A poet and didn't know it

A few days ago Brooklyn got a free magazine from American Girl in the mail. It was her first experience with having a magazine all of her own and I think she thoroughly enjoyed it. Then a day or two later, her first issue of Highlights magazine came (thanks Grandma for the subscription!) In it they have a page of poems. Ones that kids have written and sent in. So...I started talking to her about poems and explaining that it's a lot like writing lyrics for a song. (that's something she can totally understand) So, we sat down to write a poem together. She was a little stumped at first and couldn't even think of a subject, so I suggested "school". This is what we came up with:

August is coming
that means school.
I like seeing my friends
but the work is NOT cool.

Music, math, reading and art,
It's all okay, but recess is the BEST part!

What will I wear on the first day?
What are my friends going to say?

I wonder who my teacher will be?
I just hope she'll like me.

Now I know it's not the most intelligent piece of work ever written, but I'm proud of her for it. I did a lot of it---but she did come up with the rhyming words. It's cute to watch her see that she CAN do something like this, even though she thought she couldn't. It bugs me (for me) that it's not consistent--meaning there are 4 lines in the first paragraph and then only 2 in the other paragraphs. Guess that's just the perfectionist coming out in me...and the grammar/English lover. Anyway, just thought I'd share this because it's a fun thing to do with your kids. You might end up with something really silly...but that's the fun of it--and its a great teaching tool since they get to practice their writing, their rhyming and sentence structure. A fun way to get them started is to make each line begin with the words "What if__________________"
For instance:
What if I lose my shoe?
What if the sky is not blue?

What if I forget to say Hi?
What if I start to cry?

and so on....Yes, it doesn't make much sense...but it can make for a really good giggle in the end and I can almost guarantee you, your kids will have fun with it!