Do you want a fun and exciting way to teach your child about metaphors? Have your child create a poem featuring one of the most classic of holiday icons: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This activity is simple; just instruct your child to fill in the blanks to create a poem and he will receive a lesson in metaphors at the same time! For an extra touch, your child will find or draw a picture to accompany the poem and hang the finished product on the wall for an extra special holiday decoration!
What You Need:
- Lined paper
- Drawing paper
- Pencil
- Markers
What You Do:
- Discuss what a metaphor is with your child. Explain that it is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things, saying one is the other. For example, "The girl's cheeks were tomatoes." Cheeks and tomatoes are two unlike things, but have a common color and shape.
- Remind him that metaphors do not typically use “as “ or “like” to compare the two things, as is generally done with similes. For example, "The girl's eyes shined like diamonds." That sentence would be a simile because it uses the word "like," and compares two things without saying one thing is the other. The two things that are compared in a simile cannot be substituted for one another, as can be done with metaphors.
- Invite your child to use the following sentences about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to create metaphors on lined paper:
- Rudolph's nose is ____________________.
- His antlers are _______________________.
- Rudolph's hooves are _________________.
- His eyes are ________________________.
- Rudolph's fur is ______________________.
- His tail is ___________________________.
- Rudolph's smile is ____________________.
- You may have your child draw or paste a picture of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on half a sheet of 9" x 12" drawing paper.
- Ask your child to cut out the poem and paste it below Rudolph on the drawing paper.
Invite your child to hang his creation up on a wall, and he will glow with pride as guests admire his homemade holiday decoration!
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