Some concepts taught and skills readily reinforced through poems daily:
•love of poetry and language •increase memory skills •develop concepts •rhyme scheme •rhyming words •word families •endings •contractions •antonyms/synonyms/homonyms •little words within big words • vowel sounds • figurative language (metaphors & similes) •parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.) •identifying facts (especially in Meish Goldish's poems!) •type of poem (couplet, etc.) •handwriting lessons •alliteration •quotation marks •vocabulary •sequence •counting skills •dictionary & thesaurus use •poet studies

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Index of Poems

Properties of Water and Water Uses
Floating and Sinking by Meish Goldish
Water by Meish Goldish
Happiness by A. A. Milne
After My Bath by Aileen Fisher
Bebop Bath by Bobbi Katz
Bathtime
Rub-A-Dub-Dub... by Mabel Chandler Duch
Our Washing Machine by Patricia Hubbell
Dickery Dean by Dennis Lee
Drinking Fountain by Ethel Jacobson
Tiny Tim jump rope rhyme
Water's Way by Carol Weston
Water is a Lovely Thing by Julia W. Wolfe
Jack and Jill
Galoshes by Rhoda W. Bacmeister
Bella Had an Umbrella by Eve Merriam
Puddle Play
My Umbrella by Gina Bell-Zano

Water Cycle Poems
Water Cycle (song) by Meish Goldish
The Water Cycle by Helen H. Moore
Bubble

Weather Poems
What Makes Weather? by Helen H. Moore
Weather by Meish Goldish
Weather by Eve Merriam
Whether the Weather... Anonymous
Outside / Inside by Carol Diggory Shields
The Wind Has Such a Rainy Sound by Christina Rossetti
Wind by Meish Goldish
Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti
Blow, Wind, Blow! Traditional
Pirate Wind by Mary Jane Carr
Cloud by Meish Goldish
Clouds by Mabel Chandler Duch
I Am Riding on a Cloud by Jack Prelutsky
Looking at the Clouds by Jill Eggleton
March Wind
Mr. Wind by Jill Eggleton
This Little Old Man by Jack Prelutsky

Weather: Thunder and Lightning Poems
The Summer Storm by Rebecca Caudill
Thunder and Lightning (song) by Meish Goldish
Thunder
Storm by Helen H. Moore
Start of a Storm by Lou Ann Welte
Summer Rain by Elizabeth Coatsworth

Weather: Rain Poems
Raindrops by Helen H. Moore
Rain (song) by Meish Goldish
Rain by Robert Louis Stevenson
Rain, Rain, Go Away, Traditional
Rain on the Window by Elizabeth Searle Lamb
Misty-Moisty
I Like When It's Mizzly by Aileen Fisher
Rainy Ride by Mabel Chandler Duch
The Rain
Things to Do If You Are the Rain by Bobbi Katz
Things to Do If You Are the Snow by Bobbi Katz
Summer Shower by David McCord
Rainy Day Song
Little Duck
Is Only Known by Dorothy Aldis
Rainbow (song) by Meish Goldish
A Rainbow Riddle Poem by Helen H. Moore
Fog by Carl Sandburg
The Fog Horn by Edith H. Newlin
In the Fog by Lilian Moore
Today's a Foggy Foggy Day by Jack Prelutsky
Fog by Mabel Chandler Duch

Weather: Snow Poems
Snow Words by Helen Moore
Snow by Meish Goldish
Snow by Alice Wilkins
Falling Snow
White Snow by Helen H. Moore
The More It Snows by A.A. Milne
Things to Do If You Are the Snow by Bobbi Katz
Cynthia in the Snow by Gwendolyn Brooks
Laughing Boy by Richard Wright
The Night by Jack Prelutsky
Snow Flakes by Louise Abney
Skiing by Marchette Chute
Icicles by Meish Goldish
Ice (song) by Meish Goldish
Ice by Dorothy Aldis
Nine Mice by Jack Prelutsky
Snowman by Helen Moore
Snowman Sniffles by N.M. Bodecker
Snow Haiku by Helen H. Moore
Winter Morning by Ogden Nash

Floating and Sinking

Why do things float?
Why do things sink?
What do you think?
What do you think?
Things that float
Are lighter than water.
That's why they float.
That's why they float.
Things that sink
Are heavier than water.
That's why they sink.
That's why they sink.

