Are you 6 to 14 years old? Do you live in Toronto? Write a poem about our beautiful parks and you could be the winner of the city's first Children’s Spring Poetry Contest!
Do you have any favourite memories of spending time in parks? What do you love about being outdoors in the springtime? Have you ever spotted wildlife on a nature walk? Write about it!
Write about riding your bike, the breeze against your face. Write about flowers blooming and raindrops collecting on their petals. Write about walking your dog and the startled squirrels you meet along the way. Write about climbing and seesawing, sliding and swinging, the sights and sounds of the best day ever on the playground. Write about how a robin's nest makes you feel. Write about running through a splash pad towards the music of the ice cream truck.
Poetry is a way to reflect on your thoughts and feelings, and to express your creativity and imagination. Need inspiration? Read a lot of poems! In the park, at the library, on a boat, in the dentist's chair. 😁 April is Poetry Month, after all. Browse our poetry books and ask at your library to see if there are any writing programs coming up.
Enter the contest on the City of Toronto website. (Make sure you have a grown-up's permission, of course.) Remember, your poem must be your original work. It should be 300 words or less, but it doesn't have to rhyme—it could be free verse, narrative or acrostic, dub or spoken word.
The deadline is Monday, May 5 at noon. Happy poem writing!