The Poem Farm

My Suitcase - Eavesdropping Poems

2012-02-01T10:22:00.002-05:00

Time to Unpack

Photo by Amy LV

Students - once again, I would like to encourage to to keep your ears open. If you are in a public place and hear an interesting snippet of language or a curious comparison or a clever mishmosh of words, you can tuck it in your brain and save it for later writing. I overheard such a line yesterday...on an airplane!

Last night I came home from two days of teaching and working with wonderful teachers at Fowler School and Green Meadow School in Maynard, MA. Waiting for our plane to arrive at the gate, I found myself listening to a little girl talking with her mom. She said, "We'll go get our suitcases from the little roller coaster now." It was one of the cutest sentences I'd ever heard, and I knew that it would form the beginning of today's poem. Great lines are dropping from the sky every day, but our ears must be ready to catch them!

I still may play more with this one. Part of me wants to try a free verse poem using this little girl's words as well. If I do, I'll share it in this space. And if you try sprouting a poem from an overheard line, please let me know.

As for roller coasters, I'm not a rider. But I do love Marla Frazee's book ROLLER COASTER.

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If you've ever wondered how roller coasters work...here you go!

It's February 1! This means that there are only 2 weeks left until we find out about the winners of the 2012 CYBILS! Here, again, are the poetry finalists.

Many congratulations to Kristine O'Connell George for winning Bank Street College's Claudia Lewis Award for EMMA DILEMMA!

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Technological Error - Channeling Amelia Bedelia

2012-01-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Computer Virus

by Amy LV

Students - I am going to call today's poem a Channeling-Amelia-Bedelia-Poem! When I was a little girl, I loved the way Amelia Bedelia took words at face value, mixing up all sorts of household tasks. She did not understand idioms, and her mistakes helped me understand the complexity of language at a young age and in an entertaining way. Amelia may have been my first window into wordplay, and I was charmed by her good-hearted mistakes.

For today's poem, I took a phrase that we hear all of the time and made my little speaker take it literally, treating the computer as one would treat a sick child. And while "computer virus" isn't exactly an idiom, I used the idea from Peggy's "Amelia Bedelia" books and wrote a confusing-meaning poem. You might wish to try this little exercise. Here's a fun list of idioms from Tammy Worcester that you might wish to start with.

You can read about Peggy Parish, the author of the Amelia Bedelia books, here.

World Book Night is coming up on April 23, 2012 the anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and death. I've signed up to be a Book Giver, and I hope I'll be chosen to hand out copies of THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot. Check it out - you may wish to sign up too!

If you like poetry-related crafts, check out The Poem Farm facebook page. I've been finding some neat ones.

And at Sharing Our Notebooks, author J. Anderson Coats is sharing her notebook!

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Poetry Friday & ...and then we play

2012-01-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

Mr. Fluffles

Photo by Amy LV

Henry's Cross for Mr. Fluffles

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I'm sometimes confused by life, how it comes and goes and is so quickly full of hellos and goodbyes. Our bunny Fluffles died in the fall, and his empty hutch still sits out in the yard. This morning as I walked up to the barn, I saw it and felt that small sad pang in my heart.

But even as I remember that fluffy little guy, there are so many today-joys to bring me forward. Yesterday I met with Suzanne Hunter's second grade class in Holland, NY, and we talked about how our bodies are full of all kinds of feelings: happy, sad, serious, silly...and when we write, we can explore any one we wish.

Today when you write, just be quiet inside for a few moments. See what feeling, what idea comes to the top. Listen to it; let it guide your pencil.

Margaret Brown's THE DEAD BIRD, reminds me to love life even in the face of loss. This book surely rang in my heart as I wrote today's poem.

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Taking a rainy drive through a country cemetery yesterday, I thought about one of my favorite poems, a perspective-helping poem, W.S. Merwin's For the Anniversary of my Death.

Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me

Read the rest of the poem here.

Today's npr StoryCorps speaks to cherishing our days too. Life is so precious.

Thank you to Jim for hosting today's Poetry Friday over at Hey, Jim Hill! There you will find all kinds of poetry goodness to sustain you through the week.

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Water - Writing about Contrasts

2012-01-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Watery World

by Georgia LV

Daily

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Sometimes it is fun to trace back the family tree of a piece of writing - where did it come from? Well, this one came from a few places. One place it came from is a poem that I've read a few times this week, The Place I Want to Get Back To by Mary Oliver. The last few lines read -

If you want to talk about this
come to visit. I live in the house
near the corner, which I have named
Gratitude.

Mary Oliver's poem got me thinking about what I'm grateful for.

Then, I came across the drawing above that my daughter Georgia drew.

I did some reading about informational texts, particularly compare and contrast.

I also remembered this book -

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And all of this led to to today's poem!

Try it - find a piece of writing you've done (or write a new one) and then trace it back. Find its relatives and see where it came from in your attic-mind.

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Library Book

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Students - this is a poem that I wrote a few years ago, a poem about something I love to do...take books out from the library! (Our family is much much better at taking books out than returning them on time, but fortunately the library likes our overdue fines too.) Is there something that gives you a so-full-happy-cannot-wait-feeling? If so, then you must write about it! Maybe even today...

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Poetry Friday & Patience

2012-01-20T00:00:00.002-05:00

Oh No!

by Amy LV

Students - Strange to say, but I've always loved the rhyming sounds of alligator and elevator. I think they're just funny words, each with four syllables, each with the stress on the first syllable. This pair has kicked around in my head for quite a while and even made a cameo in a poem once. Well, today they're back in center stage!

Today's poem is what I might call a "fake advice" poem. It's a how-to poem of sorts (I know that many of you have written how-to books and articles) only this time, it's got a splash of imagination too. You might want to try this twist on procedural writing. Make up a fake set of directions, and set them to a poem beat!

As for word play, here's something to try. Choose a word with two or three syllables. Take the word brother for example. Now, write that word on the top of a page, and try to think of other words that have the same stresses, the same beats, the same emphasis on the same syllables. Don't even think about rhyme for now.

Let's look at the word brother together.

BROther has the same stresses as WEEKend and PRAIrie. When we read the words, we naturally lean heavily on that first syllable. Can you hear what I mean? Say those words aloud. Can you think of some other two syllable words with the stress on the first syllable? Make a list!

BROther has different stresses than forGET, rePLY, and exCUSE. Those three words have the accent on the second syllable, and our voices press down more heavily on that second syllable. Say these words out loud to hear those stresses. Can you think of some more two-syllable words with the second syllable accented?

Fun, isn't it? You might even want to keep lists in your notebook or charts in your classroom of such stresses; sometimes I do.

If you find some great words or would like to share something you discover, please do so in the comments or by e-mailing me at amy at amylv dot com.

Elaine is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at Wild Rose Reader! I'm so happy to be back into more frequent blog reading and writing (partially thanks to the 2012 Comment Challenge), and can't wait for the weekend when I can truly dive into this Poetry Friday Extravaganza!

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Changing

2012-01-18T00:01:00.009-05:00

Sage at Two Months

Photo by Amy LV

Sage at Eight Months

Photo by Amy LV

Students - once again we have a list poem, this time simply a list of many of the ways that one thing changes into another. In making this list, I wanted to focus mostly on natural things...so you will notice many images of animals and plants and outside beauties.

Usually when I write rhyming list poems, I begin by making lists! Lists of rhyming words. These help me to find pairs of words that will go well together in the different stanzas. With a bit of shuffling, the words find their proper poemhomes.

I do like writing about changes and cycles, and I've done it over and over and over. And sometimes, when you think about something a lot, more things in your life point toward that idea. Just last night, I drove by this sign on 20A in Wales, NY.

These Signs They Are A'Changin

Photo by Amy LV

If you write a lot, you will notice patterns and themes in your writing. What about you? Hike through your old folders or notebooks and ask yourself, "What dreams and themes do I keep circling back to?"

Here's another change: the Poem Farm is back to more regular posts, now on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you are a student who would like to share your work or a teacher with a neat poetry idea to share, I would love to showcase it here. Peek at some of the examples of Classroom Poetry Peeks in the left hand sidebar to see what this might look like.

If you are a dog person and like today's photographs, do not miss Michael Rosen's THE HOUND DOG'S HAIKU: AND OTHER POEMS FOR DOG LOVERS. Each dog is haiku-ed with the perfect few words.

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Wintertime Treasure

2012-01-16T00:49:00.008-05:00

Sparkles Everywhere!

by Amy LV

Students - It's COLD here in Holland, NY this week, and the forest is aglow with chilly crystals. If you've never noticed, the world becomes more sparkly as it gets colder. So last night (8 degrees Fahrenheit) was simply glittering! If you look below at my draft for today's poem, you might notice the numbers 1 and 2 in the margins. This is because I switched the order of the stanzas after I wrote them! Then I switched a few lines! All of this as I flipped back and forth between my trusty rhyming dictionary and thesaurus. Writing is like that: back and forth, forth and back. The revising is as much fun (sometimes more!) than the writing.

Give it a try - switch a few things around in your own writing, and see what you think. Sometimes moving words around will surprise you in wonderful ways....

Poem Draft

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Finding Luck & Throwing Eyelashes

2012-01-14T15:49:00.000-05:00

This week it's Poetry Saturday in Holland, NY! We had a big snowstorm, and it interfered with our satellite. Please excuse my tardiness to the Poetry Friday party!

Eye Self-Portrait

by Georgia LV

Students - Sometimes you might find a poem or writing idea inside of an old writing piece. Today's poem grew from a two-week-old notebook entry. As you read the entry below, you might notice small snips that appear in "Finding Luck."

January 4, 2012

The day began, like many days, with a shower. A hotel shower where so many men and women I will never meet have washed their bodies, breathing deeply, readying themselves for a day ahead. As I looked to the white curtain, I could see a small eyelash curled against the fabric. Someone else's eyelash. Not mine.

In these moments, I decide and re-decide what I will say inside my own head, how I will react. A part of me wants to squeal, "Gross!" and live like my Grandpa Norman who would not stay in hotels or eat in restaurants lest he get the germs. But another side of me is superstitious. This side of me says "Pa-diddle!' and kisses a fool when I see a one-headlight car. This side punches Hope when I see a punch buggy. An eyelash? Why you throw it over your shoulder, of course.

I stood there in the shower, eyeing the tiny line of hair, thinking back to the many small eyelashes I have gently brushed from the cheeks of Hope, Georgia, and Henry, throwing them over their shoulders.

Warm water poured down my back as I heard a clear voice in my head say, "Oh, what the heck!" And I watched as my own hand gently brushed the eyelash from its curtain and threw it over my own wet shoulder.

Again, like always, I thought, "It's lucky!" and wondered if the luck would be mine or if somebody somewhere today had a wonderful day with no idea where the luck hailed from.

I would not consider myself a very superstitious person, but there are certain little habits I have, like tossing eyelashes and avoiding cracks in the sidewalk. Back in 2010, I posted a poem about lucky socks along with a recommendation for Janet Wong's great poetry book about superstitions, KNOCK ON WOOD.

Lately I have been posting more links to great poems and quotes on The Poem Farm Facebook Page. Please 'like' it to receive these links and poems and quotes on your news feed.

Tara is hosting this week's roundup over at A Teaching Life. You may well have already been there, but in case not...enjoy! Happy week ahead!

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Goodbye to Christmas Trees

2012-01-06T00:00:00.002-05:00

Ewes Taste Christmas - 2012

Photo by Amy LV

Students - it's that time of year when Christmas trees line the roadsides. When I was a girl, this was always a tough week. I'd want to keep the tree up for as many weeks as we could, and I fantasized about it becoming a Valentine Tree and a St. Patrick's Day Tree, and an Easter Tree. But one day or another, the needles would begin to fall, and out it would go...down the concrete steps, down the driveway, straight to the curb. And there it would lie, and there I would stand, kissing the tips of its needles and saying, "Goodbye."

If you have read this blog for a while, you know that I have a soft spot for inanimate objects. I feel what I imagine they feel. You can see this in Pumpkin and Christmas Tree Lot too. Today's poem is about imagining the feelings of something else, and it's about goodbyes. So if you ever imagine what something else is thinking, or if you have a certain type of goodbye that is tough for you, that might be a good place to begin today's writing. Too, this is a poem written TO something, to a Christmas tree. Such a poem is called a poem of address. Is there anything you want to talk to? If so, then go ahead and address it in a poem!

You may notice that the first line of both the first and third stanzas match the song, "O Christmas Tree." This was a fun way for me to begin, by jumping into the words of a familiar song from the season.