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Water

Water, water everywhere, water all around,
Water in the ocean, water in the ground.

Water in a river, water in a creek,
Water in a faucet with a drip-drip leak!

Water in a fountain, water in a lake,
Water on a flower, as day begins to break.

Water from a waterfall, rushing down from high,
Water from a dark cloud, raining from the sky.

Water boiling hot, water frozen ice,
Water in a blue lagoon, clean and clear and nice.

Water at a fire, gushing through a hose,
Water in a garden, so every flower grows.

Water for the animals swimming in the sea,
Water, water everywhere for you and for me!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Tiny Tim

I had a little duck,
His name was Tiny Tim,
I put him in the tub
To see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water,
And ate up all the soap;
He choked up last night
With a bubble in his throat.

Jump Rope rhyme, from Poems in Your Pocket, Poems to Share Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

Bebop Bath

It's a scrubble-de-time.
It's a bubble-de-time.
It's a rub-dub-a-dub
Dub-a-dubble-de-time!
You can wash with a swash.
You can swim with a swish.
Be a seal!
   Be a whale!
      Be a fish if you wish!
You can flip-flop your arms.
You can wig-wag your feet.
You can sail all your boats.
Let a duck join the fleet!
'Cause …
It's a scrubble-de-time.
It's a bubble-de-time.
It's a rub-dub-a-dub
Dub-a-dubble-de-time!

by Bobbi Katz, Poems Just for Us!

Snowman

Snowflakes falling
thick and fast,
build a snowman
make him last…

Snowflakes falling,
swirling, slow,
my snowman melted—
where'd he go?

by Helen Moore

Snow Words

Snow jacket, snow boots
Snow pants, snow suits,
Snowflakes, snowstorm—
Snow is cold, but we feel warm.

by Helen Moore

Water's Way

Frozen water becomes ice,
Boiled water makes steam.
I like water in a fountain
Or in a flowing stream.

by Carol Weston

After My Bath

After my bath
I try, try, try
to wipe myself
till I'm dry, dry, dry.

Hands to wipe
and fingers and toes
and two wet legs
and a shiny nose.

Just think how much
less time I'd take
if I were a dog
and could shake,
            shake,
                 shake.

by Aileen Fisher, from Poems in Your Pocket, Poems to Share Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

Nine Mice

Nine mice on tiny tricycles
went riding on the ice,
they rode in spite of warning signs,
they rode despite advice.

The signs were right, the ice was thin,
in half a trice, the mice fell in,
and from their chins down to their toes,
those mice entirely froze.

Nine mindless mice, who paid the price,
are thawing slowly by the ice,
still sitting on their tricycles
…nine white and shiny micicles!

Jack Prelutsky
from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

Rainbow
(sung to "There's a Hole in the Bucket")

There's an arc in a rainbow,
So pretty, so pretty,
There's an arc in a rainbow,
With colors you see.

The sun after rain
Makes the colors, the colors.
The sun after rain
Makes the colors you see.

There's red and there's orange
And there's yellow so pretty.
There's red and there's orange
And there's yellow you see.

There's green and there's blue
And there's violet so pretty.
There's green and there's blue
And there's violet you see.

There's an arc in a rainbow,
So pretty, so pretty.
There's an arc in a rainbow,
With colors you see!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Our Washing Machine

Our washing machine went whisity whirr,
Whisity, whisity, whirr.

One day at noon it went whisity click!
Whisity, whisity, whisity, click!
Click, grr, click, grr, click, grr, click!

Call the repairman.
Fix it … Quick!

by Patricia Hubbell, Dandelion Puffs, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

Rain

The rain is raining all around,
      it falls on field and tree.
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Raindrops

rain
drops
drip
down
all
day
long.

drip down,
slip down,
splashing out their song.

thunder-crashing
splishing
splashing,
slipping,
dripping,

raining down
their rainy
raindrop
song.

by Helen H. Moore

Water Cycle
(sung to "It's Raining, It's Pouring")

It's raining, it's pouring,
The oceans are storing
Water from the falling rain
While thunderclouds are roaring.

The rain now is stopping,
The rain's no longer dropping.
Sun comes out and soaks up water
Like a mop that's mopping.

