He had eaten all his breakfast, and he had his ma’s consent
To see what he should chance to see and here’s the way he went

Up and down a fern frond, round and round a stone,
Down a gloomy gully where he loathed to be alone,

Up a mighty mountain range, seven inches high,
Through the fearful forest grass that nearly hid the sky,

Out along a bracken bridge, bending in the moss,
Till he reached a dreadful desert that was feet and feet across.

‘Twas a dry, deserted desert, and a trackless land to tread,
He wished that he was home again and tucked-up tight in bed.

His little legs were wobbly, his strength was nearly spent,
And so he turned around again and here’s the way he went-

Back away from desert lands feet and feet across,
Back along the bracken bridge bending in the moss,

Through the fearful forest grass shutting out the sky,
Up a mighty mountain range seven inches high,

Down a gloomy gully, where he loathed to be alone,
Up and down a fern frond and round and round a stone.

A dreary ant, a weary ant, resolved no more to roam,
He staggered up the garden path and popped back home.

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Courage, Independent Thinking

1. Why do you think the little sugar ant found some of his adventures so scary?

2. What do you think would have happened if he had kept adventuring?

3. Was it good for him to return home if he was too scared to go on? Why or why not?

Poem for Kids written by CJ Dennis

The post The Ant Explorer first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

To the Butterfly’s ball, and the Grasshopper’s feast;

The trumpeter, Gad-fly, has summoned the crew,

And the revels are now only waiting for you.

On the smooth-shaven grass, by the side of a wood,

Beneath a broad oak which for ages had stood,

See the children of earth, and the tenants of air,

To an evening’s amusement together repair.

And there came the Beetle, so blind and so black,

Who carried the Emmet, his friend, on his back;

And there came the Gnat and the Dragon-fly too,

With all their relations, green, orange, and blue.

And there came the Moth, with her plumage of down,

And the Hornet with jacket of yellow and brown;

And with him the Wasp, his companion, did bring;

But they promised that evening to lay by their sting.

Then the sly little Dormouse peeped out of his hole,

And led to the feast his blind cousin the Mole;

And the Snail, with her horns peeping out of her shell,

Came, fatigued with the distance, the length of an ell.

A mushroom the table, and on it was spread

A water-dock leaf, which their table-cloth made.

The viands were various, to each of their taste,

And the Bee brought the honey to sweeten the feast.

With steps most majestic the Snail did advance,

And he promised the gazers a minuet to dance;

But they all laughed so loud that he drew in his head,

And went in his own little chamber to bed.

Then, as evening gave way to the shadows of night,

Their watchman, the Glow-worm, come out with his light.

So home let us hasten, while yet we can see,

For no watchman is waiting for you or for me.

Poem for Kids written by William Roscoe

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Creativity

1. Would you like to go to the Butterfly’s Ball? What do you imagine you might see there?  

The post The Butterfly’s Ball first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

And nests among the trees;

The sailor sings of ropes and things

In ships upon the seas.

The children sing in far Japan,

The children sing in Spain;

The organ with the organ man 

Is singing in the rain.  

Poem for Kids written by Robert Louis Stevenson

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Feelings, Conversation

1. How does this poem make you feel? Why?

Community

1. This poem tells something about how we are all the same. What are some other things that people and animals like to do all across the world, which bring us together?

The post Singing first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet,

A man goes riding by.

Late in the night when the fires are out,

Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,

And ships are tossed at sea,

By, on the highway, low and loud,

By at the gallop goes he.

By at the gallop he goes, and then

By he comes back at the gallop again.

Halloween Poem for Kids written by Robert Louis Stevenson

Illustrations by Pixabay, with thanks.

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Creativity, Feelings

1. In this poem, the child imagines windy nights are a man riding around on his horse. What kinds of things can you imagine on windy nights? How do they make you feel?

The post Windy Nights first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Who should climb but little me?

I held the trunk with both my hands

And looked abroad on foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,

Adorned with flowers, before my eye,

And many pleasant places more

That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass

And be the sky’s blue looking-glass;

The dusty roads go up and down

With people tramping in to town.