Back in my girlhood days, I was comforted to know that our small town of Vestal, NY recycled old Christmas trees as mulch for town parks. Today I am comforted to know that our Icelandic sheep happily munch our old tree right up!

If you haven't yet peeked into how third grade teacher Mary Bieger uses writer's notebooks and seen Arya's entries...there's a new notebook up at Sharing Our Notebooks, my blog devoted to writer's notebooks.

Joann is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Teaching Authors. Have a great time in the garden of poetry!

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December 31 & Looking Into 2012

2011-12-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

1970s New Year Parties

by Amy LV

Students - When I was a young girl, my little sister Heidi and I would always celebrate New Year's Eve with our Grandma Florence. My parents would go out dancing, and the three of us (plus our dog Thor or later, Valentine) would set up a small card table with a cloth and all manner of goodies from shrimp cocktail to Cheez Whiz and Ritz Crackers. Of course we would use Mom and Dad's wine glasses to toast the new year with sparkling apple juice, and of course we would blow noisemakers and wear sparkly crowns!

My grandmother has been gone for thirteen years now, but to me, New Year's Eve will always remind me of a party with Grandma, Heidi, and all of our stuffed animals...spraying cheese into our mouths and counting down from 10 until the glittery ball dropped on our TV screen. I'm ready for it once more, this circle of planet and clock and life that twirls and twirls, just like a dancing dress.

What to write about? Well, what have you ever waited for? I remember choosing all of those yummy party goodies at Loblaws and then just waiting for New Year's when we would be able to eat them up. And then I remember watching our small mantel clock clock tick away until midnight. When would it ever come? Try this - write about waiting.

Speaking of waiting, on New Year's Day, the shortlists for the CYBILS will be announced on the CYBILS website. I feel grateful to have served on the panel of first round judges for poetry, and it was a challenge to choose which titles to send on. Don't miss the list, and be sure to revisit the CYBILS site again on Valentine's Day for the winners in all different categories.

2012 will bring some good news for my poetry. I look forward to a poem about writing coming out in TRAITS WRITING by Ruth Culham, a lice poem in NASTY BUGS edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Will Terry, a poem about reading alongside Sylvia Vardell's March column in BOOK LINKS, and a poem in THE ARROW FINDS ITS MARK edited by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Antoine Guillope. I also hope that Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell will continue their work with e-books such as POETRY TAG TIME, P*TAG, and GIFT TAG. And by next fall, I should have news about my own book, FOREST HAS A SONG, to be published by Clarion and illustrated by Robbin Gourley in the Spring of 2013. As always, my fingers are continually crossed for a couple of manuscripts which are out there in the woods, tossing breadcrumbs from their wee hopeful pockets.

In terms of projects, 2012 plans include establishing at least two tiny libraries of poetry around Buffalo and working with Amy Souza and Jamie Palmer to launch SPARK for kids. Too, I hope to be selected to speak at a couple of national conferences in addition to regular teaching travel in Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, South Dakota, and around New York State. THE POEM FARM blog and SHARING OUR NOTEBOOKS will continue on as they have for the past several months, with weekly-ish posts, and I will continue my Notes from Heart Rock Farm column in EDIBLE BUFFALO.

At this time of year, I am grateful for many many things...including all of the kind and wise friends I have met through this space. May your 2012 be joyous!

Julie Larios is hosting the final 2011 Poetry Friday roundup over at The Drift Record. Happy New Year!

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Early

2011-12-23T00:01:00.005-05:00

Present-Giving

by Amy LV

Students - Everyone is full of secrets at our house these days, stealing off to bedrooms with scissors and tape, paper and bows. Between sips of egg nog and licks of peppermint, we're all getting excited to give gifts to one another. I love thinking about what my family will like to open on Christmas morning and I love making, finding, and wrapping gifts. Just like when I was a little girl, it is difficult to wait! Writing today's poem, I took that waiting-feeling and wrapped it up inside a poem.

I remember many years ago when Hope (now thirteen) was four years old. Mark had taken her to go Christmas shopping, and she was intent on keeping my present a secret. Hope was fascinated with bathrooms at that age, and I was charmed to hear her exclaim, "Mommy! There was a potty at the watch store!" Mark's secret was out, but we will tell that adorable story forever.

In happy poetry-news, I am pleased to share that I AM THE BOOK, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, has won a Nerdy Book Club Award, and my poem from that book ("Book") appears on the award posting. It was a gift to be a part of this book-love anthology...thank you, Lee!

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Many good wishes to all of you and your loved ones during this beautiful time of love and light.

Dori is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Dori Reads. Cheers!

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Finding Answers - A Poem for Two Voices

2011-12-16T09:46:00.000-05:00

Hope Looks for Eggs & Answers

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Earlier this week, I had the chance to visit Dale Sondericker's looping third grade students at Marilla Primary. They invited me to their classroom because they were having difficulty reading one of my poems - Two Hemispheres - and they wanted me to tell them how I thought it should be read.

We had an interesting talk about the different ways they tried reading the poem and what I had in mind. It was a treat to hear these children's voices read that poem aloud (it's hard to revise a poem like this when you're only one voice reading aloud), and I liked their way as much as the way I'd envisioned the poem being read. As I left the classroom, Dale stressed to his young writers that if you don't know something in reading, if you can't talk with the author, you can figure out what makes the most sense to you. Wise words.

Later in the day of my visit, Dale told me that when I left, one girl said, "I still like our way better." Hooray! So, today's poem is for Mr. Sondericker's third grade writers who read aloud together, who ask questions, and who find answers inside of themselves.

Kate Coombs is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Book Aunt. Along with sharing everyone's dish to pass today, Kate gives us a peek at some of the "magic tinged" poems that did not make it into her forthcoming book, WATER SINGS BLUE. Visit, read, ask questions, feast!

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London Dreaming, Umbrella Path, & SPARK 14

2011-12-09T00:01:00.013-05:00

London Dreaming

(oil on canvas , "40 x 30")

by Alixandra Martin

Students - sometimes I find that my writing is best when I am inspired by someone else's idea. This may sound funny since I often write about the many different ways that I try to find topics on my own. But there is something neat about writing from someone else's work, writing to deadline, writing about something that first grew in someone else's mind. That's the work of SPARK, connecting writers, artists, and musicians...allowing each to inspire the other.

This is the third time that I've participated in SPARK, founded by Amy Souza and described below in her own words -

Open to writers, musicians, and visual artists of all kinds, SPARK is a participatory creativity event that takes place four times each year.

During each 10-day project round, participants create a new piece of work using someone else's art, writing, or music as inspiration. All resulting work is then displayed online, alongside the piece that inspired it.

For this round, I connected with artist Alix Martin, my talented friend who painted all of the images you see on my website and blogs. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous to write from "London Dreaming" because Alix is my friend, and I wanted her to feel that my words met her image well. So day after day in the 10 days of SPARK, I went back to my notebook -- writing the poem, writing the poem again, circling the poem, stalking the poem. I even used a prose writing exercise from Ursula K. Le Guin's book, STEERING THE CRAFT, to help me with the sounds in "Umbrella Path."

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Exercise from p. 26 - BEING GORGEOUS - Write a paragraph to a page (150 - 300 words) of narrative that's meant to be read aloud. Use onomatopoeia, alliteration, repetition, rhythmic effects, made-up words or names, dialect -- any kind of sound-effect you like -- but NOT rhyme or meter.Doing this exercise gave me some snips and snaps that helped to build the foundation for my finished poem

I feel very lucky to have written from Alix's work in this round, and early next week I will post the inspiration poem I sent to Alix along the artwork she created in response.

It is exciting to write from someone else's art and to wonder what an artist will do with your words. These are the pieces I've written for previous SPARK rounds along with the images.

SPARK 15 will take place in February, and this time there will hopefully be an experimental Kids' SPARK too. SPARK founder Amy Souza, Webster teacher Jamie Palmer, and I are putting our heads together about how we will do this, so please stay posted for details at SPARK and here as well.

This week was marvelous in more ways than one. Last Friday, I had the good fortune to hear Naomi Shihab Nye speak at Kleinhans Music Hall. Her great soul and words have stayed with me all week. When she read "Kindness," I looked at my friend Nancy. It's one of our favorite poems ever. And when Naomi closed with "Gate 4-A," I felt forever new. Should you ever have the chance to hear Naomi speak (she will be back in the Buffalo area this spring) -- go. You will be renewed.

Robyn Hood Black is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Read, Write, Howl. Thank you, Robyn, for weaving such a lovely post for us today!

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Button in My Hand & Poems Around Town

2011-12-02T00:01:00.023-05:00

Hope's Hand with Button

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I adore buttons. I like their smallness and their mystery. I like how they do so much for so little. So sometimes, I write about them. Once for SPARK, I submitted a poem about a button which Nancy Claeys responded to with beautiful photography, and I love Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, Famous, which honors the humble work of buttonholes. Tonight I will hear Naomi read here in Buffalo, at Kleinhan's Music Hall! Buffalonians...I hope to see you there!

One of the great gifts of my life is the opportunity to work with inspiring teachers. Annemarie Jason is a tremendously talented and dedicated librarian at Marilla Primary in the Iroquois Central School District, and today's poetry peek comes straight from her soul and her love of children and words.

From librarian Annemarie Jason --

It was exploding all over the place. Wherever you looked, there it was -- in the library, in the hallways and classrooms, in purses and backpacks and even in the air! Poetry was a'poppin at Marilla Primary this past Spring. One second grade student, Morgaine Marshall, wrote so many poems that she inspired students in all grades to write poetry too.

Poets Morgaine Marshall and Maggie Lenda

Photo by Annemarie Jason

Morgaine started her own poetry gallery in her classroom. There, she posted new work daily for visitors to view. Her teacher, Colleen Logan-Bruce, says that Morgaine opened and closed her gallery for limited viewing times and called it her poetry store. It cost viewers not one penny to enjoy Morgaine's wonderful words.

We read, wrote, and celebrated lots of poetry in the library. New student poems popped up daily outside of the library. My fingers nearly fell off from typing them all so that they'd look "professional". When one first grader handed me a poem that he'd written at home, he said, "You'll make sure the whole world reads it now, won't you?" I told him that I'd try my best to cover a lot of territory. That's when I got the idea to share our poetry in the community.

I contacted local libraries and businesses. Soon, our poems arrived in poetry baskets at each location. Anyone could take one home for free. Students loved it, and soon I got happy comments from adult poetry recipients too. I hope to spread "the word" again in this school year.

Poetry Basket

Photo by Annemarie Jason

We're all sad that our Morgaine has moved to Florida, but here are some of the poems she left behind. The first is a poem Morgaine wrote in the library in response to hearing other poems I read. I did not read snow poems, so this is Morgaine's original concept. When she read it to me, I knew that I was in the presence of someone who was born to write.

Snow

Plop! Plop! Plop!
Snowflakes tapping on our windows
with their icy snowflake fingers.
Plows are picking up little baby snowflakes off the ground.
Falling down from heaven,
snowflakes drift down with parachutes.

Morgaine Marshall

The next poem was included in the Western New York Writing Project's YOUNG WRITERS' ANTHOLOGY. Morgaine got to read it to hundreds of people at a reception for young writers.

Poets

Poets are graceful with words
and creative with titles.
Poets write poems
that change a person's attitude
and soon spread over the world.

Morgaine Marshall

Good writers are thinkers and observers. Poets put words in tiny packages that make readers say, "Yes! You made me look at that so closely, see it so clearly" or "That is so true. Why, that's just the way it is!"

Ocean

The ocean shakes and turns in its bed
as the storms rage.
The ocean wakes up when it's sunny
and sends its friends, the seashells, to the shore
and hopes that a human will find them
and make them special.

Morgaine Marshall

Raindrops

Raindrops gracefully fall
like birds fly
and they're falling
from the clouds
on bungee cords.

Morgaine Marshall

Friends

Friends are like guardian angels.
They're always here for you.
They live in a house in your heart.
All the windows and doors are locked
So they'll never leave
your heart.

Morgaine Marshall

What a treasure! For more such loveliness...head on over to Carol's Corner for today's Poetry Friday smorgasbord.

And if you have not visited my new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I invite you (and your students if you have students!) to stop by and take a peek into illustrator Shirley Ng-Benitez's drawing process. Please consider joining that blog so you receive new updates as new notebooks and sketchbooks are added.

Happy Poetry Friday!

