Doll School - Writing About Play

Doll School

by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - The idea for this poem came first from a conversation with a work friend.  She told me about her daughter Melanie who plays school with her dolls.  Hearing about this, I was immediately transported back to my childhood home in Vestal, NY, remembering how I played school for so many years with neighbors, animals, stuffed animals, dolls, everyone. I always wanted to be a teacher, and now I am lucky to be a writing teacher.  Our play helps determine who we will become when we grow up.

If you look at the rhyme scheme in this poem, you will notice that except for the italicized teacher voice stanza, each odd line rhymes with its next even line.  The line breaks, however, do not line up perfectly with the rhyme.  It just seemed better to me this way, seemed like it made more sense.  If you listen to the recording, you will see what I mean. The way I read the poem is the way that makes sense to my ear, something very important for poets and all writers to consider.

What do you like to play?  What did you once play?  Our play lives are important in so many ways, one of which is that they are storehouses of joyful writing ideas!  I so wish that I could sit down with Melanie and some cocoa today, just to talk about this.

Robyn is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Life on the Deckle Edge. Visit her place to take a tour of all of the poetry goodness in the Kidlitosphere today!  And if you are doing some literary holiday shopping, don't miss Robyn's etsy shop, artsyletters!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Black and White - Surprises and Love

My Lint Roller & Pants

Photo by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - I am away in Boston, Massachusetts at a conference (NCTE), and so I am writing to you from a hotel room.  The lint brush you see above is the one I used to remove white dog hairs from all of my dress up clothes for the weekend.  I am a busy girl this weekend, and I was not sure to write about.  But when I got a few minutes to myself in the hotel room, I knew that I had to remove all of the (Sage and Cali) dog hair from my black clothes.  I even bought a new lint roller!

And therein lies the poem.  Dogs.  Dog hair.  White dog hair.  Black pants.  Lint roller. Memory of a wonderful book (THE LITTLE BIT SCARY PEOPLE by Emily Jenkins). Poem.

The joy of writing for me is once again this.  The surprise.

Order from Your Local Bookstore!

Two of Four Draft Pages for "Black and White"

Photo by Amy LV

Katya is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Write.Sketch. Repeat.  Visit her place to take a tour of all of the poetry joy in the Kidlitosphere today!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Whirligig Cardinal & Writing Friends

Whirligig Near the East Aurora Library

Photo by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Yesterday I was pulling into the library to return a few books, and I saw this little cardinal whirligig spinning its wings around so fantastically that I had to stop the car, get out, get close, and really look.  He is in someone's yard, right so close to the fence, and it was a treat to take a moment out of my day to just enjoy watching him spin.  We've been having some very windy days 'round these parts, and I would not be surprised if he just took off one day!

I loved playing with the words in this poem.  To tell you the truth, I don't know if I wrote about a whirligig because I love the whirligig itself or because I love the word.  (I think both!)

Our family actually has two whirligigs in our yard - one cardinal and one yellow flower.  I will take a picture of them to share with you.  I am sure that they were spinning like mad today too.

I first heard the word 'whirligig' in Cynthia Rylant's MISSING MAY.  Where did you first hear it?  Have you ever fallen in looooove with a word?  Whirligig!

Shop Your Local Bookstore!

If you would like to learn all about whirligigs, here's a video from The Block O'Wood.

For today's Poetry Friday celebration, I am very happy to welcome back Stacey Buck, a speech-language pathologist (and my friend) from Chicago, this time with her poet-student Curly Sue. Thank you, Stacey and Curly Sue!  I was so happy to share this poetic and fun back and forth with you.

Stacey:
To make writing more fun, we decided to create a writing club.  Even though it was only the two of us, snacks, some music, or a mini-field trip outside made it more enjoyable.  Once we picked a topic (in this case, poetry about nature), I wrote as well in order to model some writing strategies.  I like story poems in particular because they allow for work on story grammar and sequencing in addition to poetic devices. Poetry is also a great way to work on writing since The Poem Farm is so accessible for teachers and students alike. Thank you, Amy.

