Wallow in Wonder Day 20 - Chatty Green Tomato

Welcome to Day 20 of Wallow in Wonder!  For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I will celebrate learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  As I did with my Dictionary Hike in 2012, I am looking to surprise myself with new inspiration daily.  This year, such inspiration will show up in my inbox each morning.  I will print it and carry each Wonderopolis Wonder around all day...and in the afternoon or evening, I will write and post the poem for the next day.  

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

My April Poems Thus Far

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 8 - Limits - a poem inspired by Wonder #1664

April 9 - Sundogs - a poem inspired by Wonder #1665

April 10 - Perspective - a poem inspired by Wonder #128

April 11 - At the History Museum - a poem inspired by Wonder #115

April 12 - Seventy-Five Years Ago Today - a poem inspired by Wonder #1666

April 13 - Homer's Poem - a poem inspired by Wonder #1667

April 14 - The Right - a poem inspired by Wonder #1668

April 15 - 5:00 am - a poem inspired by Wonder #1669

April 16 - Writing - a poem inspired by Wonder #1670

April 17 - Sometimes - a poem inspired by Wonder #194

April 18 - Once - a poem inspired by Wonder #192

April 19 - Eat It - a poem inspired by Wonder #1671

And now for Day 20!

Wonder #1672 - from April 19, 2016

Why, Yes.  It IS Talking.

by Amy LV

Students - This is one strange poem.  And I have NO idea where it came from.  But it came.  And it is here. So I typed it. And you read it.

Sometimes writing is as funny and as simple as that.  I read yesterday's Wonder about tomatoes turning red, and for some (unknown) reason I was at once imagining a green tomato calling, "Hey Kid!" to someone walking by.  So I wrote the first line, and then, as sometimes happens, I simply followed it, reading and rereading out loud, listening for what the next line wanted to be.

At times writing feels like opening my hands to the sky and waiting for wordrain, trusting and knowing that there will be words, even if they are weird and surprising words.  After all, the strange and unusual parts of our minds wish to be explored too...don't you think?

Notice how this poem just rolls upon itself.  I have fun when a poem comes this way, like waves of water lapping upon each other. Earlier this month, The Storm Chaser poem did the same thing.  Sometimes a rhythm finds me.

And while we're talking about green tomatoes...for a beautiful new book about nature through the year, magical free verse poems by Julie Fogliano and swoony pictures by Julie Morstead, add this book to your collection today.

Available Through IndieBound

It is my pleasure to host teacher and librarian Stefanie Cole and her students from Ontario, Canada at Sharing Our Notebooks this month. This is a fantastic post full of notebook inspiration, a video clip, and a great book giveaway from Stefanie. Please check it out, and leave a comment over there to be entered into the giveaway.

Happy Day 20 of National Poetry Month 2016!  Go listen to some tomatoes!

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

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

Wallow in Wonder Day #5 - What is Fertilizer?

Welcome to Day 5 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.

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

And now for Day 5!

Wonder #1661 - from April 4, 2015

Composting!

by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is an abecederian, a type of poem that I have only written once before - Gifts, back in 2010.  If you don't already know what an abecederian is, take a good look at today's poem and see if you can figure out what is special about this form.  I bet you can.

Got it?

If not, I will tell you. An abecederian is a poem that goes right through the alphabet, beginning each line with a successive letter, starting with the first and ending with the last.  There are variations if you wish to study abecederians, but this is a simple explanation.  It's a strange form to write, kind of fill-in-the-blank-y...which is not my usual favorite type of writing.  But somehow, the exercise of needing to use the letters stretches my imagination to say things in different ways than I might otherwise.

One resource I found helpful in writing this was an online resource - The Lerner's Dictionary.  Any dictionary will do!  When a poem takes a certain form, the writer must take extra care to ensure meaning.  The form should not interfere or distract from meaning in any way.

I first learned about compost piles from my wonderful sixth grade teacher, Mr. Joe Fron who grew a garden with my class.  I still think of him often, and I am grateful to have had him as one of my life-changing teachers.  We do not always know in the moment who will change our lives forever, but as we get older, we figure it out.  So, when I read today's wonder, "What is fertilizer?" of course I thought of compost.

If you are interested in learning more about composting, watch this video at National Geographic and too, check out How to Compost.org.

You can read another poem inspired by fertilizer 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.

I could not be happier to welcome 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 cool giveaway from Stefanie!

Happy Day 5 of National Poetry Month 2016!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Flower - Poems of Address

The Angeliques Have Arrived!

Photo by Amy LV

This poem

is trying

to be

a book.

xo, Amy

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

Students - The picture you see at the top of this post is actually a picture of tulip bulbs, not seeds.  I have always thought that bulbs are amazing, and this particular type of bulb is one of my favorites - Angelique Tulips. Years ago, Susan Mendel, the wonderful school principal where I was a fifth grade teacher, had these tulips in her yard.  I've thought about her tulips for 15 years...and last spring I ordered some for our home here in Western New York.  They just arrived last week, and so I'll be getting some dirt under the ol' fingernails this week. Spring will be so exciting!  When the Angeliques come up, I'll show you how pretty they are.

Today's poem is a poem of address, in which I speak directly TO the flower.  When you write a poem, you might ask yourself if it would be a good idea to try out this technique. Instead of talking ABOUT a cat or AS a cat, you might speak directly TO the cat.  This gives the reader a neat scenario to imagine!

Over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, Kimberly Kuntz has opened her prayer journals for us to learn about this important way she writes through her life.  

This week, from September 22 - September 28,  is Banned Books Week!  It is important that we stand up for books, all books, even ones that express ideas and viewpoints with which we disagree.  Last year I wrote this poem, Are You There, God? in honor or Banned Books Week.

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