POEMS FOR 5 & 6 YEAR OLDS

My visiting niece and nephew gave me an opportunity to read poetry aloud. And I was reminded of a few things as we traveled through some Silverstein and Dr. Seuss:

Kids this age like poems that are

1. SHORT (four lines seemed to be the most appreciated)
2. SIMPLE (no complex metaphors; very concrete)
3. CLEVER (word-play was very well received)
4. FUNNY (didn't have to be hysterical --just one chuckle was enough)

The 5 year old's favorite poem was "The Sitter" by Shel Silverstein, as it appears in A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC:


THE SITTER

Mrs. McTwitter the baby-sitter,
I think she's a little bit crazy.
She thinks a baby-sitter's supposed
To sit upon the baby.

- Shel Silverstein

That's it! SO SIMPLE! It's a good reminder to those of us writing for this age audience. It was interesting to me how quickly their attention waned with the longer (although simple, clever, funny) poems.

Today I will write SHORT, SHORT, SHORT.

Don't forget to visit Jone at Check it Out for Poetry Friday Roundup!