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Warm Memory & GIFT TAG

2011-11-25T06:32:00.003-05:00

Paper Snowflake

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Lately I have been thinking lots about snow. It started a few weeks ago when I had to choose a photograph to write from for GIFT TAG. This new e-book required each poet to choose an inspiration-photograph, and I chose a picture of snow falling around a small home. I needed to write a poem about a gift...and as a Buffalo girl, I think snow is a gift! My poem in GIFT TAG, "Snow Gifts," got me thinking about what's in store for us over the next five months.

Then, this Tuesday at school, a teacher friend told me a story. Sue teaches third grade, and a few days ago she looked out her classroom window to see snow swirling everywhere. And then she did just what the teacher in "Warm Memory" did. Sue put on her coat and led her students outside into a circle to "catch November snowflakes!" She and her class ate snowflakes together, holding their arms out, watching crystals land on their coats, cherishing this once-a-year first snowfall surprise.

At that moment I knew that I wanted to write Sue's story. And in doing so, her story became my story too. So many people do kind and beautiful things each day, and if we watch and listen carefully, our story-banks grow. Now, every time I see a first snow...I will imagine those third graders in their hushed circle, tongues in the sky and hearts full of fun. Teachers like Sue are a gift.

E-book GIFT TAG comes to us from Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell, and it is filled with poems by 28 different poets, each inspired by a different photograph. My poem, "Snow Gifts," nestles among poems about goldfish, a bicycle, perfume, a kitty, and many other goodies.

This e-poetry collection is third in a series of e-poetry anthologies put together by Janet and Sylvia, each only $2.99 through Amazon. You can read or gift POETRY TAG TIME, p*tag, or GIFT TAG on a phone, iPad, or computer, and the poems are easy to project in a classroom too. I like reading the different poems as well as the connections made by the poets, and one of my favorite things is the way each e-book links to the different poets' websites. So, for a few dollars, a reader opens up a whole new world of writers. For you early bargain shoppers, GIFT TAG will be available for $1.99 through Monday.

Last weekend found me at NCTE, in love with session after session of poetry goodness. If you would like to hear some snips of the wonderful poem sessions, visit Sylvia Vardell's Poetry for Children blog where she has graciously posted poem video clips from the convention.

Thank you to Heidi Mordhorst for hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at my juicy little universe. I am so thankful for my Poetry Friday friends...

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Thanksgiving

2011-11-18T00:01:00.001-05:00

Wednesday Sky

Photo by Amy LV

The other day, Georgia looked out the window and exclaimed, "The sky looks like cotton candy!" And it did. Each day is full of such marvels, and this week I vow to behold more wonders in my life. Big ones, small ones, all.

Today I am grateful for a new word learned this week - murmuration. You may already have found out what this means, but if not, visit Wired Science to see something astoundingly lovely in the sky.

I know a local teacher who has her students write regularly about something they are grateful for. Wise indeed.

Students - look around. Be grateful. Write about it.

I'm thankful to have met so many new friends through the beauty of words. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Thank you today to Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at The Opposite of Indifference. Stop on by!

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Poetry Friday & Daylight Savings Bank

2011-11-11T00:01:00.001-05:00

Stonehenge Sunrise

by Georgia LV

Are you used to the time change yet? Over here we're still adjusting our body clocks to the clocks in the world. And my car is still an hour ahead!

Students - today's poem comes to you from the Manuscript Bus Station. Some time ago, I wrote a poetry collection titled IMAGINARY NEIGHBORHOOD, and it's a rustle of poems about places that don't really exist except for in my mind. No, there's not a real "Daylight Savings Bank" or a real "Snowflake Designer's Studio," but in the IMAGINARY NEIGHBORHOOD...there is.

What's the Manuscript Bus Station? Well, it's not a poem. But it's a place where manuscripts wait for someone to pick them up and take them home. Writers spend lots of time visiting the Manuscript Bus Station, checking to see if they got a ride with a publisher.

This poem came from my crazy head and my constant confusion with Daylight Savings Time. The Daylight Savings Bank is a made up place, one I think would be neat to visit in real life. What place do you wish to invent? Go for it! Your imaginary place can come to life in your notebook! Thinking about different times in the year is another way that I find writing ideas.

Today is Veterans Day. Last year, I posted To You on Veterans Day, and today I am especially thinking about those who have served and continue to serve our country. Last Friday, my mother shared this family scrapbook with me - full of letters from my grandpa Norman H. Dreyer to my grandmother, Florence E.C. Dreyer, during WWII. I will be writing about these soon, but today I will be rereading the letters and thinking about my grandparents between 1943 - 1945.

Dreyer Family Letters

Photo by Amy LV

It was such a delight to talk with teachers at last week at Literacy for All about writing history poems in social studies class. This week I've been mulling over many of their comments and stories, and I am excited to continue this conversation at NCTE in a couple of weeks.

Today I look forward to talking with parents at the NYS PTA Convention about "Encouraging and Strengthening Young Writers at Home." If anyone would like the handouts from that session, please just send me an e-mail to amy@amylv.com, and I will be happy to send them on their way to you.

April Halprin Wayland is hosting today's Poetry Friday buffet over at Teaching Authors. Thank you, April!

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History into Poetry: Luigi Del Bianco

2011-11-04T00:01:00.012-04:00

Partway Knitted Tote Bag

Photo by Amy LV

Driving last Friday, I listened to a story from npr's Story Corps series. The story was about Luigi Del Bianco, the man who carved many of the details in Lincoln's Mount Rushmore face. His daughter, Gloria, shared her memories of her father with nephew Lou, and I was struck by this quote,

"And when I was little, my father wanted to carve me, but being the rambunctious, impatient child that I was, I wouldn't sit for him...And my mother would say, 'Please go sit for your father -- he won't keep you long, just a little bit.'"

I drove along the quiet roads of Alexander, NY thinking about this talented father wishing to immortalize his little girl. And I wanted to write about it. (You will notice the direct quote from Gloria in this poem.)

Students - At the top of this post, you may have wondered about why there is a photo of my current knitting project. Well, it's going to be a tote bag, and it's knitted from scraps of yarn that I've had around the house. No need to go to the store for the yarn; it is old yarn. In the knitting world, we call this a stash.

So too, can we use "old yarn" for our poems. This world is full. Full of stories. The world is a stash! Every person you meet is a story-container. And so is every social studies book, each folded photograph, piece of clothing, or worn out tool. In any object or memory or person live unlimited possible-poems. We just have to go in there and get them! Faces from stone. Bags from old yarn. Poems from scraps of the past. We are makers, we humans.

Try this today. Open up your social studies book. Or an old one. Or any picture book that talks about the past. Remember something about the past that a family member once said. And open it up into poetry.

Teachers - in her book, PRACTICAL POETRY, Sara Holbrook discusses many ways to thread poetry through all of the disciplines. And with the new Common Core Standards, poetry is a beautiful way to incorporate writing in history, science, art, and math.

Available through Heinemann

This Monday at Literacy for All and later this month at the NCTE annual convention, I will speak about writing poems from and about history. With Karen Caine and Barry Lane (wait...my name doesn't rhyme!), I will share some ideas and resources for ways to weave poetry and history study. If you would like the handouts from these soon-to-be sessions, please just send me an e-mail to amy@amylv.com, and I will be happy to share them along.

If you're looking for a book just for you (or your YA students), I cannot recommend highly enough Allan Wolf's THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT. This verse novel takes on 24 voices, from Captain to undertaker, refugee to Colonel. It is beautiful. It is haunting. It is on your to-be-read list.

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For more information about Luigi Del Bianco, visit the Mount Rushmore site or listen to his children talking about him in this YouTube video.

And to read more about using poetry with social studies, don't miss Sylvia Vardell's recent post at Poetry for Children - Notable Poetry in Social Studies or this one about poems of war and peace.

Laura Purdie Salas is hosting today's Poetry Friday at her sharp new WordPress blog, Writing the World for Kids. Thank you, Laura!

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Round and Round

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Nest after Nest

by Amy LV

Students - earlier this week, walking through our yard, I came across a blown-down, used-up nest. In an eye-blink I was whisked through all of the seasons. A spring of building and growing. A summer of flight. An autumn of goodbye. An approaching winter of quiet. Once again, a small nest reminded me of the cycle of life, and I imagined the same twigs being used more than once by more than one mother bird.

Sitting down to write today's poem, that nest appeared in my mind again. A bit flattened and worn, looking more like a bunch of sticks than a home, this nest whispered to me of all mothers. We build, we create, we love, we say goodbye, we all fly. This happens again and again, in the bird world and in the human world too.

Watch your life carefully this week. Assign yourself the job of noticing tiny beauties. Gather them in your own mind like small twigs and bits of string. And then, later, when you sit to write...they may come back and fly into your heart, flapping the words of poetry.

We do all have favorite topics, and through writing, I am coming to realize that nests are one of my favorite topics. Here are a few nest poems from the past: Recycling, Vacancy, nest. Sometimes you can't know your life topics are until you write a lot of pages. Wading through our own words, we come to know ourselves.

Lately I feel like a twig-gathering little bird, flitting about from place to place to pull together all of the books nominated for the poetry Cybils. I look forward to these chilly evenings (first snow here yesterday), warming my toes with wool, my insides with tea, and my heart with poems.

In case you didn't hear, my book-to-be will be published a bit later than first thought. The new projected publication date of FOREST HAS A SONG, illustrated by Robbin Gourley and published by Clarion, is Spring 2013. Nests in the trees, books on the shelves, two springs away!

Diane is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Random Noodling. Happy last Poetry Friday of October.

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I Love Choosing & Hooray for P*TAG!

2011-10-21T00:28:00.002-04:00

Ballerina Georgia in 2004

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Last week, I was chatting with my sister-in-law about our young niece. They had gone together to see a ballet, and our niece chose her own outfit: red and black plaid dress, red and black plaid tights, Mardi Gras beads wrapped 'round her wrist again and again as bracelets, sparkly shoes, and hair in a side ponytail. I couldn't help thinking, "What a lucky girl to pick her own clothes!"

So, last night when I sat down to write, I remembered this conversation and decided to write about those funcrazy outfits that we choose all by ourselves. I found today's poem idea in a recent telephone conversation, remembering that story that my sister-in-law told me about our niece. Try this technique yourself. Sit quietly and think about the conversations you've had in the past week. What do you remember? Find a conversation that might grow into a poem or a story and just jump in!

This week I also reread the new P*TAG, a new digital poetry anthology for teens. Snuggled up by the heater, I scrolled through poem and photograph after poem and photograph, remembering what it was like to be a teenager. So much of that time came back to me, from conversations with friends to my feelings about boys to my own questions about growing up.

Available through Amazon

Brought to us by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, this collection includes poems by so many well-loved writers for teens: Arnold Adoff, Jaime Adoff, Kathi Appelt, Jeannine Atkins, Jen Bryant, Margarita Engle, Betsy Franco, Helen Frost, Lorie Ann Grover, David L. Harrison, Stephanie Hemphill, Sara Holbrook, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Paul B. Janeczko, Michele Krueger, Julie Larios, JonArno Lawson, J. Patrick Lewis, Kimberly Marcus, Heidi Mordhorst, Naomi Shihab Nye, Michael Salinger, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, Sonya Sones, Charles Waters, April Halprin Wayland, Steven Withrow, Allan Wolf, Janet Wong, and Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. Sylvia took all of the photographs, and one-by-one, each poet tagged another, just as in POETRY TAG TIME.

P*TAG is available only as a digital download ($2.99!) for your Kindle, iphone, Android, or computer, and it's a great gift for a teen in your life or the teen in yourself. If you haven't taken a peek at this or at POETRY TAG TIME, I highly recommend both as strong collections that may well introduce you to poets you have never read.

For another wonderful e-collection by Janet Wong, check out ONCE UPON A TIGER, poems and artwork about endangered animals.

Janet Wong's poem, published in this fall's issue of the JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, expresses the way I feel when I hand my own phone to Hope, Georgia, or Henry for poetry reading in the back seat of our car.

The Line

We've been standing in line
five long minutes.
I'm starving but Mom won't let me
sneak a snack from the cart.
It's hard to stand there waiting, nothing to do, and Mom
knows it (because I know she's starving, too).

Then out of nowhere
she hands me her cell phone
and tells me to read the screen:
"Loud enough so I can hear."
A poem? I can't believe it:
I like the poem. It's funny.
The old lady behind us laughs so hard
she spit-sprays in my ear.
I put my hoodie up.
Mom asks for another.
It's good. I like this one even better,
even if it's not funny.
Even if it doesn't rhyme.
It makes me forget about the line
and makes me remember summer.

Three and a half poems later,
Mom says, "Time to go home."
I look up. The groceries are in their bags.
The checker says: "Wait! Won't you read
the ending, please?"

