Thursday, September 30, 2010

My Poem Writing Year #184 - Sticks



Last evening, my husband and hiked up in the woods, noticing newly fallen trees and the black and yellow of aspen leaves sprinkled on the ground.  A sunset bounced off of tree trunks, turning them orange, and somehow the whole forest looked as if it had been touched by a magical light.  Silently, I promised myself, "We will do more of this."  

Sometimes life gets too busy around here: rushing to lessons, sorting piles of laundry, getting frustrated at each other, running out of pet food, and finding moldy peppers in the refrigerator.  We can forget what matters most.  We can forget to slow down and marvel.  We can forget to play.

Students - this poem came from two places.  One was from a wish/plan.  It came from my wish/plan to play outside more with my family.  My plan is to play in the woods more and to play in the creeks more.

Thinking about this reminded me of how Hope, Georgia, and Henry love to sticks into a nearby creek, watching them rush out the other side.  In turn, this reminded me of "Poohsticks", this same game as described in A.A. Milne's  THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER.


So, this poem grew from two places.  It grew from a wish/plan, and it also grew from a book I know and love.  You, too, can find ideas in your wishes, your plans, and books you love.  Honestly, you could do this forever.  Such a blending of ideas will yield a lot of writing!

If you would like to peek inside the actual "Poohsticks" chapter in THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER, watch this brief video clip over at Exploring the Thames.  If you would like to watch a clip of the 2009 World Poohsticks Championships in Days Lock in Oxfordshire, England, also at Exploring the Thames, you can do so here.  You can find the official rules for these Championships here at the official game's website.

But sometimes, instead of clicking your mouse or reading or writing...you should just go outside and play a game of Poohsticks for yourself!  Have fun!

Don't forget, though...it is still Banned Books Week.  Here is your banned book of the day.

I'll bet you can figure out why some people have wanted to ban this book.  If you guessed because it says "stupid" in the title, you are right.  Pardon me for saying so, but I think that is stupid. 

(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)

6 comments:

  1. I love it! As an old fan of Pooh Sticks and an earnest which/plan maker, especially about playing outside.

    Bravo!

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  2. Pooh is one of my favorites. He's so thoughtful, isn't he? I'm actually reading it to my class right now.

    My son, Sam, and I used to play this for hours when we visited the creek behind grandma's house (and various other places). He's 11 now, but if we pass a creek, he still asks me if I want to play!

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  3. It is so heartwarming to know that Poohsticks is alive and well...even in the age of tiny phones and computers. Nothing can replace the feeling of throwing sticks into water. Or kicking a stone down the road.

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  4. Great - I'm going to be saying "flitfloat" in my head all damn day!

    Awesome word!

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  5. Last evening, my husband and hiked up in the woods. watch spelling over all nice poem

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