Some say.

I say it just begins to live that day.

Emily Dickinson

Poetry

Poetry celebrates the individual word, the sound of language, and the rhythm of language in a way that narrative does not. It is a fun, short, tasty morsel to share with children. It’s important to expose very young children to poetry because children build the foundation for learning to read through being exposed to the sounds and rhythms of language. For older children poetry is a great vehicle for learning how complex thoughts, humorous ideas, deep emotions, or entire narratives can be expressed with a few carefully chosen words. Learning poems when you are young is a legacy that will be with you all your life

Poetry can be dramatic, sad, or just down right silly!
There are a number of poetry books that I would highly recommend:
Funky Chickens – Benjamin Zephaniah
Enter the crazy world of rap poet Benjamin Zephaniah and move to the beat of his very own high-octane, performance –power poetry.

A Child’s Garden of Verses – Robert Louis Stevenson
Rediscover the delight and innocence of childhood in these wonderful poems.

The best Children’s Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah – Michael Rosen
This wonderful anthology is rich with many cultures, voices and sounds of the most exciting children’s performance poets in Britain today.

Silly Verses for Kids – Spike Milligan
A collection of over thirty ridiculous rhymes to amuse and amaze you!

The following funny poems will keep kids laughing with a desire to read more and write their own legendary art:

Giggle Poetry – Poetry that makes you giggle until the aliens land.

Fizzy Funny - Lots of fun poetry for kids to read and listen to.

Poetry Talents – Poetry for kids written by kids.

Brownie Locks – Silly poems that are bound to get your tummy grumbling.

Gus the Cat - A T.S. Elliot poem about the furry theater cat named Gus.

Jeff’s Poems -A collection of poems for kids, some might make you giggle while others may make you gag.

The Poetry Lady – Funny poetry by artistic kids.

GrandpaTuckers – Poems and stories that make you giggle and think.

Poetry – Lots of poems by historical poets many with funny verses.

SSSSSSsssss – Its more than a hotel it’s The Ssssnake Hotel.

Legends – Every kid can relate to not wanting to do class work and this poem says is all.

Kidz Page – Funny animal poetry.

Poems by Grade – Poetry for teaching, from twisters to rhymes with a silly Eletelephony for third graders.

Peculiar Poetry – Silly food poem with play on words that will blow you away.

Lunch for Love – This poem touches the heart of all those kids who bring their lunch to school.

Jack Prelutsky – An entertaining interactive site for children to read silly poetry.

Poetry Spatter – Kids can write their own silly poetry with this interactive site.

Hand transfers, Cox and Cox Kids £5 for monsters and £5 for Animals
Transform cute little hands into monsters and animals with these fantastic hand transfers.
This should keep your little monsters amused for hours.

Bumper Village in a bag, Cox and Cox Kids £5
An adorable little wooden village, hop on the train , go to the shops and walk the cute little dogs.  Enjoy hours of imaginative play.

Wooden spoon Puppet Theatre, Aspace £18
Includes theatre, 4 spoons, props, costumes and everything you need to put on a great show

Personalized adventure books, Great Little Trading Company £15
A personalized wonderful adventure for your child to enjoy this Christmas

The Magical Wizard school, Great Little Trading Company £14.99
Create your own Wizard school, There’s a story to read and  a model to construct, you can even act out the narrative or make up your own!

Colour Play scenes, Letterbox £8
A double sided play board and over 50 magnetic pieces to colour in. Then dress your characters and set the scene.

Please note: We have no affiliation to the above, we just thought they looked good..

We have big trunks full of dressing up costumes in our houses and they have given hours and hours of imaginative play.

You don’t have to spend a fortune either. A few old hats and clothes will do the trick. And let’s not forget the odd handbag and old mobile phone that works a treat.

If you do fancy investing in a few pieces or have a party coming up there are some great places to buy fancy dress costumes.

Angels
www.fancydress.com

Charlie Crow
www.charliecrow.co.uk

Escapade
www.escapade.co.uk

Magical Make Believe
www.magicalmakebelieve.com

Here are our hot tips for the shows that we think are worth seeing over the Christmas period that hopefully won’t break the bank.

Charlie and Lola’s Best Bestest Play
Hampstead Theatre NW3 – 10th December to 2nd January
www.hampsteadtheatre.com

Petrushka
The Little Angel Theatre N1 21st Nov 09–31st Jan 10
www.littleangeltheatre.com

Cinderella
Unicorn Theatre SE1 6 Dec–24 Jan. Set in a floating retirement home for elderly magicians!
www.unicorntheatre.com

James and The Giant Peach
Polka Theatre, SW19 to 9th January
www.polkatheatre.com

Skellig
15th December – 23rd Jan at the Bloomsbury Theatre WC1
www.thebloomsbury.com

Into the hoods
16th December – 10th Jan
www.southbankcentre.co.uk

If you go we would love to have your feedback…