Janet Wong

Jama Rattigan, hostess extraordinaire, is holding today's Poetry Friday party at Jama's Alphabet Soup. And when Jama has a party, you don't want to miss it! Enjoy the food and festivities... Happy Poetry Friday!

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Raking - Poems about Seasonal Stuff

2011-10-14T00:01:00.010-04:00

Leaves

Photo by Amy LV

Sometimes poems simply grow from what is in the air and weather and all around. And what is all around here in Holland, NY this mid-October week is LEAVES!

Students - this poem is just about something that I have done and see my children do. What is a normal seasonal something that you do? That someone else does? Try describing it in a poem-form. You may have noticed (how could you not?) that I repeated the word "rake" many many times. If you have ever raked leaves, you will know why I did so.

Over at my newest blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, naturalist Mark Baldwin shares how he holds onto images and the natural world through nature journaling. I welcome you to join this new classroom-friendly site as it continues to grow with many voices in the field of writing and art. And if you'd be willing to share it along with a friend, I'd be so grateful too!

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is over at Fomograms with david elzey. Enjoy today's offerings of words and love.

Oh! Please don't forget to nominate poetry books for the Cybils! There is only one day left - nominations close tomorrow, and then we begin reading and making the short list!

Happy lovely fall! (And happy raking...)

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White Fields & Notebooks

2011-10-07T00:01:00.005-04:00

Little Notebook

Notebook Entry from March 24, 2010

Lately I've been thinking a lot about writer's notebooks. A month ago, I began a new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, partly to inspire me to get back into more notebook writing. Well, it's working.

We had a busy week this week with a new batch of foster kitties to "home" and a new manuscript to revise. So, last night I wasn't sure what to to choose to write about. With notebooks on the brain, it didn't take long to think, "I'll just reread one of my old notebooks and find an idea."

That said, I walked to my big old desk with this little old cherry notebook, opened a page, and found the bit of entry you see above. The poem comes almost directly from this entry, "...walking in the white fields with my pen, uncertain of what I will find."

So if you've ever wondered, "Why keep a notebook?" Here's why. You never know what's stuffed in there that you might need later. One day's idle thought is another day's inspiration. Try it. Just open your notebook today, flip through, and choose a line that sounds neat. Then, make something bigger out of it.

The last two lines in this poem come from Natalie Goldberg's WRITING DOWN THE BONES. She writes, "Writers live twice. They go along with their regular life, are as fast as anyone in the grocery store, crossing the street, getting dressed for work in the morning. But there's another part of them that they have been training. The one that lives everything a second time. That sits down and sees their life again and goes over it. Looks at the texture and detail." This idea of "Writers live twice," is one that rings deeply in me.

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Please note that the nominations for the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) including poetry books, are open for another week! Please check out the Cybils website if you haven't yet done so and take a peek at the already-nominated poetry books here. As a judge for this year, I look forward to reading these books and helping to usher some of them to the short list.

Mary Ann is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Great Kid Books. Thank you, Mary Ann.

Meow!

Penny, Pumpkin, & Juniper
Photo by Henry LV

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Just Like I Used To Do...

2011-09-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

Memories

by Amy LV

Students - lately I have been focusing more on writing regularly in my notebook. It may because of all of the peeks I've been taking into others' notebooks at my new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks. It may because I'm digging into Julia Cameron's book FINDING WATER: THE ART OF PERSEVERANCE. But no matter the reason, I'm so glad to be nestling into fresh pages this fall.

Yesterday I was diddling along in my book, writing about the quiet morning, the colors outside my window, and the steam-patterns rising from my mug of tea. I always allow myself to change directions, switch ideas at any time, let the writing find its path, and that's just what I was doing. At once I was writing about a memory I've told you before.

Years ago, when Mark and I lived in the suburbs, we had some sweet girl-neighbors. One day they came by to swing their dolls in our blue hammock...but they had their dolls hidden in plastic bags so no one would see that they still liked dolls. Well, I still like dolls. And I like my daughters' dolls too, even though none of us play with them so much any more. Dolls, like so many other things, feel alive to me.

So during yesterday's writing time, I imagined one small interaction between a girl (Me? My daughter? My old neighbor girl?) and her doll, a little snatch of pretend-time. In it, I saw me as a little girl and my daughters as grown-ups, my mother as a child, and me as a grandma. We girl-women in my family all used to play dolls, but so suddenly it seems that things change. Just yesterday I was putting plastic ice skates on my Ginny doll. And now...I'm a real mom! Strange.

In Jamie Lee Curtis's book WHEN I WAS LITTLE: A FOUR YEAR OLD'S MEMOIR OF HER YOUTH, the narrator talks about things she "used to do." What did you "used to do"? Try making a list of all of the things you used to do...and all of the things you do now. Choose one thing and write, write, write. Don't think too hard; just follow the line of your pencil.

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Dar Williams illustrates a feeling of change very well for me in her song, one of my favorite songs, "When I Was A Boy."

One way which I feel very privileged to be spending some of my autumnwinter time is as a first round poetry judge for the 2011 CYBILS. The CYBILS are the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, and nominations for every category begin tomorrow, October 1 and go through October 15. To learn more about the CYBILS, visit here.

Happy Poetry Friday to all! Sara is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Read Write Believe.

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Asters - Writing about Beauty

2011-09-23T00:40:00.007-04:00

Stopping by Raiber Road
Photo by Amy LV

Driving home from a school on Wednesday, I was struck by the absolute beauty of autumn wildflowers lining country roads. Gold and purple, brown and green...the mosiac of color and changing life made my soul sigh in wonder.

As I neared home, I pulled my car to the side of the road, got out, and took several photos, including the one at the top of this post. I couldn't shake this picture, those purple faces, fireworks, shouting out to the world, "We are here! It is autumn! Rejoice!"

What do you find so beautiful that it stops you from walking, from talking, from riding your bike? If something makes you pause, makes you think, makes you long for more...write.

Was I inspired by a favorite poem here? I am certain that I was. X.J. Kennedy's poem "Blow-Up" speaks of a cherry tree losing its blossoms. It, too, rhymes the words blast and last. It, too, is about time's fast passage.

In the words of the Lebanese American poet Kahlil Gibran, "Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary."

Listen to your heart.

If you have not yet visited my new blog, I invite you to Sharing Our Notebooks, a growing blog peeking into the notebooks of all kinds of people and appropriate for classroom sharing and mini lessons. This week, writer Luke Reynolds has opened up his pages to us!

Anastasia Suen is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Picture Book of the Day.

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Hosting Poetry Friday & A Singing Lady

2011-09-16T00:03:00.057-04:00

Welcome to today's Poetry Friday buffet...here! I hope you're hungry, as there will be many links to munch on throughout the day.

Plane Tickets

Students - today's poem comes from something that just happened to me...almost. This week, I had the chance to work with some fantastic and warm teachers in Ohio's West Carrollton Schools. Ohio is several hours from home, so this work required some air travel.

On Wednesday evening I flew home through Newark, and while in the airport restroom, I heard a woman singing a lovely and mysterious Spanish song. It was mysterious to me because I do not speak Spanish and because I have never sung in a public restroom. I just stood there, washing my hands, savoring water and words both.

Were there others there? No, we were alone. Was it in a store? No, it was in an airport. So no, the facts of this poem are not exactly accurate. That's why I say that this "almost" happened to me.

The facts are not exact, but the spirit and soul of this moment could not be more true. I was touched by the openness of song in a restroom, of joy in the most mundane moment of daily life. My evening was made more beautiful by this chance encounter, and I know that I will think about this lady again and again.

Remember this - you do not need a perfect memory or the exact facts of an event to recapture the mood and dust left upon your heart.

To leave your link for today, please click on "Mister Linky" below and add a direct link to your Poetry Friday post. Along with your link, please include your name or blog's name followed by the topic of your post in parentheses.

For example: The Poem Farm (Original poem "I Heard a Lady Singing")

I will add posts throughout the day, though I will be out for much of the morning. Please click below to see what's here, and I'll round everything up as soon as I get back home.

Today's Dishes at the Poetry Friday Buffet
Steven Witherow at Crackles of Speech offers up an original poem about Facebook titled "Friendism."

Charles Ghigna at Father Goose leads us into autumn with his original poem "Autumn's Way."

Myra Garces-Bascal at Gathering Books features poet Professor Gemimo Abad.

Julie Larios at The Drift Record, in love with New York City, shares Allen Ginsberg's poem "My Sad Self."

Mary Lee at A Year of Reading brings us David Budbill's "What We Need" and some donuts.

Mandy brings Target's "Haiku-pons" over at Enjoy and Embrace Learning.

Maria Horvath's Daily Poems shares a poem about the ambivalence of love, "I Can't Hold You and I Can't Leave You" by Juana Inez De La Cruz.

Debbie Diller at A Journey in Learning shares Jane Kenyon's "Trouble with Math in a One-Room Country School."

The Stenhouse Blog spotlights a poem by California English Teacher Gayle Hobbs, "Thinking Survived."

Laura Purdie Salas at Writing the World for Kids offers Alice Schertle's "Spider" from Alice's book KEEPERS.

Laura also invites us to join her 15 Words or Less Poems with a "Barred" photograph.

At Random Noodling, Diane Mayr brings "That's the Sum of It" by David Ignatow along with a video of Ignatow reading "I Killed a Fly."

Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference shares "Poor Angus" by Shel Silverstein.

At Kids of the Homefront Army, Diane Mayr has an original poem titled "Mail Call."

Diane also has cat poetry at Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet, including "Pussycat Sits on a Chair" by Edward Newman Horn.

At Kurious K's Kwotes, Diane offers a quote from Picasso about art.

Robin Hood Black shares Rose Fyleman's poem, "The Best Game that Fairies Play."

Over at Author Amok, Laura has a tribute to neglected master, Samuel Menashe.

Dori ushers in fall with Jeanie Tomasko's poem, "Edge of September."

At Jama's Alphabet Soup, Jama feeds us Mary Oliver's "The Poet is Told to Fill Up More Pages."

Sally, at Paper Tigers, shares the book UNDERWATER FARMYARD by Carol Ann Duffy.

At Across the Page, Janet offers James Taylor's song, OUR TOWN along with thoughts about the recent flooding in Owego, NY.

JoAnn Early Macken has an original poem about revision, titled "Revising a Poem" at Teaching Authors.

Greg Pincus shares his original poem, "The Writer's Chant (Butt in Chair)" over at GottaBook.

At Picture Book of the Day, Anastasia Suen brings the book Cats, Cats by author-illustrator Michelle Nelson-Schmidt.

David Elzey offers some minimally invasive poems at Fomograms.

Over at The Small Nouns, Ben shares Walt Whitman's poem, "Miracles."

Elaine Magliaro continues taking us through the year with poetry books over at Wild Rose Reader.

To read Elaine's first post about poetry books through the year, visit Wild Rose Reader here.

At All About the Books, Janet Squires brings AMAZING FACES, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Pentimento offers us Jane Hirschfield's poem, "French Horn."

At Check it Out, Jone MacCulloch shares "The Words Under the Words" by Naomi Shihab Nye.

TeacherDance jumps into sharing on Poetry Friday for the first time with a poem for the beginning of school, James W. Hall's "Maybe Dats Your Pwoblem Too."

Over at Musings, Joyce Ray has an original 9/11 poem titled "Golden Seams."

Jennie, at Biblio File, offers up a Shel Silverstein poem from WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS.

At Twinkling Along, Carlie shares her original poem, "Lost Phone."

At There is No Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town, Ruth shares "Hurry" by Marie Howe.

Please come back later for dessert!

I would like to invite you over to my new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks. In this space, you can expect regular sneak-peeks into the notebooks of others. (Maybe yours?) Today you can see the scrawls-before-books of Anne Mazer.

Thank you to my daughter Georgia for today's calligraphy!

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Growing - Poems about Time & Change

2011-09-09T00:01:00.002-04:00

How Tall are Heidi & Amy?

Photo by Amy LV

A couple of weeks ago I shared a poem called "Mysteries" about my recently-sold childhood home. During my last visit to our home, I walked around taking photographs of everything I would want to remember, those distinct and touchable-smellable-feelable rooms of childhood.

A few weeks later, my sister said, "I would love a photo of that wall where Dad used to mark our heights." I said, "I got it." For this was an important bit of space for me too. I remember standing up straight underneath Dad's flat hand at both seven and at sixteen, wondering if I had grown and changed. Can you see how my dad painted AROUND our heights when he repainted the back hall?

