Celebrate National Poetry Month: Try Haiku and Rhymes
Writing and reciting poetry enhances vocabulary and language skills –– and it is really fun! Try writing haiku and simple rhymes with your child this April to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Haiku
Haiku is a traditional Japanese style of poetry, often inspired by nature.
Haiku have only three lines, and do not have to rhyme. The first line should have five syllables, the second line should have seven, and the third line should have five again. Here is an example of a Haiku about Spring:
Winter cold is gone 
Summer is fast approaching
Watch the flowers bloom
Have your child clap out the syllables. Can your child come up with a Haiku about something they observe in nature?
Rhyming Poems
Try writing some poems that rhyme. A good way to start is to choose either the “AABB” or “ABAB” rhyme scheme. This means that every A should rhyme with each other, and every B should be a different rhyme. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is an example of an AABB poem:
Twinkle, twinkle little star – A 
How I wonder what you are – A
Up above the world so high – B
Like a diamond in the sky! – B
To start writing rhyming poems with your child, brainstorm words that rhyme, like “rat” and “cat,” or “like” and “hike.” Put them together into poems and write them down. Illustrate and read aloud for a family poetry reading.
