Saturday, April 30, 2016

Wallow in Wonder Day 30 - Ending as I Begun


Welcome to Day 30, the final day of of Wallow in Wonder!  

For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I will celebrate learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  As I did with my Dictionary Hike in 2012, I am looking to surprise myself with new inspiration daily.  This year, such inspiration will show up in my inbox each morning. I will print it and carry each Wonderopolis Wonder around all day...and in the afternoon or evening, I will write and post the poem for the next day.  

I invite anyone who wishes to take this challenge too.  Just read today's wonder over at Wonderopolis, and write a poem inspired by it for tomorrow.  Share it tomorrow at your own site, and if you wish to link in my comments for others to find (or share your poem there), please feel free to do so tomorrow, the day after the Wonder is published at Wonderopolis.  If you would like to share any ways you have used Wallow in Wonder or your own site (safe for children only please), please feel free to do so in the comments.

My April Poems Thus Far

April 1 - So Suddenly - a poem inspired by Wonder #1659 
April 2 - Thankful Journal - a poem inspired by Wonder #1660
April 3 - The Storm Chaser - a poem inspired by Wonder #779
April 4 - A Jar of Glitter - a poem inspired by Wonder #641
April 5 - To Make Compost - a poem inspired by Wonder #1661
April 6 - Deciding Now - a poem inspired by Wonder #1662
April 7 - Hummingbird's Secret - a poem inspired by Wonder #1663
April 8 - Limits - a poem inspired by Wonder #1664
April 9 - Sundogs - a poem inspired by Wonder #1665
April 10 - Perspective - a poem inspired by Wonder #128
April 11 - At the History Museum - a poem inspired by Wonder #115
April 12 - Seventy-Five Years Ago Today - a poem inspired by Wonder #1666
April 13 - Homer's Poem - a poem inspired by Wonder #1667
April 14 - The Right - a poem inspired by Wonder #1668
April 15 - 5:00 am - a poem inspired by Wonder #1669
April 16 - Writing - a poem inspired by Wonder #1670
April 17 - Sometimes - a poem inspired by Wonder #194
April 18 - Once - a poem inspired by Wonder #192
April 19 - Eat It - a poem inspired by Wonder #1671
April 20 - Chatty Green Tomato - a poem inspired by Wonder #1672
April 21 - This Argument We're Having - a poem inspired by Wonder #1673
April 22 - After a Week in Foster Care - a poem inspired by Wonder #1674
April 23 - Pay Attention - a (recycled) poem inspired by Wonder #1675
April 24 - Please Don't Ask - a poem inspired by Wonder #201
April 25 - Mama Kangaroo's Poem - a poem inspired by Wonder #447
April 26 - Not Anymore - a poem inspired by Wonder #1676
April 27 - If We Were Whales - a poem inspired by Wonder #1677
April 28 - Written on a Paper Airplane - a poem inspired by Wonder #1678
April 29 - Under My Umbrella - a poem inspired by Wonder #1679

And now for Day 30, the final day of Wallow in Wonder!


Building a Home
by Amy LV




Students -  Well, I end this month in a circular way, with the same form I began it.

Today's poem is a sonnet, the fourth of this National Poetry Month.  April 1 (So Suddenly), April 9 (Sundogs), and April 16 (Writing) also featured English - or Shakespearean - sonnets. The difference here is that while my other sonnets only rhymed some lines, in this one you can find that each line has a match.

Something interesting about the English sonnet form is that you will notice how the first many lines (in this case twelve) all focus on one thing - what the speaker can make out of paper - but then at line 13, there is a turn, or a change.  For the final couplet, the speaker turns away from his or her own skill to marvel at the master of paper...wasps.  I admit to enjoying thinking, tapping, and writing in imabic pentameter, the meter of this form.

Count the syllables in each line.  What do you notice?  You might wish to try writing one line this way.  It is good practice to tune our ears by writing in different meters.

Thank you to all of you who have stopped by to visit The Poem Farm throughout National Poetry Month.  It has been great fun for me to take on this Wallow in Wonder challenge, and I very much enjoyed the stretch and surprise I experienced from each Wonder poem.  I enjoyed reading the Wonders, writing from them, reading these poems aloud, and making the watercolor paintings which I have kept together in this one book.

Wonder Watercolor Book
Photo by Amy LV

As this celebratory month closes, please remember that I have three giveaways, all closing at midnight.  Here they are:

Giveaway #1 - It has been a delight this week to host teacher Emily Callahan and her students from Kansas City here at The Poem Farm.  Visit and comment on their post to learn about Popcorn and Poetry and to enter a giveaway for a Ralph Fletcher book.

Giveaway #2 - Stefanie Cole and her students from Ontario, Canada have been gracing Sharing Our Notebooks with their generosity and wisdom all month. This is a fantastic post full of notebook inspiration, a video clip, and a great book giveaway from Stefanie. Please check it out, and leave a comment over there to be entered into a giveaway for a Lynda Barry book.

Giveaway #3 - I am hosting a goodreads giveaway for 5 signed copies of EVERY DAY BIRDS, to be sent to 5 separate winners.  


Happy Day 30 of National Poetry Month 2016.  It has been a pleasure wallowing, wandering, wondering, and whiling away the days with you...

xo, 
Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish.

4 comments:

  1. Ha! Industrious wasps to outpaper you, Amy. :) Congratulations on your series this year. Yay for wallowing in wonder. xo

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  2. A wonderful wind-up poem and post, Amy! Love how you immediately went to "paper" -:0) And a nice tribute to the Bard this month.

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  3. Love that picture of your paintings!

    This has been a WONDERful month (and now we can breathe again...a little...because there are only how many days of school left???).

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  4. A perfect ending to this fabulous project, Amy!

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