The water's still there now,
But hidden in the air now.
In the clouds it makes a home
Until there's rain to share now.

It's raining, it's pouring…

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

White Snow

The snow is white and clean.
It makes a lovely scene.

It covers cars, and trees, and streets,
and makes the world go "hush."
It looks so very pretty—
until it turns to slush!

by Helen H. Moore

Snow Flakes

Feathery flakes of snow come down,
Swirling, twirling, drifting,
Until they cover all the town,
Swirling, twirling, drifting,
People hurry to and fro,
Riding, sliding, skipping,
Through the silvery powdered snow,
Riding, sliding, skipping,
Motor cars are going home,
Shifting, swerving, dripping,
Through the swirling snowy foam,
Shifting, swerving, dripping.

by Louise Abney, from Talking Tigers, Poems to Share
Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

Falling Snow

See the pretty snowflakes
Falling from the sky.
On the walk and housetops
Soft and thick they lie.

On the window-ledges
On the branches bare:
Now how fast they gather,
Filling all the air.
Look into the garden,
where the grass was green;
Covered by the snowflakes,
Not a blade is seen.

Now the bare black bushes,
All look soft and white,
Every twig is laden—
What a pretty sight!

Author Unknown

I see icy icicles
Hanging off the trees.
I see icy icicles
Forming in the freeze!
Here, oh here's the way
That an icicle will form:
A stream of water drips
While the air is still warm.
When the air turns colder
And water starts to freeze,
It forms a stick of ice
That hangs from the trees!
I see icy icicles!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Snow Haiku

among the bare trees,
snow on the hill, and
red boots.

by Helen H. Moore

Storm

Outside, thunder crashes!
Outside, lightening flashes!
Outside, wild rain lashes!

Inside, we are safe.
Inside, we are warm.
Inside, there is comfort.
Outside, there is STORM!

by Helen H. Moore

Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

by Carl Sandburg

Misty-moisty

Misty-moisty was the morn,
And cloudy was the weather.
There I met an old man,
Dressed all in leather.
Dressed all in leather,
Against the wind and rain.
With a how do you do?
And a how do you do?
And a how do you do, again.

from Bibbilibonty Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

Weather

Weather is hot,
Weather is cold,
Weather is changing
As the weeks unfold.

Skies are cloudy,
Skies are fair,
Skies are changing
In the air.

It is raining,
It is snowing,
It is windy
With breezes blowing.

Days are foggy,
Days are clear,
Weather is changing
Throughout the year!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

The Rain

Pitter-patter, raindrops,
Falling from the sky;
Here is my umbrella
To keep me safe and dry!

When the rain is over,
And the sun begins to glow,
Little flowers start to bud,
And grow and grow and grow!

from Poems in Your Pocket, Poems to Share Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

Wind

Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Feel the wind push!
Blow! Blow! Blow!
Where'd my hat go?

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

The Summer Storm

The summer storm comes
     Bolting white lightning; it goes
          Muttering thunder.

by Rebecca Caudill

Cloud

What is fluffy?
What is white?
What can you see
When skies are bright?
What can float?
What brings rain?
What may be higher
Than a bird or plane?
Say it out loud:
Cloud!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Thunder and Lightning
(sung to "Pop Goes the Weasel")

When a storm begins in the clouds,
It sometimes may look frightening.
You see a quick electrical spark—
Flash! goes the lightning!

Long and thin and streaky and fast,
Its glow is oh so brightening.
Watch for the electric spark—
Flash! goes the lightning!

When a storm begins in the clouds,
It truly is a wonder.
You hear a rumble loud in the sky—
Clap! goes the thunder!

Lightning bolts are heating the air,
Over clouds and under.
When the air expands enough—
Clap! goes the thunder!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Things to Do If You Are the Snow

Dance, dance, dance all the night.
Fly in the sky—
Cover all the streets—
Cover all the grass—
Pile up on the rooftops—
Perch on the branches of all the trees—
Sparkle when the sun shines—
Quiet the city.
Close the schools.

by Bobbi Katz, Poems Just for Us

Things to Do If You Are the Rain

Be gentle.
Make buildings look soft and fuzzy.
Plip-plop in puddles.
Tap, tap, tap against the rooftops.
Sing your very own song.
Make the grass green.
Make the world smell special.
Ride away on a racy, gray cloud.
Leave a rainbow!

by Bobbi Katz, Poems Just for Us

Thunder

Do you know
What thunder is?
Beyond those clouds
So gray,
A giant's children
Slammed a door,
And skipped around
The sky to play
In quite a
Helter-skelter way.
So when you hear
The thunder, there
Are giant's children in the air.

