Poetry Contest

My 8-year-old daughter, K won 2nd place in a county poetry contest. We just got the phone call last night, and we are all so excited and happy for her! On March 24th, we all get to go to a reception where she will read her poem and be given a book as a gift with all the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in it!

K just WRITES! She has journals and notebooks where she jots down her thoughts, poems, song lyrics, or she may just jot down what she did that day. I let her choose whatever poem she wanted to enter and she chose this poem:

My Favorite Animal

My favorite animal is not a sheep

My favorite animal is not the animal that lives in the deep

My favorite animal is not a dog

My favorite animal is not a frog

My favorite animal is not a cat

My favorite animal is not a bat

My favorite animal of all

is a horse who stands so tall

Last night she was reading over her poem again and she said, "Mom, I wish I would have written the second line differently. I wish I would have said, 'My favorite animal is not a fish that lives in the deep.' " It was a great natural lesson in how all good writers go back often and edit their writing.

I would like to encourage you to read poetry to your children and allow them the freedom to simply freely write down their thoughts, desires, and dreams!