Free Verse & Making Up Our Own Holidays

Tractor One

Photo by Amy LV

Tractor Two

Photo by Amy LV

Tractor Three

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is about yesterday here on the road of The Poem Farm. There were many tractors out and about, and they looked so happy and full of energy, just tilling up the land once more.  Here on our road, when the tractors are out, you can sometimes see people standing by the road watching.  I like to imagine what they are thinking about.

This is a free verse poem, though it does have one rhyme right at the very end.  This is something I do sometimes when writing free verse, just bring things together with a rhyme at the closing.  I enjoyed playing with the images here and also with the sounds of the words.

Today's poem is about a made-up holiday, the day when the tractors come out. As I type these words, I realize that this idea of making up holidays reminds me of a favorite book, Byrd Baylor's I'M IN CHARGE OF CELEBRATIONS.

Available at Your Local Bookshop

We each are in charge of our own celebrations, and if you wish, you might even think about a special day that feels like a holiday...but is not actually on the calendar.  Go ahead - write a poem about it.  If you're not sure how to begin, feel free to borrow my words -- "There is one day..."

Over at Sharing Our Notebooks, it is a joy to welcome teacher Katie Liseo and her adventurous student notebookers with a very inspiring post and giveaway of Aimee Buckher's NOTEBOOK KNOW-HOW.  Laura Shovan's fabulous post is also still up and the giveaway still open - visit behind the scenes of THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY HERE.

Margaret is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Reflections on the Teche.  Enjoy her persona poem and family story as she writes to the beat of her nephew Jack's drum!  Too, dive into all kinds of poetry offerings, today and every Poetry Friday.  All are always welcome!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Day 14 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 14 of this Year's Poem Farm Project!

Find the Complete April 2015 Poem and Song List Here

First, I would like to welcome all old and new friends to The Poem Farm this April. Spring is a busy time on all farms, and this one is no exception.  Each April, many poets and bloggers take on special poetry projects, and I'm doing so too.  You can learn all about Sing That Poem! and how to play on my April 1st post, where you will also find the list of the whole month's poems and tunes as I write and share them.  If you'd like to print out a matching game page for yourself, you can find one here, and during April 2015, you'll be able to see the song list right over there in the left hand sidebar.

Yesterday's poem was Painter.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

This sound file has been removed as it hopes to appear

in my forthcoming book, WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS.  

I am sorry, and I will try to write a new one with the same meter for this spot.

xo, a.

Guess what?  Mrs. Holt's reading-loving students from Ladue Fifth Grade Center in St. Louis, MO figured it out, and they were kind enough to share their voices with us here today.  Right now, these students are studying poetry, writing their own poems, and enjoying many mentor texts to understand form and topic choice.  As to how they solved yesterday's tune-puzzle, Mrs. Holt writes, "We don't have any extraordinary tips for figuring out the song, but our strategy was to try out different rhythms from your list until we thought it made sense."  You can hear their voices below.

This sound file has been removed as it hopes to appear

in my forthcoming book, WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS.  

I am sorry, and I will try to write a new one with the same meter for this spot.

xo, a.

Thank you so much to these students for singing with me today.  I welcome any classes to do the same; simply send me your SoundCloud (easy free app) link in an e-mail, and I will include your voices here too.

And here, below, is today's poem.  Look at the song list in the sidebar or on your matching form to see if you can puzzle out which tune matches this one.

National Library Week Web Badge

from the American Library Association

Students - Happy National Library Week!  This is a special week to celebrate the wonder of free libraries, fabulous librarians, all of the good people who work in libraries and all of the resources we find there.  Today's poem is a poem to honoring libraries and librarians.  

There are times when it just feels right to write a poem for a special person or a special day.  You might think about those you love or about holidays that mean a lot to you or well, you might make up your own celebration, as the character does in I'M IN LOVE WITH CELEBRATIONS by Byrd Baylor.  It is a joy to celebrate others and things we care about through poetry.

Read More at IndieBound

You will notice that today's poem has a repeating stanza, or chorus.  This has been something new for me this month.  Usually in poetry, I do not include a repeating stanza.  But sometimes, in these poemsongs, I do.

Below, you will see a new book of poems about celebrations.  It was just born this National Poetry Month!  Happy birthday, book!  Congratulations again to Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, who brought together many many poets and put together this beautiful volume in both English and Spanish for all of us.

Read More at Pomelo Books

Photo by Amy LV

Now, go find a librarian to hug.  Say, "Happy Library Week!"  This is important.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

A Pet Rock - Friend of All People

Buster in the Sunshine

Photo by Hope LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students -  For today's poem, I decided to just flip through photographs and choose one that made me smile.  How could a sunbathing rock not make me smile?  This is a photo of Buster, the pet rock belonging to our daughter Hope and her friends Julia and Delilah.  He has all kinds of outfits - you wouldn't believe!

This is a list poem with a lot of repetition.  You will notice that the whole first chunk of every line is exactly the same.  I wanted today's poem to just tell about all of the things that a pet rock cannot do...and then twist the end to show that pet rocks have their own certain charm.  I think they may be fun simply because they let us do everything!

What do you like to make and play with?  What do you like to pretend?  There are lots of great writing ideas hidden in your play and in your creative mind.

I remember when I was a little girl in the 1970s.  Pet rocks were all the rage, and they were the perfect pet for a girl like me who loved making small homes for things.  We always had a loving dog, but my rock was a great pet who put up with all of my caring antics.

If you wish to learn all about how to take care of a pet rock, you may want to watch this video by Marco Anders on YouTube.  This video is also fun for those of you who have written or plan to write how-to or procedural pieces.  One way to publish your how-to piece might be a video like this one!

You can also read and watch a video about caring for your pet rock here at wikihow.  And if you want to know the history of pet rocks, check out The Pet Rock Page or Wikipedia.

Or, just enjoy a short episode of Bill Nye's Pet Rock Theater.

You can order a pet rock and carrying box from the 1970's on eBay.  Or if you're smart, you can just go outside and find your own!

As one of my favorite Byrd Baylor books says....

Available through Amazon

Nina Crittenden is my guest at Sharing Our Notebooks this week.  Stop by and see the types of notebooks she uses and how she continues to create.  (You will also have a chance to be entered into Nina's generous drawing of a book and pocket notebook.)

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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