Category Archives: Rhymes For Kids

Tony Funderburk’s rhymes and reasons to help you understand the power of God’s love. For kids from 1 to 101.

Kids Eat Free

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If you’re a parent or family on a budget, you probably like seeing that familiar sign:
Kids Eat Free

I don’t remember a lot of that when I was a kid, but then again, I wasn’t looking for those signs. I was just happy to be going. If someone said “we’re goin’ out for burgers”…they didn’t have to wait for me. I’d be in the car before they got the last word out. Did I mention, I love burgers?

But I can see the appeal of visiting a restaurant where kids eat free.

Especially if you have a lot of kids. Many kids are picky and don’t eat everything on their plates. Other kids are messy or clumsy, and much of their food doesn’t even make it to their mouths, much less their stomachs. Still other kids think they want one thing, but when they get it, they don’t even try it.

So, that got me thinkin’…(oh no, he’s thinkin’ again, honey)…I should write something about a kid’s favorite restaurant where kids eat free and no one orders for ’em…and they’re the only ones who get to decide what’s on the menu…

The Mud Pie Café

The soup’s on gang
And the kettle’s big.
There’s enough for all
To eat like a pig.
So head on down
It’s not far away.
Everybody’s at
The Mud Pie Café.

The food’s made fresh
When it rains real hard
And the mud’s real good
In our own back yard.
All kids eat free.
No one has to pay.
There ain’t no place like
The Mud Pie Café.  © 2013

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Weekends tend to get all the positive attention while week days tend to be looked upon as something you have to get through. So, if week days could walk and talk, maybe they’d end up whining about their lives and their jobs…just like we humans do.

The Weak Days

Wednesday walked into the room
And looked around and said,
“I don’t know why I came in here.
I must have bumped my head
On last night’s waning crescent moon
As it drooped in the sky.
No, that’s just HOW I came in here,
But I still don’t know why.”

Thursday turned around and saw
The look on Wednesday’s face.
“You must have seen the sign,” he said,
“That pointed to this place.
The sign that said to come inside
And have a nice cool drink.
That must be why you’re here today.
At least that’s what I think.”

In the corner Friday chimed,
“That isn’t it at all.
You said to me two days ago
You felt like you would fall,
If you were not allowed to pause
And not allowed to speak
About the challenge you must face
As middle of the week.”

Saturday began to laugh,
“How can you dare complain?
The middle of the week’s not hard.
You’re on the gravy train.
You have two days in front and back
To keep you safe and sound.
So if you’re feeling insecure,
Just take a look around.”

Monday had to speak up then,
“Don’t get me started here.
Nobody in the world likes me.
They see me and steer clear.
They pass me by at every chance,
And then they find a way
To make me feel not quite so bad
I’m called a holiday.

Tuesday piped up in the back,
“You talk of being passed.
Try walking in my shoes a while
I’m neither first nor last.
Nobody ever chooses me
To celebrate new things,
And you can bet I’m not the point
Why anybody sings.”

Sunday listened to them all
And wondered why they whined.
“We all must stick together here
‘Cause we were all designed.
A loving God made each of us
Important in our ways.
So, let’s remember why we’re here.
We’re week days…not weak days.”

Stay tuned,

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National Hamburger Day

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I just read an article that Smashburger was giving away free burgers today to anyone whose last name is Burger…or even a variation of that…in honor of National Hamburger Day.

Tony Funderburk's writing for kids even includes a poem about National Hamburger Day

Would you believe I almost qualify? My last name is Funderburk. That’s an Americanized version of the German name Von der Berg. See what I mean? Burger is a variation of Berger which translates from German as a mountaineer. And my last name Von der Berg means “from the mountain”. And I live on Green Mountain.

Could it get much closer and not be there? I don’t think so.

But I didn’t go to Smashburger today, so none of this matters. The Funderburks did go to a Colorado burger place: Good Times. And we celebrated National Hamburger Day with a mushroom swiss burger, wild fries, and a Pepsi. Yum…all American meal.

My rhyme time today will honor the burger, and I won’t say “two all beef patties”, etc. I’ll simply write a few lines to celebrate…

National Hamburger Day

If you find some beef and grind it up
And throw it on a grill…
Then take some cheese and bind it up
And add it for a thrill…
Somewhere, somehow you’ll hear a song.
Just let the music play
And pretty soon you’ll sing along…
It’s National Hamburger Day!
And here’s what I say…hip, hip, hooray!
It’s National Hamburger Day!

Stay tuned,
Tony Funderburk, THE writer-singer-illustrator for kids and life in Denver talks about his first 7 ebooks for kids.

P.S.  Get my ebooks for kids on Amazon.com
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Soldiers angels…it’s ironic how often they’re brought together in our thoughts and writings. Here I am doing it today. This Memorial Day 2013 has me thinking of how our world is another year closer to the end of this age. And I’m thankful for the soldiers who are away from home and loved ones right now helping to keep us safe. They’re all like guardian angels for us in the here and now.

And I’m thankful to all the great men and women who gave up their lives for that same cause. They’re no longer guardian angels, but many of them live in the realm of angels.

And ironically many of those angels will be soldiers here on earth one day…also fighting for the causes of freedom…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So, as I pondered these somber thoughts I decided to write my daily rhyme about them…

Soldiers, Angels

Soldiers, angels, walkin’ through the green grass
Underneath the blue skies,
Singin’ soft lullabies,
And they carry baubles made of brass.

