Welcome to week four of the very casual, very flexible Poetry Reading Challenge for Kids. I must say, my kids have been enjoying poetry all month long, even more than I had anticipated. Both boys still like to show me how they can recite the poem from week one by heart!
Last week's poem by Edward lear was a silly one. In addition to reading the poem every day, we spent the week making up ridiculous (and quite terrible, from a literary stand point) limericks.
In other news for National Poetry Month: I have a stack of poetry books from the library and my youngest has been bringing me one of them to read almost every day. I recite "Jabberwocky" to him every night while he brushes his teeth! He has it mostly memorized himself and now I am trying to convince him to allow me to capture it with video! Wouldn't that be a treat for the grandparents.
If you are new to the challenge, don't fret! The beauty of the program is that you can jump in any time. And not just National Poetry Month! Read the official rules and FAQ in the introductory post. Although "rules" is much too strong a word. The basic idea is to live with, and recite a single poem for a week. Let the poem sink in. Enjoy its many meanings. Memorize it.
Christina Rossetti
Christina Rosetti was a 19th century British-Italian poet. She wrote a great deal of poems for children, as well as ballads and poems with spiritual imagery.
This week I'm featuring two poems by Christina Rossetti for you to choose from. Both short poems are delightful and will open the flood gates for conversation with your kids, especially the poem, "What Are Heavy?"
Printer friendly copy --> Rossetti poems (both poems are in the same pdf file)
Next up! Week 5 (final week!). Can you guess who the featured poet will be? Hint: He's the most famous poet of them all!
Poetry Extras:
- Fine free digital copies of Rossetti's works at Project Gutenberg.
- Learn more about Christina Rossetti.
MORE POETRY FUN:
- 8 Ways poems calm kids down
- Poetry Bingo (great for National Poetry Month)
- Poetry Writing Challenge (4 week challenge)
Erin @ Midnight Fabric and Fiber says
Thank you so much for the poetry challenges this month! I had already been thinking about how to add poetry into our day and this has been such an easy thing. My boys really look forward to Fridays and finding out what the poem will be for the next week. Thank you!
Erica MomandKiddo says
I am so glad you are enjoying the challenge, Erin. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and let me know!
writersideup says
Erica, since most of my kidlit focus is not on poetry, I wasn't aware of Christina Rossetti. From these two poems, I LOVE her style! So glad you mentioned her 😀
Rumaysa says
Hi l am new.
Rumaysa says
It sounds so good.