How to Help a Child Produce a Mother's Day Poem

Mother's Day is almost here, and with it comes the season of plaster handprints, macaroni necklaces, and painted cards. If you are helping children create the perfect Mother's Day present, consider having them write a poem. In addition to teaching about writing, rhyming, and poetry, having a child write a poem for the holiday will surely make mom smile.

Help the child choose a format for the poem. This is a great opportunity to teach children about the many styles of poems. It is probably easiest to do a rhyming poem, but older children can explore other poetic forms. Acrostic poems (where the first letter of each line helps make up an additional message) are nice for holidays. Try using the letters of words like 'mother', 'love', or even 'Happy Mother's Day' to start each line Some helpful information on poetry formats can be found at www.writing.com. Just type in "poetry formats" to find brief explanations on the various formats.

Let the child choose a topic. Thoughtful poems do not have to be about flowers, butterflies, and love (although those are very nice things). Maybe the child wants to write about how he or she loves it when mom takes them to soccer practice. It will be easiest for the child to write about something they feel genuinely about. Just make sure they choose something they can write positively about. A poem about hating broccoli might be genuine, but not exactly appropriate for Mother's Day.

Have the child make artwork to accompany the poem. A drawing surrounding the written poem makes for the perfect Mother's Day card. Take it a step further, and frame the art (dollar stores are great places to find frames frames), and the Mother's Day gift is complete.

It might be helpful to have a rhyming dictionary nearby. If the child wants to rhyme Mississipi, lizard, or tulip, and you draw a blank, a rhyming dictionary will be a great help. Check out www.rhymezone.com for an easy to use dictionary. Just have the child type in the word, and a variety of rhyming options will be displayed.

For a special Mother's Day touch, have the child recite their poem to their mother on the big day. If the child is a performer, a videotaped rendition burned onto disk would make a sentimental and entertaining gift.

The most important thing to remember when helping a child to write a poem for their mother's, is to let them do it. Even if it does not rhyme perfectly, and the lines are not written quite straight, this is their creation. The harder they work on it the more special it will be.