Rainbow Memory & Mrs. Harter's Poets!

Book Cover Painting

by Georgia LV

Students - One of the stories my mom likes to tell is about how as a little girl, I would stop in parking lots to look at rainbows in puddles.  Yes, they were made from the oil in rainwater...but I could not help but stop and marvel.  I still think they are so pretty, all of those colors just swirling around in water...kind of like soap bubbles.  I've written about these rainbow puddles before in this space, and I probably will again...some family stories are like that. 

Today's poem grew from this story that my mom tells, and I am going to spend some time this summer thinking about other family stories and finding the poems tucked inside them.  This might be something you'd like to try this summer too...keep a list of family stories (those you remember and those you have been told) and then see what poems you find in your list!

Today I am very lucky to welcome Mrs. Karen Harter and her poets of Room 115 at Holmes Elementary School in the KenTon School District in Tonawanda, NY.  They have been writing and sharing and displaying their poetry with gusto and much love.  Tomorrow is their last day of the school year, and I tip my summer hat as I wish all of them many good writing adventures this summer and in their lives.  Welcome to Mrs. Karen Harter and students!

Mrs. Harter's Poets!

Photo by Teacher Karen Harter

My muilti-age second/third grade class at Holmes Elementary School enjoyed reading the poems posted on The Poem Farm website throughout the school year. We loved Mrs.VanDerwater's regular poems and helpful hints. The inspirations for those poems and some great tips, really "revved up our engines" before writing! We also enjoyed reading and listening to poems written by other adult authors, and the chance to read poems written by children our own age.

So, we were very excited to meet Mrs. VanDerwater in person when she visited our school in May ---and "over the moon" when she suggested that we post OUR poems here on The Poem Farm website. The only thing that will be better than our normal reading is when we log on one day...and WE are there! That will be the "icing on the cake." The children picked one poem out of many that they wrote, and each student chose the one he or she liked best to publish. We hope you like them.

Thank you, Mrs. VanDerwater, and everyone who visits The Poem Farm. We love it, and are so proud to be a part of it now, too!

"Poets are not born in a country; Poets are born in childhood." - Vladimir Khodasevich

Poems in my Pocket

Photo by Teacher Karen Harter

Never the Same

I saw a dead bird.

It made me sad.

I think he got hit by a car.

I was mad.

I gave him a funeral.

His bird friends came.

But the trees in the park

will never be the same.

Cahlab

age 10

Hummingbirds

They have feathers.

They perch on trees.

They are beautiful.

They live in North America.

The bee hummingbird

Is the world's

smallest bird.

Not a

BEE

or a

BUG

Just the smallest bird.

This bird only lives in Cuba

and it looks like a bee

so humans won't

mess

with

it.

BUT....we know a hummingbird from a bee--

or a bug.

Nicole

age 9

A Bad Day

I hit the ball

and I did fall

I passed out

I had to pout

I made a face

I got my emergency case

In case I got bruised in the face.

Sal

age 7

The House

I wonder

when

I leave my house

if it says,

"Where is Maxine going?"

Maxine

age 9

There's a War in my Bedroom

My army man still thinks he's in

World War II

I hear him say,

"OK man, get ready for battle.

Let's move out.

This battle is getting rough

and my rifle is almost out of bullets.

But, we will pull through."

(Maybe I should tell him it's 2012)

Josh

age 9

DINNER!

There once was a spider

who lived in a web.

He met a fly.

They had some fun.....

until he was done spinning his web!

And then, he said,

"Now you'll be my dinner!"

Emily

age 9

The Bills

Watching the Bills is

eating frankfurters,

drinking pepsi,

shouting,

laughing,

waiting,

anticipating,

screaming,

HOORAY!

They won!

Jermiah

age 9

Grass

I see grass in

Spring

Summer

Fall

and even

Winter.

But in

SPRING

it is the

BEST

Come out and play.

Come out and play in the

Grass.

Cheyenne

age 8

The Race

I am in first place.

I am as fast as a cheetah.

I win!

My prize is a

black

red

shiny

brand new

PORSCHE

with

sparkling rims.

My next race will

be

in

my

NEW CAR!

Dominic

age 9

About my Toys....

My toys talk in my room

And they move.

I wonder if they might be

talking about me,

or my room,

or do they talk about themselves?

I know they talk!

Anthony

age 9

Getting an Apple from the Apple Tree

I'm

                               g

                         n

                     i

                 p

            m

      u

j

so I can

get an

apple from

t

h

e

t

r

e

e

The tree said, "Go away boy!"

Vernon

age 8

Savannah

My sister Savannah

My mom calls her banana

She is three

She fell and hurt her knee

I love Savannah.

Caryn

age 8

Our Dogs

I had our dogs named

Moose

Oreo

Britney

Riley

They each had 2 puppies.

How many puppies

Do I have now?

Rebecca

age 7

Bare

The trees

with no leaves

look like

people

with

no

hair.

D'Anna

age 9

Winter Tree

I saw a tree

with no leaves

on it.

It looks like a

naked

tree.

The sun

has come up.

