Mother's Day Poem Ideas for All Ages

Children of any age can enjoy writing a Mother's Day poem that's guaranteed to make mom feel special.

Acrostics are a good choice for very young children. In an acrostic, the first letter of each line spells out a word. An adult can help the child think of words or phrases that start with each letter and describe something they appreciate about their mom. A short example:

Likes to play tag with me
One cool mom
Very good hugs
Every night we read together

Try other words, like "mother", "mom", mom's name, or even a longer acrostic of a sentence like "happy mother's day". Older children can use a thesaurus to find fun words. If the child is having trouble coming up with a word starting with a given letter, a cheat that still turns out well is to line the word up down the middle of the page, then include each letter somewhere in its line, but not necessarily as the first letter. The word that the poem is based on ("love" in the example) will stand out especially well if it is written in a different color from the surrounding text.

For a more structured poem for young children, try introducing the idea of similes. Ask the child to name a good thing about mom, and then think of something else with that trait- for example, mom is pretty, and so are flowers. With a chain of similes, you can make a poem with a repetitive structure reminiscent of children's literature. It could look something like this:

My mom is pretty like a flower.
My mom is warm like the sunshine.
My mom is cuddly like my blankie.
I love my mom!

My mom is sweet like candy.
My mom is fast like a cheetah.
My mom is fierce like a lion.
I love my mom!

With structured poems like this, verses can be repeated as many or few times as desired.

Kids who like craft projects might enjoy cutting out words and phrases that remind them of their mother from a magazine and arranging them on paper for a poem-collage. The poetry is in the selection and arrangement of words, so encourage the child to experiment with grouping words in different ways to see how they sound together.

Another form for children who like artwork or have strong computer skills is the picture poem. In picture poems, the words themselves form a shape. The words can be simple, like a list of things that remind the child of mom, or a message of love. They are then arranged on the page to make an expressive shape, like a heart, a flower, or one of mom's favorite things.

For older children, a haiku or collection of haikus might be a fun and non-threatening way to express their love for mom. These three line poems, with a first line of five syllables, second line seven syllables, and third line five syllables, are great for capturing the feeling behind a moment in time. Kids can describe mom in action, without worrying about rhyme or getting too bogged down in sentimentality.

Encourage children to be creative and to have fun with rhyme, rhythm, and visual arrangement in their poetry. Their creation will be a unique expression of themselves that mom is sure to love.