Poem Cards — Even If I Look Silly Doing It
I made these cards for a poem competition. But really, I made them for something deeper: To give children a tactile, joyful way to connect with language. To let rhythm live in their hands, not just their heads. To make memorization feel like play, not pressure. Was it worth the effort? I don’t know. But I do know this: teaching is an experiment. It’s trial and error. It’s “let’s try this and see.” It’s doing whatever I can to make learning stick, sparkle, and stay. So I laminated. I curated. I illustrated. Not because I had to—but because I could. And if one child stands on stage and recites with pride, then maybe that’s the success I was chasing all along. Sometimes I wonder if I look silly to my colleagues—spending hours laminating poem cards, choosing playful fonts, adding cartoon illustrations. Maybe I do. But honestly? Who cares. Yes, I used to care. I gave up before. I admit—I felt a little crazy when they criticized me for putting too much effort into things they thought were ...
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