Showing posts with label National Poetry Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Poetry Month. Show all posts

Thursday, April 24, 2014

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: 

or find him on Amazon here:

Thursday, April 18, 2013

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


Thursday, April 11, 2013

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.

Sunflower Photobook

Sunflowers Captured By My iPhone 8 By Laurie Bower Epps I knew I was in need of headshots since my last photoshoot was in either 2012 ...