Soldiers, angels, hikin’ up the high road
Lookin’ for the heart light
Gotta make it start right
Now because they have a heavy load.

Soldiers, angels, have left us a tutorial
On how to skip mistakes
Like everybody makes…
Then we build a sad memorial.

Soldiers, angels…one becomes the other
Takin’ on a new role
And up goes the death toll.
Why can’t every man just love his brother?

Soldiers, angels…we can’t live without them
Paying for our error
Till God stops this terror…
And that’s why I wrote this poem about them.

Stay tuned,

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No-cost, low-cost, and premium ways you can help me spread the Word…

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Four Lines Of Poetry

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Can four lines of poetry change lives?

Tony Funderburk's writing for kids includes these four lines of poetry.

Or bring about world peace?

Or end hunger?

Or clear up all the confusion in the world?

I seriously doubt it. But I do know this…if everyone in the world would stop for just a few minutes and write down four lines of poetry about something or someone they love…maybe some of those problems would start to fade. Maybe just a little, but a fading process could begin. Bitterness, anger, envy, malice, and so many other life-threatening emotions could take a back seat. And love could step forward into the spotlight.

Four lines of poetry. Come on humans. Think of something or someone you love…right now…and right down 2 lines that rhyme about that something or someone. Then, think a little bit more and right down 2 more lines about that something or someone.

Then…you’re done. And for those few minutes it took to write those four lines you focused on love. Love your mom…your dad…your dog…your home. Love your neighbor. Whatever it is, write about your love for it or them.

Don’t be afraid you’ll write it wrong or out of rhythm or sort of clunky. That’s how every poet starts. Just think about your love, and write it down. Don’t be afraid…do it today. I’ll start…

Four lines of poetry to send my love to you.
For smiles, for words, for everything you do.
And when these four lines of poetry are through,
You’ll have some words of love to read from you know who.

Stay tuned,
Tony Funderburk, THE writer-singer-illustrator for kids and life in Denver talks about his first 7 ebooks for kids.

P.S.  Get my ebooks for kids on Amazon.com
Get my Podcast
Circle me on Google +
Like my fan page on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Watch my videos on YouTube

Saturday Evening Post

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I’ll bet you didn’t know about a famous magazine called the Saturday Evening Post. Or if you did, I’ll bet you didn’t know it’s been around for about 300 years. Yikes…that’s even farther back than I can remember.

Tony Funderburk's writing for kids includes this Saturday Evening Post

For some reason this evening (probably because it’s Saturday) I put on my writing for kids thinking cap to come up with a quick rhyming blog post. And because it’s Saturday, I decided to write a post/poem called “Saturday Evening Post”. C’mon…you gotta admit that’s incredibly clever. OK…you ain’t gotta admit. But give it a read. Then, let the people over at the magazine know that their title is in no danger of being hijacked by me.

I don’t want to be the ghost
That you miss the most.
So here’s my Saturday evening post.

And I don’t want to boast,
But I ate a piece of toast
Writing my Saturday evening post.

I didn’t sit on the coast
Or eat a pot roast
During my Saturday evening post.

I just became the host
Who kept you engrossed
In my Saturday evening post.

Stay tuned,
Tony Funderburk, THE writer-singer-illustrator for kids and life in Denver talks about his first 7 ebooks for kids.

P.S.  Get my ebooks for kids on Amazon.com
Get my Podcast
Circle me on Google +
Like my fan page on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Watch my videos on YouTube

Ice Cream Magic

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Way, way back in the 20th century when I was but a wee lad in the old country…uh…I mean a young dude in the south…one of my favorite things in the summer was watching the ice cream magic happen.

Maybe you remember something like that, too, if you’re old enough to remember the 20th century. If so, you’d know when I say ice cream magic, I mean making homemade ice cream in a wooden (sometimes plastic) ice cream maker. Back then moms would whisk up some sweet ingredients and give it to the dads to put in a metal container. The dads would lower the metal container down into the wooden bucket, lock it in place, and start rotating a metal crank.

Wow…that really sounds ancient, doesn’t it? But the magic happened when the crank became harder and harder to turn. When it really wouldn’t turn much at all anymore, the dads (and sometimes us kids) would stop and the container would be removed. We could hardly wait for the lid to be popped off and a big dollop of ice cream to land in our bowls. Yuh-um!

This Memorial Day weekend I’m sure there are some similar family experiences going on all around America. So, I sat down and thought about a kid’s perspective on ice cream and all the goodies that go with it. I came up with…

Ice Cream Magic

In the back of the freezer in mom’s refrigerator
Is a tub of vanilla, and we’re gonna eat it later.
It’s ice cream magic and your spoon becomes a wand
With some sweet imagination and a black cape donned.

Conjure up an ocean of chocolate and strawberries
With marshmallow icebergs inhabited by fairies
We see popsicle breezes and the rainbow twinkles
And there’s Ol’ Man Winter blowin’ cinnamon sprinkles.

Look, some rootbeer raindrops and a candy cane straw.
No one’s ever gonna think we really saw what we saw.
But we’ll forgive their kidding, and our feelings won’t get hurt
‘Cause it was ice cream magic, a very dreamy dessert.

Stay tuned,

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No-cost, low-cost, and premium ways you can help me spread the Word…

Tell everybody you know to subscribe to Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional
(emails with good stuff for Fa-Ree)

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered right to your device. (also Fa-Ree)

Get digital Bible stuff from the same company I do.

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

Or how about some music for believers, dreamers, and thinkers