Day 21 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 21 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 Still.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

Welcome again to Margaret Simon's students from Jefferson Island Road Elementary in New Iberia, Louisiana.  We can enjoy their lovely voices singing Still here below.

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.

My Silly Happy Feet

Photo by Amy LV

Students - For today's poemsong, I decided to match mine to the structure of the mentor song (hint!) in that this poem, like that one, includes two speakers: one asks a question, and the other answers it.  This may be enough to help you figure it out. (Emily...was I inspired by your topic?)

In 2011, I wrote another poem - quite different - about mismatched socks.  You can read it here - scroll down, as it is the second (red) one.  Mismatched socks are clearly a weird theme of my life.  What is a weird theme of your life?  Make some lists of things that interest you.  Do this every month or so.  Then look at the lists and see - what comes up again and again?  Here are a few of the themes and ideas that I return to again and again.  You may have noticed.

1.  Connections with Strangers

2.  Mismatched Socks and Being Different

3.  Saying Goodbye

4.  Owls

5.  Noticing Small Things in Nature

6.  Objects Telling Stories

7.  Normal Life Turning Magic

8.  Animals Mattering to People

Don't ignore the ideas and topics and themes that come to you again and again. They want to be fed by you.  How do you feed them?  Well, you draw them.  You write about them.  You make up songs about them.  These visitors have messages and secrets and ideas that will teach you about you.  Love them and get to know you, weird and cool as you are.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Day 10 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 10 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 There is a Poem.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

Yesterday I had the good fortune to visit Arcade Elementary in Arcade, NY, and I learned that many fourth graders have been following along with Sing That Poem! Lindsey Staub's class told me that they had figured out yesterday's puzzle...and they were right.

Margaret Simon's students from Caneview Elementary in New Iberia, Louisiana figured out yesterday's song too.  Ms. Simon says, "We wrote out the syllable count, sang almost all the songs, used YouTube to find the tune, sang through to practice about 3 times, and recorded twice.  Whew.  I am sure they are still singing it in their minds as I am."

Way to stick with it, folks! 

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.

I welcome any classes who figure it out to share your own SoundCloud (free app, really easy) recording with me via e-mail, and I will include your voices right here too.

View from the Duquesne Incline - Pittsburgh, PA

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Twenty-one years ago, I lived in New York City for one year.  It was such a wonderful time, and I wrote pages and pages full of impressions and loves. Cities are magical, and even though I live in the country now, I have a campfire in my heart for the hustle and bustle and sounds and colors and excitement of cities. Because I live in the country now, I often write about the things I do and see here in nature. But lately I have been thinking that I would like to write more about the glories of cities.  So today's poem is a start.

This can be a good way to find a writing idea.  Ask yourself, "What DON'T I write about very often?  What is something I may be ignoring?  What is something that I like very much but have not written so much about?"  You may find a whole secret stash of ideas just waiting for you.

Now, if you're having trouble naming today's tune, I recommend counting out the syllables in the first couple of lines and then finding which song from the matching form has the same number of syllables in the first two lines.  Then keep checking, line-by-line.  And keep singing and listening to see if the song you choose matches the rhythm of this poem.  The more people I talk with, the more I hear that this is getting easier and easier for those who are practicing each day.  

You know what?  This is true for just about everything in life.  Keep at it...no matter what it is!

Laura is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Writing the World for Kids. If you visit her place, you'll find out about so many wonderful poetry happenings in the Kidlitosphere today and this week.  We gather and share every Friday all year long, and everyone is always welcome.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Day 9 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 9 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 Look.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

Now, here is something wonderful!  One of the funny parts about this month's challenge here at The Poem Farm is getting my poem to match the meter of the song I choose each day.  I sing along to myself, line-by-line (see more about meter here), and I revise based on sound.

However...

Some poems and songs have rhythms that are very similar to each other.  When I put this project's song list together last week, my daughter Hope said, "Mom, be sure not to include TWINKLE TWINKLE and THE ALPHABET SONG and BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP because they all have the same tune."  So I didn't.

However...

There are many songs that have similar rhythms even though they do not have the same tune as each other, and so it was a complete delight and surprise to receive a note from Ms. Simon's class from Jefferson Island Road Elementary in New Iberia, Louisiana and to learn that yesterday's poem, Look, can also be sung to the tune of YANKEE DOODLE. Way to go, my friends!  Thank you so much for sharing your voices here - you are making this game more fun for me.

Just wonderful!  I hope that perhaps some more classes will join in and send some sounds for sharing. I hear that one class is writing their own poemsong, and we'll share that in time.  All are welcome!  Please just send me a SoundCloud file, and I'll put your voices right here.

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.

Poems Live with Foxes

by Amy LV

Students - Last night I got into a mood to write a poem about poems.  I have been wallowing in the goodness of National Poetry Month for the past week now, and so poems are swimming in my mind and soul.  This poem speaks to what we all face and hope when we seek words, sometimes mysterious, sometimes elusive.  We remain hopeful.  The poems are there.

To discover what is happening all around the Kidlitosphere this National Poetry Month, visit Jama's Alphabet Soup where Jama gives us the complete roundup.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Day 8 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 8 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 Greefee Wumpa.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

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.

Henry's Deer Shed - Found on April 7, 2015

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Yesterday, I had the opportunity to Skype with the first grade students at Darby Creek Elementary School in Hilliard, Ohio.  One of the questions they asked me was, "Where do you find your ideas?"  

Yesterday's Skype Visit - Hi Friends!

Photo by Cathy Mere

Well, friends - today's poem is a perfect example of finding ideas in the moment. There I was, lying on the couch, humming today's song to myself, wondering....wondering....wondering...."What should I write about?"

Suddenly, my son Henry walked in the front door.  He'd been out in the field, throwing his new boomerang, and he came in calling, "Mom! I have something you are going to love.  You will love this."

Henry walked right over to me, placing a small deer antler in my hand.  See, as he had  looked for his boomerang, Henry found a surprise that he never would have found had he been indoors.  White-tailed bucks lose their antlers between January and April of each year, and this little shed must have come from young buck.  (To learn how to become a good shed hunter, here is an article from FIELD AND STREAM.)

At that moment, after I thanked Henry, the first two lines of today's poem jumped right into my head:

Look what I found in the field --

An antler from a small deer.

And once again, my poemsong is longer than the actual song - hint!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Day 7 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 7 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 I Will.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

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.

Secret Language

by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is based on a memory I have with my old friend, Keisha. We would go to the school near my home or to the mall and pretend that we spoke another language besides English.  It was a made up language, and it didn't mean anything to us or to the people around us, but we loved inventing and playing with the sounds of the words. Because Keisha and I both had brown eyes, we imagined that the strangers around us likely thought we were sisters from a different country, speaking our native tongue.  We were quite mysterious indeed.

For some reason, this childhood memory with Keisha popped up in the writing of today's little verse.  My daughter said, "It was easy to make your nonsense words fit the meter" - and she is right!  But the funny thing is that it did take me a while to figure out how to make the nonsense words sound just right.  To be honest, I was a little bit nervous about it.

Classrooms of Students - If any of you are interested and willing to share your singing of one of these poems, I would adore hearing your voices and would like nothing more than to feature your recording here on The Poem Farm. Please feel free to send me a SoundCloud (free app) link, and you're on!

Please share a comment below if you wish.