I received this note from Curly Sue, via Stacey:

I read the story poem that was written by you about a snowman.  Then I thought of my own story poem about a flower.  Next we read the caveboy poem so I would have an idea of how to lay out my poem.  I did 3 drafts and 1 real version, which I am sending to you. I made a picture to go with the poem so you would get an idea of what the flower looks like. If you write back, I would appreciate it.

Draft 1

by Curly Sue

Draft 2

by Curly Sue

Draft 3

by Curly Sue

Real Version - Final Poem

by Curly Sue

Poem Artwork 

by Curly Sue

My Note to Curly Sue

Curly Sue's Process Note to Me

It is a joy to read about a writer's process, regardless of age or topic.  I find myself inspired by Curly Sue's dedication and her willingness to share it too.  Thank you to these Chicago friends for joining us today.

Jama is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  You will not want to miss her (and her teddy bear's) recommendation of a very soulful and wonderful book.

Watch the one second video that I took of today's cardinal whirligig below.

Whirligig!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

A Crow, a Child, & a Poetry Peek

Crow in Tree

Photo by Hope LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Yesterday afternoon, my daughter Hope and I were driving home, and a murder of crows (yes, a group of crows is called a 'murder'!) was settling into many of the trees lining our road.  I stopped the car, rolled down the window of the driver's side, and tried to take a photograph, but before I could, all of the crows had flown away.  Hope offered to take a photo from her side of the car, rolled down her window, and...the same thing happened!  Only one crow remained, and here it is.

Later in the evening, I studied the picture and imagined a story to go with it.  The first two stanzas rolled out easily, but it the third one is my favorite.  I like it in the way I like writing that is given to me, almost a surprise from a little writing bird...maybe a crow...

At first my poem-crow was a boy.  And the poem-child was a boy too.  I needed to make a change.  See, I like a balance of male and female in my poems.  So I needed to choose, "Should the crow be female or the child be female?"  Well, I chose the crow to be female, mostly because 'her' rhymes with 'perfect', 'perch', and 'birch' in stanza three.  I find it funny and wonderful how a change for gender surprised me by improving rhyme as well.

Be open to such surprises in your writing.  For me, the surprises are the best part.  The surprises, not the poems, are why I write.

Today I am so happy to welcome kind and wise Suparna Kudesia, a teacher of 6, 7 and 8 year olds at The Logan School for Creative Learning in Denver, Colorado. The Logan School is an independent school that truly depends on the support of its community to continue its good work. Suparna would like to thank and acknowledge teacher assistant Jessica Silas who took all of these wonderful pictures.  Thank you to Suparna, Jessica, and the young learners and poets who share their classroom.  It's a pleasure to host them here for a Poetry Friday Poetry Peek!

"It depends." 

So much of what happens at my school is rooted in those two words. My school, where I get to practice being a better listener, learner, and human each day, is a non-profit independent school in Denver, Colorado. It dependeth embodies the way I see each child: a living wonder with dreams, fears, loves, and wishes. How I respond to each child's individual curiosities, wonderings, and hopes depends on each child. I try each day to listen to each of my students and scaffold them, walk with them to the next challenge, to the next level of adventure, and we also take time to walk down reflection boulevard and think deeply about our learning, growth, and welcome new questions about the world around us.

One special way in which my students are agents of their own learning is through an individual unit. Every one of the 250 students in my school chooses their own individual unit of study. From gravity, mermaids, and DNA to deception, terrorism, and Rosalind Franklin. Children pick their unit and as their teacher, I write an individualized curriculum with and for each child.

Is every child's unit guided by her/his interest. Yes.
Does every unit look the same. No.

Those seem simple enough to answer.

Can a 7 year old study quantum physics? It depends.
Would I have a Socratic seminar about gender in my classroom? It depends.
How do children create projects? It depends.
What determines growth as a mathematician, listener, or scientist? It depends.

So much depends on those two words. Units open doors for children to grow as language artists, social scientists, chemists, artists, architects, inventors, and something that is always very exciting - as  poets. One way in which my students practice being poets is to integrate their excitement and learning surrounding their units with their growing skills as poets. We find different ways to bring poetry into our units and children take their love for poetry in many different directions. 

