Goodbye to Christmas Trees

 

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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White Fields & Notebooks

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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Hosting Poetry Friday & A Singing Lady

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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today - Word List Poems

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

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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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Poetry Friday, Peek, & Notebook Keeping

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 & Dandelion Grandmas

 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, Peek, & Food Poems

What to Write?  Write about Food!

Photo by Amy LV

Poems About Food

Students - if you can't find a writing idea, consider peeking into your cupboards to see what's hiding in there.  You might find a box of spaghetti and remember how you used to eat it crunchy and uncooked.  You may find a half-eaten bag of marshmallows and be transported to that campsite in Pennsylvania.  Perhaps you'll find a jar of peanut butter, and school lunches will flood back.  Food holds memories.

This year I wrote several poems about food.  Silly poems and serious poems alike bake on our plates and in our minds.  What to write?  Write about food!

Here are a couple of food poems from this year.

 from March 2011

 from October 2010

If you're still hungry, here are a few more food poems from the year.

Do Not Doughnut 
Delicacy
After Dinner
How to Bake Bread

And now, with a big smile, I welcome fourth grade teacher Melinda Harvey and her students from Iroquois Intermediate School in the Iroquois Central School District in Elma, NY.

Immersion, specifically language immersion, is defined as a method of teaching a second language in which the target language is used for instruction.  I have come to believe that poetry immersion is a powerful way to teach students the language of poetry and poems!

My fourth grade class has created a daily routine called "Poetry Pause."  I begin this fifteen minute period by sharing a poem from a blog.  We gain a lot of inspiration from Amy's wonderful work here at The Poem Farm, but there are many other sharing sites out there as well.  After sharing the daily poem, I often ask the children for their reactions. This turns into a spirited conversation about anything from the topic of the poem to the poet's word choice.  From there, I simply invite the children to turn to their writer's notebooks and write.  I am thrilled time and time again to see my students create funny, rhythmic, touching poems based on the daily model.

Here are two poems inspired by Amy's advice.

Here comes the sunshine

As I shrink away

No one cares.

Little children climb on me

I have nothing to say.

If I could talk, I

Would tell the sun

That I don't want to go away.

I want to stay here and see May.

To see May would be a dream.

Flowers growing color all over

But I would be white under green

The green grass would grow but

I would just melt away.

Away, away I would go

I would love to see May

But I would be the only snow left.

I would be lonely

I must go away

Do you know what I am?

by Alex

Snowbank

Sad, lonely

Wet and cold.

I'm starting to drip

And turn to gold.

Snowplow comes to

Take me away.

I'm so sad and lonely today.

by Camryn

In honor of National Poetry Month, we have another new poetry immersion technique.  We end each day on the rug where our easel sports an old, worn chart-pad of poetry.  I randomly select a poem, and we choral read that poem before we leave the room.  This has been a fun twist on our dismissal routine.

We also immerse ourselves in poetry with a weekly poetry folder.  Every Monday, my students receive a new poem by an accomplished author.  We read the poem together and discuss some point of the poem.  Some weeks we look at the pattern of the poem.  Other times we discuss the message or theme.  Sometimes I have the children volunteer to read the poem out loud so we can experience another's interpretation of how the poem should sound.  Those of you who work in primary classrooms probably find this very - well - routine!  I borrowed this idea from my son's teacher years ago.  The twist is bringing this ritual to a fourth grade setting, continuing to infuse poetry into our students' lives.

Whether you have a long-standing tradition of sharing poetry with children or if you are new to this genre, consider some poetry immersion today!

Thank you so much to Melinda and her fourth grade poets for joining us here on this third Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month! 

Throughout this month, I will continue to revisit poems from the year, focusing on a particular idea-finding strategy or poetic technique each day.

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 -  Today - Poems about Food

For today's Poetry Friday roundup, be sure to visit Diane at Random Noodling.  There you will find the KidLitosphere poetry buffet!

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Poetry Friday is a Full Buffet Today!

Happy National Poetry Month!  At the bottom of today's post you will find many links to poetrylove in the Kidlitosphere.  All are welcome to leave links and words in the comments, and I will add to this post all day with great glee.  

Now that My Poem Writing Year is finished (though poems will continue to grow), I will spend April revisiting poem-idea strategies and techniques, one per day.