A Riddle Poem...

Red and green and delicate blue,
orange, yellow, and violet, too.
Indigo's there, a deep, dark, hue.
I see, but can't touch it, and neither
can you!

What is it? (A rainbow!)

by Helen H. Moore

Snow

Tiny ice crystals
In freezing weather,
Tiny ice crystals
Sticking together.
What do they make?
A single snowflake!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Blow, Wind, Blow!

Blow, wind, blow!
And go, mill, go!
That the miller may grind his corn;
That the baker may take it,
And into bread make it,
And bring us a loaf in the morn.

Traditional
from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

The More It Snows

The more it
SNOWS-tiddely-pom,
The more it
GOES-tiddely-pom
The more it
GOES-tiddely-pom
On
Snowing.

And nobody
KNOWS-tiddely-pom,
How cold my
TOES-tiddely-pom,
How cold my
TOES-tiddely-pom
Are
Growing.

by A. A. Milne, from Poems in Your Pocket, Poems to Share Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape & 6 book copies)

The Fog Horn

Foggy, foggy, over the water,
foggy, foggy, over the bay,
Foggy, so foggy the boats are like shadows
and how can they find their way?

Far away and over the water
Hear the voice of the fog horn say
"Whoo-oo-oo, I'm guiding you,
Boats that are out on the bay."

Foggy, foggy, over the water,
Foggy, foggy, over the bay,
And through the fog the boats go slowly
While the fog horn tells them the way.

Edith H. Newlin
from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

Ice
(Sung to "Three Blind Mice")

We find ice, we find ice,
Where it is cold, where it is cold.
When the temperature drops to 32 degrees,
That's when water starts to freeze,
And frozen water guarantees

That we find ice!

We find ice, we find ice,
Inside the fridge, inside the fridge.
Ice is there, but did you know
That frost and sleet and hail and snow
Are also forms of ice, it's so!
Oh, we find ice!

by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books

Snow

The snow fell softly all the night.
It made a blanket soft and white.
It covered houses, flowers and ground,
But did not make a single sound!

Alice Wilkins
from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

The Water Cycle

When I was young
I used to think
that water came
from
the kitchen sink.

But now I'm older,
and I know,
that water comes
from rain and snow.
It stays there, waiting,
in the sky,
in clouds above
our world so high.
And when it falls,
it flows along,
and splashes out
a watery song,
as each raindrop
is joined by more
and rushes to
the ocean shore,
or to a lake, a brook, a stream,
from which it rises,
just like steam.
But while it's down here
what do you think?
Some DOES go to
the kitchen sink!

by Helen H. Moore

What Makes Weather?

What makes weather?
Do you know?
What makes rain,
and sleet,
and snow?

What makes summer warm and breezy?
What makes winter cold and sneezy?
What makes autumn crisp and keen?
What makes spring so warm and green?

I know, I know
what makes weather!
Lots of things that work together:
Wind and water,
earth's rotation,
bring the seasons
to each nation.
So now we all know
what makes weather—
lots of things that
work together!

by Helen H. Moore

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down,
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Then up Jack got,
And home did trot,
As fast as he could caper;
To old Dame Dob,
Who patched his nob
With vinegar and brown paper.

Traditional
from A Pocket Full of Licorice, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

I Like It When It's Mizzly

I like it when it's mizzly
and just a little drizzly
so everything looks far away
and make-believe and frizzly.

by Aileen Fisher
from A Pocket Full of Licorice, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

Galoshes

Susie's galoshes
Make splishes and sploshes
And slooshes and sloshes,
As Susie steps slowly
Along in the slush.

They stamp and they tramp
On the ice and concrete,
They get stuck in the muck and the mud;
But Susie likes must best to hear

The slippery slush
As it slooshes and sloshes
And splishes and sploshes
All round her galoshes!

Rhoda W. Bacmeister

from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day,
Little Johnny wants to play.
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again.