The tree has leaves on it now.

The tree

doesn't

look

naked

anymore.

William

age 9

Haiku!

Photo by Teacher Karen Harter

Thank you so much to teacher Karen Harter and her young poets for joining us today. Now, other students will read your poems for inspiration, and I feel very grateful to have your words and poems here forever.

I welcome all young writers to visit throughout the summer and to share your own poems in the comments. I will be here on Fridays with poems and writing thoughts.

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!

Watch and Listen to Your Family!

Hope and Jasper (one day old!)

Photo by Amy LV

Family Story Poems

Funny things happen in our house every day.  Happy moments blossom.  Sad moments find their way in.  Surprises burst.  Yesterday we had a surprise lamb!  The children had a friend visiting, and they went up to visit last week's new lambs.  

But wait!  There was one more lamb than everyone expected...little Jasper, only 3 pounds and 13 ounces.  Mother and son seem to be doing well so far, but we did bring him in for a bottle and a warm up by the heater.

Students - if you pay attention to your family life and the families you know, you will be brimming with all kinds of writing ideas.  Once I heard poet Georgia Heard quote her writing teacher, poet Stanley Kunitz as saying, "If you want to write poems...you must live in a way that lets you find poems."  I know that I've shared this quote with you before, but these words have always mattered deeply to me and have governed many of my life choices.

Here are two poems that came right from real family memories.

 from October 2010

from January 2011

Here are two more poems that grew from family stories.

Late at Night

Homemade

New Do (this true story came from my friend's family)

In Grandma's Bowl

A writer's notebook is a wonderful place to keep your writing snippets and scraps. By jotting down the small events of your life, you will build a library of writing topics, useful phrases, and memories that will feed you for years.

For all of this month, I have been rounding up poems from last year, categorizing them into various piles of poetry ideas and strategies.  Please feel free to revisit some of the other posts and share any poems you write or thoughts you have in the comments.

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 -  Today - Family Story Poems

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Poem #316 Explores One Reader's Change

This is poem #6 in Story Poem Week, and even though I post poems about books on Fridays, this one snuck in today.

Students - sometimes I get an idea stuck into my head, an idea of something that troubles or concerns me, and I cannot shake it.  For a while, I have been thinking about how important it is for readers to read for ourselves, not for other people, not for prizes, not for grades.  Reading is so much bigger than any of these things: reading is life.  

When we write, we can explore our feelings, opinions, and ideas about the world.  Other people don't have to agree with us or even read our words, but somehow, through writing, we can make sense of our lives and our own thoughts.  We can discover what matters most to each of us.

What keeps rolling through your head?  Is there something you would like to change in the world?  Is there something you wonder about and wish you could help with?  Your writing is a magnificent place to begin.

Teachers and Parents - Alfie Kohn's article, "How to Raise Nonreaders" offers us some meaty food for thought (and I'm sure it had a hand in this poem too.)  And thank you to Barry Lane for pointing me to Dan Pink's book, Drive.  You might wish to listen to Dan's TED talk, "The Surprising Science of Motivation."

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Baby Owl Won't Say "Who?" in Poem #314

My New Paperchase Notebook

This is poem #4 in Story Poem week, a week of poems that tell stories.

Students - Yesterday I had no idea what I would write about.  I sat down at my old wooden desk, and immediately my eyes lit upon this brand new owl notebook.  As soon as I saw the cover, a "What if...?" popped into my head.  "What if a baby owl refused to say Who?"

The words from this poem also hailed from the new Newbery Medal winner, MOON OVER MANIFEST, by Claire Vanderpool.   In each of the sections of "Hattie Mae's News Auxiliary," Hattie Mae promises to share "all the whos, whats, whys, whens, and wheres by next week..."   Surely this repeated section has been echoing in my writing head.

The baby owl here appears in another poem, and perhaps this is why today's poem wrote itself easily.  That other poem, "First Flight," will appear in my first book, FOREST HAS A SONG, illustrated by the wonderful watercolorist Robbin Gourley and published by Clarion Books next fall.

Teachers - for another post about asking "Why?" visit Ann Marie Corgill's blog, AM Literacy Learning Log where you can read her thoughts about this question.  Ann Marie is the author of OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE, a book I highly recommend if you teach writing to primary students.

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Cinderella Gets New Shoes in Poem #313

Comfortable Shoes

Photo by Amy LV

This is poem #3 in Story Poem Week, a week during which each poem will tell a story.  You're welcome to join the story poem fun, and I'd be happy to link to your poem.

Students - this poem was a new challenge for me.  I have never before taken a traditional story and written from it.  In the past, I've never considered myself much of a storyteller or story writer.  So this exercise was a good stretch.

You might want to try this.  Take a story you know, perhaps one from your early childhood or one you have heard over and over again. Then imagine it differently, that "What if...?" again.  

You might even consider if you want your poem to have a message.  I wanted today's Cinderella to be more than a beauty, more than what the Disney Princess culture tells girls to be.  I dedicate this poem to all girls as well as to all boys who understand that girls are so much more than how we look.

