Children’s Poem & Meaning
Selected Poems
Educational PoemsThe Children's Hour
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.
From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.
A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.
A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!
They climb up into my turret
O’er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.
They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!
Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!
I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.
And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!
Overview Short Summary
The speaker describes children bursting into his room with affection and playfulness. Their energy turns the quiet hour into a joyful moment of love.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
This poem works for younger classroom themes because it honors children’s presence, voices, movement, and joy. It can support welcome back poem ideas for elementary students and classroom community.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is affectionate and playful. The mood is warm, lively, and loving.
There Was a Child Went Forth Every Day
There was a child went forth every day,
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.
The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird,
And the Third-month lambs and the sow’s pink-faint litter, and the mare’s foal and the cow’s calf,
And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pond-side,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there, and the beautiful curious liquid,
And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him.
The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him,
Winter-grain sprouts and those of the light-yellow corn, and the esculent roots of the garden,
And the apple-trees cover’d with blossoms and the fruit afterward, and wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road;
And the old drunkard staggering home from the outhouse of the tavern whence he had lately risen,
And the schoolmistress that pass’d on her way to the school,
And the friendly boys that pass’d, and the quarrelsome boys,
And the tidy and fresh-cheek’d girls, and the barefoot negro boy and girl,
And all the changes of city and country wherever he went.
His own parents, he that had father’d him and she that had conceiv’d him in her womb and birth’d him,
They gave this child more of themselves than that,
They gave him afterward every day, they became part of him.
The mother at home quietly placing the dishes on the supper-table,
The mother with mild words, clean her cap and gown, a wholesome odor falling off her person and clothes as she walks by,
The father, strong, self-sufficient, manly, mean, anger’d, unjust,
The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure,
The family usages, the language, the company, the furniture, the yearning and swelling heart,
Affection that will not be gainsay’d, the sense of what is real, the thought if after all it should prove unreal,
The doubts of day-time and the doubts of night-time, the curious whether and how,
Whether that which appears so is so, or is it all flashes and specks?
Men and women crowding fast in the streets, if they are not flashes and specks what are they?
The streets themselves and the façades of houses, and goods in the windows,
Vehicles, teams, the heavy-plank’d wharves, the huge crossing at the ferries,
The village on the highland seen from afar at sunset, the river between,
Shadows, aureola and mist, the light falling on roofs and gables of white or brown, three miles off,
The schooner near by sleepily dropping down the tide, the little boat slack-tow’d astern,
The hurrying tumbling waves, quick-broken crests, slapping,
The strata of color’d clouds, the long bar of maroon-tint away solitary by itself, the spread of purity it lies motionless in,
The horizon’s edge, the flying sea-crow, the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud;
These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.
Overview Short Summary
Whitman’s poem shows how everything a child sees, hears, and experiences becomes part of who that child is. Learning happens through nature, home, streets, people, school, and daily life.
Classroom Use Why This Poem Fits Back to School
This poem is a thoughtful choice for the beginning of the school year because it reminds readers that students bring whole lives into the classroom. It also fits first day of school poems for students because it treats each day as part of a child’s growth.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Experience shapes identity: Every daily object and person becomes part of the child.
- School and life learning: Learning is not limited to textbooks or classrooms.
- Childhood growth: The poem follows how a child absorbs the world.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is observant and expansive. The mood is reflective, generous, and full of movement.
Reader Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good welcome back to school poem for students?
A good welcome back to school poem should feel warm, encouraging, and easy to understand. “Vacation End,” “Try, Try Again,” and “There is no Frigate like a Book” work well because they connect with returning to routine, building confidence, and enjoying learning.
Which poem is best for the first day of school from a teacher?
“On Teaching” by Kahlil Gibran and “The Teacher” by Leslie Pinckney Hill are strong choices for teachers because they focus on guidance, patience, humility, and the relationship between teacher and student.
What short back to school poem can be used for a classroom display?
“There is no Frigate like a Book” is short enough for a classroom display, reading corner, bulletin board, or welcome note. “My Heart Leaps Up” is another short option for a new school year theme about wonder and curiosity.
Are these poems suitable for kindergarten and preschool?
Some poems are better for younger children than others. “Mary’s Lamb,” “The Children’s Hour,” and selected short lines from “Try, Try Again” are the easiest choices for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary students.
Can these poems be used for a back to school goodie bag or gift tag?
Short poems work best for goodie bags and gift tags. “Try, Try Again” can be used for a motivational tag, while “There is no Frigate like a Book” works well with a book, bookmark, pencil, or reading-themed classroom gift.
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