Help Your Kids Write Limericks Like A Boss (Irishman/ Irishwoman) 🙂

There once was a man from Nantucket,
Who kept all of his cash in a bucket,
But his daughter, named Nan,
Ran away with a man,
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

Kids love limericks. Reading them and writing them are guaranteed to make you and your kids smile. 🙂 Recently, while working with a group of 4th and 5th graders, I learned that they were deficient in such poetic fun. Therefore, I introduced limericks to them. After they learned about limericks, they ask to do more. Limericks are fun for any age. Limericks are fun to read and write any time, but particularly in March- St. Patrick’s Day.

Did you know there is a National Limerick Day?

National Limerick Day is celebrated annually on May 12th. This day is to honor and celebrate Edward Lear who was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet. The day celebrates Limerick poems, because Lear made them popular.

What is a Limerick?

A limerick is a very short, humorous, nonsense poem. A limerick consists of five lines. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line and the third and fourth line rhyme together. A limerick usually tells a story.

Fun fact: Did you know? Limerick is the third largest city in Ireland. The poem gets its name from the city in Ireland.

How do you write a limerick?

  1. Read several limericks to get a feel for the rhythm, rhyme, and pattern.

    This free worksheet has a frame to help your child get started.

Limericks by kids- brownielocks.com

There was a young fellow who thought
Very little, but thought it a lot.
Then at long last he knew
What he wanted to do,
But before he could start, he forgot.

There once were two back-country geezers
Who got porcupine quills up their sneezers.
They sat beak to beak
For more than a week
Working over each other with tweezers.

There once was a poor boy named Sid
Who thought he knew more than he did.
He thought that a shark
Would turn tail if you bark.
So he swam out to try it — poor kid!

These limericks were written by some 3rd graders I taught:

There once was a man named Spark Plug

Who looked like a thug

When he stumbled

He grumbled

and ran like a bug.

There once was a man in the tub

Who looked like a big club

When he was in the tub, he felt like a dummy

He scrubbed his tummy

and he went rub-a-dub-dub

  1. Use these prompts to get you started

Here are some first lines you can use to get you started if you want.

  • He was an unusual boy
  • There once was a very old dog
  • A beautiful girl in my town
  • There was a young woman whose head
  • Two poets who couldn’t agree

Use the links to printable pages to assist in writing limericks or use this frame:

There once was a _________________named______________.

Who ate ____________.

But the ____________,

To be________________.

They were ___________.

Sample limerick from using frame:

There once was a pelican named Izzie

Who ate fishes until she was dizzy.

But the fishes didn’t mind,

To be treated so unkind.

They were just glad to keep her so busy.

This is the perfect printable frame for writing a limerick for grades 3-4

  1. Write the limericks down for younger children that can’t write. Compose them together. Have older children write them or type them. Be sure to have them illustrate and read them out loud. Be sure to share their work and praise their masterpieces. 🙂 It truly will bring a smile to everyone’s face. 🙂

In summary, writing limericks is fun for kids. It helps them learn rhyming, rhythms, syllables, and patterns. Limericks are silly, humorous poems that get kids hooked on reading and writing. So, why not get started writing one today?

Please feel free to share a limerick your child wrote; write it in the comments giving them a publishing platform. 🙂 Do your children like limericks?

Let’s make a positive difference~ one word at a time.

♥Pamela

Please share this article with others that you think would benefit from these tips. Also, please ask any questions that you may have about teaching children reading or writing. Leave your questions in the comments. I’ll answer. 🙂

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