Rossetti was also homeschooled, had a bad temper as a child, and loved nature. My children also like her poems because they are easy to read and memorize. So why include poetry? You should include it because you want to enjoy reading poetry aloud with your kids.
Tips and Tricks for Reading Poetry
One of my best tricks is to read a few poems aloud from a poetry book and then leave it lying around. I prefer things to be cleaned up, but when I leave books lying around, I notice that my kids tend to be curious to read a few more poems when I am not looking. In fact, I sometimes purposely leave picture books in the car or lying around on the living room floor. My goal is to make it normal and easy to sit and enjoy poetry.
Good Poetry Books for Reading Aloud
Maybe you’re like me and you’re not crazy about poetry, but you want your kids to enjoy poetry because it’s good for them. I want my kids to be well-rounded. The good news is that you can do a great job of helping your kids love poetry by simply reading poems out loud to them and talking about them. It’s so simple. I don’t think I am great at talking about poetry, but reading it aloud is better than not reading it, right? Here are some interesting poetry books to include in your homeschool library that may be helpful and fun to read aloud to your children. have enjoyed all of these books with my kids, and some of them we have memorized.
Sing a Song of Seasons
This is a great book to have if you are trying
to get into the habit of regularly reading poetry aloud.
National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry
I enjoyed a number of poems in this book.
The Golden Books Family Treasury of Poetry
104 Poems of Whimsy and Delight
A Zoo Full of Rhymes
an agouti, a paca, and a shrike.
Poetry for the Babies and Toddlers
Reading poetry aloud to kids is important, but when children are small, nursery rhymes are a great place to start. Mem Fox is known for this quote: “Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.” Basically, children who memorize nursery rhymes have a better shot at being a good reader when they are older. Mem Fox talks all about these ideas in her book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. It’s been a while since I read Fox’s book, but I remember enjoying it.
I read nursery rhymes to my three-year old. Sometimes my one-year old is nearby listening. Otherwise, I sing nursery rhymes to him when I change his diaper. I have done this with all my babies. My daughter loves the illustration in this copy of Mother Goose illustrated by Scott Gustafson
Final Thoughts
Can you still do something you’re not good at when you are a homeschooling mom? Of course! A lot of what I am doing now I wasn’t good at in the beginning, but I have gotten better by being disciplined. I find that discipline is the key for improving at teaching my children. Over the past few years, I have found more and more poetry books to include in my homeschool library. The more I read aloud poetry, the more we enjoy it and the more it becomes a normal part of our day. I hope you enjoy some of the poetry books! don’t forget to read my post about including nonfiction picture books in your homeschool library.
Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