Students - Writing this poem helped me see one way that time passes in my life - how my body grows and changes. There are so many ways to notice change and growth. Our new puppy, Sage, is getting bigger, and we can tell by how heavy she is in our arms. As a little girl, I listened to our grandfather clock singing and bonging on the quarter hour. This month, I am marking time by the Concord grapes filling our porch edges, the abundance of cider apples at the market, and the acorns littering our driveway like so much confetti. How do you know that time is passing? Try choosing one change in your life and follow it through a poem. The choices are infinite.

Mom's Clock

Photo by Amy LV

Since I mentioned my wonderful sister today, I would also like to celebrate Kristine O'Connell George's newest book, EMMA DILEMMA, all about two sisters. As an older sister, this poem rings honest and beautiful and funny and bittersweet, all at the same time. You can check out the Facebook page for EMMA DILEMMA here and see a photo of Heidi and me here!

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Time does bring new things, and today I would like to welcome you to my very new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks. In this new space, I will post and share a variety of notebooks for your nosy-peeking-pleasure. I seek notebooks of all types: student, chef, inventor, writer, jotter, doodler, painter, any and all pages are welcome. Please consider joining this blog fit for classroom and personal use, highlighting notebooks of children and adults alike!

Today's Poetry Friday post is over at Secrets and Sharing Soda. Head on over there to read some great poems-about-poetry and to enjoy all of the links!

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Announcement: New Blog Debuts Today!

2011-09-06T00:01:00.006-04:00

Notebook Stack

Photo by Amy LV

Student & Teacher Friends - Today I would like to invite you to my new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, a blog for just that. The first post is a peek into my own notebooks, but after today, you will be able to read bits from all kinds of notebooks...maybe yours!

Please join if you wish, and come back each Tuesday to learn about all kinds of ways to use a notebook. My hope for this new blog is that it will give us all ideas and fuel for our writing journeys!

The Poem Farm will continue in this space each Friday, and possibly more. I look forward to hearing about how you celebrate poetry in your classrooms, and I hope to see you in my new space too - Sharing Our Notebooks. If you would like to share a page from your notebook - or if you know a notebook keeper of any sort who might wish to do so - please drop me a line at amy at amylv dot com.

Happy beginning to another beautiful year!

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My Blanket Smells - Poems from the Past

2011-09-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

Caapoo 2011

Photo by Amy LV

Students - when I was a little girl, I had a blanket named Caapoo. His name was pronounced CAA-poo, not Caa-POO, and I remember my parents telling me how I once corrected my Great Aunt Kay who mispronounced his name as Caa-POO. That would not do!

I loved my blanket and his special smell, and I used to tell him all of my secrets. Several years ago, I had a poem published in LADYBUG MAGAZINE titled "My Bear" about whispering secrets into a teddy bear's ear. This poem was really about stuffed bears, dogs, favorite pillows and blankets...anything that a person sleeps with and whispers to and loves.

I wrote today's poem some time ago, when my old blanket-friend was still living in a drawer in my childhood home. Recently, my dad found Caapoo in a box and gave him back to me. I don't sleep with a blanket anymore, but it's still good to have him around.

What special objects do you love? Do you remember any particular smells that you think will stay with you for your whole life? Go ahead...write about them.

If you love blankets and stories about blankets, don't miss Bob Graham's picture book, THE RED WOOLEN BLANKET. Like every other book Bob has written and illustrated, this one is full of heart, goodness, and giggles too!

Available through Amazon

Teachers - I am so glad that you stopped by. Please know that I will be posting and sharing poetry and classroom-poem ideas each Friday. The after-poem words in each post are directed straight to students, so you can trust they will be appropriate and safe for SMART board or center use. I also welcome you to share any poem ideas or student work...if you look in the sidebar, you will see "CLASSROOM POETRY PEEKS." These are posts chock-full of stories, photos, and fresh ideas from wonderful teachers, all about sharing poetry in school.

Thinking about things we love has me also thinking about things others have lost in the wake of Hurricane Irene. If you would like to donate a book to the Wells Memorial Library in Upper Jay, NY or the West Hartford Public Library in West Hartford, Vermont, visit Kate Messner's blog for information on how to do so. If you are an author or artist who might like to donate a book or artwork, please visit Kate's post here.

Today's Poetry Friday snuggle is over at Tricia's The Miss Rumphius Effect. And if you didn't know, Tricia posts regular Monday Poetry Stretches where anyone can write and share! You can see last week's stretch here - Natural Forces.

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Mysteries - A Poem about Voices

2011-08-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

Voices

by Amy LV

Lately I have been thinking about houses and moving and change. This past month, my childhood home sold, and so it's likely that we will never go back there again. Thinking about the closet where I used to play elevator, the secret spots where my sister and I once hid Easter eggs, and the wood stove where we warmed bare tootsies, I am both happy and sad.

My Childhood Home - 328 Burd Drive

Photo by Amy LV

I'm a grown up now, and my own family has had two homes. We lived in the first one when our children were tiny, and this one once they past toddlerhood. When we moved to Heart Rock Farm, I thought about the "baby memories" that we were leaving behind in our first home, that little brick ranch. I wondered if I would miss the memory-ghosts, if the echoes of our little ones would be stuck in that house, not knowing how to follow us.

Students - it may seem strange that I wonder "if memories get stuck" or "if we can hear ancient voices when the light tilts just so." But I am fascinated by how time and space cross each other over and over through generations. At one time, a Native American family may have lived on this land. I know for sure that the previous owners of our home married in our living room. And I wonder if I squinted my eyes just right on a perfect day, if I could be right there back again, watching the ceremony. Will someone hear my husband's voice laughing one day...one hundred years from now...on this very spot?

When we write, sometimes it helps to let our minds relax and accept what might seem like unusual ideas. Sometimes it's good and healthy just to close your eyes and listen to the quiet of your own trail of thoughts. One will lead to another, and you might make surprising connections. Yes, they might feel strange at first, but keep listening.

If you are moving or thinking about moving or interested in the feelings around moving, don't miss Ralph Fletcher's poetry book, MOVING DAY.

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Irene is hosting today's Poetry Friday buffet over at Live. Love. Explore!

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Oh! A Poem from a Puppy!

2011-08-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

Morning with Sage and Bonfire

Photo by Amy LV

We have a new puppy at our house! Sage is a Border Collie/Great Pyrenees mix, and we adopted her from a friend in the sheep barn at the Wyoming County Fair this week. Watching Sage explore the world, I am again reminded of each of our children as toddlers, and every puppy and kitten I have ever known. The world is new! Who are you?

Students - this morning as I tried to sleep past 6:00am, Sage was wide awake and ready to play. She was ready to bite on rocking chair rockers, to teethe on my hand, and to bounce about the living room. Rather than try to settle her down, I brought her outside and watched her romp and wiggle through dewy grass, intrigued by sticks and kitties, unripe Concord grapes and flowers. Watching Sage play, I wrote this poem from her point of view. Sometimes writing is easier when you are right close and watching what you are writing about. Why all of those exclamation marks? Well, that's how I think Sage would talk if puppies spoke English!

Dori is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at Dori Reads with her own collection of books and words from many friends...

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I Cry - Poems about Confusing Feelings

2011-08-12T00:01:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Philip Levine, new Poet Laureate of the US! You can read some of his work here at The Writer's Almanac. For today, here are a few words, the last lines, from "On My Own."

...know, now it's obvious, what with the light

of the Lord streaming through the nine

windows of my soul and the music of rain

following in my wake and the ordinary air

on fire every blessed day I waken the world.

Changing Feelings

by Amy LV

When I was a little girl, I loved summer camp. I loved summer camp as soon as my parents left, that is. The transition of Mom and Dad leaving me for a whole week, however, was teary. Hours of bonfires, play, crafts, sports, swimming, and camp songs later, the week ended and my parents returned. So did my tears. I always thought that my mixed up feelings were rather funny, and I still do.

Students - one way to find writing ideas is to watch and notice your feelings. We are all full of so many emotions, and writing can help us to understand our moods and our loved ones' feelings too. When I was a little girl, my sister Heidi and I would dance around our living room to the songs in Marlo Thomas & Friends' FREE TO BE YOU AND ME, a book full of heart-wisdom both then and now.

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Here's one favorite song from the book/record/8-track/cassette/CD/ipod download: Rosey Grier singing, "It's Alright to Cry."

And since it is still summer, here's another camping poem about sleeping in a sleeping bag!

Karen is hosting today's Poetry Friday smorgasbord over at Karen Edmisten: The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title.

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today - Word List Poems

2011-08-05T00:01:00.003-04:00

Canoeing at Sprucelands

Photo by Amy LV

I am still at Sprucelands riding camp with our children, and this week found canoeing words sloshing through my brain. Walking up and down the hills, watching children giggle-paddle around the lake, I began writing in my head.

In Zen and the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury explains how listing words, especially nouns, sometimes helps him to generate story plots. This week's poem is a list of words, dropped one-at-a-time into a poem.

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Students - favorite poems stay with us. And one of my favorites is Lee Bennett Hopkins' poem "Good Books Good Times" from his anthology with the same title.

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Lee begins his poem :

Good books.

Good times.

Good stories.

Good rhymes.

He ends with these lines:

Good stories.
Good rhymes.
Good books.

Good times.

Can you see how Lee's last four lines are the same as his first four, only switched? When I began writing my poem for today, I did not know how it would turn out. I only knew one thing: I wanted the first and last two lines to switch. I knew this because I have been carrying a favorite poem around in my head for a while.

You might want to try this - write a list of words and then move them around. Play with rhyme. If you can't find rhymes you like, try some different words. For me, such an exercise feels like skipping stones across a lake. Some jump easily and sound good, and some sink to the bottom and don't stay in the poem Either way, it's fun to throw both stones and words around.

Do you have a favorite poem in your head?

Libby is hosting today's Poetry Friday buffet over at A Year of Literacy Coaching. May you find some new and old favorites on the menu.

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Posters - Do You Love Horses?

2011-07-29T17:14:00.002-04:00

Horse by the Side of the Road

Photo by Amy LV

Today is my day off and the first time I've touched a computer in a week - glorious! Why? Well, these two weeks find our children and me at Sprucelands Horseback Riding Camp where they are campers, and I am a hill parent. On Wednesday, the Sprucelands riding instructors offered an evening riding lesson to us moms, and it was such fun!

Our teachers were extremely patient, and we students walked and trotted around Ring One, laughing and learning together. I rode a beautiful Appaloosa named Sunrise, and for the first time, I understood why so many people (including Hope, Georgia, and Henry) adore horses. I will post a photo of this lesson as soon as I have one.

Students - sometimes a poem idea comes from something you feel grateful for. Today I feel grateful for many things, including my friends and teachers from horse camp. Taking a few minutes each day to reflect on good happenings is wise, and one fourth grade teacher I know even has her students do this daily in their writers notebooks. Writing about our "goodnesses" helps us hold onto them and also, I believe, makes us even more grateful. For what are you thankful?

One of my favorite things to do in writing is to bring inanimate objects to life through words, and I loved imagining my children's paper horses breathing and cantering around their bedrooms. There is magic in everything, and in a poem...anything can happen!

Today's Poetry Friday is over at Book Aunt...so giddy up on over and enjoy the ride. Many congratulations to our hostess Kate Coombs whose upcoming poetry collection with Chronicle, WATER SINGS BLUE, will be out next Spring.

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Song for Garbage Day - Embarrassed?

2011-07-22T00:10:00.000-04:00

"Oh Boy!"

by Amy LV

Today's poem came from an exciting part of life 'round these parts...finding wonderful surprises at others' roadsides! Earlier in the week, Hope, Georgia, and Henry found a complete aquarium set-up (including sunken ship and filter) in someone's garbage pile. They asked Mark to stop the car, tucked the tank into our trunk, scrubbed it up with bleach, and gave their fish (one female mosquito fish and one male guppy, both from school projects) a new happy habitat.

Our "New" Aquarium

Photo by Amy LV

On Wednesday, driving away from the children's swim lessons, I passed this chair . It was well-made, cool-looking, and comfy. I asked at the door if it was bedbug-free, and yes, it was. Lucky me! Lucky study-which-always-needed-a-chair!

Our "New" Chair

Photo by Amy LV

Students - helping oneself to another's garbage might be considered embarrassing to some people. I probably would have been embarrassed by it myself many years ago. But now I am proud of saving and recycling in this way. Some of our friends find most all of their firewood and many other fascinating things by roadsides, and I am inspired by their thrift and creativity.

What have you found embarrassing in your life that you might feel good about now? What do you do that others might raise an eyebrow at? Such ideas make for interesting writing. Who knows? You might even write a song about such a thing!

When I began to write this poem, I could not decide whether to write it in the 'I' voice or the 'you' voice. I decided on the latter because I thought it might sound less preachy. Initially I didn't plan on this having words repeating over and over again, but this poem just wanted to work out that way. If I were musical, I would play with making up a tune for it.

Do you know this most-famous book?

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When I was a little girl at Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School, THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS only came in a chunky paperback, and we would pass it around, just marveling at all of the surprising and incredible things that people do the world over.

Now, our own poetry-muse, Lee Bennett Hopkins, will have his own entry in THE GUINNESS BOOK, as "the most prolific anthologist of poetry for children!" See the certificate and read a bit more here at Sylvia Vardell's Poetry for Children. Many congratulations, Lee!

Tabatha is rounding up today's pile of poetry treasures at The Opposite of Indifference. Happy Poetry Friday to one and all!

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Poetry Friday - A Birthday Tree

2011-07-15T00:01:00.011-04:00

Cherries Against Sky

Photo by Hope LV

Hope Picking Cherries

Photo by Amy LV

Earlier this week, we visited my friend Trish and her family for dinner. Trish is a serious canner and food person, always making photo-worthy and tasty dishes and giving them to friends. As we cut eggplants for grilled eggplant Parmesan, Trish raved about picking blueberries. "Every time I pick blueberries or strawberries or raspberries or cherries or any fruit," she marveled, "I am always amazed. This plant made FRUIT!"

A person cannot spend much time with Trish without wanting to pick fruit oneself. And fortunately, Hope's birthday cherry tree is simply dripping with cherries this week. Yesterday, the two of us got out there and filled two buckets. We picked and picked, almost unable to believe how many cherries her tree had produced. Later yesterday evening, Henry went out to see the dent we'd made. "It doesn't look like anyone picked anything," he noted.

So far we have 12 jars of sour cherry jam and one fresh cherry crisp. Today the children will fill more buckets. More buckets! More jam! More crisps indeed!

Last week, Mary Lee's Poetry Friday post was titled "Seeing Instead of Just Looking." Her photo and the poems she shared, coupled with Trish's joy in fresh fruit has me thinking about small daily and seasonal rituals.

Students - what things do you do each day? Each season? This poem is about observing a tree each year and that moment of surprise when one realizes the tree is growing up. This week I plan to write a series of poems about rituals, things that we do over and over again that give our lives meaning and goodness.

Speaking of rituals, I went through pages of cross outs before I finally arrived at the simple ending of today's poem. Revision takes a lot of patience, just like pitting cherries or anything worthwhile. Similar to pitting cherries, revision sometimes leaves me wondering, "Did I get everything? Should I check one more time? Will someone break a tooth on this?"

I love this Richard Jones poem about cherries - "Cherries in the Snow." And Judy Collins sings a beautiful rendition of the traditional nativity ballad, "The Cherry Tree Carol" here.

If you don't know the book CHERRY PIES AND LULLABIES by Lynn Reiser, don't miss it. It's not a poem, but it is very poetic and generational picture book.

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Today's poetry bounty is served by Mary Lee herself over at A Year of Reading. May your whole week be full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and words in every color and shape!

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First Assignment - Explosions!

2011-07-08T00:01:00.002-04:00

Experiment Ingredients!
by Amy LV

Students - have you ever watched a person have a blast with a project of their own making? Well, this summer it's been loads of fun to witness our son Henry's experiments, many of which include baking soda and vinegar. He's sent all sorts of things flying across our yard, and so far all people and pets are safe (though our one-eyed Mini cat did look a bit nervous this afternoon.) I wrote this poem from my own pleasure of watching Hen have such a super time exploring science.

An earlier draft of this piece did not include the "BOOM!" Reading it over and over, I thought it was missing something. Here's that early version, below. What do you think?

If you like the added sound effect, you might think about this with some of your own poems. Might a bit of sound might help the reader hear your poem more clearly?

Are you looking for summer projects which could be more exciting than world travel? If yes, don't miss this book, Henry's recent inspiration and go-to manual. It is full of directions for everything from a "Frankenstein's Hand" to "Dancing Mothballs."

If you're on the hunt for a good gift, consider this book along with a gallon of vinegar and a large box of baking soda!

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Parents and teachers - I encourage you to take a peek at this TED talk by Tinkering School founder, Gever Tully, all about the "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do."

Elaine Magliaro, word and science lover extraordinaire, is hosting today's Poetry Friday at Wild Rose Reader. Head on over to her place to see what kind of words she is experimenting with today.

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What Does Your Cat Do At Night?

2011-07-01T00:01:00.007-04:00

One Life

Photo by Georgia LV

Students - yes, another sleeping kitty picture! After I showed today's poem to Mark, he said, "You're not telling that your cat beats up the neighborhood cats at night, are you?" For the other day, one of our neighbors told us that our cat Mini has mixed it up in the evening with their cat a few times. Now that we know, we can keep him in after dinner.

This is something I've often wondered: what do cats do at night? Many times, Sarah or Mini will come home and meow at the door come morning. Where have they been? Who have they visited? Cats have secret night lives, and this wondering and daily happening opened up a world into today's little verse.

Sometimes when you sit down to write, you will not know what you want to write. That's good. Let something float to the surface - it will.

If you are a cat lover...or a poem lover...or both...be sure to read Betsy Franco's A CURIOUS COLLECTION OF CATS, full of fun in word and picture!

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Andi is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at a wrung sponge. Swing on by the sponge for more poetry celebrations!

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Poetry Friday: Stay Close...in Word & Art

2011-06-24T00:40:00.014-04:00

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I have always been intrigued by stories of how art and words find each other. Below you will find how one such pairing recently nestled itself into my life. I feel very grateful to be tied to Carol Sloan with invisible threads of life, love, and family.

The Sloan Tree
Artwork by Carol Sloan

Many many months ago, I sent a poem into a "call" for writing. Patti Digh, author of many books including life is a verb, asked readers of her blog (the inspiring 37 Days) to send advice to her graduating daughter, Emma. At that time, a few of my dearest people were going through difficult times, and I wrote and shared this poem, thinking about how much we need each other.

Patti shared many of the submitted essays and bits of advice on her blog, and I enjoyed reading words of comfort, strength, and kindness. Time passed. My poem didn't show up on the web, but I did receive an invitation to be a part of Patti Digh's newest book, what i wish for you: simple wisdom for a happy life.

When this book came out two months ago, I was moved to find the soulful artwork you see above matched with my poem, below. Carol's three trees stand lovingly close to each other. Two birds stay close too. Reading the story behind Carol's art at The Sketchbook Challenge, I was amazed and touched by how we, two people who had never met, had created and connected from miles apart. Both of us were surprised.

Students - I believe in staying close, even when it's not easy. When someone we love is sad, it's tempting to go and hide or to stay away like a turtle burrowing more deeply into its shell. After all, what can one say when everything feels scary or bad? But sad times call us to lean on each other, young or old, bit or small. Sometimes we need each other's sun, and sometimes we need each other's shade.

Writing this poem for Emma, I found that I was writing it for me and for my friends and family too. For while it can be difficult to be present for someone sad, it can be even more difficult to accept help or encouragement. This poem serves as a reminder to me: let people in, let people in.

This poem grew from something I believe in: staying close. What do you believe? If you know what you believe, if there are words you feel deep in your core, then you have found a breathing poem, a breathing poem just waiting to find its way to paper.

Here's Patti Digh, talking about her new book, what i wish for you: simple wisdom for a happy life. I am honored to be a part of it and to share a page with Carol Sloan.

Carol Wilcox is hosting today's Poetry Friday at Carol's Corner with beautiful words from Mary Oliver. Don't miss it!

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Ballerina and a First Grade Poetry Peek!

2011-06-17T08:02:00.005-04:00

Peony

Photo by Georgia LV

Students - today's poem and photos come from my piles and files of favorite things. The peony picture is new; part of our daughter Georgia's summer plan to take many beautiful photographs. Looking through my poems, I found one that felt perfect with her picture and decided to play with the line breaks, revising until it felt just right. Doesn't the flower look like a ballerina dress?

Sometimes photographs and pictures do fit together. And it's lots of fun to go back and forth between them, asking, "Does this photo give me a writing idea?" or "Does this poem go with a photo I have taken?" This summer, I hope to do more of this, match words with pictures - in my notebook, with my camera, and in my mind.

You might want to think about this too. Bring a camera and a notebook with you as you walk through the woods or visit Grandma or go camping or fishing. Take a picture of the pool water, with your camera and with your heart.

Here is little ballerina Georgia, many years ago. Now she's eight years older than she was in this picture, but she still cracks us up and touches our souls.

Ballerina Georgia

Photo by Amy LV

Today I excited to introduce first grade teacher Kate Sacco and her poet-students from Franklin Elementary in the Kenmore -Town of Tonawanda School District as they share how they read, wrote, and published poems together.

Teacher Kate Sacco & First Grade Poets

My first graders embarked on our poetry journey this spring. Very quickly, this journey became an adventure for myself and my students! We began by consuming. We read many, many poems by many, many authors. My students loved the silly poems the best and often asked to have favorites read over and over.

Next, I handed out small spiral notebooks (about 5" x 8" - see THE PRIMARY UNITS OF STUDY Poetry Unit by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues) with lanyards attached. This way the notebooks could travel with us throughout our day. I told the children that the first thing they should do is "harvest words." Their primary job was to collect words and phrases that they liked or that evoked some kind of emotion.

Along with this we faithfully read The Poem Farm. I have an Interwrite Mobi with a ceiling mounted projector in my classroom this year. This allowed us to view the website on the screen in the classroom and interact with the poems. We were able to use the device to circle words we liked and to highlight parts of the poems together.

Many of the poems and lessons inspired us to go beyond the typical poetry formats. The children tried their hands at list poems, list with a twist poems, rhyming poems, repeating word and phrase poems, circle poems, mask poems, and many more. As they worked, I published their poems into a word document, and together we edited for spelling, font, use of white space, and format.

At the end of most writing workshops, I projected the children's poems back on the screen and together (using the Mobi), we added, changed, and enjoyed each other's work. Once a week, I printed all the newer poems and added them to our poet-tree out in the hall for others to enjoy.

First Grade Poet-Tree (Poems are Leaves!)

Photo by Kate Sacco

Just this week, I handed out the final published anthology of the students' work. The kids were surprisingly humble. I asked them to tell me what they learned and what they liked best about learning to write poetry. Here are some of their responses:

"You can write any kind of poem you want, and it makes you happy." - Kayla H.

"We can play with words." - Kylie F.

"There are no rules in poetry. You can play with the words." - Olivia E.

"We can write mask poems. They let you be something else. Not a plain old person." - Dante V., Emilie T., Olivia E.

"It was kind of hard at first. You write a poem and then you're stuck for a minute and you have to sit and think." - Seth F.

The best thing about writing poetry is:

"You can have fun writing it." - Seth F.

"You get to mess around with your words." - Eric B.

"You can do anything you want." - Olivia E.

"You can say what you like." - Jailynn G.

"It's great to write them!" - Kylie F.

"You can write about anything." - Caelin T.

This was truly an inspiring adventure for all of us. I learned along with my students and even wrote some poems myself. Many days, I was left speechless and in absolute awe of the poetry the children created and the creativity, determination and persistence they showed with their writing.

The Butterfly

A caterpillar goes

into his chrysalis

and out comes

a butterfly.

It likes flowers

and so do you.

It likes you too.

by Evan K.

Ice Cream

Ice cream is so yummy.

Ice cream is so gummy.

Ice cream is so fummy.

Ice cream is so zummy.

Ice cream is so pummy.

Ice cream is so rummy.

Ice cream is so bummy.

Ice cream is so summy.

Ice cream is so hummy.

Ice cream is so wummy.

Ice cream in my tummy!

by Sierra H.

Smile

I am a smile face.

I am never mad.

I am never sad.

I am always happy.

I make lots of friends

When I am happy.

I am a smile face.

by Nick I.

The Sun Comes Out

Rainbows come out

when the sun comes out.

My friends come out

when the sun comes out.

My sister Lily comes out

when the sun comes out.

Bees come out

when the sun comes out.

Flowers come out

when the sun comes out.

Butterflies come out

when the sun comes out.

I come out

when the sun comes out.

by Rosie L.

Ant Haiku

I have ants in my

Pants. It feels tickley and

Makes me feel bouncy.

by Anthony F.

School

School, school

I love school.

School, school

School is safe.

School, school

Almost over.

School, school

Leave me never!

by Emily E.

