[For Elementary School Students] Turn Summer Memories into Haiku! A Collection of Fun Summer Haiku Ideas

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
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I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”

How to write summer haiku—kids often struggle more than you’d expect, don’t they? We often hear, “Seasonal words are hard,” and “What should I write about?” But that’s okay! If children make the most of their natural, straightforward sensitivity, they can create delightful haiku.

For example, like this one: “At the summer festival, drinking ramune just for the glass marble.” It’s also great to put small everyday moments or feelings into words.

Here, we’ll share summer haiku ideas that even elementary school kids can enjoy.

From playful ways to get started to activities you can enjoy together with parents, you’re sure to discover something new.

[For Elementary School Students] Turn Your Summer Memories into Haiku! A Collection of Fun Summer Haiku Ideas (31–40)

Scolded for playing Pokémon GO during summer vacation

Pokémon GO, where you head outside to search for Pokémon, is a game beloved as a reason to get moving and is known across generations.

This haiku portrays outings during summer vacation with Pokémon GO, while comically depicting the little incidents that happen along the way.

It also conveys the sense of missed opportunity when you end up staring only at the screen because you’re so focused on Pokémon GO during an outing.

Going out is indeed a perfect chance to advance in the game, but this piece reminds us that it’s also important to take in the real scenery.

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Will I win? I lick the ice pop stick again.

In hot weather we crave cold foods, and ice cream feels like a classic among them.

Here, the focus is on those ice creams that come with a prize, and the haiku expresses the anticipation for a win that lies beyond the delicious taste.

Since the winning mark is printed on the stick, it portrays the idea of licking the ice cream while wondering whether an ideal awaits at the end.

The word “again” is another key point: it conveys repeatedly eating ice cream in hopes of a win, and also gives the impression of a heat so intense that you can’t help reaching for another ice cream.

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Coolness of the river—learned from my beloved dog

With each passing year, the summer heat grows harsher, and clever products that help us stay cool—like handheld fans—are becoming popular.

Playing in rivers or going to the pool, simply touching water, is another way to cool down.

In the haiku, were the owner and their beloved dog camping in the mountains and playing in the river? Or perhaps they were just taking a walk near the river.

You can sense from the haiku that the dog, feeling the heat, went into the river and played.

Seeing their dog romp about, delighted by the cold water, must have made the owner happy as well.

Thanks to the dog, you can also feel how the coolness of the river reached the owner.

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The assigned reading with a fan-shaped sticky note fluttering

One of the summer vacation assignments is writing a book report, right? A book report involves two steps: reading the book and then writing your thoughts about it.

Some children may feel they’re not good at this kind of assignment.

From the haiku, you can picture a summer scene: reading indoors while the fan spins in the heat.

The sticky notes fluttering in the breeze from the fan convey a sense of coolness.

Or perhaps it shows a book left open mid-reading, with a sticky note still attached.

Either way, it feels like a haiku that conveys the feelings of a child working on homework during summer vacation.

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Rereading my diary, smudged, in the morning glow

In some places, summer vacation may last quite a long time, right? For children, it’s a period when they can play a lot and make many memories.

Some elementary schools even assign diary-writing as homework.

Those diaries often end up filled with entries about time spent with family during the summer break, playing with friends, and memories of outings.

By the end of the vacation, the cover and the pages with entries may be smudged or dirty.

From the haiku, we can also sense someone looking back over their diary, reflecting on the summer break and savoring the lingering joy once again.

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The whole town is being dyed the color of the evening glow.

During summer vacation, kids often go out to play, and some may take the feeling of evening approaching as the cue to head home.

This haiku expresses the gradual passage of time toward dusk and the scenery that conveys it.

Since the evening sun differs in color from the midday sun, the description of the town being dyed in that hue evokes a distinctive atmosphere.

Because it portrays the town’s colors changing little by little, it emphasizes the sense of time slowly passing.

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In conclusion

Haiku is a wonderful part of Japanese culture that lets children freely express their honest feelings. Just like the ramune you drink for the marble at a summer festival, exciting memories can turn into haiku. Elementary school students, give fun summer haiku a try! Keep a playful spirit, relax and enjoy it, and compose haiku that will become uniquely your own lasting memories.