Hello and welcome to Virtual Kids Create! This is a self-paced version of the monthly kids day we host at the Poetry Center, and includes age-appropriate language arts workshops for children from infancy to ten-years-old, developed by our incredible facilitators. September's theme is Names & Naming, and the activities--from read- and sing-a-longs to a poetry exercise about your own name--reflect this! Feel free to use this as a guide to create your own, at-home, structured Kids Create, or pick and choose activities you think the kids in your household might enjoy.
Infant to 3-year-old read-a-loud & sing-a-long:
In this video, Kathy Sutton offers tips for reading to little ones and reads from two books, Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal and Seven Pablos by Jorge Luján:
When you're done, enjoy this sing-a-long with musician and teacher Gabrielle Pietrangelo:
4-6-year-old writing workshop: Sing to the Sky, Sing to the Earth
In this writing prompt by Raquel Gutiérrez, students are invited to sing a song to each of the four directions--thereby naming where they are in the world--and then enjoy Ofelia Zepeda's poem "Carrying Our Words."
7-10-year-old writing Workshop: Power of naming: a nonet writing prompt
What does your name mean? How do you feel when it is remembered? When it is forgotten? In this writing prompt by Chalese "Chay the Poet" Potts, students use the nonet form to reflect on and write about their names. Potts' writing directions are accompanied by a colorful, interactive worksheet participants can use to plot and craft their poems!