World Poetry Day Children have direct and often intuitive access to poems. Rhythm, rhyme, images appeal directly to their sense of language – and they enjoy experimenting with language. In the international kindergartens of the DAI Heidelberg, children from over 20 countries are cared for in German and English, and reading and storytelling play a major role. For World Poetry Day, many of them spoke English children’s poems or even made up their own poems. This resulted in audio files accompanied by photographs of each child – taken by educator and photographer Tanya Gautam – as well as small works of art that children drew to accompany a poem. It is wonderful to hear and read how poetic children’s view of their world is, how imaginatively they express themselves. Photo 1. The whole world is just glitter and volcanoes go to the beach. There they explode and kiss the sky with stardust. Half a decade Old, she paints clouds pouring rainbow rain and holds her heart in each drop. https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Nr-1.mp3 Inspiration courtesy : Clio. Writing & Photo courtesy : Tanya. Music courtesy : Dizzy Rodriguez. Photo 2. What happens if you dip this stick in water and lift it up In the air? In a world both gold and gray, each of us lives to ask And find — Treasure hides in plain sight and the clue is always joy. https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Nr-2.mp3 Inspiration courtesy : Aleksander & Kei. Writing & Photo courtesy : Tanya. Music courtesy : Dizzy Rodriguez. Photo 3. Come here, lady bug! Please hop on this leaf I got for you so I can take a closer look and learn that this is who we are — Pretty birds flying in the kind air of this Earth, together. https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Nr-3.mp3 Inspiration courtesy : Aline, Clio & Emilia. Writing & photo courtesy : Tanya. Photo 4. There is a place where winged unicorns jump rainbows and make friends — Where everything is covered in love and light bends — Where people believe in magic and live like today is all we ever have. https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Nr-4.mp3 Inspiration courtesy : Amalia. Writing & photo courtesy : Tanya. Music courtesy : Dizzy Rodriguez. Photo 5. We feel and sleep better in the warmth of a loved one’s embrace. At night, like you, we chase dreams that in the morrow we forget. But through your curious questions, we begin again, to remember. https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Nr-5.mp3 Inspiration courtesy : Vanessa and Louisa. Writing & photo courtesy : Tanya. Music courtesy : Dizzy Rodriguez. happy world poetry day https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/happy-world-poetry-day.mp3 Jellyfish Vanessa https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/jellyfish-vanessa.mp3 Julie Matheos und Sabrine https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Julie-Matheos-und-Sabrine.mp3 louisa twinkle https://dai-heidelberg.de/de/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/louisa-twinkle.mp3