Poems about Poems

Students - all of us who have been to birthday parties know that it is customary to bring a gift.  Gifts, however, do not need to be things that we buy at the store. Because today begins National Poetry Month, I would like to offer three poems about poems from this year.  During one writing stretch, I wrote thirty of these poempoems on Fridays.  Here are a few of them to help usher in beautiful April.

The Poem Fire

If I Were an Octopus

Poemmittens

Students - if you are writing poems this month, consider writing a poem about poems.  Then, hang it up somewhere or make lots of little copies and give them to your friends.  Let's all make poems feel welcome in the world.  If you write a poempoem that you would like me to share here on this blog, please just ask your teacher to help you type it in the comments!

In addition to being April Fool's Day and the first day of National Poetry Month, today is the International Edible Book Festival, so consider eating some words. 

April 1 also brings a very special launch of PoetryTagTime, brainchild of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.  This e-anthology holds thirty poems by thirty different poets, each of whom wrote a poem inspired by the one before.  For .99 you can download this book to your Kindle, other e-reader, or computer and read the poems as well as brief descriptions of how each poet found a way to write from the words that came before.

The PoetryTagTime list of poets (in tag order) includes: Jack Prelutsky, Joyce Sidman, Nikki Grimes, Alice Schertle, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Betsy Franco, Douglas Florian, Helen Frost, Carole Boston Weatherford, Calef Brown, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, April Halprin Wayland, Leslie Bulion, J. Patrick Lewis, Avis Harley, Joan Bransfield Graham, David L. Harrison, Julie Larios, Ann Whitford Paul, Jane Yolen, X.J. Kennedy, Bobbi Katz, Paul B. Janeczko, Laura Purdie Salas, Robert Weinstock, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Pat Mora, Mary Ann Hoberman, and Janet Wong.

To top it all off, you can find daily tips and teaching ideas for each poem over at PoetryTagTime Tips.  I can't wait to read the poems or the tips!

Click Here to Visit!

With a full heart and open arms, I welcome and thank second grade teacher Bonnie Evancho and her students from Pinehurst Elementary in the Frontier Central School District.  They generously offered to open April's door with some original haiku.

Our class of second graders really enjoyed Andrew Clements's book DOGKU.  DOGKU is a picture book written in haiku.  It is about a dog who shows up one day at a family's doorstep.  After taking care of this new guest, the family has to decide whether or not to let their guest stay long-term.  We loved the story and couldn't resist creating our own haiku and haiku stories like Mr. Clements!  Ideas came from near and dear topics like favorite hobbies and family pets as well as new-found interests such as the American Revolution.

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My dog is the best

He plays with me all the time

My dog barks too much.

-Elizabeth E.B.

The sunshine is bright

The sunshine is hot and big

When it's gone it's cold.

-Jack D.

A beautiful place

Newfoundland is wonderful

Cold but not too freezing cold

Whales, dolphins you see

Boat rides are wonderful times

Really big iceberg

Beautiful houses

Where my mom used to live once

Wonderful Newfoundland place.

-Kaitlyn E.

I love my puppy

My puppy is the best dog

My dog is funny.

My dog makes me laugh

Nalah is sad when I leave

Nalah runs to the door.

-Courtney F.

Big means big, so big

Big means giant, big

Trees, Grand Canyon, doors.

- Logan F.

My fish are awesome!

How I like to talk to them!

They do not listen.

Nemo - our baby - 

Baby fish doesn't listen

Like the other fish.

-Madison F.

I love my sister

The best sister in the world

Her name is Bailey.

-Reigan G.

I like basketball.

I shot a point for my team.

And I won the game.

-Hunter G.

Fish, super big eyes.

Fish stare at me and people

They just swim around.

- James H.

Reading is super fun

Reading is very fun

Reading is the best!

-Michael H.

Fishing is awesome.

I love fishing with Eric.

He is a good friend.

Awesome at fishing.

He caught a perch once.

Caught a perch with a jig head.

Minnows to catch bass

Catch bass a lot behind house.

Friends for a long time.

-Matthew H.

Read

Reading could be fun!

I love chapter books a lot.

I won't stop reading.

When I'm bored I read.

Reading always makes me smile

Read everywhere, fun.

When I flip the pages,

A new page for me to read.

I hear a voice now.

