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| Melvin Ready to Attack! |
Lurking behind an open door
Melvin hides with sparkling eyes,
patiently he sits and he waits
to take everyone by surprise.
Pitter-patter of approaching feet,
Melvin curls up with twitching tail.
Thinks he is a lion in disguise
as he goes on a hunting trail.
An excerpt from the book "Melvin. . . Bad, bad kitten!"
Sharing a Book with Your Child or Grandchild is One of Life's Greatest Pleasures
Reading poetry aloud to a child is such an enriching experience, and also a very important way of connecting with them. Dr Seuss and Mother Goose are perhaps the most well-known imaginative verses for children, but any nursery poetry and rhymes will do. The importance to read loud to a child at an early age cannot be underestimated. By simply reading poetry to children we help them to understand phonemic awareness that is crucial for the child to avoid later learning problems, and make reading and writing easier for them.
Poetry written for children is all about sound and rhythm, so when reading books with rhymes, it makes it easy for the child to recognize patterns in sound and syntax .When they hear the word "clown" in a poem after the word "down" they understand better what the word is supposed to sound like. Children really like the silliness, the soothing sound and the repetition of words in nursery rhymes and poems. The repetition of words in rhymes will make it easier for a child to memorize and since rhyming children's books are fairly short, they can be read even in the busiest of schedules. Reading poetry with your child at an early age will help draw the child's interest, make it a time of bonding, and to serve as an educational tool as well.
~Sannel ~