One such path has been constructed by our love for William Carlos Williams's poem The Red Wheelbarrow. When we read this rather uncomplicated 8-line poem that is in fact one sentence, we meditate over his choice of words, the picture he painted for us, the depth and simplicity of documenting what he sees, and the parts of speech buried so systematically in the poem. We also talk about why "so much depends upon" that red wheel barrow and the possible stories behind that wheel barrow, that rain water, and those white chickens. Then, we begin to ponder, brainstorm, research, and write about what depends upon our units. 

Why is studying about renewable energy or Alaska so important? The children follow a process of research and learning and then experiment with words, patterns, and sounds to create their own versions of William Carlos Williams's poem. Each child works on a few drafts in their writers notebooks and are often freed by the pattern of the poem and always integrate factual information about their unit. After some iterations of editing, the children share their final pieces. We then publish the poems on our bulletin board for our poems, lovingly called, "Poetree". 

This year, my students really enjoyed this project and are coming to school regularly with more "so much depends upon" poems about their units long after the project saw completion in our classroom. 

Poem by Zoe

Poem by Mari

Poem by Pearly

Poem by Sabrina

In my practice as an educator, I feel grateful to be in a space where there is a certain comfort in acknowledging how education of our children lies in the sometimes very uncomfortable space of "it depends".  "It depends" can be messy because it has fewer boxes within which to put children. When we can look at children for all they are and can be, sometimes the boxes that exist in the world of education can be terrifyingly confining. 

How do you define a child who cares deeply about endangered species, has a deep understanding of numbers, is learning to add two digit numbers, listens deeply, loves Taylor Swift, dreams about forests with giant talking ants, struggles at and loves soccer, wants to be a better reader, knows every type of toothed whale, sees themselves as seahorses, is learning how to hug, feels safe communicating in sign language, sees colors differently, can enjoy music with their eyes closed, breathes poetry, is sometimes overwhelmed with noise, laughs when talking about the purple polka-dotted people eater, is making a model of a tornado intercept vehicle, can empathize, doesn't like chocolate and loves homemade pho or pasta…? Is this child a 3.97 GPA? Or maybe an A-? 

I would rather brave the daily joyful confusion of understanding each of my students as individuals than assign them numerical values. So, I don't mind being stopped in hallways or interrogated by skeptics to elaborate on how, why, and so what of "it depends", because this allows me to honor all children as they are and all they can become.

Thank you to Suparna, Jessica, and this classroom community and school for joining us today.  Thank you for sharing your thoughtful and enriching work.

Diane is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Random Noodling.  Head on over to her place and join us in this week's poetry celebration all 'round the Kidlitosphere.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Ketchup Man - Poems from Silly World

The Ketchup Family

by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Today's poem is a silly story, and as with all silly stories, I like thinking about where it came from.  Well, I spent a chunk of yesterday afternoon at my old writing table. I write in many different places, and this table is a favorite as it used to be my husband's grandparents' kitchen table.  When I sat down to write, there was no Ketchup Man in my brain or thoughts.  But after writing in my notebook about the weekend, our children, some writing plans, and autumn, Ketchup Man appeared.  Why?

One Place to Write (and Ketchup Man Draft!)

Photo by Amy LV

Upon reading this verse, my daughter Hope also asked, "Why did you write this poem?" Well, to be honest, I am not sure why.  I had been flipping through KNOCK AT A STAR, by X.J. and Dorothy Kennedy, and it includes some poems by Karla Kuskin, including "Knitted Things" which begins, "There was a witch who knitted things:"  Karla Kuskin was also on my mind because of this most recent wonderful interview of Lee Bennett Hopkins by Renee LaTulippe over at No Water River.

I've been making many hats and handwarmers over the past weeks, and so perhaps Karla Kuskin's poem was in my mind for this reason as well.  Speaking of handwarmers, the winner of my handknit handwarmers giveaway is Matt Forrest Esenwine over at Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme.  Matt - please send me a message letting me know whether the handwarmers will be for you or for someone else as this will help me determine the size and surprise color!

Our family has many ketchup lovers, but perhaps none as great as my maternal grandfather and my husband Mark's paternal grandfather.  Those wonderful men did love ketchup on scrambled eggs and many other foods too, so Ketchup Man may have grown from my memories and hearing stories of all of the different foods on which they poured ketchup. Then, I just carried the poem and idea out beyond what was truly true.

