Friday, December 6, 2013

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.

5 comments:

  1. Maybe this is why I became a teacher-doll school! I did play like this for a while, I remember, but actually I had so many little cousins that they were my pupils! Fun Amy & I like the changes, not just the same all the way through. Thanks!

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  2. I, too, played school a lot! Played house, too. My younger sister was my student along with my dolls. Such fun. Thanks for bringing back sweet memories, Amy.
    Pretend play is so important for kids. I would hope that in Kindergarten we do not lose sight of that. Children need rich experiences. Not drill, with no thrill and worse. (referring here to that awful video posted on FB.) Doll School. Love it.
    Janet F.

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  3. Well, no surprise, I played school, too! I'm with Janet F. - pretend play is so important for our kids.

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  4. Love this! Brings back so many memories!

    When I left for college, I tried packing my dolls away in a trunk. That lasted about an hour, and then they had to come out, because they couldn't see or breathe there.

    They sit on the shelf in the closet of my childhood bedroom to this day!

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  5. Oh my, this poem has my daughter written all over it! Each morning her stuffed animals are lined up neatly along the edge of her bed against the wall, and she says goodbye to each one before heading off to school.

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