Mrs Evancho

"Now fill out your reading log."

Awwww!! I said to me.

-Riley I.

The Revolutionary War

King George raised taxes.

Colonists didn't like it

So they started war.

The British were shocked.
British had protected them

But still they had war.

Would they be loyal?

Would they not be loyalists?

It's so hard to chose.

The war wound down.

The war had its big finish --

The colonists won!

King George stopped taxes

They were happy to be free

Colonists were glad

No more King Georges

Not even a king

But a president!

-Emily J.

Bailey

I love Bailey

Brother sleeps with her all night

We all love her so.

-Evan K.

Oreo-Ku

Oreo our dog

A happy dog, but not sad

And she is a girl.

She likes to play ball

And she eats dog food she loves

And she drinks water.

And when she wakes up

We are right by her side.

Petting her softly.

Pets, hugs, dogs love it.

Oreo loving just right

She's staying with us.

We love Oreo

Loving, sweet, cunning and special

And she loves us too!

-Cameron L.

My chickens lay eggs

I love them so much, I do

And they make me laugh.

-Reichen M.

Mrs. E teaches

She is awesome all day long.

Mrs. Evancho.

-Ainsley P.

I love my fish so

They all help me go to sleep

All night, so quiet.

-Dominic S.

I love my mom so

I kiss her so much

And I get ice cream.

The ice cream was good

Didn't go to school next day

Then I went to school.

-Ty V.

I want a doggie.

My mom says to keep my room...

"CLEAN!" to have a dog!

-Madelyn S.

Thank you so much, young writers, for joining us today on this first day of the April.  I feel grateful to have you here.

 And Now For The Links!

April Halprin Wayland shares a Book Spine poem and Writing Workout over at Teaching Authors.  Plus, she will treat us again to a daily poem all month at her poetry blog.  Today's poem, "I Heard My Cat Cry" includes an interesting story and challenge too!

At Deo Writer, Jone MacCulloch is again writing a fresh poem each day, just as she has done for the past four years.  NaPoWriMo!

Charles Ghigna transports to the sea with an original poem, "Sea Scape" over at Bald Ego.

Brimful Curiosities introduces a "Kids' Poetry Challenge" where families read poems together and children are invited to draw pictures based on their thoughts and inspirations from the poems.  Today's selection is Brimful's daughter responding to "The Fairy Dew Drop" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Travis brings us the 2011 Book Spine Poem Gallery at 100 Scope Notes.  Warning: this will make you want to rearrange books all day.

At Rasco from RIF, Carol Rasco shares a review of A PRIMER ON THE FLAG, a picture book poem by Marvin Bell and illustrated by Chris Raschka.

Susan Taylor Brown offers an original poem-a-day for for the whole month once more.  And while last year's poems centered on her relationship with the father she never knew, this year's poem-inspiration will grow from Susan's artistic play and learning all through March.

Gregory Pincus is back with another month of 30 Poems in 30 Days over at GottaBook.  This month begins with Douglas Florian's "April is the Coolest Month."

Tabatha Yeats celebrates the gifts of parenting with her original poem, "Eye Sight, Mother and Child" at The Opposite of Indifference.

Over at A Year of Reading, Mary Lee Hahn celebrates not only their author visitor, J. Patrick Lewis, but also a whole school-full of poets with her first NaPoWriMo poem.  You can also learn about her funmysterious and soon-to-be-here PoetQRy QResponse game.

Laura will bring us Maryland poets and school-friendly writing prompts all month over at Author Amok.   Today's poem is "X-Men" by Dennis Kirchbaum along with his upper grade prompt about superheroes and memory.

A Teaching Life with Tara celebrates two poems by New Jersey poet Maria Mazzioti Gillan.

Starting today at The Small Nouns, Ben will share a new-to-him poem each day of April.  The month begins with, "Sutra" by Marilyn Krysl.

Heidi Mordhorst begins a game of MiniPoetryTag and wishes Daisy a "Happy Birthday" over at My Juicy Little Universe.

At Writing the World for Kids,  Laura Purdie Salas shares "Jumping for Joy," a haiku from her book Fuzzy-Fast Blur: Poems about Pets. Laura's invitation to write a 15 Words or Less poem sparks us with a photograph of raindrops.

