My first year of teaching in April I was introduced to poetry month. The activity where I would read a poem to my students aloud and they would respond by drawing what they saw. What a wonderful way for my 5 and 6 year old students to explore poetry. I’ve truly enjoyed doing a poem a day during the month of April. My students light up when I sit in my chair with the poem papers in my hand. They love this, and I love that I am introducing them to poetry in such a fun and expressive way.
Poetry has always held a special place in my life. I used to write a lot. I loved turning my thoughts and feelings in to poems. I wish I was still as creative now as I was then. Maybe I am and I’m just not trying hard enough.
Besides writing poetry, I loved reading it. I would seek out poems pertaining to things I was feeling at any given time. Love, heartache, anger, hope, faith, laughter, happiness, forgiveness…I always tried to find one to relate to. I wish I had had a blog back then. I’d like to think I would have posted all of my favorite poems. But I didn’t, and who knows if I actually would have.
Here’s something I can currently relate to (I am aware this is a quote, but it’s still a beautiful arrangement of words that I fell in love with and connect to on such a deep level):
“I want to apologize to all the women I have called beautiful
before I’ve called them intelligent or brave.
I am sorry I made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is all you have to be proud of
when you have broken mountains with your wit.
From now on I will say things like
you are resilient, or you are extraordinary;
not because I don’t think you’re beautiful
but because I need you to know
you are more than that”
-Rupi Kaur
I can’t tell you how true this rings; how quick I am to say “that woman is gorgeous” or how often I tell my friends that they are beautiful and have “nothing to worry about”. I am all too guilty of focusing more on appearance, including when it comes to myself. My boyfriend will tell me wonderful things about me and I might ask him “well do you think I’m beautiful too?” And he just shakes his head, not only because he wishes I could just see and believe that for myself, but because he wishes I would stop focusing on the look pieces and realize the beauty within me.
I’d love for you to share with me poems that you love. Poems that you can relate to, or that make you feel something.
And if you have any good imagery poems for 5 and 6 year olds, share those too 🙂
You can find me in the clouds... 
So glad you are sharing poetry with your Kindergarteners, too! I love the conversations we’ve had about language and imagery. I find they are writing, reading, and thinking like poets, after tackling one poem each week all year. We study one, each student illustrates it, and then puts it in their poetry notebook that lives in their book. It’s fun to see them revisiting poems like old friends. Click this link, if you’d like to see some of the poems we’ve used this year and the images we’ve created to accompany them. http://bit.ly/2preE4x
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This was truly so inspiring, I have done the same thing with my first graders last year and I have a bundle if you would like it I can share with you. I don’t have a poem off the top my head but you have inspired me to go look for one, thank you!
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Would love if you could share! My email is jenna.sementelli@augustaschools.org if that’s easier!! Thank you! 🙂
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I’ll send it tomorrow!
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I’m a poem and quote junky…interestingly I never liked poetry when I was in school. Now as a teacher, I love sharing poems with my kiddos. I actually didn’t do it as much this year until recently, and I’m kicking myself because once I started reading aloud poems, my kids started going to my poetry collections and reading poems together and are even writing their own poems during choice time or for morning work. I’m always looking for new ones to share too.
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