“Poetry is a rhythmical piece of writing that leaves the reader feeling that life is a little richer than before, a little more full of wonder, beauty, or just plain delight.”
– Eileen Fisher
The Earth Is Wet:
Celebrate Every Season with Poetry



The Earth Is Wet
The earth is wet.
The sky is gray.
It looks like it
Will rain all day.
–Karla Kuskin

Whether the Weather
Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.
–Traditional
From Songs and Rhymes for a Rainy Day,
A Nellie Edge Read and Sing Big Book™
Yes, it rains in Oregon, and once again, we are hoping winter showers bring spring flowers! Consider greeting your children at the door with a small poem reflecting the weather or the changing seasons.



- See article: Wondrous Words About the Weather: A Poetry Ritual (from TPT March/April Poetry Notebook collection)
Weave poetry into your ongoing science adventures.
Children Personalize Language Through Art



When children memorize, recite, and perform the words of carefully selected poetry, they develop English language fluency with the most exquisite language we speak; they practice high-frequency words and phonics in an authentic context; and, most importantly, they develop a love for the sounds of language.
- Community is served when children learn things “by heart.”
- Owning wonderful words and imaginative phrases enlivens the art of speaking and writing.
What memorable words do you give children to carry on the walls of their minds?





Download this 10-page
Poetry FREEBIE on TpT
Our kindergarten children begin the year memorizing, reciting, and illustrating Sunflower Children and the Reading Is Fun rhyme for their Poetry “I Can Read” Notebooks. (During the Spring of the year, we introduce the word “anthology.”) The last week of school, children talk about all the places they love to read. Then once again, we illustrate another Reading Is Fun page. This final copy becomes the back cover of the student’s “I Can Read” Anthology Notebook. Our children march out the door as ambitious, motivated readers who love the sounds of poetry, songs, and rhymes. We sing…
I love to read.
I love to read.
My “I Can Read” Anthologies of songs and poems and rhymes.
Be looking for upcoming Nellie Edge Online Seminar topic: Optimal Use of Poetry and Song “I Can Read” Notebooks. These notebooks are a treasure! Learn how to use them for fluency and delight…