Poetry is uniquely suited to bring us together and ease our anxiety in troubled times. Let’s put our words to work for the comfort of others.
We at Doing Good Together™ have often celebrated the power of words to warm hearts. Some of the resources below are classic DGT™ favorites. Some are brand new prompts to help your family connect through word play. We hope your family finds time to enjoy them all.
Word play is the perfect way to spend time together right now.
Word play is good for our emotional well-being. Writing poetry has been a relied-upon form of mental health therapy for decades.
Word play lifts the spirits of others.
My family has been sharing cards and letters with others for years. It’s always more fun for our card recipients when we share a creation of our own.Word play is good for our brains.
Poetry – like music – lights up our brains. Bending words and phrases into a unique meter, meaning, and rhyme scheme is just the sort of distracting work all of our brains need right now.
If you feel like sharing your heart-warming, hilarious, or simply silly poetry to inspire an even wider audience, please share them on instagram with #DGTwordplay and tag @doinggoodtogether!
Haiku Hello
TRY THIS: Share your haiku when you #chalkyourwalk.
These short, simple poems feature three lines of five, seven, and five syllables. In the Japanese tradition, these poems most often evoke images of the natural world, but they lend themselves to endless adaptations.
Watch this informative video to craft your own simple haiku.
Cut squares of paper and leave them out next to a few pencils, and invite your family to create many haiku to send to those in need of good cheer.
Share your poems in sidewalk chalk to bring a smile to your neighbors.
Coronavirus Rewrite
TRY THIS: Choose a favorite poem and invite far-flung friends and family members to create rewrites. Then share your creations with one another in an impromptu video chat poetry festival.
This is a fun way to get kids excited about and familiar with new poems while you inspire them to create their own. Browse the American Academy of Poets list of Poems Kids Like, and let your child choose the poem to play with. I wrote a silly example to share with my own family, based on Shel Silverstein’s popular (and timely) poem, Sick. Sharing scraps of poetry and the drawings we’ve created has become an end-of-day tradition for my family while we’re staying home.
Odes of Gratitude
Scholastic offers an excellent lesson on how to write an Ode here. Perfect for young poets that want to get serious about their craft.
TRY THIS: Write an ode to something you love, like fresh spring strawberries, then share that item as a gift – along with your poem.
Using Scholastic’s tips, work together to write an ode to strawberries or chocolate cake – or even toilet paper! Celebrate soap bubbles or your favorite sunglasses. Use lots of good descriptive words. Add in a metaphor or two.
This is a fresh way to practice gratitude, an essential life skill. During times of stress, making time for gratitude is even more essential. Inspire your family to focus on the things that bring them comfort, hope, and joy even on difficult days.
Car Window Poetry
TRY THIS: Tape your poetry – using this simple printable – to the windows of neighbors, offering encouragement and solidarity.
We’ve shared this project often because we love how these tiny, instagram-able acts of poetry can inspire loads of creativity and encouragement.
Discover New Poems
TRY THIS: Track down your favorites from DGT’s poetry collection.
There are so many delicious books of poetry for children, you’ll be sure to find a favorite.
We would love to read and share your family’s creations! We’ll employ them to inspire more families to use the power of poetry to make a difference. Please share your poetry on instagram with #DGTwordplay and tag us @doinggoodtogether.
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The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.