Henry, Georgia, & Salamander Eggs
Photo by Amy LV
Students - sometimes a writer just can't help but to write about what's under her or his nose! And this season in Western New York is all about new life and rain. Last week we saw a newborn fawn drinking milk from its mother by the side of the road, watched salamanders hatch from jelly eggs, and were stunned by the hills covered in blossoms. I could not help but think to myself, "the apple trees are gussied up in prom dresses!" Are you wondering what to write about? Here is a two word piece of advice:
Go outside.
Take a walk around. Sniff the air. As my colleague Bill Michalek says, if you sit in one place for a while outdoors...something will happen. An animal will pass by, or perhaps you will see movement in a tree branch overhead. A chipmunk will pop out of a hole. A bird will cock its head and grab a bit of twig. Be still.
Go outside. The world is waiting for you.
Speaking of waiting, a few people have asked what I have been doing since MyPoWriYe ended. Lately I have been working on a couple of picture books...scratching away, revising, reading aloud to myself, and crossing every finger and toe on my body that one will find a home.
Heidi is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at My Juicy Little Universe. Join the fun and see what's happening poetry-wise in the KidLitosphere!
(Please click on POST A COMMENT below to share a thought.)
I've got some quotes from Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek that are passing for poetry this week (because I say so!), and her words go nicely with yours. She actually has a great section about salamanders. And the part where she sees the giant waterbug sucking a frog is my favorite part of the book. Surely you know this book? And hubby, too?
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. The first field trip that I took my second graders on every year was a walk in the woods in September. We'd find/observe all kinds of things--salamanders under rotting logs, lichens growing on rocks, insect galls, different kinds of fungi. Kids don't realize how much science is around them all the time--in the woods, in a field, in a pond, in their own back yards.
P.S. I enjoyed your "Frog Eggs" poem.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteAs always, I love reading your poetry and advice to young poets. We often forget that just bringing students to the outdoors can open up a whole world of possibility for observation and recording for poetry to flourish.
Thanks!
Mary Anne