Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day

Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 18 (in 2024), and it’s a great time to bring some poetry into the classroom. I learned from the American Academy of Poets that the celebration began in New York City in 2002 and was expanded nationwide by the academy in 2008. It’s also been celebrated in Canada since 2016.

You might not literally carry a poem around in your pocket, but it’s a great day for kids of any age (and adults, too!) to read, write and explore poetry.

The American Academy of Poets has a PDF linked on the page above that has poems you can print out and carry, or there’s white space enough on the page to draw something related to the poem after you read it. These are probably better for older kids; check out their Poems for Kids for options for younger readers.

Happy Strong Home also has a printable booklet (that fits in a pocket!) of a few public domain poems you can use in your celebrations. Or get the bigger printable poems from Humility and Doxology.

Write Shop has some printable poetry bookmarks, and Classroom Freebies has a free pocket template printable you can use to add your poem, whether the kids choose their own or write one to go in their pocket as a classroom display.

Kids of any age can listen to poetry being read. The excellent Poetry Speaks to Children is a book and CD so you or the kids can read the poems, or you can listen to the readings (many by the poets themselves). Have kids act out a poem, draw a reaction to a poem, or write a letter to the poet about why they like (or don’t like!) that poem.

Of course it’s a great day for kids to write poetry, too. The classic forms we teach kids are acrostics, haiku, limericks and free verse, but you can change it up and pick a particular form you like or just let them write what they want. Pick a theme like nature or school, have the kids recite or write out their poems. You could even make a classroom book of poetry!

[Image by Dmitriy Gutarev from Pixabay]

Next Plan Idea:

Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply