Wallow in Wonder Day 8 - Why Can't You Drive as Fast as You Want?

Welcome to Day 8 of Wallow in Wonder!  For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I will celebrate learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  As I did with my Dictionary Hike in 2012, I am looking to surprise myself with new inspiration daily.  This year, such inspiration will show up in my inbox each morning.  I will print it and carry each Wonderopolis Wonder around all day...and in the afternoon or evening, I will write and post the poem for the next day.  

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

My April Poems Thus Far

April 1 - So Suddenly - a poem inspired by Wonder #1659 

April 2 - Thankful Journal - a poem inspired by Wonder #1660

April 3 - The Storm Chaser - a poem inspired by Wonder #779

April 4 - A Jar of Glitter - a poem inspired by Wonder #641

April 5 - To Make Compost - a poem inspired by Wonder #1661

April 6 - Deciding Now - a poem inspired by Wonder #1662

April 7 - Hummingbird's Secret - a poem inspired by Wonder #1663

And now for Day 8!

Wonder #1664 - from April 7, 2016

Thinking First

by Amy LV

Students - I value kindness more than anything else.  And even though this is true, sometimes I say mean things.  But poetry helps me be kinder, and so do songs. Sometimes I think that poems and songs are like little kindness limit signs for me, just like in the picture you see above.

Writing can sometimes help us remember who we want to be.  I want to be kinder.  What do you want to be?  You may wish to write about that thing.  Not only will it be interesting writing; it may help you reach your own goal.

Today's poem does rhyme.  What do you notice about the rhyming words in this one?  And meter-wise, some of you may notice that the last line has many fewer syllables than the others.  Why do you think so? 

My friend Barry Lane writes many beautiful songs about kindness, and sometimes I am lucky enough to work with him on bits and pieces of them.  Teachers - if you are interested in teaching about good character from a pro-kindness standpoint rather than an anti-bullying standpoint, read Barry's teacher book about working and teaching toward kindness, FORCE FIELD FOR GOOD.

One of my favorite songs from this album is "Sammy Miller."  You can listen to it below.

Remember - words change us.  And words change the people around us too.  We make our own limits.

Today's poem may be partly inspired by Deciding Now from two days ago. There are times when my writing keeps me on a theme for a bit. We will see if this continues.

You can read another poem inspired by Wonder #1664 if you visit Wonder Lead Ambassador, literacy advocate, teacher, and writer Paul Hankins at his Wonder Ground blog where he, too, is writing daily poems from Wonderopolis wonders.  He and I are in this together daily and some other writers are joining in on the fun sometimes too. All are welcome to wonder through poems with us.

Today, should you leave a comment, you will be entered into a giveaway generously offered by Barry Lane - 3 Barry CDs to one winner, and I will draw the name on Sunday evening.  Please be sure to leave a way to contact you.  Thank you, Barry!

I am so happy to be hosting middle school teacher and librarian Stefanie Cole and her students from Ontario, Canada to Sharing Our Notebooks this month.  Do not miss this post; it is full of notebook inspiration, a video clip, and a great book giveaway from Stefanie.

Today's Poetry Friday fiesta (all are always welcome!) is over at Laura's place, Writing the World for Kids. Have fun over there!

Happy Day 8 of National Poetry Month 2016!  

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Walking Stick, Fifth Grade Poets, & Kindness

Swiss Army Knife

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Spring is here in Western New York, and that means we'll all be out hiking more regularly.  Hiking often means finding and carving walking sticks...we love to peel the bark and carve into sticks, watching the wood chips fall to earth.  Today's poem celebrates this small joy and captures the feeling I have in the woods when I whittle and walk with a stick that I found.

This poem is one of many that I wrote for my forthcoming collection with Clarion/Houghton Mifflin - WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS.  I have been finishing my revisions on this collection (so excited) and know now that this poem will not actually be in the book.  I just wanted to share it here for all of you hikers and whittlers.

Today I am very happy to welcome fifth grade teacher Adrienne Moran and her poets from Douglas J. Regan Intermediate School in the Starpoint Central School District in Lockport, NY.  They spent a lot of time this winter/spring reading and writing poetry, and it is a joy to have the chance to share their work here.  Thank you, poets!  Please enjoy this slideshow of these fifth graders' poetry and process.

You can control the speed of the slideshow with the arrows on the right bottom corner.

So much gratitude to Adrienne Moran and her students.  I am thrilled that they were willing to share their poetry..and their process...here on this beautiful spring day.

And now for a giveaway...

Learn More at Force Field for Good

I am excited and grateful to offer a giveaway of two copies of Force Field For Good, the kindness CD by my friend, great person and writing teacher extraordinaire, Barry Lane.  Barry asked me to share "More Than a Number," "Xenophobia" and also to contribute to a few of the songs on this CD, and I am honored to be part of it. I asked Barry to offer a few words about Force Field for Good, and he responded:

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
~Aristotle

At this time of unprecedented peace in the history of humanity, we need songs and anthems to help both young and old see that peace and unity are not unrealistic fantasies. Peace and unity are possible through belief and active daily struggle.

Like the Starship Enterprise, this CD of 17 songs is a vessel to carry forth an ever- advancing civilization toward unity. Sing these songs with your children and your students. Teach them that the dream of peace becomes real when we know our higher selves and offer our gifts to others.

This CD is also part of a book and curriculum of the same title, Force Field for Good, by Barry and Colleen Mestdagh.  Barry has offered two CDs to two commenters on today's post.  Please leave a comment to enter, and I will announce the two winners next week.

Thank you, Barry!

Michelle is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Today's Little Ditty.  All are welcome!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Dream Anthem and A Poet-Tea!

Phoenix
Gouache Painting by Georgia LV

 

Click the arrow to hear Barry sing this song to you.

Today's poem came with a melody first.  Earlier this week, my friend Barry Lane sent me a melody that his guitar wrote.  I received a sound file of the guitar music followed by one with Barry singing "La la la la la...." to the beat of the melody.

My job was to write some words to go with it.  Barry asked for a song for children, something to children or about children...and this is what wanted to be written.

Do you play an instrument or have a friend or family member who does?  If you do, you might want to try writing from a melody first.  If you do not, you can simply use any melody from a song you already know.  For example, if I were to write a poem with the beat to TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR, the syllable pattern would begin like this --

La        La     La      La     La     La     La

Twin    kle    Twin    kle    Lit     tle     star...

But of course it's not all about syllables.  It's first about meaning.  And I do believe deeply in listening to dreams.

At the same time Barry and I were playing guitar and writing, Georgia was up painting and painting.  Her phoenix is a beautiful expression of rising, and we are grateful to her for allowing us to use it with this little song.

And now...a very hearty welcome to second grade teacher Barbara Phillips and her young poets for today's summer Poetry Peek!

My name is Barbara Phillips. I teach second grade at Monroe Local Schools in Monroe, Ohio. In addition to teaching, I was chosen as a 2012 Wonder Lead Ambassador for NCFL’s Wonderopolis. Wonderopolis is great website to engage children of all ages in Wonder and expose them to nonfiction on a daily basis. Each day they pose a new Wonder of the Day question. The Wonders are on many different topics, but some that teach children about poetry include:
#169 - What is an Acrostic?
#202 - What is a Sonnet?
#221 - What is a Limerick?
#575 - What is a Poetry Slam? (including Amy's ideas & suggestions)

We spent the year reading and talking about poetry. We learned about different kinds of poems including: mask, list, found, shapes, and pattern. Students learned that poetry is written differently than stories, doesn’t have to rhyme, can have rhythm, sometimes has line breaks and that often times poems have lots of white space. Our year long poetry began on the first day of school when we shared Rebecca Kai Dotlich poem, “Sky Wish” from CLIMB INSIDE A POEM by Georgia Heard and Lester Laminack.  (Thank you to Rebecca for allowing us to post this poem today - Amy.)

Sky Wish

I wrote my wish

upon a kite;

closed my eyes,

grabbed its string --            

through wind

I ran,

let it fly . . .

my wish came true.

It flew into

that wide, wide map

of sky.

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

from CLIMB INSIDE A POEM

Ccollected by Georgia Heard 

and Lester Laminack 

Available Through Heinemann

Students wrote their wishes for 2nd grade on strips of paper to hang on the tail of our kite hanging in our classroom.

Here is a VoiceThread of my students sharing their own wishes.

During the month of April, National Poetry Month, we spent lots of time writing our own poetry. We used many of the poems we had read during the year as our mentor text. We also enjoyed a Chalk-a-bration. During our unit one activity that we tried from Amy’s website was from the Dictionary Hike. I had each student write the name of an object/topic on a piece of paper. I put all the suggestions in a cup and drew one out each day. The first few days, I modeled writing my own poetry with the object. This was a great way to engage students who were having a hard time thinking of their own topic or just struggling in general.

Here are a few our poems.



Piano

I make noise,
a real good noise!

I am black and shiny.
I play Jaws and nice music
and fancy music.

I play fast music too.
I play jazz

just for you!

A lot of people play me.

by Nolan



I See a Piano

I see a piano playing
smooth in the parlor

I see a piano with
Its keys unlocking
Beautiful sounds

I see a piano with
its notes so high

Can you help me
reach them?

by Sam



Summer

Summer air
Summer flowers
Summer swimming
Summer swinging
Summer water
Summer grass
Summer butterfly
Summer camping
Summer vacation
Summer fun!

by Kayla



Ice Skates

Swishshsh, Glide!
Swishshsh, Glide!
Around the rink
I’m getting dizzy!
I’m getting really hot!
Oh, here we go again!

by Audrey G.


In order to celebrate the WONDERful writing and writers, we decided to invite our mothers in for a Mother’s Day Poet-Tea.

Another teacher and I purchased teacups and saucers at thrift stores for students to plant a flower in for decorations and to give to their moms for Mother’s Day.

I also brought in mismatched tablecloths to cover the desks to make our room look fancier and to give the room more of a “tea” feel.

Allison even made a sign at home to welcome our moms. The kids were so excited to host their moms for such a special occasion.

During the Mother’s Day Poet-Tea students shared poetry that we had been reading all year in groups. Several students were brave enough to stand up and share individual poetry that they had written on their own. Students also shared their poems from own poetry books with their own mom. As a teacher, it was very rewarding to see students and their moms interact. I know that all the moms were very proud of their children. After students shared their poems, everyone had lemonade or iced “tea” and cookies while we watched our end of the year imovie. What a great way to celebrate our poetry!

Much gratitude to Barbara and her student poets for joining us today.  These poems and this tea are warming and beautiful...and I would not be surprised to hear about other classrooms of young poets hosting Mother's Day Poet-Teas next spring!

Jone is hosting today's Poetry Friday smorgasbord over at Check it Out.  Check it out!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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

Poetry Friday & More Than a Number

Welcome!

Poetry Friday is here today!

Painting by Georgia VanDerwater 

(2005)

Click on the orange arrow button to hear Barry sing!
(If you cannot see this graphic for any reason, just click here for the song.)

Sometimes a poem wants to be written.  That is how I feel about this one.  A couple of weeks ago, my friend Barry Lane (who wrote the only professional book I own that has lost its cover from use) and I began writing a couple of songs together via e-mail, SoundCloud, and iPhones.  It has been a true joy.

There are many tests and graphs and numbers flying around education-land these days, but we believe that the minds and souls of children rise above all numbers.  Children always have, are now, and always will be more than data.

Students - Write what you believe!  Write about what you know matters.  Write the song that keeps on singing in your heart.  If you don't, who will?

Teachers and Parents and other Grownups - If you like our song, we would be very grateful for you to share and encourage your friends and colleagues to do so on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites.  Feel free to link here or to the SoundCloud site, and please stay tuned for our forthcoming YouTube slideshow.

For the YouTube slideshow of MORE THAN A NUMBER, Barry Lane and I seek donations of joyful photos of children engaged in play, creation, exploration, joy, learning - immersion in activities of the child's own initiative... We need about 50 photos, and the slideshow will be a multicultural mix of beautiful children in love with life. If you are willing to share (only) one beautiful photo (landscape or easily croppable to landscape) of your child, please send it to me at amy at amylv dot com with a note of permission that we may use it in a YouTube slideshow of this song. Once we receive photos, we will choose which ones to use based on the mix of activities and children. Thank you so much for considering this request.


News as of Saturday:  I have a new post up at Sharing Our Notebooks.  Fourth Grader Grace McCormick shares her notebooks this week, and I am offering a giveaway of Ralph Fletcher's A WRITER'S NOTEBOOK for commenters.  Thank you!

Today's Poetry Friday Menu! 
If there seems to be a lag in posting during the day, please know it is because it is raining in Holland NY and this interferes with our internet service.  I will catch up between the raindrops!

Over at Crackles of Speech, Steven Withrow shares his original poem titled Once You've Wandered from Under Your Yellow Cabana, so perfect for this very hot week in Western New York.

At TeacherDance, Linda introduces us to Miss Beatrice Blossom and also to the child who still lives inside of Linda.  Warning: you will wish to have hollyhocks!

Charles Ghigna has two new poems to share this week.  At Bald Ego, you can read his serious poem inspired by his son's forest fire painting.  And at Snickers, Charles has posted a lighter poem inspired by one of his son's carvings.

Renee LaTulippe is in at No Water River with one of her famous poetry videos and snickerviews - this time with guest poet Joe Mohr and his poem "Flybrows."

It's good to have Ed DeCaria back at Think Kid, Think! with his original poem about that ol' summertime warning.  I, too, remember hearing all moms say,"Wait 30 minutes after eating before you swim!"

At The Drift Record, Julie Larios has "a link to a poem about a great, wide, beautiful wonderful something, plus a little commentary about getting to know it."  Such an important reminder!

Jama Rattigan has a rap by our own Father Goose, Charles Ghigna over at Alphabet Soup.  Or is it a wrap?  Stop on by for lunch, and you will find out!

Visit Robyn Hood Black at Read, Write, Howl for warm and beautiful Wordsworth "wren-dition" along with a related haiku, photograph, and artwork. Happy 28th anniversary to Robyn and her man-wren!

At Writing the World for Kids, Laura Purdie Salas has two posts for us today.  She, too, is sharing More Than a Number (thank you, Laura!) and for 15 Words or Less Thursday, her regular generous offering and comments includes a so-summertime photograph.

Liz Steinglass treats us to summer haiku and a reminder of the power of imagery in few syllables over at Growing Wild.

Over at The Opposite of Indifference, Tabatha has doctors on her mind as she heads off to Johns Hopkins for a post-op visit with her son.  This post is going straight to my doctor sister, and I send good thoughts to Tabatha and family.

Kerry Aradhya shares Kenn Nesbitt's funny poem about dancing Daniel at Picture Books and Pirouettes.

At Live, Love, Laugh, Irene Latham has posted an Elizabeth Bishop poem about "the state with the prettiest name" along with some of her own Florida memories. And off she goes now - safe travels, Irene!

Find Marjorie Evasco's lovely poem comparing writing poetry to folding origami at The Write Sisters.

Doraine Bennett shares two duck poems - one funny and one serious - along with two duck videos, over at Dori Reads. Quack!

At Paper Tigers, Marjorie tells about Wendy Morton and The Elder Project, someone and something so very beautiful that I cannot wait to read more about.

Over at My Juicy Little Universe, Heidi Mordhorst shares 9-year-old Duncan's true haiku, "Jack Frost's Reign" along with the rubric was used to score it.  Duncan - Have you ever been to the Buffalo, NY area?  Ol' Jack reigns here for months, just the way you write it!

Violet Nesdoly shares a texture-and-fabric-rich personal poem about changing her wardrobe to get ready for summer.  So true!

At Teaching Authors, April Halprin Wayland interviews poet David L. Harrison (who shares a writing exercise!) and offers a chance to win an autographed copy of his book COWBOYS.

Jone offers a refreshing list poem about summer break at Check It Out.

Joining us from this week's All Write Conference in Warsaw, Indiana, Mary Lee Hahn, from A Year of Reading, shares an original poem with a structure inspired by one of Ralph Fletcher's poems.

Over at the Florian Cafe, Douglas Florian offers a blues poem about the recession, and the one good thing that is remains.

Elaine Magliaro joyfully cools us all down at Wild Rose Reader with her poem Cool Pool.

At GottaBook, Greg Pincus shares an original poem today.  No whining!

Like Mary Lee, Maria at Teaching in the 21st Century also shares a "Good Old Days" poem, inspired by Ralph Fletcher's session at All Write.

Janet Squires highlights J.Patrick Lewis's book EDGAR ALLAN POE'S PIE: MATH PUZZLERS IN CLASSIC POEMS over at All About the Books.

Over at Mainely Write, Donna shares an original poem inspired by some recent conversations she has had about life's blessings.

Fats Suela offers two poems about the immigrant experience, one by Margaret Atwood, and one by Daljit Nagra, over at Gathering Books.

Diane Mayr has three poetry posts up today!  At Random Noodling, she shares two poems with an interesting use of space.  At Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet, she shares a summer poem for June 21.  And over at Kurious K's Kwotes, she offers a quote about writing by Pamela Ross.

Betsy Hubbard from Teaching Young Writers was at the All Write conference in Indiana this week too, and her poems for today were inspired by that time...even a poem about the "Good Old Days!"

At On Point, Lorie Ann Grover shares an original haiku and photograph, and at readertotz, she has posted a favorite Lewis Carroll poem.  Soup's on!

If you have a poetry dish to share today, please just leave a note in the comments, and I will check in throughout the day to add your delicious link!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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