Traditional

from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

Ice

When it is the winter time
I run up the street
And I make the ice laugh
With my little feet—
"Crickle, crackle, crickle
Crrreeet, crrreeet, crrreeet."

Dorothy Aldis
from Splishes and Sploshes, Poems to Share, Rigby Literacy 2000 ( has tape and 6 student books)

My Umbrella

See this umbrella? It never got wet.
It never was out in a rainstorm yet.
When rain comes pouring from the sky,
My umbrella is home, all warm, all dry!
My umbrella has not caught a raindrop yet;
I am the one who always gets wet!

Gina Bell-Zano

Drinking Fountain

At first just a trickle,
Two drops splash and tickle.
And then there's a spurt,
A sudden big squirt,
Right smack in my eye:
The fountain must think
That I need a face-wash
More than a drink!

Ethel Jacobson

Is Only Known

Rain in the city brings him out
Of sidewalk cracks. He crawls about,
Is very good at twists and bends;
But where he begins or where he ends
or what his thoughts are, as he squirms,
Is only known to other worms.

Dorothy Aldis

Water is a Lovely Thing

Water is a lovely thing—
Dark and ripply in a spring,
Dark and quiet in a pool,
In a puddle brown and cool;
In the river blue and gray,
In a raindrop silver gray,
In a fountain crystal bright;
In a pitcher frosty cold,
In a bubble pink and gold;
In a happy summer sea
Just as green as green can be;
In a rainbow far unfurled,
Every color in the world;
All the year from spring to spring,
Water is a lovely thing.

Julia W. Wolfe

Rain on the Window

WATCH!
One drop
  starts
   slowly
    down—

then with a rush
joins a second,
picks up a third!

Now
 the big
  three-drop
   races
    to the
     bottom
      PLOP!

Elizabeth Searle Lamb    

Dickery Dean

"What's the matter
   With Dickery Dean?
He jumped right into
   The washing machine!"

"Nothing's the matter
   with Dickery Dean—
He dove in dirty,
   And he jumped out clean!"

Dennis Lee

Summer Rain

What could be lovelier than to hear
  the summer rain
  cutting across the heat, as scythes
  cutting across grain?
  Falling upon the steaming roof
  with sweet uproar,
  tapping and rapping wildly
  at the door?

No, do not lift the latch,
  but through the pane
  we'll stand and watch the circus pageant
  of the rain,
  and see the lightening, like a tiger,
  striped and dread,
  and hear the thunder cross the shaken sky
  with elephant tread.

Elizabeth Coatsworth

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.

Christina Rossetti

The Wind Has Such a Rainy Sound

The wind has such a rainy sound
   Moaning through the town,
The sea has such a windy sound,—
   Will the ships go down?

The apples in the orchard
   Tumble from their tree,—
Oh will the ships go down, go down,
   In the windy sea?

Christina Rossetti

Weather

Dot a dot dot   dot a dot dot
Spotting the windowpane.
Spack a spack speck   flick a flack fleck
Freckling the windowpane.

A spatter a scatter   a wet cat a clatter
A splatter a rumble outside.
Umbrella umbrella umbrella umbrella
Bumbershoot barrel of rain.

Slosh a galosh   slosh a galosh
Slither and slather and glide
A puddle a jump a puddle a jump
A puddle a jump puddle splosh
A juddle a pump a luddle a dump a
Puddmuddle jump in and slide!

Eve Merriam

Summer Shower

Window window window pane:
Let it let it let it rain
Drop by drop by drop by drop.

Run your rivers from the top
Zigzaggy down, like slow wet forks
Of lightning, so the slippery corks
Of bubbles float and overtake
Each other till three bubbles make
A kind of boat too fat to fit
The river. That's the end of it.
        Straight
        down
        it
        slides
        and
        with
        a
        splash
Is lost against the window sash.

Window window window pane:
Let it let it let it rain.

David McCord

Snowman Sniffles

At winter's end
a snowman grows
a snowdrop
on his carrot nose,

a little, sad,
late-season sniff
dried by the spring
wind's handkerchief.

But day and night
the sniffles drop
like flower buds
—they never stop,

until you wake
and find one day
the cold, old man
has run away,

and winter's winds
that blow and pass
let drifts of snowdrops
in the grass,

reminding us:
where such things grow
a snowman sniffed
not long ago.

