Poetry All Year Long!

Why limit poetry to just poetry month?

Here are a few ideas to add a little poetry to your life, and the lives of the kids around you:

1. When you come across a poem you love, share it! Read it aloud to somebody, stick it to the refrigerator with a magnet, put it on your bulletin board at the office.

2. Look for children's books that are written in the form of poems, and read them over and over again. Babies and young children LOVE repetition.

3. When something new or important happens, write a poem about it! Keep a notebook or a file on your computer to save all your poems, so that you can reread your writing from time to time, looking for themes or big ideas that pop out at you.

4. Poetry is everywhere! Keep your eyes peeled. You'll be surprised at all the places where you see poetry in the neighborhood. On billboards, written in graffiti on buildings, taped to lamp-posts, on display at the public library, at the grocery store even!

Happy poetry year!