How to teach poetry to kids and love every second of it…

Day 3 of 31 Days of Poems for Kids:

Love poems.

Children see the clarity of love poems.  Children love love poems, especially when they believe… really, really believe, that the poem was written for them.

Be the ME and your child/children the YOU in 20th century African-American poet Nikki Giovanni‘s poem, LOVE IS…

LOVE IS by Nikki Giovanni

Some people forget that love is
tucking you in and kissing you
“Good night”
no matter how young or old you are

Some people don’t remember that
love is
listening and laughing and asking
questions
no matter what your age

Few recognize that love is
commitment, responsibility
no fun at all
unless

Love is
You and me

Read the poem with your children.  Both very young children and older children (teenagers, too) will understand the message.  

Be the ME and YOU who never forget and always remember; remember to kiss “good night” and listen and laugh and ask questions.  If, by chance, ME and YOU have forgotten to do these things lately, talk about it.  Recognize and talk about the commitment, responsibility and fun of LOVE.

Use the poet’s powerful words and feelings of her poem to embrace what LOVE IS.

Transform this poem into a lovely night-time ritual, no matter the age of your children.

Plan a special moment each day to ask a question of each other, always coming back to the words of the poem.  Love is love, no matter how young or old you are.

Feel the words.  Give your kids a heads-up in learning. Remember that LITERACY and LEARNING are all about WORDS – Written, Spoken & Felt.

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If you like this poem, you will also enjoy:

Fog, by Carl Sandburg

from Five Haiku, by Paul Eluard