If you like fairy tale take-offs, our family gets an enormous laugh from Barry Lane's RECYCLED FAIRY TALES CD.  It is such fun!

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A Prince and His Cat Visit Poem #311

The Prince & His Cat

by Georgia LV

Students - this poem came from a few funny places.  I really didn't know what to write about yesterday, and so as I often do, I began listing ideas.  Our cat Mini was stretched out in a sun puddle on the couch, and I admired him for a bit.  Subconsciously, I think that my daughter Georgia's recent poem, "That Dog" was still stirring in my heart, and of course I have always believed that it is important for children to have pets. From this mix of ideas and rememberings and observations, this poem emerged.

One might call this a poem with a threat...I mean...a poem with a moral.  It's a story poem with a consequence ending, just like life.

Hmmm...this has me thinking that this just might be the beginning of a Story Poem Week.  Would anyone like to join me in the challenge?

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A boat and an airplane fell in love...#252

Boat & Airplane

by Amy LV

A couple of weeks ago, flying over the Great Lakes, I looked down at Earth.  We weren't too high yet, and I could see tiny sailboats making little white wave wakes.  I thought about me looking down at the boats, and I wondered if anyone in those boats was looking up at the plane.  Somehow this story poem took hold then and comes to you, mysteriously, today...

Students - here is a neat writing contest, expiring on January 17, 2010.  It's at Spilling Ink, a website named after the inspiring book by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter.  Well, these two authors are hosting a short story contest involving an invention and a problem.  The prize is a book and a Skype visit with the author Ellen Potter...a visit during which your class can ask questions all about writing!  Check out the details here.  In case you missed it, I linked to SPILLING INK, the book, back at the end of June.

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Did YOU Ever Do This? - Read Poem #209

Doll Salon

by Amy LV

On Friday, my friend Christyn wrote this note, "I have to believe that only Sarah would take scissors to the hair of an American Girl doll..." 

Christyn's note got me thinking about the time that Georgia cut her own hair.  And it got me thinking about the time I washed the hair of my Ballerina Barbie.  It was wonderful to run my sudsy fingers through her long blond locks, but it was so frizzy and horrible an hour later.  Poor Ballerina Barbie always looked strange hanging out with Skipper and regular Barbie after that.  Oh well, such inspired moments of art and hair-creativity with dolls are not always easy to repair, but they certainly make good stories.

This poem is dedicated to Sarah...we have all been there!  May your doll like her new haircut (I didn't hear she was bald, just that your mom found the hair and no doll.)

Students - did you ever have a time when you got "caught up", maybe doing something you shouldn't have?  Usually, you're not the first one to have ever done such a thing, and for this reason, readers love reading such stories.  They remind us of ourselves.  Think way back and talk with someone about your own oops-memories.  Then, add a few ideas to your writing ideas list.  If you don't have any oops-memories, maybe you need to do more naughty things.  Hee hee!

Yesterday I returned from Kidlit Con in Minneapolis.  Not only did I have the privilege to take part in a panel about Poetry Friday, but a whole world of children's literature bloggers opened up before my eyes.  Reviewers, authors, librarians, teachers, publishers...the list goes on.  So many people live in this virtual world, writing daily about beautiful words for children.  Over the next weeks, I will be building the blogroll here, so please keep an eye over there for changes.  Also, The Poem Farm is going to get serious about twitter.  I'm not exactly sure how yet, but I'm serious.  So if you're on twitter, I welcome you to join me!

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My Poem Writing Year #197 - Fishy

Fishy Drink

by Amy LV

Yes!  This really did happen to me!  Last Friday, in fact.  I drank fish water.  Luckily for me (and the fish), I did not drink the fish.  However, the whole experience was rather surprising and not one I'd recommend.

Students - you know how sometimes something happens and you think, "I CANNOT BELIEVE this just happened to ME!"  It may be a strange coincidence, a yucky surprise (such as my fish water drink), an unusual injury, or an embarrassing moment.  Whatever it is, you may as well make something good out of it.  Why not make the best of a bad or very-strange experience?

Here are two picture books about children who wish for bigger land-roaming pets but soon come to appreciate their small swimmers.

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 Only three days away from the 200 poem mark!  Hooray!

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MyPoWriYe #57 - I Want to Ask My Teacher

My mother used to tell me the story of her own mother, also a teacher.  Back in the 1950s, students loved my Grandma Florence.  But they were curious about things.  One day, Grandma walked in the ladies room of her school.  As she opened the door, she heard a student exclaim, "You mean teachers go to the bathroom?!"  This little story is one that I've heard and thought about many times, especially as my mother was a teacher and I was a fifth grade teacher who now teaches writing.  Old family stories, the ones we hear and tell over and over again are deep wells for writing topics.

Students - what stories does your family tell?  Can you remember old stories about you or stories that took place before you were born?  Stories are the glue that holds a family together.  Stories help us know ourselves and our memories through the years.  A poem about an old family story may keep that story alive for another generation.

I always share poems with our children, and Georgia gave me a line for this poem, the line wondering if the teacher has a first name.  Thank you, Gigi!

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