Home & Garden Home Celebrate National Poetry Day by Reading Nature Poems to Children By Katherine Martinko Senior Writer University of Toronto Katherine Martinko is a writer and expert in sustainable living. She holds a degree in English Literature and History from the University of Toronto. our editorial process Twitter Twitter Katherine Martinko Updated October 11, 2018 10'000 Hours / Getty Images Share Twitter Pinterest Email Home Family Pest Control Natural Cleaning DIY Green Living Thrift & Minimalism Sustainable Eating The following six poems are favorites in this writer's kid-filled house. In recent weeks, my kids and I have started reading poetry together before bed. We have several books of poems geared toward young children, and every night we flip through them to find cute, engaging rhymes to read aloud. My kids sit spellbound by the rhythm, the humor, the distilled descriptions of a world they know and love, and beg for more. Their favorite poems are about nature, animals, and the weather. When I discovered that today, 4 October 2018, happens to be National Poetry Day, it felt fitting to share some of my family's favorite read-aloud poems, specifically those that celebrate the natural world. If you have little ones in your life, you too may want to read these aloud. They're catchy, quirky, and beautiful, and anything that can foster a love of nature in the next generation is a worthwhile investment. 1. RAIN by Spike Milligan There are holes in the skyWhere the rain gets in,But they're ever so small,That's why rain is thin. 2. THE CATERPILLAR by Christina Rossetti Brown and furry,Caterpillar in a hurry;Take your walkTo the shady leaf or stalk. May no toad spy you,May the little birds pass by you;Spin and die,To live again a butterfly. 3. I'M GLAD THE SKY IS PAINTED BLUE, Anon. I'm glad the sky is painted blue,And the earth is painted green,With such a lot of nice fresh airAll sandwiched in between. 4. AT THE ZOO by William Thackeray First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;Then I saw the monkeys — mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt! 5. THE PASTURE by Robert Frost I’m going out to clean the pasture spring;I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):I sha’n’t be gone long — You come too. I’m going out to fetch the little calfThat’s standing by the mother. It’s so young,It totters when she licks it with her tongue.I sha’n’t be gone long — You come too. 6. A BIRD CAME DOWN THE WALK by Emily Dickinson A Bird came down the Walk —He did not know I saw —He bit an Angleworm in halvesAnd ate the fellow, raw, And then he drank a DewFrom a convenient Grass —And then hopped sidewise to the WallTo let a Beetle pass — He glanced with rapid eyesThat hurried all around —They looked like frightened Beads, I thought —He stirred his Velvet Head Like one in danger, Cautious,I offered him a CrumbAnd he unrolled his feathersAnd rowed him softer home — Than Oars divide the Ocean,Too silver for a seam —Or Butterflies, off Banks of NoonLeap, plashless as they swim. Do you have favorite poems to read with children?