N. M. Bodecker

Cynthia in the Snow

It SUSHES.
It hushes
The loudness in the road.
It flitters-twitters,
And laughs away from me.
It laughs a lovely whiteness,
and whitely whirs away,
To be
Some otherwhere,
Still white as milk or shirts.
So beautiful it hurts.

Gwendolyn Brooks

In the Fog

Stand still.
The fog wraps you up
and no one can find you.

Walk.
The fog opens up
to let you through
and closes behind you.

Lilian Moore

Winter Morning

Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree tumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite.
That's the season to be young,
Catching snowflakes on your tongue.
Snow is snowy when it's snowing,
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.

Ogden Nash

Pirate Wind

The autumn wind's a pirate,
  Blustering in from sea;
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
  Swaggering boist'rously.

His skin is weather-beaten;
  He wears a yellow sash,
With a handkerchief red about his head.
  And a bristling black mustache.

He laughs as he storms the country,
  A loud laugh and a bold;
And the trees all quake and shiver and shake,
  As he robs them of their gold.

The autumn wind's a pirate,
  Pillaging just for fun;
He'll snatch your hat as quick as that,
  And laugh to see you run!

Mary Jane Carr

January Thaw

The sun came out         Form circle with arms and lift them high.
And the snowman cried.     Boohoo loudly.
His tears ran down        Move fingers slowly down cheeks.
On every side.
His tears ran down        Boohoo loudly.
Till the spot was cleared.
He cried so hard
That he disappeared.       Sink to floor. 

Puddle Play

The rain comes down,     Raise & lower arms while fluttering fingers
And under my feet       point down
Are trees and clouds
All over the street.
I splash through the clouds,  kick and splash
And I climb through trees.   make climbing motions
I feel like a giant         stretch tall
With boots to my knees.    pull up boots

Rainy Day Song
Start from standing position. Throughout raise and lower arms while fluttering fingers.

It's raining hard,      
And people say,
"It's raining cats
And dogs today."
It's raining cats.
"Meow, meow."             Meow loudly.
It's raining puppy dogs.
"Bow-wow."              Bark loudly.

March Wind Start from standing position.

The wind is blowing softly.   Blow with almost no sound.
March is a windy time.   
the wind is blowing softly.   Blow with almost no sound.
The trees are keeping time.  Sway arms.
The wind is blowing harder.   Blow harder.
The trees are bending down.  Bend down.
And now my hat has flown away.   Put hands to head .
I'll chase it through the town.   Run around room .

Little Duck  Squat in preparation for waddling

In raincoat of yellow   Smooth "feathers" on each arm.
And rubbers of red,   Touch feet.
With rain pouring down on his back,   Raise and lower arms while fluttering fingers.
This fine little fellow   
Just lifts up his head   Stretch neck.
And gives out his happiest "Quack."   Quack and waddle about after saying line.

Bathtime

Turn on the faucet.     Pretend to turn on faucet.
Jump in the tub.       Jump.
Pick up the washcloth   Pretend to pick up washcloth.
And scrubbity-scrub    Make scrubbing motions.
Open the drain.         Pretend to open drain.
When the water runs through
   GURGLE, GURGLE, SWOOSH   Make drain noises.
Hop right out         Hop.
Or you might go, too!

Today's a Foggy Foggy Day

Today's a foggy foggy day,
it's hard to see a thing,
I cannot see the robins,
though I think I hear them sing.
The flowers are invisible,
I can't discern the trees,
my feet are imperceptible,
I barely see my knees.

Today's a foggy foggy day,
it's dreary and it's weird,
the sun is not in evidence,
the sky has disappeared.
There's nothing I can recognize,
I'm feeling mystified,
and I suspect I'll find it's worse
as soon as I'm outside.

Jack Prelutsky, from A Pizza the Size of the Sun

I Am Riding on a Cloud

I am riding on a cloud
in the middle of the sky,
making idle conversation
with the birds who happen by.
I'm uncertain how I got here,
but I surely do not care.
I'm enchanted to be floating
unencumbered in the air.

I may try to catch a rainbow
with my rainbow-catching mitt,
build imaginary castles,
or do nothing else but sit.
What I do is unimportant,
just as long as I can stay
in my chariot of billows
on this dreamy summer day.

