Poem #306 Welcomes a New Brother

Blanket-To-Be for Our Nephew-To-Be

Photo by Amy LV

This month my sister-in-law and brother-in-law will fly to Ethiopia to bring their son home to their daughter.  They will be a family of four now, and I can't help but think about the overflowing love in that home.

Students - we talk a lot here about how writers find ideas, but never forget this: the most beautiful thoughts grow through love.  What do you love?  Why?  This is terrain you can walk through with a pencil throughout your lifetime, always finding more and more...

Don't miss Sylvia Vardell's interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins on "The Future of Poetry Publishing for Kids" over at Poetry for Children. 

P.S. - Are there any other kidbloggers out there?  I bet that Jamie Palmer's class would love to find some blog pals. 

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A Sock Dreams in #305 - End of Sock Week

Sock Dreams

by Amy LV

This is the final poem of sock week, a challenge inspired by Jamie Palmer's fifth grade students to write about socks each day for seven days.  We had talked about how one can write about anything for many days, even toilet paper.  (Thank you, Rachel, for this funny link!)

Students - I've honestly been looking forward to writing this poem all week.  As you may have noticed, I love writing mask poems, poems in the voice of something else.  What could be better for a sock than to come alive as a puppet?  We all have dreams...and being our best selves each day...makes those dreams come true.

Teachers - part of the fun of this week has been reading Jamie's students' poems.  I encourage you and your students to visit their kidblogs to see how these young writers have approached one topic in a variety of ways, explaining their decisions and new learnings below each poem.  Some are even challenging each other to try various approaches.  Students are commenting, teachers are commenting, parents are commenting - it's delightful!  Too, don't forget to read Jessica and Nathaniel's growing collection of one-topic poems at FamilySchool.  

This will be my last post about write-about-one-topic-week until Jamie Palmer and her students visit us formally for a Poetry Peek in the near future.

Did you try this challenge?  If so, please leave a comment to let us all know.

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#304 Wonders About Little Kitty Socks

Kitty Socks

by Amy LV

Students - one of the good things about having a theme writing week is that your mind chews on your theme all of the time.  I've found myself thinking about socks on many occasions this week, considering different types of socks, who wears what kind, expressions with socks, anything socklike.  Today's poem idea came as I snuggled our fuzziest cat, Mini Monster, who does not have socks at all!

This is poem #6 of sock week, a week of writing a new poem about the same topic each day.  You can read more about this challenge, inspired by Jamie Palmer's fifth grade students here.  You can read and comment on these students' poems-about-one-subject on their kidblogs.  You can read several same-subject poems by homeschoolers Nathaniel and Jessica at FamilySchool.  Trust me: it will be a treat for you to visit these student poem spots.

Teachers - a challenge such as this one mirrors what poets do when they write a collection around one topic.  Choose an idea and examine it from all angles, just as you would a beautiful shell, or an emerald, or your own child.  There are so many possibilities, and each of us has doorways into writing that no other person can find.

This month brought us the 2011 Comment Challenge, hosted by Pam Coughlan and Lee Wind.  The goal of this challenge was to leave 100 comments at children's literature blogs between January 6 and January 26.  Lee Wind designed the logo, including all 131 mastheads of the blogs that participated.  You can find The Poem Farm's logo in the bottom right corner.

Yesterday I won three books at the culmination of the 2011 Comment Challenge. Lucky me...I found great new blogs and soon I'll have new books to read.  Thank you Pam and Lee!

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Poetry Friday, Books, Socks, & #303

So Many Lives

Photo by Amy LV

This is poem #4 in my series of poems about books and reading and words.  My weekly ritual of writing about the same topic on a special day has been nourishing and a good stretch too.

Today's second poem is #5 in sock week, a challenge inspired by fifth grade teacher Jamie Palmer's class's project in Webster, NY. For each day of this week, several of Jamie's students are writing a new poem every day and posting them on their kidblogs.  Each has chosen one subject and continues to explore that subject on the seven days of this challenge.  With topics ranging from balloons to dogs to the ocean and lacrosse, they are creating all kinds of individual poetry collections.

I, too, am in on this project along with homeschoolers Nathaniel and Jessica from New Hampshire.  Nathaniel is writing about hermit crabs, and Jessica is writing about fireworks.  Poetry Friday is a perfect day to hop over to Family School and compliment them on their growing collection of poems.

