📜 Printable poems for CE1: a free collection, sorted by season

💡 Memory tricks & memorisation 📅 5 November 2026⏱️ 6 min readKidibook Editorial Team

A child recites a poem standing in the living room while her mother sits on the sofa, a cat asleep on a cushion

Does your child need to learn a poem, or are you looking for a short text? Here’s a printable mini-collection: 12 poems suitable for CE1, organised by season. All are copyright-free: their authors have been dead for over 70 years, or they were written by Kidibook.

How to choose a poem for a child in CE1

In class, the teacher usually asks children to memorise around ten poems a year, gradually getting longer. When choosing, keep three things in mind:

Length: 8 to 15 short lines is comfortable.
Meaning: your child should be able to retell the poem in their own words.
Pleasure: a funny rhyme, a favourite animal. We remember best what we enjoy saying.

Kidibook tipRead three poems from this page aloud, then let your child choose. When they pick their own text, they’re much more motivated to learn it.

Autumn poems for CE1

Chanson d'automne

Les sanglots longs
Des violons
De l'automne
Blessent mon cœur
D'une langueur
Monotone.
Tout suffocant
Et blême, quand
Sonne l'heure,
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
Et je pleure ;
Et je m'en vais
Au vent mauvais
Qui m'emporte
Deçà, delà,
Pareil à la
Feuille morte.

Paul Verlaine, Poèmes saturniens (1866). Why children like it: tiny lines that almost sing themselves.

Matin d'octobre

C'est l'heure exquise et matinale
Que rougit un soleil soudain.
À travers la brume automnale
Tombent les feuilles du jardin.
Leur chute est lente. On peut les suivre
Du regard en reconnaissant
Le chêne à sa feuille de cuivre,
L'érable à sa feuille de sang.
Les dernières, les plus rouillées,
Tombent des branches dépouillées ;
Mais ce n'est pas l'hiver encor.
Une blonde lumière arrose
La nature, et, dans l'air tout rose,
On croirait qu'il neige de l'or.

François Coppée, Le Cahier rouge. Why children like it: you can check it in the park, with an oak and a maple leaf in hand.

L'Écureuil

Leste allumeur de l'automne, il passe et repasse sous les feuilles la petite torche de sa queue.

Jules Renard, Histoires naturelles. Why children like it: just one sentence, like a riddle.

A parent and child crouched in a park in autumn, the child holding a russet leaf in each hand — Collecting leaves in the park: “Matin d'octobre” comes to life.

Winter poems for CE1 (without Christmas)

Hiver, vous n'êtes qu'un vilain

Hiver, vous n'êtes qu'un vilain,
Été est plaisant et gentil,
En témoin de mai et d'avril
Qui l'accompagnent soir et matin.
Été revêt champs, bois et fleurs
De sa livrée de verdure
Et de maintes autres couleurs,
Par l'ordonnance de Nature.
Mais vous, Hiver, trop êtes plein
De neige, vent, pluie et grésil ;
On vous devrait bannir en exil.
Sans point flatter, je parle plain,
Hiver, vous n'êtes qu'un vilain.

Charles d'Orléans, chanson du XVe siècle (modern French). Why children like it: winter gets told off! “Grésil”: tiny ice pellets; “je parle plain”: I speak frankly.

Flocon

Un flocon sur ma moufle,
Tout léger, tout petit.
Je retiens mon souffle…
Chut ! Il est parti.
Mille autres arrivent
Sans faire de bruit,
Et la cour s'habille
De blanc pour la nuit.

Kidibook, poem written for this collection. Why children like it: eight very short lines, and a “Chut!” to whisper.

Spring and summer poems

Le temps a laissé son manteau

Le temps a laissé son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluie,
Et s'est vêtu de broderie,
De soleil luisant, clair et beau.
Il n'y a bête ni oiseau
Qu'en son jargon ne chante ou crie :
Le temps a laissé son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluie.
Rivière, fontaine et ruisseau
Portent, en livrée jolie,
Gouttes d'argent d'orfèvrerie,
Chacun s'habille de nouveau :
Le temps a laissé son manteau.

Charles d'Orléans, rondeau du XVe siècle (modern French). Why children like it: the refrain comes back three times, so half the work is already done.

