Valentine Limerick

What You Need:

• Pen or pencil
• Lined paper
• Construction paper, red or pink
• Markers, stickers, glitter glue, etc.

What You Do:

1. Explain what a limerick poem is: a funny or silly poem containing five lines. The first line, the second line and the fifth line rhyme with each other. The third and fourth line rhyme with each other. They also have a specific rhythmic beat. The first line, second line and fifth line have a beat of three (usually 7-10 syllables). The third and fourth lines have a beat of two (usually 5-7 syllables).
2. While you are reading the following example, encourage your child to clap to it with you. There should be three claps for the first, second and fifth line, and two claps for the third and fourth line:

Here is another limerick to try:

3. Have your child continue practicing the limericks until he grasps the rhythmic beat.
4. Ask your child to make a list of words that have to do with Valentine's Day. For example: hearts, flowers, cupid, candy, red, pink, etc.
5. Invite your child to start with a name that is one syllable and easy to rhyme with other words, such as "Ted." He can then make a list of rhyming words, such as bed, said, red, led, fed, etc.
6. Have your child use the one-syllable name at the end of the first line. For example, "There once was a boy named Ted." Use the rhyming words your child listed in the second and fifth line to incorporate Valentine's Day into the poem. For example:

So he cried all night in bed.

Here's another example:

7. Have your child write his limerick neatly onto lined paper.
8. Finally, ask him to cut it out and paste it onto construction paper. Decorate the paper with markers, stickers, glitter, etc.