Thank you so much, young poets, for joining us here for Poetry Friday! What a beautiful way to kick off the summer...with your words! And thank you to Kate - how lucky your students are to have a teacher who loves learning right along with them.

For more Poetry Friday posts, visit Check It Out and enjoy meandering through more word-fields and forests.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following The Poem Farm by clicking "follow" in the right hand sidebar. I regularly share poems and feature classroom work and greatly appreciate your show of interest.

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Fireflies are On! Fireflies are Off!

2011-06-10T00:01:00.006-04:00

Look!

by Amy LV

Students - sometimes a writer is enchanted again and again by the same thing. And this is how it is with me and fireflies. Those battery-powered ballerinas send a glow through my heart. Last evening, looking out of our living room window, I saw the first firefly of summer. At least it was the first one to me.

Sometimes writers sit and write in honor of an occasion. This occasion may be something that everyone recognizes, or it may be something just for you. I'm celebrating a first firefly, a bit of brightness on a black blanket of sky.

Byrd Baylor writes about personal celebrations in her beautiful book, I'M IN CHARGE OF CELEBRATIONS, You might know this book if your teacher reads it at your class's writing celebrations. Nature, words, admiration...what could be better?

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What are you celebrating today? You may say, "Nothing." Well, look around, and find something. Open your eyes. Listen with the deepest parts of your very soul. After all, it is much easier to find celebration-moments when we are looking for them. I promise that you will find something. And when you do...maybe your own bit of earth will inspire you to write.

Last year this time also brought thoughts of fireflies. In June 2010, I wrote Fireflies and Hope. Will I write about fireflies again next year? What about next week?

Anastasia is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Picture Book of the Day. Celebrate with her and the rest of the KidLitosphere as we blink on and off for poems!

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Poetry Friday, Peek, & Notebook Keeping

2011-06-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

Sleep Pile

Photo by Amy LV

Students - this poem came from my files. It's a little one that I began writing long ago and came back to this week. Something wonderful about keeping a writer's notebook is that you can visit and revisit it over and over again looking for good things to revise and play with some more. Keeping a notebook reminds me that the small snips of my life matter greatly if I hold onto and spin silken words around them.

I love writing lists, remembering crystals of my childhood, gluing letters, and making plans in my notebook. Right now I am working on a picture book because the idea has popped up in my notebooks again and again over the past few years. Keeping a notebook helps us know what we circle back to and helps us recognize which topics keep calling out to us.

If you do not keep a notebook now, you might want to make this a summer project. Just get a book you like, and decorate the cover if you wish. Don't be afraid of how pretty it is or think that you need perfect ideas. Just dive in and follow the words.

A Few of My Notebooks

Photo by Amy LV

A few weeks ago, I was tickled to open up my e-mail to find this letter from Terry Semlitsch, a mom and special education teacher at Wales Primary in the Iroquois Central School District here in Western New York. Terry's son, Braden, is a first grader in Peggy Long's classroom in this same school.

Hi Amy! I just wanted to share what my son is doing with poetry. Braden is in Mrs. Long's first grade class at Wales. He has been very inspired to write poems on his own! When he gets home from school, he almost always goes to his room to write some poems. I have attached some pics of his display of poems in his room. So cute! And I love that he loves writing poems!

When I asked Terry to tell more about her thoughts as teacher and mother, she wrote,

From a parent perspective, we were absolutely thrilled with Braden's interest in writing poetry. For a week straight (when he was being immersed in poetry in the classroom and just starting to write his own at school), he grabbed a notepad and started writing as soon as he got home from school. He never got discouraged with spelling, he wrote freely, and always had ideas for topics.

When we went anywhere in the car, Braden would grab a notepad for the drive. Sometimes he would write poems, and other times he would brainstorm ideas for poems. Although he doesn't always write every day at home, he often looks at everyday events and thinks aloud about how that could be a poem. For example, with all of this crazy rain, we get literally hundreds of worms in our driveway. Braden commented that it was like a "worm party" and went on to say what he would say in a poem. He also made an Easter card for his grandma with a little poem for her.

He is so much more comfortable with writing now. This poetry unit gave him the spark of confidence he needed to know that his thoughts are not wrong and he can say things in whatever way he chooses.

Braden's Home Poetry Display

Photo by Terry Semlitsch

Braden's Poem Close-Ups

Photo by Terry Semlitsch

Two of Braden's Poems

Photo by Terry Semlitsch

Braden's love of poetry grew in his classroom, and his teacher, Peggy Long, shares her own experience of teaching poetry this year below.

As the start of my poetry unit approached, I began to feel the anxiety associated with never having taught poetry before. Certainly we had read a lot of poetry, but to have first graders write it themselves seemed a bit intimidating.

I stayed focused on my initial objective of immersion. We began reading lots of poetry all the time. I read to them, they read to me, we read chorally, and they would take their poetry binders home each night and read to their parents. We began to chart all of the things we noticed and appreciated about poetry. I wasn't sure of the effect of all this sharing, but I knew they were enjoying it as much as I was.

After about a week and a half, the seeds began to sprout. The children began to reveal poems they had been writing at home. The subjects of their writing were as wonderful and unique as the children themselves! At this point, I knew, they're ready. And even more, so was I ready.

Here is a class poem written by Mrs. Long's class and a concrete bee poem by Nicole K.

Lunch Room Noises

Loud chewing,

Quiet talking,

Banging trays,

Slurping milk,

Laughing friends,

Clapping hands,

Yelling people,

And that's all I

HEAR!

by Mrs. Long's Class

"Bees" by Nicole

Photo by Peggy Long

Notes like the one I received from Terry, the opportunity to work with teachers like Peggy and Terry, and a chance to read these beautiful works by young people...these are some of the great joys of my life. Thank you to these teachers and children for brightening our Poetry Friday.

For today's Poetry Friday roundup,visit the delightful and tea-loving Toby over at A Writer's Armchair, a very cozy and nourishing nest where you can snuggle with words.

Poetry Friday Bursts With New Life!

2011-05-27T00:01:00.002-04:00

Henry, Georgia, & Salamander Eggs

Photo by Amy LV

Students - sometimes a writer just can't help but to write about what's under her or his nose! And this season in Western New York is all about new life and rain. Last week we saw a newborn fawn drinking milk from its mother by the side of the road, watched salamanders hatch from jelly eggs, and were stunned by the hills covered in blossoms. I could not help but think to myself, "the apple trees are gussied up in prom dresses!" Are you wondering what to write about? Here is a two word piece of advice:

Go outside.

Take a walk around. Sniff the air. As my colleague Bill Michalek says, if you sit in one place for a while outdoors...something will happen. An animal will pass by, or perhaps you will see movement in a tree branch overhead. A chipmunk will pop out of a hole. A bird will cock its head and grab a bit of twig. Be still.

Go outside. The world is waiting for you.

Speaking of waiting, a few people have asked what I have been doing since MyPoWriYe ended. Lately I have been working on a couple of picture books...scratching away, revising, reading aloud to myself, and crossing every finger and toe on my body that one will find a home.

For next week's Poetry Friday, we will be treated to the work of Braden Semlitsch, a first grade poet from Wales Primary School in the Iroquois Central School District along with his mother Terry Semlitsch and his classroom teacher, Peggy Long.

Heidi is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at My Juicy Little Universe. Join the fun and see what's happening poetry-wise in the KidLitosphere!

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Poetry Friday & Dandelion Grandmas

2011-05-20T00:01:00.006-04:00

Old Gray Ladies

Photo by Amy LV

Oh, this time of year! I love the dandelions in spits and spots, on roadsides and decorating whole meadows. Years ago, I didn't like them. Now I do. Part of this change is due to my husband's love of nature (which has rubbed off on me), and part of it is because we live in the country where all kinds of flowers and animals roam free. And of course, now I see dandelions as food. Our family has not made fritters yet this year...maybe tomorrow.

Students - this poem grew from our current yellow polka dot world! And it also grew from somewhere else. Years ago, I read a first grader's poem which will always stay with me. Her poem compared a dandelion to a lion throughout the lion's life, ending with a "gray mane/the hairs blowing off." This young child's image has rested in my heart for a long time, and yesterday it returned as I looked at dandelions and thought, "They're like little grandmas!"

It's a funny thing about writing. We never know when an image, a memory, a word, a dream, or a line from a poem or book will appear across our mindscreens, when it will whisper to us from years past, when such a surprise will echo, "Write me! Write me!" As writers, it is our job to listen and to write what we hear. So students....listen. Always listen.

For anyone who might have missed last week's announcement, many congratulations to J. Patrick Lewis, our 2011 Children's Poet Laureate. Author of more than 50 children's poetry books and winner of the 2011 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for the body of his work, we are lucky to have J. Patrick Lewis at our helm!

This week's Poetry Friday is at The Drift Record with Julie Larios. Puff your way on over, wishing all the while, and visit poetry growing in the KidLitosphere!

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Poetry Friday, Poetry Peek, and Luna

2011-05-06T09:35:00.002-04:00

Taking Turns

by Amy LV

For this Poetry Friday, I have chosen to share a poem from my files. Students - I have mentioned before how it can be helpful to learn from the rhythms of other poems. In writing "Luna," I stood on the shoulders of Myra Cohn Livingston's poem, "Whispers." If you look at Myra's beautiful poem, you will see how I have tried to mirror the number of stanzas, the repeated word at the beginning of each one, and a bit of the rhythm. Myra Cohn Livingston was a shining light in the world of children's poetry, and her work continues to inspire and influence many.

Today I am thrilled to welcome third grade poet Brianna Cocuzzi from Mrs. Rosanne Kulikowski's third grade class at Klem South Elementary in Webster, NY. Please enjoy these few words from Rosanne and then Brianna's article and poems.

Our class has read a lot of nonfiction, and we have noticed lots of different ways that authors organize nonfiction. After reading many different kinds of nonfiction, we listed all the things we are good at or the things we are experts on. Then we wrote our own nonfiction pieces organized in a variety of ways. We also used special "news article" paper with places for headings, charts, and pictures. This gave our work a professional look. Brianna used headings to organize her topic of poetry.

Poet & Writer

Brianna Cocuzzi

Poetry

by Brianna Cocuzzi

How to Get Good at Poetry!

If you want to get good at poetry you just have to practice!

Why I Like Poems!

I like poems because I like to write and poetry is a really fun subject. I also like it because your poems don't have to be long. They could be short and you could use any punctuations you want to.

How to Make Poems?

First you have to figure out what you are going to write about. Next you have to write it down. Then you have to make sure it is perfect. Finally you could show everyone.

Is Poetry Hard or Is it Easy?

Sometimes poetry could be hard. Sometimes it could feel like a block is blocking your brain but sometimes poetry could be really easy when you feel like you have a lot of ideas.

The Different Kinds of Poetry

The different kinds of poetry are alliteration, onomatopoeia, I wonder, and much more.

Poems by Brianna Cocuzzi

The Tree

by Brianna Cocuzzi

If I Was a Cat

by Brianna Cocuzzi

Thank you to Brianna and Rosanne for visiting on this Poetry Friday to teach and inspire our own poetic selves.

For more poetry-joy, visit the complete Poetry Friday roundup hosted today by Terry at Family-Bookshelf (formerly Scrub-a-Dub-Tub.) Enjoy the offerings!

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The Poem Farm is Out for a Moment...

2011-05-01T09:34:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Firepaw

Photo by Georgia LV

The Poem Farm has stepped out for a bit, but words will return after a short break.

Please feel free to revisit any of last month's posts which focused on all different types of poems.

I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Poetry Revisits and Lessons from April 2011

April 1 - Poems about Poems

April 2 - Imagery

April 3 - Poems about Animals We Know

April 4 - Line Breaks and White Space

April 5 - Poems from Everyday Life

April 6 - Free Verse

April 7 - Poems from Wonders & Questions

April 8 - Classroom Poetry Peek & Circular Poems

April 9 - Poems about Science

April 10 - Rhyming Couplets

April 11 - Riddle Poems

April 12 - List Poems

April 13 - Poems for Occasions

April 14 - Concrete Poems

April 15 - Poems about Food

April 16 - Quatrains

April 17 - Poems about the Seasons

April 18 - Alliteration

April 19 - Poems about Sports

April 20 - Compare/Contrast Poems

April 21 - Family Story Poems

April 22 - Poems about Nature

April 23 - Repetition

April 24 - Poems Inspired by Fairy Tales

April 25 - Concerns Poems

April 26 - Mask Poems

April 27 - How-To Poems
April 28 - Word Play Poems
April 29 - Silly Poems
April 30 - Poems with Comparisons

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Poems with Comparisons

2011-04-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

Tree Locket

by Amy LV

Poems with Comparisons

Students - when we compare one thing to something else, it helps our brains and souls take a mental leap. By placing two different things near each other, two things which share some quality, a reader can see a connection and understand a new idea or image more clearly. Metaphors (comparisons between two things) and similes (comparisons using the words like or as) deepen and enrich our words.

