Doll School - Writing About Play

Doll School

by Amy LV

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

Students - The idea for this poem came first from a conversation with a work friend.  She told me about her daughter Melanie who plays school with her dolls.  Hearing about this, I was immediately transported back to my childhood home in Vestal, NY, remembering how I played school for so many years with neighbors, animals, stuffed animals, dolls, everyone. I always wanted to be a teacher, and now I am lucky to be a writing teacher.  Our play helps determine who we will become when we grow up.

If you look at the rhyme scheme in this poem, you will notice that except for the italicized teacher voice stanza, each odd line rhymes with its next even line.  The line breaks, however, do not line up perfectly with the rhyme.  It just seemed better to me this way, seemed like it made more sense.  If you listen to the recording, you will see what I mean. The way I read the poem is the way that makes sense to my ear, something very important for poets and all writers to consider.

What do you like to play?  What did you once play?  Our play lives are important in so many ways, one of which is that they are storehouses of joyful writing ideas!  I so wish that I could sit down with Melanie and some cocoa today, just to talk about this.

Robyn is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Life on the Deckle Edge. Visit her place to take a tour of all of the poetry goodness in the Kidlitosphere today!  And if you are doing some literary holiday shopping, don't miss Robyn's etsy shop, artsyletters!

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Poem Books & A Poetry Peek

Note Written to First Grade Teacher Susan Kellner

Photo by Susan Kellner

 

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

Students - I got the idea for today's poem from all of the teachers and students I know who make books in class.  I remembered making projects in school and that feeling of, "I can't wait to get home to show my mom and dad!"  In these few words, I wanted to capture that feeling of excitement and pride.

It is an honor to welcome back first grade teacher Susan Kellner of Holland O. Brumsted Elementary in Holland, NY. Our own daughters were lucky enough to have Susan as a first grade teacher several years ago, and some of you may remember her visit here in April 2010 when she shared her Poet Tree, now pinned and repinned on Pinterest many times.

On this first Poetry Friday of June, Susan has generously offered to share a bit about how she helps her first graders fall in love with poetry and her student, Chloe Conrad is here with her own first grade poetry anthology. Please settle in and enjoy a trip to first grade, a wonderful book, and some words from Chloe's mom about how writing workshop in first grade this year has helped Chloe grow.

Welcome and thank you to first grade teacher Susan Kellner!

Poetry Recitations/Readings

Every month we have a theme for sharing and practicing our speaking skills. One month students will tell about and show how to do something. One month they share about family traditions. In April, the students share a poem that they love.

Students can either memorize the poem or read it. I find that most of them choose to memorize their poem. I encourage this - I tell them that then they will always have a "poem in their pocket." I think it is interesting where they get their poems. Some students go to the library with their parents to get poetry books. Some look online. One girl brought in a tattered Robert Louis Stevenson book that had belonged to her grandmother. One student went to the Poem Farm, and found a poem she loved about sheep. I encourage the students who memorized the poems to keep sharing them with other people. These poems stick so well into their young, fresh minds!

Anthology

Every year my students write dozens of poems. I usually have them choose a favorite and then I type it up and put them all into a class anthology and make copies for everyone. This year, I felt very ambitious so I decided to type them all up so that they could each have an anthology of their own poems. It was truly a labor of love -- I think I typed up more than 400 poems! I made covers out of sparkly paper and presented the students with their own poetry books. They were thrilled and carefully illustrated each page. One student said, "Can we please share our poems with each other?" so we gathered in a circle. The students held their little books in their laps and everyone listened respectfully as the poems were read with pride. During free time, I noticed that several groups of students were gathering in little circles again, continuing to take turns reading poems to each other. It was a magical moment! That was the day that I found this note on my desk: "Thank you! Thank you for teaching me poatre."

Welcome and many thanks to poet Chloe Conrad!

Poet Chloe Conrad

Photo by Amy Conrad

Welcome to Amy Conrad, Chloe's mom, as she offers some thoughts into how Chloe's life as a writer.

Chloe, since we can remember, has had a love for reading! She is just fascinated by the different stories and has always been mesmorized by the illustrations. This year, in Mrs. Kellner's first grade class, Chloe has really blossomed. She can't wait to get off the bus to announce their daily book and what she wrote for the day.

Mrs. Kellner is an inspiration to Chloe in such a huge way. Her love for reading and writing shines on to the students. I love that Mrs. Kellner has writer's workshop in her daily routine. It has had a huge impact on our daughter. It taught her how to be creative with her thoughts. We will now see Chloe take out a notepad (a gift from Mrs. Kellner) and write down a word or idea, that she will later write a story or poem about. We are amazed and so proud at the writing that Chloe produces.