 Draft of "Secret"

by Amy LV

Students - I wrote this poem because my daughters often wear mismatched socks.  I enjoy seeing their checked and striped feet sticking out from the ends of their pants, and it makes me happy to know that they feel free from having to look like everyone else.  Yesterday as I wrote, I imagined a girl who felt trapped by having to look popular and perfect, expensive and cool.  I imagined that this girl might rebel in a small way by wearing crazy combinations of socks.  For even when we feel trapped, we can find ways to preserve ourselves.

Did you notice that these two poems have quite a similar rhythm?

This week's Poetry Friday roundup is over at Elaine's Wild Rose Reader.  If you linger there, you will be treated to all sorts of poems, book recommendations, and poem-thoughts from Elaine.

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Poem #4 of Sock Week Challenge - #302

Hmmm....

Photo by Amy LV

This is poem #4 in this week's write-about-one-topic-in-many-ways-challenge.  At this time, a second class of students will be joining us as well as some middle school enrichment students from Caledonia Mumford and homeschoolers Nathaniel and Jessica.  Do check out Nathaniel and Jessica's poems now if you can.  Too, I have been enjoying the fifth grade poems from Jamie Palmer's class through their wonderful kidblogs and hope to share some of them with you soon.

Students - Yesterday, I enjoyed exploring this weird sock question - Do socks have a right or left?  They might, but I have never figured this out.  

I wrote the first draft of this poem in the first person, "When I am asleep..."  Rereading and revising, I decided to write it in the second person, or "you" voice.  This brings the reader in more directly and feels face-to-face.  You might try this in your poem for today.  Speak right to your reader...using the word "you."

Another thing I learned: I am not the only person who has ever wondered about this question.  These answers made me giggle.

Please let us know if you might join in writing poems about one topic for the next three days!  All are welcome to play.

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Do Your Socks Get Lost? Or Not? #301

Here, Sockie!

by Amy LV

Well, you THOUGHT they were lost.  But maybe not.  This is poem #3 in the write-about-a topic-in-many-ways-challenge, posed by fifth grade teacher Jamie Palmer to her students at Klem South Elementary in Webster, NY.  I have very much enjoyed reading their kidblogs, and hope that you will soon have the opportunity to read them too.

Students - this poem brings up the question, "Are things really as they seem?"  I had a good time imagining that socks aren't really lost but rather, just playing a (one sided) game with us each morning.  What about your topic?  Is there another way to look at it?  Go ahead.  Hold it up to the light and twist it around in a sunbeam.  I'm sure you'll find another way to see it.

This is a mask poem, or a poem written in the voice of something else.  I love writing poems that allow me to pretend I'm a raisin or an airplane or a sock...it's like dress up time!

So far we have an enrichment class in Caledonia Mumford, NY and homeschoolers Nathaniel and Jessica joining us in the challenge.  You can read Nathaniel and Jessica's poems here.

It's never too late to be a part of this journey.  Just leave a comment, and let us know.

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Poem #300! Sock Week Day #2 - for Mark

Hope's Handknit Socks

(Knitted by Hope)

Photo by Amy LV

This is day #2 of a one week challenge to write seven different poems about the same topic.  You can read more about this challenge, the class who inspired it, and how to play in yesterday's post.

Students - today's sock poem traces socks back to their original source - the sun.  I have dedicated it to my husband Mark because as a science teacher, he often teaches us how all living things can trace our history straight back to our beautiful star.

It's interesting to think about the history of things.  If you're in on this week's challenge, you might wish to consider this.  Ask yourself, "What can I imagine about my subject's history?  How might I trace it through time?"

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One Topic Many Ways - Sock Week - #299

Chipmunk Sock

Photo by Amy LV

Last Friday, I had the good fortune to spend time in two joyfully rich classrooms in Webster, NY.  One of these classes, Jamie Palmer's fifth grade at Klem South Elementary, has been writing poetry, and I visited with a little lesson about how we can approach any topic in many different ways.

 Model Writing Subject

Photo by Amy LV

With a roll of toilet paper as a model, we discussed how there are many ways to shine a light on any subject. Here are just a few ways one might choose to write about a lowly roll of toilet paper:

           * Speak AS the toilet paper - I love doing somersaults...

           * Talk TO the toilet paper - Oh, little roll of whiteness...

           * Describe the toilet paper -  A small soft cylinder...

           * Think about toilet paper through time - People once...