The Butterfly

This little love note, folded in two, is looking for a flower to call home.

Jules Renard, Histoires naturelles. Why children love it: a love note is a sweet little letter; the butterfly’s folded wings become a letter that flies.

Holidays

The sun is swaying
High up in the blue sky.
It’s summer, the holidays,
Sand tangled in my hair!
The wave goes round and round
And tickles my toes,
Then wanders off again,
Not even stopping to dry!

Kidibook, poem written for this collection. Why children love it: it feels like the holidays — perfect for June.

A child drawing flowers, a butterfly and a sun in her notebook, with a bouquet of tulips on the table — A little drawing for each verse: the best memory trick for remembering the poem.

Animal Poems and Everyday Rhymes

The Grasshopper and the Ant

La cigale, ayant chanté
Tout l’été,
Se trouva fort dépourvue
Quand la bise fut venue :
Pas un seul petit morceau
De mouche ou de vermisseau.
Elle alla crier famine
Chez la fourmi, sa voisine,
La priant de lui prêter
Quelque grain pour subsister
Jusqu’à la saison nouvelle.
Je vous paierai, lui dit-elle,
Avant l’oût, foi d’animal,
Intérêt et principal.
La fourmi n’est pas prêteuse :
C’est là son moindre défaut.
Que faisiez-vous au temps chaud ?
Dit-elle à cette emprunteuse. —
Nuit et jour à tout venant
Je chantais, ne vous déplaise. —
Vous chantiez, j’en suis fort aise !
Eh bien ! dansez maintenant.

Jean de La Fontaine, Fables, Book I (1668). Why children love it: a little two-voice play, perfect for reading together. « L’oût » means the harvest time.

The Ants

Each one looks like the number 3.
And there are so many! So many!
There are 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3… all the way to infinity.

The Green Lizard

Watch out for the paint!

Jules Renard, Histoires naturelles. Why children love them: tiny riddles in miniature. Now it’s your child’s turn to invent one!

My Cat

My cat sleeps curled up
In the crook of my bed,
A paw on his chin,
Dreaming of mice.
When I come home from school,
He stretches out softly,
His tail twirls in a dance
And he climbs onto my lap.

Kidibook, poem written for this collection. Why children love it: every child’s daily life — you can adapt it for your own pet.

Learn a Poem in 4 Evenings

Ten minutes each evening is better than an hour the night before:

Evening	What to do	Time
1	Read the poem together twice, then your child retells it in their own words. Learn the first verse, line by line.	10 min
2	Repeat the first verse, learn the second, and draw a little picture for each verse in the margin.	10 min
3	Last verse, then the whole poem with the drawings, then without.	10 min
4	Recite standing up, just like in class, in the evening and again the next morning.	5 min

In CE1 (age 7-8), children mostly learn by ear: you say a line, your child repeats it. The full method is in our guide to learning by heart; if your child remembers better by moving or drawing, see our article on visual and auditory memory.

Kidibook TipOn the third evening, record your child with your phone. They love listening back and can hear for themselves where they hesitate.

Reciting in Front of the Class Without Stage Fright

Practise standing up, just like on the big day. Soft toys can be the audience.
Look at a fixed point: the back of the classroom or a friend.
Slow down: pause at the end of each line, take a breath at the end of each verse.

From CP (age 6-7), children are expected to recite a poem ‘clearly and in an audible voice’. Reading aloud every day helps — see our article on reading fluency.

A poem is a picture and a melody that hold the words together. Our Kidibook Memory Tricks use the same approach for grammar, conjugation and maths rules.

Want to put these tips into practice?

Every day, a new adventure workbook adapted to your child's school level — to print or do on screen. No commitment.

🎁 The free workbook Discover The 31-Day Adventure — free

Your questions

How many poems do children learn in CE1?

The French curriculum for cycle 2 suggests teachers help children memorise around ten poems a year, gradually increasing in length and complexity. The exact pace depends on the class.

Which short poem should I choose for a child who finds memorising difficult?

Start with eight very short lines, like « Flocon », or a single sentence by Jules Renard. Succeeding with a short poem builds confidence for the next one.

Why are some well-known poems missing here?

Many famous poems taught at school are by 20th-century authors and still under copyright. We have only included texts in the public domain or written by Kidibook.