Say it is rhyme...Happy Saturday to you!

What is rhyming?
Yes, I’m sure all of you already know that rhyming words sound the same at the end!   It’s a phonemic awareness skill, meaning that it’s all about manipulating oral language.  Rhyming is just a part of phonemic awareness . . . of working with language, sounds within language, and playing with language.

Why is teaching rhyming important?
Oh, teaching rhyming is important for so many reasons!  To begin with, a multitude of research has shown a correlation between rhyming mastery and eventual reading preparedness.  Now, if your child isn’t a rhyming machine right now, please don’t freak out!  This doesn’t mean she’s going to be a below-average reader when she’s older.  It just means that you can incorporate more rhyming activities into your day.

On top of that, rhyming helps kids improve their oral language skills overall.  It helps them to playfully manipulate their language, which gives them a kind of “permission” to manipulate language in other ways.  Children have more ownership over their language when they’re encouraged to change it and play with how they speak.

As previously mentioned, rhyming is an aspect of phonemic awareness (awareness of how to listen to, identify, and change around the sounds in spoken language).  Phonemic awareness lays the groundwork for written language.  Rhyming is a precursor to learning how to read and write.

 Best poems ever for kids...

Now We Are Six

-A.A. Milne

When I was one,

I had just begun,

When I was two,

I was nearly new. 

When I was three,

I was hardly me.

When I was four,

I was not much more.

When I was five,

I was just alive.

But now I am six,

I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six

now and forever.

Dirty Face By Shel Silverstein

Where did you get such a dirty face,

My darling dirty-faced child?

I got it from crawling along in the dirt

And biting two buttons off Jeremy's shirt.

I got it from chewing the roots of a rose

And digging for clams in the yard with my nose.

I got it from peeking into a dark cave

And painting myself like a Navajo brave.

I got it form playing with coal in the bin

And signing my name in cement with my chin.

I got it from rolling around on the rug

And giving the horrible dog a big hug.

I got it from finding a lost silver mine

And eating see black berries right off the vine.

I got it from ice cream and wrestling and tears

And having more fun than you've had in  years.

Friends
-Abbie Farwell Brown

How good to lie a little while
And look up through the tree!
The Sky is like a kind big smile
Bent sweetly over me.

The Sunshine flickers through the lace
Of leaves above my head,
And kisses me upon the face
Like Mother, before bed.

The Wind comes stealing o'er the grass
To whisper pretty things;
And though I cannot see him pass,
I feel his careful wings.

So many gentle Friends are near
Whom one can scarcely see,
A child should never feel a fear,
Wherever he may be.

"Poetry offers up a wealth of benefits for children. It fosters a love for language, thereby building literacy. It helps children understand themselves and others, allowing them to cultivate valuable qualities like compassion and empathy. It is also a healthy way for children to express their emotions and deal with emotionally challenging situations. Fortunately, there are many famous poems for children. Poets like William Blake and Robert Graves wrote many poems for children that can inspire them to find their voice and representation through poetry, even from an early age."

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/famous/children/#ixzz3mCFd25lt
Family Friend Poems 

Read on and read always!

It's a wrap.

Contact me at storywrapsblog@gmail.com