Many thanks to Ruth Ayres and her children for weighing in on this verse last evening.  I appreciate their expert advice on whether today's verse was funny or simply strange.  "Cuckoo" seems to sum it up!

Eyebrow Hair is another poem at The Poem Farm which begins, "There once was a man...." Beginning a poem with "There once was..." can yield a funny (or simply strange) surprise.  It also gives a verse a story-feeling, right from the start.

"There once was a..."

What are you imagining right now?  Pick up your pencil and follow your own mind...

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Rainbow Witch - Being Who We Are

Rainbow Witch

Photo by Hope LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - The origin of this poem is funny, as is the origin of many pieces of writing.  Our daughter Hope was waiting for a backpack to arrive in the mail, and when it did, the package seemed rather small for a backpack.  When she opened the package, she realized why.  There was no backpack at all!  Instead, the package contained the rainbow wig you see above.

Of course we all had to try it on, and I grabbed a witch hat from the coat tree for good measure.  When my friend Sue saw the look, she said, "I think 'Rainbow Witch' should be your next poem."  And so it is.  Sue, this one's for you.

Beginning to write this, the first lines came right away.  'Hat' and 'cat' are of course easy, natural witch rhymes.  But then I kept writing.  How should this small verse end? Hmmm... I wanted my witch to know that she was a little bit different.  And I wanted her to feel good about being different.  I love books where characters are strong enough to be their true selves.

by Megan McDonald

by Mary Whitcomb

When our children were small, they loved this book about a witch who wishes for a different kind of pet.  Actually, we all still love it.

by Arthur Howard

Do you have a favorite book about someone who stays true to him or herself even in the face of people who try to make him or her change?

For another Halloween poem, click here to read Moon on Halloween in The Poem Farm archives.  Scroll down past the first blue poem, and you will find it. It's orange!

There is still time to enter the giveaway for a pair of handknit (by me) handwarmers over at Friday's post.  Stop on by if you like reading about bean mosaics or if you imagine that you might have chilly hands soon.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Bean Mosaics - Making Things & Giving Things

Bean Boat

by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - This poem goes along with a set of poems I will soon (in a couple of years) publish in a book with Clarion.  The book will be titled WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS.  Today's poem is dedicated to Mary Lee Hahn, supreme teacher and maker and gardener and photographer and so much more.  Last year, she and I were walking and talking about life, and she told me how her after school Environmental Club made bean mosaics together.  

Mary Lee says, "Environmental Club is such a gift because I don't have to be accountable to state or standards or administration about the activities we do. Something as small as observing soup beans that have been soaking for a couple of days until the embryo starts to develop and then making a mosaic on a paper plate with dry beans can be enough to fill an hour with the wonder of creativity and the knowledge that a small bean plant lies dormant in each of the seeds we use for our designs." 

Of course I could not get Mary Lee's thoughts out of my mind, and those mind-thoughts turned into this poem.  This one's for you, Mary Lee and students!

You can find some simple directions for making bean mosaics of your own over at KinderART.

What do you like to make?  You might make that project into the subject of a poem!

I am a maker and am most happy at work with my hands.  Right now I'm making some very easy and cozy knitted handwarmers.  These warm the hands but leave the fingers free for driving or for other work or movement.  They are fun to make and fun to give. Soooo.....

Cozy Handwarmers - Surprise Color Giveaway!

Photo and Handwarmers by Amy LV

Please leave a comment on today's post to win a free pair of hand knitted fingerless mitts...knitted by me in a surprise color!  Please leave your comment by next Thursday, Halloween, to be entered in this drawing.  I will announce the winner on Friday, November 1.

November 3, 2013 - Matt Forrest Esenwine of Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme  is the winner of the handwarmers!  Please, Matt, send me a private message with information about whether the handwarmers will be for you...or for someone else.  This will help me determine size and color!

Irene Latham is hosting Poetry Friday with 1,000 goodnesses.  Stop by her place at Live Your Poem, and celebrate her 1,000th blog post with all kinds of fun.  

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes.

Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.

Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!