Do you keep saying that you will read poetry with your kids, and feel like you should, but put it off and avoid getting to it because it can seem overwhelming? Well you are not alone! 

Many moms that I talk to are intimidated by poetry and just don’t feel qualified to read it with their children- but it is a myth that you have to understand poetry to enjoy it!

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Here are my tips for sharing poems with your family:

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1. Exposure, not analysis, is the place to start!

My grandmother had a poetry book at her house on the shelf, and I remember carefully taking it down each time I visited to read a few of the poems inside. No one explained them to me, I just had the freedom to read the words and absorb the rhythms- and I still enjoy reading that same poetry book today all of these years later!  

Just choose a poem and read it to your family, and let that be enough. Then read another the next day, and the next- consistent exposure is the best way to make your children comfortable around poetry. 

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You can find this book at archive.org for free here 

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2. Include silly and serious poems. 

Shel Silverstein is still a favorite in our house, but we also love to read Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg. A range of types of poetry can help your student hear the use of language in so many ways.

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3. Questions are as good as answers when it comes to poetry.

After you read the poem, you might have more questions than answers- and that’s ok! Poetry makes us think in new and different ways, and asking a question about the writing, meaning or word usage is just another way of thinking and interacting with the poem. 

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