Chloe Reads to Paelye

Photo by Amy Conrad

Thank you so much for Susan, Amy, and poet Chloe for visiting The Poem Farm today. All of you inspire me not only in your writing but in the way you live your lives.

Carol is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup. To read more poems and poem thoughts, head on over to Carol's Corner to check out the menu!

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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First Assignment - Explosions!

Experiment Ingredients!
by Amy LV

Students - have you ever watched a person have a blast with a project of their own making?  Well, this summer it's been loads of fun to witness our son Henry's experiments, many of which include baking soda and vinegar.  He's sent all sorts of things flying across our yard, and so far all people and pets are safe (though our one-eyed Mini cat did look a bit nervous this afternoon.)   I wrote this poem from my own pleasure of watching Hen have such a super time exploring science.

Are you looking for summer projects which could be more exciting than world travel?  If yes, don't miss this book, Henry's recent inspiration and go-to manual.  It is full of directions for everything from a "Frankenstein's Hand" to "Dancing Mothballs."

If you're on the hunt for a good gift, consider this book along with a gallon of vinegar and a large box of baking soda!

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Parents and teachers - I encourage you to take a peek at this TED talk by Tinkering School founder, Gever Tully, all about the "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do."

Elaine Magliaro, word and science lover extraordinaire, is hosting today's Poetry Friday at Wild Rose Reader.  Head on over to her place to see what kind of words she is experimenting with today.

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My Poem Writing Year #200 & Wyoming

Wyoming Books

Photo by Amy LV

Students - sometimes a writing idea comes from watching someone you love, observing as that person experiences an new action or a feeling.  Over this past week, our ten-year-old daughter, Georgia, has been gathering information for her state report, and it has been such fun to about her new favorite state, Wyoming.  Various Wyoming facts pour forth as we drive to violin lessons, and they pop out at the dinner table too.  Georgia has determined, "One day I will live in Wyoming", and I can understand why.  Learning about something new lights a fire of love.

If you have been reading for many of the last 200 days of poems here, you know that I love writing in strict meter and rhyme - it's a game to me.  Free verse continues to be a challenge, something I wish to strengthen in my writing.  

With this in mind, I spent a week writing free verse poems in mid-July.  The poem "Knowing" kicked off Free Verse Week I back on July 10.  Today, to celebrate 200 days of poems, I announce Free Verse Week II which will run through next Poetry Friday, October 22.  Please share in the comments if you have favorite collections of free verse poetry or ideas for sharing free verse with children.

Thank you to you all for your kind notes and support over these past 200 days and nights.  I think about you all as the clock strikes midnight, 1:00am, and sometimes 2:00am.

Don't forget...The National Day on Writing is this Wednesday, October 20!  What will you do?

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My Poem Writing Year #147 - Ready

First Day 2007

Photo by Amy LV

This week's Monday Poetry Stretch over at Tricia's The Miss Rumphius Effect challenges us to write about returning to school.  You can read the poems as they roll in at her post here.

Today's poem, Ready, is a companion to the poem I wrote for the last day of school in June, Last Day of School.  You can read and remember that "beginning of summer feeling" here. 

One of the most interesting things about keeping up with a daily poem is finding out which topics surface and resurface.  So far I've noticed my own interest in: fireflies, punctuation, school, nature, and the inner feelings of inanimate objects.

After mentioning that I might write a collection of punctuation poems about different characters, I found a book series online that makes punctuation marks into characters.  The series is called MEET THE PUNCS, and I have yet to read one.  Does anyone out there know these books?  I would love to hear what you think of them before I order one.

I did reformat yesterday's poem, on wind, and now it is a concrete poem.  You can click on the title above and check it out if you're interested in seeing its new look.  Throughout the week, I hope to reformat poems that were originally typed into my tiny phone!

As this school year begins, I highly recommend reading a poem each day.  Here are two sources to get you started.  J. Patrick Lewis has a new collection of original poems titled COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER for elementary students.  For middle school students, I recommend NAMING THE WORLD collected and with lessons by Nancie Atwell.

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Here in New York State, we do not begin school until after Labor Day, but some schools are already back or just returning.  To all teachers and students:  many good wishes and blessings for a beautiful year!  Today my own children received letters from their teachers, and they look forward to a whole new year of adventure.

Do not miss Elaine Magliaro's 2010 list of Back to School books and resources.  You can find this wonderful resource here at her blog, Wild Rose Reader.  Thank you, Elaine!

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