Tanita Davis offers us "Te Deum" by Charles Reznikoff over at [fiction, instead of lies.]

Join a month-long poetry party over at Live. Love. Explore! where Irene Latham will share "poetry quotes, trivia, craft tips, publishing resources, and free books!"  Today she tempts us with a book recommendation.

Linda Kulp welcomes spring and poetry at Write Time, beginning today with with Linda Lee's poem, "Foal."

Shannon has gathered her previous poetry reviews and other poem-related posts for a poetry celebration at Hope is the Word.

Jama Rattigan will continue to feed us this month at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup.   Today you can nibble on the Potluck Poets menu, John Mole's "The Banquet," and news about a poetry book giveaway.

Random Noodling, with Diane Mayr, brings us an original haibun titled "Rally for New Hampshire." Kurious Kitty speaks to April Fool's Day with a bit of Shakespeare, and Ted Kooser is up at Kurious K's Kwotes.

At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine talks with Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong about today's newly launched PoetryTagTime, an e-book anthology of children's poets tagging each other with poems.  At Blue Rose Girls, Elaine shares an original acrostic for April.  Once again, Elaine has generously herded up and now offers her list of National Poetry Month Resources for 2011, and you can learn about her NaPoMo poetry book giveaways here.

The Florian Cafe shares "To Anna Blume," a poem by Kurt Schwitters Merz on the occasion of his new show at Princeton.

"Thanks," by W.S. Merwin, ushers in April over at Pentimento.

Ruth brings us the hopeful words of Emily Dickinson's "April" at There's No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town.

Two haiku written by seventeenth-century Japanese woman poets grace Robin Hood Black's blog today.

Jennie reviews Helen Frost's verse novel, The Braid, today at Biblio File.

At Fomagrams, David Elzey is in with his annual launch of twitku (daily tweeted poems) and what he calls Burma Shave poems.  You can follow these on Twitter at @delzey.

At Views from a Window Seat, Jeannine Atkins shares her thoughts about and a peek into Eavan Boland's memoir Object Lessons: The Life of the Woman and the Poet in Our Time.

Across the Page brings us Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Land of Counterpane" in honor of a sick child at home.

For the fourth year running, Andromeda Jazmon will post an original haiku and photo each day at a wrung sponge.  This year, she is extending the challenge into a daily haibun.  As a part of today's haibun, Andromeda shares a inspiring student project called "Paper Cranes for Japan."

Books, Dogs, and Frogs shares "Love These Dogs," an original dog-celebration poem inspired by Sharon Creech's LOVE THAT DOG.   May this first-original-poem-since-grade-school be the first of many!

At Book Aunt, Kate Coombs is in with an original poem about listening to rain as well as the Kidlitosphere poetry links collected by Irene Latham for National Poetry Month.

Doraine Bennett offers Lucy Maud Montgomery's "An April Night" at Dori Reads.

Blythe Woolston thanks her poet friends for helping her "recover her poetic license" with a poem that has "a haikuish bent."

At Liz in Ink, Liz Scanlon will for the third time share one haiku each day for the month of April.  This year, though, she will post haibun.  Today's haibun is about a hiding cat...and so much more.

Janet Squires shares Wings on the Wind: Bird Poems, collected and illustrated by Kate Kiesler, over at All About the Books.

To kick off National Poetry Month 2011, The Write Sisters have a poem about poems by Archibald MacLeish.

Over at The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title, Karen Edmisten has posted links to George Meredith's "The Lark Ascending" and a Ralph Vaughan Williams song which it inspired.  Karen recommends listening and reading at the same time.

Martha shares an original poem about one tough winter over at Martha Calderaro.

Over at The Drift Record, Julie Larios offers a feeling of longing with "White Cat," a poem by Romanette, a Seattle second grade.

Mozi Esme is joining in with the "Kids' Poetry Challenge" introduced by Brimful Curiosities.  And the first drawing is up - a response to Richard LeGallienne's "I Meant to do My Work Today."

At Carol's Corner, Carol shares a found poem from this month's issue of Oprah, which focuses on poetry.   Her poem, "Poetry," was found in a piece by Mark Nepo.

As a part of her research for her next novel (a middle grade historical fiction set in 1548 Flanders), Nicole Marie Schreiber offers a poem she found called "Lacemaker's Prayer."

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