Jack Prelutsky, from A Pizza the Size of the Sun

Clouds

Over in the meadow,
There's a place where I
Like to sit beneath a tree
And watch the clouds drift by:
Thin wispy clouds
Stretched across the sky;
Thick, puffy clouds
Piled up high.
When you look up at the clouds,
You can see most anything:
Cloud knights guard
A castle for the king;
Cloud cats prowl
On little cloud feet;
And cloud children play
On a cloud-lined street.
Cloud horses gallop;
And cloud birds fly,
When I sit beneath my tree
And watch the clouds drift by.

Mabel Chandler Duch, from Poems to Grow On p. 19

Fog

I like fog—it's a mystery
You never know what you might see.
What might appear quite suddenly
From out of the mist.

You never know just what's in store:
A dragon or a dinosaur;
A giant or a mighty king.
It might be almost anything
From out of the mist.

Mabel Chandler Duch, from Poems to Grow On p. 22

Laughing Boy

In the falling snow
A laughing boy holds out his palms
Until they are white.

Richard Wright, from Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky

Rainy Ride

It's snug and dry within the car,
But wild and wet outside,
Though some complain and some may whine,
I like a rainy ride.
I like to hear the raindrops
Beating on the glass.
I like to watch the giant trucks
Splush-splashing as they pass.
I like to see the wipers
Swinging to and fro;
And watch the wriggling raindrops
As up the panes they go.
Riding through a rainstorm
It's great to be alive!
But Daddy says I feel that way
'Cause I don't have to drive.

Mabel Chandler Duch, from Poems to Grow On p. 25

Rub-A-Dub-Dub, That's Me in the Tub

Today, I played at "Hide and Seek,"
Beneath the trees, beside the creek.

Of course, I got a little dirt
Upon myself, upon my shirt.

My mom insists a bath's a must
To rid myself of grime and dust.

Each reminder of the day,
Of exciting times at play,
Must be rubbed and washed away.

Mom will scrub each foot and knee
'Til I don't even look like me!

Mabel Chandler Duch, from Poems to Grow On p. 62

Skiing

I'm very good at skiing.
   I have a kind of knack
For I can do it frontways
   And also on my back.
And when I reach the bottom
   I give a sudden flop
And dig myself in sideways
   And that's the way I stop.

Marchette Chute, from Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky

Outside / Inside

Outside, the sky is cracking,
  The leaves are snapping.
The flag is snapping.
  Inside, we are coloring maps.

Outside, the wires are strumming,
  The air is humming,
A storm is coming.
  Inside, we are doing the states.

Outside, I would shout into the wind,
  I would twirl, dance, and spin,
Feel the rain against my skin.
  Inside, I am making Michigan blue.

Carol Diggory Shields, from Lunch Money and Other Poems About School

Bubble

"Bubble," said the kettle,
"Bubble," said the pot.
"Bubble, bubble, bubble,
We are getting very hot!"

Shall I take you off the fire?
"No, you need not trouble.
This is just the way we talk—
Bubble, bubble, bubble!"

Bella Had a New Umbrella

Bella had a new umbrella,
Didn't want to lose it,
So when she walked out in the rain
She didn't ever use it.

Her nose went sniff,
Her shoes went squish,
Her socks grew soggy,
Her glasses got foggy,
Her pockets filled with water
And a little green froggy.

All she could speak was a weak kachoo!
But Bella's umbrella
Stayed nice and new.

Eve Merriam

This Little Old Man

This little old man lived all alone,
And he a was a man of sorrow,
For if the weather was fair today,
He was sure it would rain tomorrow.

Jack Prelutsky, A. Nonny Mouse Writes Again!

The Night

The night was growing cold
As she trudged through snow and sleet,
And her nose was long and cold,
And her shoes were full of feet.

Jack Prelutsky, A. Nonny Mouse Writes Again!

Looking at the Clouds

Sometimes I lie
in the grass,
And I look at the clouds
up high,
And I dream I am riding
a white horse,
And I'm galloping over the sky.

Jill Eggleton, Now I Am Five: Rhymes to Read has 5 copies

Mr. Wind

Mr. Wind
Blows on the window
He tugs at the tree
He rattles on the door knob,
But he can't get me!

Jill Eggleton, Now I Am Five: Rhymes to Read has 5 copies