Poem and Kids

KIDS and POEMS

Poems and Kids by Annette Kosseris, Founder of Kindamindi

FUN performance POEMS for CHILDREN, both comical and sensitive, for reading and/or performing. Written by prize-winning adult Australian poets from refreshingly believable child-like perspectives. Suitable for children 4-16 years. All books edited by Annette Kosseris ATCL, LKSDA, ASDA, LSDA

If you have not read these titles, you should try to get one. It is the most refreshing of reading and very enjoyable. Children 4+ will enjoy the light approach to poem.

This goes with this… and with this… and with this. Salt goes with pepper, and milk goes with sugar. Bread goes

with butter, and knife goes with fork. Cup goes with saucer…etc. etc …

BUT

more important and far more interesting than any of those –

POEMS go with KIDS….. and KIDS go with POEMS

(especially at GO KIDS!)

Children of all ages love the sounds of rhyme, rhythm and repetition when they hear poetry read aloud. It is music to their ears. It excites and awakens their imaginations. They also like to read poems written in ‘free verse.’

ADVANTAGES of VERSE FOR CHILDREN:

Each of us is different in many ways, but we all share one basic building block. We are ALL the product of our EXPERIENCES. They make us who we are. They are responsible for how we think, how we see ourselves, how we react to other people and how we live our lives.

The poets in the Kindamindi ‘Giggles & Dreams’ anthologies understand this. Although there is an element of FANTASY in some of their poems, they have mostly tapped into PERSONAL EXPERIENCES of children everywhere, so that any child reading the poems will see himself in the ‘storyline’. This means that he/she will KNOW how to read the poems in a ‘natural’ manner, because they are written from the child’s perspective. Children LIVE the situation and discover that it’s easy to sound like a professional performer!

e.g. “I’m in the doctor’s surgery, waiting with my dad…………”

or ”Our dog’s a couch potato – you should see him, he’s a slob!”

or “I love to ride my surf board on a rough and windy day.”

or “Miss Bolly came to school with a gimmick.

Guess what – a barrel of WORDS!.”

or “Sometimes I like to be alone… nobody else, just me on my own…”

or “My great Grandpa tells me about things I’ll do when I grow up.

One day he told me I’ll have to vote………”

or “War… unending. But why must it be……?”

or “I wanted to play Romeo to Shakespeare’s Juliet,

But they said I wasn’t ready. How ready can you get!!!”

Children love to learn to recite this poetry from MEMORY. It is a pleasurable experience. They gain self-satisfaction which increases their confidence and self-esteem. It keeps their BRAINS active in a creative way. It is a FUN thing to do!

Interpreting and ‘experiencing’ these poems also encourages children to WRITE THEIR OWN POETRY.

They use the same format one uses when making up a short play or improvisation. They ask themselves basic questions such as “WHO am I?” “WHERE am I?” “WHAT am I doing?” WHY am I doing it?” “WHAT time is it happening?”

They answer these questions and suddenly they find that they have written a poem! Imagine the joy and self-esteem this produces!

One cannot go past the poetry in the six Kindamindi ‘Giggles & Dreams’ anthologies for sheer enjoyment and appreciation of all that springs spontaneously from the ‘wonderland of childhood’.

Apart from the joy of listening to the poems being read, thousands of children have further developed their own READING SKILLS by IDENTIFYING with the children in the poems. One hears them say “That’s just like me!” because the poems deal with everyday situations experienced by children everywhere.

Two of the books (‘Here We Go Again’ and ‘Gooey Chewy and other JUNIOR Giggles & Dreams’) are designed for children aged 3 to 10 years. The other four books (‘A Cup of Giggles A Saucer of Dreams’, ‘More Giggles & Dreams’ , Giggles & Woes & Anything goes’ and ‘Moving On with Giggles & Dreams’) contain poems for children aged 5 years up to junior High School level.