Hi everyone,
When I started Word of the Month Poetry Challenge in October 2009, I created two sections, one for adults and one for children. Both links are shown in white drop-out letters just above this page. For several years, a lot of teachers liked the opportunity to post poems by their students. The kids loved seeing their work published and adults were good about posting words of praise and encouragement. Learning to write creatively is an important aspect of improving vocabulary and reading fluency so I was delighted to see so many young people participate in the monthly exercise.
Over the years increased demands of classroom scheduling made it too difficult for teachers to post their students’ work. These days the Young Poets W.O.M. Poems section is seldom blessed with poems by young writers. When a friend of mine, SUSAN BICKEL, suggested that I might revamp the children’s section to appeal to more people and make it easier to post, I knew she was right. The time had come to change.
The resulting changes have now been made. The main difference is that the section now welcomes not only teachers but also librarians, parents, friends, tutors, homeschooled children, and virtually any other adult to might want to post a poem by a child they know. I hope you will click on Young Poets W.O.M. Poems to see for yourself. I long to see more adults post poems by the amazing young people in their lives, starting right now! My genuine thanks to you, Susan, for setting this change in motion.
Children's Author David L. Harrison's Blog 