Haiku: The perfect poem in miniature to get kids writing poetry

Perfect three lined poems/
Encapsulating the pulse/
And breath of life. Now.

What more wonderful way to introduce children who are wary of poetry than to share Haiku with them. Deliciously short and sweet, even young children grasp the concept of syllables very quickly (1st line 5 syllables / 2nd line 7 / 3rd line 5). Today my after-school club kids came up with some brilliant animal-themed haiku and I also sent them off round the garden to hone in on a single object from nature to create haiku from, with some wonderful results.