It's the school holidays and my children have been spending a lot of time reading. They have been reading lots of poetry. Otis in particular likes to read poetry out loud. He takes so much pride in projecting his voice, in expressive reading, he loves it. The poems are mostly short, with short sentences, they are easy for him to read, I can see that it's building his confidence too. Poetry is so good for children of all ages! 

• For the beginner or early reader, poems are often a good choice as they can feel a sense of accomplishment when reading them. Often poems are short in length and may also have short sentences. 
• Poems often use a rhythm, rhyme and, language that we might not use in our everyday lives. 
• Poetry can expose our children to language from different cultures, geographical locations, from different time periods. 
• Poems are often thought-provoking and can stimulate further discussions and learning opportunities. 
• Reading or listening to a poem can be calming and soothing especially at bedtime (choose the poems wisely).
• Poetry can be uplifting and incredibly inspiring. 
• Reading or listening to a poem can inspire children to write their own poems.
• Poetry is a wonderful and important form of self-expression. 
• Writing poetry can assist in language development, writing skills and, creativity. It can help build vocabulary and introduce children to a wide range of genres. 
• Writing poetry is fantastic for learning sentence structure, it gives children freedom and allows for experimentation.
• Poetry can lead to oral traditions, think poems shared by grandparents, at bedtime, for particular seasons, or other special occasions. 

We are currently enjoying these Poetry books:

• Kylie: A Poem for Every Night of the Year. This book is so beautiful and I learn something new almost every day. 
• Caspar (10 years): All the Wild Wonders: Poems of our Earth. This is fantastic for children interested in conservation and climate change.
• Otis (7 years): Poems to Perform. He lovvves this one. 
• Otto (10 months): Out and About: A First Book of Poems. Perfect for Montessori families and children in the first plane of development. 

I want to build our collection of Poetry books, please let me know if there are any books you can recommend!