If I could find a higher tree

Farther and farther I should see,

To where the grown-up river slips

Into the sea among the ships,

To where the roads on either hand

Lead onward into fairy land,

Where all the children dine at five,

And all the playthings come alive.

Classic Poem for Kids written by Robert Louis Stevenson

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Creativity, Independent Thinking

1. Why do you think the child in this poem feels like they are looking onto foreign lands – different places – when they are high up in the cherry tree?

2. Do you think the child really sees everything they say, or is some of it in their imagination? What makes you think this?

The post Foreign Lands first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

When my mama puts out the light,

I see the people marching by,

As plain as day, before my eye.

Armies and emperors and kings,

All carrying different kinds of things,

And marching in so grand a way,

You never saw the like by day.

So fine a show was never seen

At the great circus on the green;

For every kind of beast and man

Is marching in that caravan.

At first they move a little slow,

But still the faster on they go,

And still beside them close I keep

Until we reach the town of Sleep.

Poem for Kids written by Robert Louis Stevenson

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Conversation, Creativity

1. What kinds of things do you think about as you go to sleep?

2. Do you think sleep is a place? Why or why not?

The post Young Night-Thought first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Through sun and shower the pumpkin grew,

When the days were long and the skies were blue.

And it felt quite vain when its giant size

Was such that it carried away the prize

At the County Fair, when the people came,

And it wore a ticket and bore a name.

Alas for the pumpkin’s pride! One day

A boy and his mother took it away.

It was pared and sliced and pounded and stewed,

And the way it was treated was hard and rude.

It was sprinkled with sugar and seasoned with spice,

The boy and his mother pronounced it nice.

It was served in a paste, it was baked and browned,

And at last on a pantry shelf was found.

And on Thursday John, Mary, and Mabel

Will see it on aunty’s laden table.

For the pumpkin grew ’neath a summer sky

Just to turn at Thanksgiving into pie!

Thanksgiving Poem for Kids by Mary Mapes Dodge, edited by Ada M. Skinner and Eleanor L. Skinner in the Topaz Fairy Book.

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Conversation, Healthy Eating

1. Have you ever made a pie? How did you do it?

The post Pumpkin Pie first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

These are things I prize
And hold of dearest worth:
Light of the sapphire skies,
Peace of the silent hills,
Shelter of forests, comfort of the grass,
Music of birds, murmur of little rills,
Shadow of clouds that swiftly pass,
And, after showers,
The smell of flowers
And of the good brown earth,——
And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.
So let me keep
These treasures of the humble heart
In true possession, owning them by love.

Thankgiving poem written by Henry Van Dyke, a selection from ‘God of the Open Air’ in the Topaz Story Book, edited by Ada and Eleanor Skinner

Let’s Chat About The Stories ~ Ideas for Talking With Kids

Gratitude

1. This poem talks about some things the poet loves. What things in your life are you grateful for?

The post Thanksgiving Poem first appeared on Bedtime Stories.

Upon one wild and windy night——

Woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo——

We Jacks our lanterns all did light;

The wind—it surely knew—FOR——

Whistle and whistle—and whist! Now list!

Woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo——

Whirling and twirling, with turn and twist,

The wind—it softly blew.

It was the creepiest, scariest night——

Woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo,

We held our breath, then lost it quite;

The wind—it surely knew—FOR——

Whistle and whistle—and whist! Now list!

Woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo——

Whirling and twirling, with turn and twist,

The wind—it loudly blew.

It rose in all its main and might

Woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo——

It blew out every single light;

The Wind—it surely knew—FOR——

Whistle and whistle—and whist! Now list!

Woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo——

Whirling and twirling, with turn and twist,

That wind—it laughed—Ho-oh!

Halloween Poem for Kids written by Ada and Eleanor Skinner

LET’S CHAT ABOUT THE POEM ~ IDEAS FOR TALKING WITH KIDS

Creativity, Conversation

1. This poem invokes the wind on a Halloween night. What other things might the poem have spoken about?

2. What do you associate with Halloween?

The post Jack O’ Lantern Song first appeared on Bedtime Stories.