In these poems, you can see where I have compared different things. In some, you may notice just a brief comparison. In others, you may see the comparison carry throughout the poem.

from December 2010

from June 2010

from October 2010

from May 2010

Here are a few more poems with comparisons.

Students - when you walk around and observe things in your life, try to make a practice of comparing the things you see/hear/feel/taste/smell to other things. This is wonderful for your writing, and will also be enormously helpful to you as you try to explain ideas in other areas such as math and science. See things in terms of other things. Feel things in terms of other feelings. Let your senses cross!

I had planned to write about comparisons today. And then a writing heroine of mine, April Halprin Wayland, wrote about them yesterday. Don't miss her post - Metaphors Be With You.

Many thank yous to fifth grade poet Deontae and her librarian Mrs. Jone Rush MacCulloch (Mrs. Mac) of Silver Star Elementary in Vancouver, WA. Once again, Mrs. Mac's students sent original poetry postcards to anyone who requested one this month. Mine just arrived yesterday, a perfect way to end National Poetry Month. I am tickled, and this poem will hang above my desk as inspiration. (Or maybe I should put it down low for our dog Cali to see!)

I imagine that Deontae's clever and playful poem was inspired by Joyce Sidman's thoughtful and whimsical book THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS, inspired by William Carlos Williams's poem "This is Just to Say."

Shop Indie Bookstores

Last year I was fortunate enough to receive one of these student poems too! There are so many wonderful ways to spread poetry around the world. I do love receiving poetry postcards!

Below is the completed list of this month's poetry posts. I hope that you will find them useful to you, and they will soon be kept in the sidebar. For now, The Poem Farm is taking a brief break for at least a chunk of May as it finds its new direction.

Poetry Revisits and Lessons from April 2011

April 1 - Poems about Poems

April 2 - Imagery

April 3 - Poems about Animals We Know

April 4 - Line Breaks and White Space

April 5 - Poems from Everyday Life

April 6 - Free Verse

April 7 - Poems from Wonders & Questions

April 8 - Classroom Poetry Peek & Circular Poems

April 9 - Poems about Science

April 10 - Rhyming Couplets

April 11 - Riddle Poems

April 12 - List Poems

April 13 - Poems for Occasions

April 14 - Concrete Poems

April 15 - Poems about Food

April 16 - Quatrains

April 17 - Poems about the Seasons

April 18 - Alliteration

April 19 - Poems about Sports

April 20 - Compare/Contrast Poems

April 21 - Family Story Poems

April 22 - Poems about Nature

April 23 - Repetition

April 24 - Poems Inspired by Fairy Tales

April 25 - Concerns Poems

April 26 - Mask Poems

April 27 - How-To Poems
April 28 - Word Play Poems
April 29 - Silly Poems
April 30 - Poems with Comparisons

Please look in the right hand sidebar for all kinds of recommendations for wonderful poetry places to visit. I will be back soon, and hopefully with a new good plan.

Thank you for visiting throughout this month and year!

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Poetry Friday, Poetry Peek, & Silly Poems!

2011-04-29T00:01:00.002-04:00

Silly Poems

Students - we all have different moods, different ways of seeing things and different kinds of days. Sometimes we're serious, but sometimes we're silly. Many of this year's poems are silly ones. Read on, and you will know about my own silly side.

from January 2011

from July 2010

from September 2010

from May 2010

Gum for Free
In My Pocket
Recycling
Gum
Problem Solved
Toe Jam Jam
Eyebrow Hair

What is your silly side? Writing when you are in a silly mood can lead to fun and giggles!

Many warm welcomes to second grade teacher Dale Sondericker from Marilla Primary in the Iroquois Central School District as he shares how he has helped his students find meaning and joy in poems.

As I approached National Poetry Month in my second grade classroom, I was trying to think of a way to immerse my students into poetry. I wanted to find an authentic way for my young writers to connect with this genre. When my family's dairy farm inspired Amy's manure poem, I realized how great it felt to have a personal connection with a poem.

Somewhere along the way I had read about the power of sharing poetry, so...I planned to give each of my students a "poetry gift." My goal was to find a special poem for each of my students. I had to tap into student interests, personalities, and all of the tidbits that I collected from our year-long conversations.

The first poetry gift actually found me. Neleah is a second grader in my classroom. She is lucky (or possibly unlucky) enough to have her mom work as a teacher in our building. One morning, Neleah's mom shared a story with me about Neleah getting in trouble for jumping on the bed. That afternoon, my daughters had found my Amazon order on the front step. I had ordered a poetry book, DAYS LIKE THIS by Simon James, to prepare for our upcoming poetry unit.

Available through Amazon

When I was flipping through the poems in this book, I found one titled "Bouncing" by Simon James. It was a perfect fit. The next day, I shared the poem with the class and gave Neleah a copy.

This became an exciting way to share poetry. The kids looked forward to guessing who each poetry gift was for and why I picked the particular poem, and they loved getting a poem of their own. It took a bit of work to find a poem to match each student, but I think it will pay off as we begin our poetry unit in May.

Students also jumped in on the poetry hunt. We built a bulletin board titled, POEMS THAT SPEAK TO ME, and I asked my second graders to contribute three poems from three different authors to our classroom display. We talked about how poems and writing can be powerful and "speak" to our hearts.

Students began taking poetry books from the library, the public library, classroom materials, and online resources. Throughout the month of April, students brought in their poems and shared why each poem spoke to them. In addition, a picture of each student and a speech bubble illustrating the connection was incorporated into the display.

Bulletin Board of Student Poems & Connections

Photo by Dale Sondericker

"This poem "This Tooth" by Lee Bennett Hopkins) speaks to me because once I had a wiggly tooth and when I stopped wiggling it, it came out on its very own." - Camryn

Photo by Dale Sondericker

"This poem ("Enemy" by Kristine O'Connell George) speaks to me because whenever my dog hears the vacuum and the vacuum goes up, he goes up. The vacuum goes down, he goes down. Woof! Woof! Rrrrr! It just gets louder. Ha!" - Mateo

Photo by Dale Sondericker

On Poem in Your Pocket Day, I chose to share a silly poem about a purple cow. I passed copies of the poem out to students in the hallway as they were going to their classrooms. I shared the poem with a few of my friends from a K-2 class next door to our classroom.

A few minutes into the day, the teacher from next door stopped by with a few of her students who wanted to know if I had additional copies.

When my class returned from lunch, we were surprised to discover that the door to our classroom had been decorated with a herd of purple cows. Apparently, my friends from next door were inspired by the poem.

Surprise Cow Door!

Photo by Dale Sondericker

The best part was that one of our visually impaired friends from this class had also attached a Braille version of the poem. My second graders were very excited to see and feel a Braille poem.

Braille Cow Poem

Photo by Dale Sondericker

Much gratitude to teacher Dale Sondericker, his students, and their next door neighbor students, for inspiring all of us today with their ways to fall in love with poetry...together. May we all learn from his generosity, placing "just right" poems in students hands and lives.

Tomorrow will be the final day of revisiting this 2010-2011 year of poems. After that, The Poem Farm will take a brief May hiatus to discover its new direction. Please feel free to send suggestions!

This Month's Poetry Revisits and Lessons So Far

April 1 - Poems about Poems

April 2 - Imagery

April 3 - Poems about Animals We Know

April 4 - Line Breaks and White Space

April 5 - Poems from Everyday Life

April 6 - Free Verse

April 7 - Poems from Wonders & Questions

April 8 - Classroom Poetry Peek & Circular Poems

April 9 - Poems about Science

April 10 - Rhyming Couplets

April 11 - Riddle Poems

April 12 - List Poems

April 13 - Poems for Occasions

April 14 - Concrete Poems

April 15 - Poems about Food

April 16 - Quatrains

April 17 - Poems about the Seasons

April 18 - Alliteration

April 19 - Poems about Sports

April 20 - Compare/Contrast Poems

April 21 - Family Story Poems

April 22 - Poems about Nature

April 23 - Repetition

April 24 - Poems Inspired by Fairy Tales

April 25 - Concerns Poems

April 26 - Mask Poems

April 27 - How-To Poems
April 28 - Word Play Poems
April 29 - Today - Silly Poems

Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at The Opposite of Indifference. Have fun visiting all of the poems on this last Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month 2011!

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Play with Words! Words with Play!

2011-04-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Word Juggler

by Amy LV

Word Play Poems

Students - one thing that poets do is play with words. There are many ways to play with words. One way is to juggle a prefix or a suffix around as I have done in "Voracious." You can see that I made up a whole bunch of words, all with "v-o-r-e" at the end. Fifth grade poet Tara does this in her poem "Wonderholic" as well. (Scroll down to read the poem on pink paper.)

from November 2010

In "Greatings," you will notice that the word play revolves around homophones, including lion/lyin, prey/pray, and meat/meet as well as greetings/greatings (invented).

from November 2010

Here are two more poems with lots of word play. "Glitter" plays with sounds, and "Econd-say Anguage-lay" plays with another language!

Glitter

Econd-say Anguage-lay

For the next two days, I will continue to pull together poems from MyPoWriYe (My Poem Writing Year) 2010-2011. Then, in May, The Poem Farm will take a brief break as it finds its new direction. Please feel free to share ideas for this new direction!

This Month's Poetry Revisits and Lessons So Far

April 1 - Poems about Poems

April 2 - Imagery

April 3 - Poems about Animals We Know

April 4 - Line Breaks and White Space

April 5 - Poems from Everyday Life

April 6 - Free Verse

April 7 - Poems from Wonders & Questions

April 8 - Classroom Poetry Peek & Circular Poems

April 9 - Poems about Science

April 10 - Rhyming Couplets

April 11 - Riddle Poems

April 12 - List Poems

April 13 - Poems for Occasions

April 14 - Concrete Poems

April 15 - Poems about Food

April 16 - Quatrains

April 17 - Poems about the Seasons

April 18 - Alliteration

April 19 - Poems about Sports

April 20 - Compare/Contrast Poems

April 21 - Family Story Poems

April 22 - Poems about Nature

April 23 - Repetition

April 24 - Poems Inspired by Fairy Tales

April 25 - Concerns Poems

April 26 - Mask Poems

April 27 - How-To Poems
April 28 - Today - Word Play Poems

Tomorrow is Poetry Friday! The last Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month. Be there or be square!

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How-To Poems

2011-04-27T00:01:00.050-04:00

How to Leave Your Mark

Photo by Amy LV

How-To Poems

Some poems explain a procedure, or how to do something. It might be directions on how to play a game or make a craft or even do something silly like making an ENORMOUS snow cone. Line-by-line, such poems walk readers through a process and teach them to do something new.

from April 2010

from January 2011

from November 2010

Here are two more poems which explain how to do something.

Find a Roll of Foil
Two Eggs

You may have noticed that several of these poems have appeared on more than one list this month. This is because a poem can use many strategies and cross many idea-finding paths at once. For example, "Two Eggs" is both a how-to and a science poem.

What do you know how to do? Try writing it out in a poem shape!

This Month's Poetry Revisits and Lessons So Far

April 1 - Poems about Poems

April 2 - Imagery

April 3 - Poems about Animals We Know

April 4 - Line Breaks and White Space

April 5 - Poems from Everyday Life

April 6 - Free Verse

April 7 - Poems from Wonders & Questions

April 8 - Classroom Poetry Peek & Circular Poems

April 9 - Poems about Science

April 10 - Rhyming Couplets

April 11 - Riddle Poems

April 12 - List Poems

April 13 - Poems for Occasions

April 14 - Concrete Poems

April 15 - Poems about Food

April 16 - Quatrains

April 17 - Poems about the Seasons

April 18 - Alliteration

April 19 - Poems about Sports

April 20 - Compare/Contrast Poems

April 21 - Family Story Poems

April 22 - Poems about Nature

April 23 - Repetition

April 24 - Poems Inspired by Fairy Tales

April 25 - Concerns Poems

April 26 - Mask Poems

April 27 - How-To Poems

For the next few days, I will continue to pull together poems from MyPoWriYe (My Poem Writing Year) 2010-2011. Then, in May, The Poem Farm will take a brief break as it finds its new direction. Please feel free to share ideas for this new direction!

(Please click on POST A COMMENT below to share a thought.)