Imagine Imagine Imagine

Smiling Moon

Stamp & Photo by Amy LV

Students -  Happy World Read Aloud Day!  I love to be read to, and I love to read to others. Today, thinking about people reading to people all over the world, I remembered many joyful years of reading to our three children.  I remembered how sometimes my husband would stand in the doorway listening too.  I remembered how when he read, I would stand in the doorway and listen.  And then I thought about our moon, hanging so brilliantly outside each of our windows.  I imagined the moon as listening and learning, smiling up in the sky.  Just think of how many books the moon has heard!

Sometimes a bit of writing begins with a truth and then travels into the territory of wonder and wish.  Of course we can always write what we know.  But too, we can write of the truths that might be, the truths we imagine, the truths we hope and love to consider.  As writers, we may begin in truth and end in the country of our dreams.

What do you know to be true?  Where might this lead you?  Sometimes the only way to know is to write your way into knowing.

Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at The Opposite of Indifference, with two thoughtful poems, both of which I will carefully copy into my paper notebook today. Please know that the Poetry Friday community shares poems and poemlove each Friday, and everyone is invited to visit, comment, and post.  And if you have a blog, we welcome you to link right in with us.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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

Christmas Night and Books

from CHRISTMAS PRESENTS 

Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Melanie Hall

Students - Today's poem takes me back to my childhood. And while the setting for this poem is Christmas night, it could be about any busy time followed by a quiet time.  I do love busy-ness, and I also cherish the quiet after busy-ness. Quiet time to curl up with a book and maybe a pet.

When I was a little girl, I loved to curl up near our Christmas tree with a book, to sit in the glow of those colored lights and read the night away.  

This year, I find myself inspired by the literary tradition of Iceland, a country of readers and of book-givers at Christmas time.  Curious?  You can read about the Christmas Book Flood here at npr.

A book and quiet.  A tree and a cuddly pet.  These are some things I look forward to this week.

Today's little poem is the first poem that I ever had published in a book - ten years ago!  CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Melanie Hall, is a lovely book for this season, and I love owning the original painting for this page.  My husband Mark gave this piece of artwork to me ten years ago, and it was a fantastic and wonderful surprise.

Over at Sharing Our Notebooks, I am still happy to have Tanny McGregor with her superneat notebooks.  Please stop by and leave a comment to be entered into her generous drawing.

The very kind and wise Irene Latham is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Live Your Poem.  There you will find all of this week's poetry offerings, all around the Kidlitosphere.

I wish all of you wonderful surprises, happy busy-ness, kindness, art, and magical quiet time for reading and snuggling.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Day 30 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Welcome to Day 30, the last day, 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 For My Friend.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?

Here are Margaret Simon's students from Caneview Elementary in New Iberia, Louisiana.  They got it again!

And here, below, is today's poem, the final poem of Sing That Poem 2015.  If you have been playing all month, it is the last song left.  If not, just 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. 

Storytime

by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem comes from an image I have been carrying in my head and heart for some time.  Two years ago, I received a letter from Joanna, one of my friend Vida's library students.  In her letter, Joanna told me that she read my book to the birds in her yard.

It was the most beautiful compliment and most magical picture I could imagine - reading to birds!  

I did not realize it until right now, but I was saving this beautiful image for this beautiful tune.  For some reason, I seemed to save a tricky tune for the very end of this month, but now I know it was right and hope to have done both image and tune a bit of justice.  I am grateful, for Joanna, for Vida, for birds and words and poetry and images we can't forget, for books, and for you.

Thank you for holding my hand through this Poetry Month.  It has been fun singing with friends old and new.  And now...onto May!

On Sunday evening at 8pm EST, I will help faciliate a TwitterChat with Teach and Celebrate Writers all about...poetry!  Please join us for the poetrylove.  And if you are a teacher who would like to learn more about Twitter so that you can participate, check out The Teacher's Guide to Twitter at EduDemic.

Tomorrow is Poetry Friday!  In my post, please look for the complete page for Sing That Poem 2015, where I will include all poems and songs for easy following for those who have missed anything and for future days and years.  

Please share a comment below if you wish.