Adapted with permission from Chicago Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide
Read selections from an anthology like The Rattle Bag and compare the word choices of the authors from different eras. How has the English language changed over time? What words don’t you hear anymore? What new words does your child love in each poem?
Extra Credit: Grab magazines, junk mail, newspapers, etc. from around the house. Give your child 5 minutes to tear or cut out words that they like or stand out to them. If your child is younger than 8, have your child pick out pictures that appeal instead and ask them to tell you what words s/her thinks of when s/he sees the image. Then, have your child use as many of those words as possible to create a “when” poem. (An example of a “when” poem can be found here.) Length doesn’t matter, nor does rhyming.