How Poetry Enhances Your Child’s Creativity and Emotional Intelligence: 5 Key Skills

Poetry is old-fashioned and seems pointless, right?

The teenage version of myself agrees with you

But this Homeschool Mom has fallen in love with poetry by watching the wonders it has inspired in my children

Poetry was the first form of writing my children were willing to do

I watched my oldest, who was terrified of writing, start writing poems all by herself

Why? Because you get to break the rules in poetry. It’s the perfect first form of self-expression. But it’s quite a lot more powerful than that.

5 Skills You Don’t Expect Poetry to Teach

1. Persuasive Communication:

   • No matter what job your kid end up doing, the ability to write pithy, interesting word combinations that enthrall a reader is a critical. So few are able to rise above the constant bombardment of tedious information to capture attention and lead. Our best leaders know how to command attention with words. Poetry teaches one how through tools like rhymes, cadence, and alliteration. Poetry hones pacing, concise language, storytelling, metaphorical expression, vivid imagery, emotional appeal; all critical for effective communication. Poetry is so good at building persuasive communication skills, I’m planning a full substack on just that.

   • Don’t believe me that poetry teaches persuasive communication? Trust someone who’s built the 120K and growing

     rebelEducator
     twitter account, substack, and podcast, the always lovely Hannah Frankman.

     

2. Creativity and Innovation:

   • Poetry fosters creativity by encouraging individuals to think outside the box. As I said above, poetry gets to break the rules. Spell it wrong? Not a full sentence? Not even a word? All are acceptable in poetry. Want your child to grow up to think outside the set bounds of society? Of course you do, because THAT is where innovation comes from. Have them learn poetry and have them read great poetry. I read poetry to my kids nearly every day.

3. Emotional Intelligence:

   • The best poetry makes you feel something. It explores complex emotions and perspectives, which promotes empathy and emotional understanding. One can learn from others through their poetry but poetry also represents a way to work through complex feelings and emotions for oneself. As mentioned in the opening, poetry was the first form of writing my children would actively engage in. My oldest is a perfectionist and terrified of getting things wrong but with poetry, she could just write all her thoughts and feelings on a paper. Writing a string of feeling words on a page is poetry. Add abstract art that speaks to how they are feeling inside and watch your kids come alive.

   • An example of how this works in practice. My oldest was struggling one day so she wrote this Haiku.

     Don’t know how to start

     I just don’t know what to do

     It makes me feel sad

   • As she put these words onto the page, they lifted out of her heart. A smile replaced her tears. Later she told me “It my favorite poem I’ve ever written”. The power of words.

4. Critical Thinking & Logic:

   • Understanding and interpreting poetry involves critical analysis, honing logic skills. Writers can be ironic, sarcastic, earnest, or ambivalent. Understanding poetry requires a thoughtful mind and trains one to see beyond the surface. Does the author really mean what they say? What feelings are they trying to emote or get you to feel? Fiction is also excellent at this but poetry adds a level of complexity because it so often breaks the rules. Indeed, often breaking the rules is what the authors are trying to get across to you. Read poetry to your children and discuss how they feel, why they feel that way, what the author is likely feeling.

5. Adaptability and Flexibility:

   • Most kids won’t have poetry in their lives. What does that mean of those that do? They will be exposed to completely different thoughts than those who don’t. The abundance of styles also insists that children learn to receive information in beautifully unique ways. All of which inspired flexibility and adaptability in the mind.

Incorporating poetry contributes to the creation of a beautiful mind, equipped with valuable skills for a successful and fulfilling life.

~Claire Honeycutt

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