Play with a Poem

Play with poetry can really open up new ways of understanding and expressing our own emotions and thoughts.

About the author

Simon Altmann is Emeritus Fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford University. His working life was as an eminent scientist and mathematician. Art has been a lifelong interest and he developed an international reputation as an art historian. He is also an enthusiastic poet. His poetry collection for children “Poems for Laurita” was published in 2020.

What you need

Tape or glue, scissor, something to make boxes with like cardboard (see tips below) and something to decorate or color it with

How to play

1. Read the poem aloud and give your initial impressions:

Questions: Do you like the poem? How big is the chocolate box? And how big are the lady and the prince? Did the lady grow to full size in the palace, or was the Prince as tiny as the chocolate box?

2. Make your chocolate box (refer to tips below). After you made it, you can decorate it and put some chocolates or, if it is big enough, you can hide inside it; let it become your castle.

Tips

1. Use the pictures below as inspiration for creating your chocolate boxes:

How big is your chocolate box?

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