Me: It’s April! My favorite time of year! Tulips are blooming, the sun is strong, days are long, AND it’s National Poetry Month!
Kids Groan
Me: What? All of a sudden you don’t like poetry?
Kid in the Back: Only teachers like poetry. English teachers, to be exact.
Kids Murmur in Agreement
Me: Hey, then why do you get so excited when you see that Out of the Box poetry writing is a Do Now? (I had them there.) And let me remind you of the amazing Socratic seminar and extension activities we engaged in when we read Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay and The Road Not Taken. (I had them there too. They decided to create fictional lifestyle descriptions for the narrator’s possible “roads.” Then they described their own life-choices and “mapped” what they can do to find their path.)
Kid in Mets Jersey: So who decided it’s National Poetry Month?
Me: The AAP, which is the…
Interrupting Kid: Wow. Old people must really like poetry.
Me: That’s AARP. AAP is the American Academy of Poets. And if you prefer, we can rename it National Poetry Doesn’t Stink Too Much Month as we celebrate.
Future Wedding Planner Kid: Celebrate?! Are we having a PARTY?!
Me: Sort of. We’re going to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day. It’s awesome! We are going to carry a favorite poem and share it with others all day long. And we’re going to plant poetry in unexpected places, so people will stumble upon beautiful language. Look at these pictures.
Slacker Kid: Can we use the poems we’ve already written?
Overachiever Kid: Can we write some new ones?
Sporty Kid: Can I write a poem on a soccer ball?
Animal Lover Kid: Can I write a poem on my dog?
Future Late Night Host Kid: Does he stay still when you write on him? We all laugh.
Wedding Planner Kid: Can I make posters and invite other classes to celebrate?
Cheerleader Kid: Whoo hoo! We’re going to make AARP proud!
Me: Yes! Let’s make AARP proud…during…National Poetry Doesn’t Stink Too Much Month.
Check out this free Poem in Your Pocket Day resource. Enjoy it!
