Haikus, A Fun Way To Make Poetry With Children
Haikus are a type of short Japanese poetry that alludes to nature. But they are, in turn, a fun way to do poetry with children.
The classic haiku is made up of 17 syllables distributed in three verses of 5, 7 and 5 syllables, respectively, although today there are some variations in terms of verses and theme. Do you want to know more about this type of poetry? Do you want to learn to write haikus for children and have a fun time with your children? Here’s how.
Origin of haikus
Haiku is a type of short Japanese poetry. Its popularity in Japan began in the mid-17th century, thanks to the Japanese poet Mastsuo Bashoo. Later, other poets followed, such as Yosa Buson and the great master of haiku, Kobayashi Issa.
However, for years, haiku is no longer the exclusive poetry of the Japanese. Through the Mexican poets José Juan Tablada and Octavio Paz, haikus spread through Spanish-American literature, and became the shortest universal poetry.
Metric and theme
As we said at the beginning, haiku is made up of 17 syllables divided into three verses. The first verse is made up of 5 syllables, the second of 7 and the third of 5 other syllables. This is the metric of classic haiku, although the syllables can be varied between the verses, but the total must be 17.
Haikus are not only the combination of words, but must convey a feeling and must conquer the reader. For this very reason, for a haiku to be considered really good, you have to choose words that, together, provide an emotion.
There are many haikus and very varied themes. However, the main theme of classic haiku is nature. At the same time, its authors reflected the feelings they experienced when observing and contemplating the environment. So, if you want to preserve its essence, it is best to think of a natural environment.
In addition, one of the requirements to compose a haiku is the introduction of kigo , a word that refers to a season of the year. Although it is not necessary to name the season of the year, but rather something that represents it, such as “the icy dawn of winter”; “dry leaves”; “Flowers reborn”; “The hot summer sun” …
Names of animals and plants can also be used, since, as we have said, these short poems can be about anything. In reality, haiku offers as many possibilities as you have creative ability.
How to write haikus for children?
Children have innate creativity, which is essential for creating haikus. They can instantly catch an image and describe it to their shape by turning it into a haiku. They have an amazing ability to discover the little things that adults miss. Therefore, they must be encouraged to observe nature, imagine and describe what they see, what excites and amazes them.
Simply, by teaching them to feel the moment, to observe and assimilate the environment that surrounds them through their five senses, we can create a lot of fun haikus with our children.
In addition to practicing creative writing and being an enriching activity, through haikus, children will improve their reading ability, expressiveness, and learn vocabulary and metrics. But the most valuable of all is that they will get a taste for poetry.
Recommendations to start writing haikus
- Read other haikus. If we are not familiar with this type of short poetry, it is best that, before we start writing, we read haikus together with our children. Thus, we can see the essence they contain. Of course, let’s read haikus according to their age, so they can understand them.
- Contemplate everything that is around us. Although we are not aware, the environment that surrounds us transmits emotions and sensations. For example, have you stopped to think about what you feel when you see snow behind the windows of your house? And when you see the sunset on a summer night or a huge cloud of birds? In all of us there is an emotion behind what we see and live that we can capture in a haiku.
- Tell something. Writing a haiku is not putting words together and that the verses rhyme. If they don’t tell us anything, it’s not haiku. We must create a very short story that makes sense and that also excites. It is not an easy task, because saying the least should mean a lot, but, with practice and imagination, children will create fabulous haikus.
Some examples
To have a more global idea of what a haiku is, we leave you some examples of well-known writers.
Moonless night.
The tempest squeezes
the old cedars.
-Matsuo Basho-
The butterfly
will remember forever,
which was a worm.
-Mario Benedetti-
On the sand,
bird writing,
memories of the wind.
-Octavio Paz-
Yesterday passed
today also passed;
spring is leaving.
-Yosa Buson-
Recommendations on haikus for children
Once we have seen how to do haikus and the possibilities that exist, we invite you to practice this type of poetry with your children. Incredible poems will surely emerge that will surprise you!
In any case, if you dare to read books about haikus with your children, you can try one of these: Haikus for children, by Anna Duart; To the wind: anthologies of haikus ; Haikus for children. The four elements, by Luz de Olmo; or Creatures seen or dreamed, by Carlos Urzáa.
In this last book you will find riddles in the form of haikus about many creatures, some seen and others not so much. What are you waiting for to enter this poetic world with your children?
