With a clever little template to follow from Raddish Kids, Travis wrote his first poems this Valentine’s Day! I loved guiding him through the project, and the final result makes the perfect Valentine’s gift for a teacher, family member, or friend.

First, we brainstormed a list of three categories: things that were red; things that were blue; and things that were sweet. He had some very definite opinions about what to include i.e. blackberries are bluish purple, not black, so they could go on the list.

What ensued was a sort of Mad Libs game. I read the original poem to him first:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet,

And so are you.

Using the lists he’d made, we slotted in a new word for each line.

The results were adorably hilarious, and will likely be so different from anything you’d come up with!

Overall, this was a great way to introduce poetry to my four-year-old, and a fun way to make some last-minute Valentine’s cards.

For still more language fun this holiday, teach your kids to sign ‘I love you’ in American Sign Language. Here’s his super excited face working out how to properly make the sign with his fingers!

Travis and I decided this can be our secret way to say the words at school drop off, now.