Learning Poetry the Disney Way

By Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy

April has been National Poetry Month. Hopefully you've had a chance to read, and maybe even write, some poetry yourself. If you have kids, you may have tried to interest them as well. Very possibly with little success.

Actually, they've probably been walking around reciting poetry at the top of their lungs much of the month - poems that start with lines line "Do you want to build a snowman?" or "Let it go!" - sure they're songs, but they're poems first, with regular rhyme and rhythm patterns, meanings beyond the surface, and clever use of the language. Why not use this as a stepping stone to help your kids learn to love poetry?

That's exactly what Disney did with their UK show called A Poem Is...
Combining the magic of Disney, poetry, video, and Pinterest, we can watch a number of these episodes: A Poem Is... on Pinterest

In case poetry read to a background of famous Disney movie scenes isn't quite enough for your child, here's the 11th Doctor reading a poem on one of the episodes.



Matt Smith Reads on A Poem Is...

Perhaps you won't need a crowbar to get your kids to love poetry - just a sonic screwdriver!

Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy is a freelance writer and poet living in the upstate of South Carolina with his wife and four children. To find his daily poetry entries, log onto: 

http://wordhabitat.blogspot.com/

or find him on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenneth-OShaughnessy/

Little Orphan Annie

By Laurie Epps

I just wanted to write a formal apology to my readers for not having my poetry blog up the past two weeks. My youngest has had an ear infection since early March, and she's not responding to antibiotics. The only action left for the doctor's is to place tubes in her ears surgically. I'm hoping that they will be able to do this after I graduate college in two weeks.

To the rescue, is my guest blogger, Kenneth Alan O'Shaunnessey, who will write a Thoughtful Thursday column for me next week while I'm in the midst of finals. Thank you for understanding, and please pray for Chloe.

The Land of Nod

By Laurie Epps

April is National Children's Poetry month, and since my love for poetry began at such a young age, I see the importance of teaching poetry to young children. If you don't know how to teach your children about poetry, don't analyze it. Just read it. I fell in love with the meter, metaphors, and lyrical quality of poetry long before I knew what all those words meant. Read poetry to your children, it's important.

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland to a Lighthouse Engineer and his wife. Stevenson was sick most of his life, and caused irregular attendance in school. Most known for Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson wrote his poetry in his thirties and dedicated them to the nurse that cared for him as a child.

Me and My Horse

Bonheur, The Horse Fair

Intro by Laurie Epps

My daughter Ellen has always loved horses. At one point this was problematic because she had to choose between horses and the ballet. Wisely, she chose ballet, but it wasn't without some torment.

Please keep in mind that this was a poem written by a little kid about why she loved riding horses. So in tribute to the Year of the Horse, please enjoy her quaint little poem.

Photo courtesy of Stride Photography in Ramona, CA

Saint Nicholas

By Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy

When you think of Saint Nicholas, you probably think immediately of Christmas. Actually, though, Saint Nicholas the real person is remembered in the Church on December 6. In many parts of the world, children put out shoes or stockings to be filled with coins, chocolate or otherwise, and small presents. This tradition is alluded to in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis when Father Christmas shows up in Narnia and gives presents to the Pevensie children.

Saint Nicolas was a participant in the first Council of the Church, the Council of Nicaea. We don't have any writings by him, but we know he signed the Nicaean Creed, the definition of the Christian Faith. He also punched Arius in the mouth for saying that Christ was not fully God - in case you want to know what can make Santa less than jolly!




Saint Nicholas was a wonderful man
As you note by his moniker
He might have worn a red suit and hat
As bishop of Myra and Lycia

But he started out as a little kid
Loving the Faith so much
He fasted every fourth and sixth day
And read the Bible in Church and such

Eventually he became a priest
And gave away gold to the poor
(That's where the Santa legend is from)
He hid it in shoes that they wore

We remember him best at Christmas
Which is fitting, because you see
Nicholas punched a man in the face
For an anti-Christ heresy

Let us receive Saint Nicholas' gifts
And I do not mean chocolate or gold
I mean his gift of love for the poor
And zeal for the truth that we hold

Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy is a freelance writer and poet living in the upstate of South Carolina with his wife and four children. To find his daily poetry entries, log onto: 

http://wordhabitat.blogspot.com/

or find him on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenneth-OShaughnessy/

How to Write Poetry for Children (And Everyone Else, Too)

By Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy

A young friend read this poem to me earlier this week, and then she read it over and over. It caused me to consider what makes a poem connect with its readers, even when it is something so simple as this:

My Kitten

By Marchette Chute

Kitten, my kitten

soft and dear

I’m so glad

that you are here

Sitting together

just us two

You loving me

and me loving you.”

~from Surprises (I Can Read Book 3) Paperback by Lee Bennett Hopkins

What can we learn about connecting with readers from this simple children’s poem?

Use a Familiar Theme

Sitting with a kitten in your lap is a common pleasurable activity for nearly everyone, especially every child. Whether you are writing for children, women, theology buffs, or even men ;-) there is always something common to them that will develop that instant interest in what you have to say. I tend to be guilty of writing from obscure ideas that excite me but mean nothing to other people - they can be fun, but they don’t get feedback from the readers that makes writing a communal effort. Writing from the familiar goes to where the reader is and brings her to where you want to go.

Use Simple Phrases

Each phrase of My Kitten holds together alone as an idea to which every child can relate. This keeps the reader engaged and following the flow of the idea. While the phrases are simple, one has a depth of meaning that makes them both functional and essential to the concept of the poem.

Use Feeling Words

Feeling words connect with the reader on a visceral level, both physically and emotionally. Words like “soft and dear”, “glad”, and even “sitting together” help the reader feel your ideas, not just understand them intellectually. And good poems, as with most good writing, are about the feelings that are evoked.

Personalize

Personalization doesn’t have to mean putting the poem into the mouth of the reader as we see in this poem. It does mean connecting with the reader’s experience, and using it to create a new experience in the reading of the poem. We as poets want our work to belong our readers in a way only each reader can experience. This poem accomplishes this in multiple layers, from the familiar activity of holding a kitten to the love we experience by being together with someone.

Here is a children’s poem suitable for this time of year - I hope it connects with you:

Mom called my brothers and me for dessert

We shot in like a cannon blast

I knew she was serving my favorite treat

And I did not want to be last

There, slopping out of our mammoth-skull bowls

Was that yummiest, oozy glop

Three towering dollops of cold eyes cream

With congealed scary on top

I gobbled it up like a monster should

Using all my fingers and toes

I ate it so fast that I choked real good

And gobs of it shot out my nose

I like to sling food at my brothers’ heads

But I love eyes cream so much more

So I used all my tongues and tails and teeth

And I licked it up off the floor

Now that my big furry belly was full

And I had swallowed every slurp

I flopped down in front of the monster box

And let out a monstrous burp

My brothers all burped out loud just like me

Then we started to scream and hop

"Bring us some more of our favorite stuff:

More eyes cream with scary on top!"

Kenneth A O'Shaughnessy is a freelance writer and poet living in the upstate of South Carolina with his wife and four children. To find his daily poetry entries, log onto: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bad-Bad-Boy-Publications/557182874309579

or find him on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenneth-OShaughnessy/

Strawberry Shortcake

By Laurie Epps

When I went to the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference, I attended a Marketing class where we talked about shocking BROCA. This technique basically embodies the spirit of doing something different to stand out among the other submissions. But I couldn't resist attending a Poetry class taught by my dear friend, Pam Zollman.

Pam talked to us about using some more unusual types of poems to make you stand out to a publisher. So we practiced a few in class together, and I was not prepared to actually work in these classes. But it just goes to show you, that the brain is still working, and we learned a few things they are looking at when you are pitching to Highlights Magazine.

My Daughter's Favorite Poem

April is National Poetry Month

As a child, I loved poetry. This month's  poetry is for a new generation of readers. Children just love the use of rhyme in a poem. I wrote this quaint little poem for my daughters, and they always ask me to recite it to them. It is close to my heart. So for my daughters, especially Ellen Brooke, this poem is cheerfully dedicated.
~ Love, Mom

Thoughtful Thursdays: A Poetic Column

April is National Poetry Month

Most of us as children remember being afraid of things that go bump in the night. Who didn't fear the monster under the bed, or worse, the one in the closet? Enjoy these delightful poems from Kenneth O'Shaunnessey and share them with your own kids.

Markets for Children's Poetry

April is National Poetry Month

Since it is National Poetry Month, I thought it would be fitting if I addressed our next generation of writers. Most writers start off as avid readers, so the highest calling as a writer is to write to children. I could think of no one better to do that than Pam Zollman. Pam is the former editor for Highlights Magazine, and speaking at the upcoming Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference in May.