           * Tell a real story about toilet paper - I found it...

           * Tell an imagined story about toilet paper - It talked...

           * Impose another genre: letter, recipe, how-to - First...

           * Give a list about toilet paper - Pink and blue, soft and...

           * Share facts about toilet paper - This paper disappears...

           * Ask, "What if...?"  - What if toilet paper rolled away...

           * See toilet paper through another's eyes - Too scratchy! 

           * Play with the sounds of the word/idea -Toilyoilet paper...

          

When I left the class, teacher Jamie and I had a few minutes to talk.  She said, "I'm going to challenge my students to a MyPoWriWe ("My Poem Writing Week") next week.  And as a double challenge, I will see who can write seven poems about the same subject!"

I, too, am taking Miss Palmer up on her challenge, and we invite anyone else who wishes to join us in writing seven poems in seven days - all about one topic.  Of course these daily poems will be quite different from each other, but they will all stem from one main idea.  My idea: socks.  If you'd like to play, you will chose your own idea.

Please just leave a message in the comments or link to your blog or classroom website if you're in.  Within the next few weeks, Jamie's class will share some of their "many poems about the same topic" with us.  

Students - writing a poem each day for the past 299 days, I am very grateful that one can write about the same idea from many angles.  We all have favorite writing topics, and having found many "windows" into one topic has helped me to explore the same subjects in a variety of ways. 

Sometimes Elaine Magliaro shares variations on a topic at her generous blog, Wild Rose Reader.  You can read two of her poems, two ways, here.

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Meet a Pine Bride in Poem #298

 Snowy Pine at Night

Photo by Amy LV

I love driving through our country roads after a big snow.  The spruces, pines, and firs are so beautiful, heavy with layers of white winter coats.  I always feel so small driving beneath them.  And the little pines like the one above look so cute all dressed up in snowflakes!

Students - we all pass scenes of beauty every day, sometimes the same scenes over and over again.  They may be natural landscapes, people, buildings, or anything else.  As writers, we can capture such scenes with words, either describing them as they are or imagining a story as I have done here.

Try looking at the world through the camera of your eyes today.  Ask yourself, "What gorgeous or unusual image do I want to keep forever?  How will I do so?"  Then...do it!

Here is a lovely winter poetry book for you, edited by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

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Tomorrow I will introduce a week-long poetry challenge posed to me by fifth grade teacher Jamie Palmer from Klem South Elementary in Webster, NY.  All are welcome to play!

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Looking Through a Plane Window in #297

Students - each of us has times when we say, "I am struggling to get ANYTHING down on this piece of paper!"  I had one of those days yesterday, a day when I was sure that my blank page might win the battle.  But I wrote a verse because I promised myself that I would do it, would prove that I would not give up, would win over self-doubt.

Think of something which requires skill: playing basketball, piano, soccer, dancing, drawing, learning a new language, ice skating, singing...  A person who gets stronger and stronger at any one of these things does so through the force of will, by working even when s/he does not feel like it, even when the work does not come easy.

When I see someone who is really good at something, I remember this.  Talent and skill are a direct product of work.  If you are great at juggling, it not because you were born with this ability.  It is because you spent hours and hours dropping balls, lots of time juggling even when it was difficult.  Thinking about work as the price we pay for skill helps me to push through moments of writing self-doubt.

Paper maps and globes have such clear borders for state and country.  Yet from the sky, the earth is all one, swirling with patterns and magic.

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Poetry Friday & Poem #296 - An Open Book

ON WRITING WELL by William Zinsser

Photo by Amy LV

This is poem #3 in my series of poems about reading and books and words.

Students - something I enjoyed while writing this poem was thinking of expressions beginning with the word "open."  I also thought of "open house," but that's not in the poem yet.  You might want to try that sometime - think of an expression you've heard over and over again, and just crack it open.  Either expand it or ask "What if?"

Now it's time to sled on over to A Teaching Life, where Tara is hosting today's roundup.  Happy Poetry Friday!

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A Yawn Travels Through Time in #295

 One Yawn's Journey

by Amy LV

Students - yesterday afternoon, when I sat down to write this poem, I did not have a writing idea stirring around in my mind.  This happens to all writers at times, and what helps me is to simply write through it.  I write many thoughts down and then just follow the one that seems interesting.

Often, writers begin scribbling along and then we ask ourselves questions, What if...? or Why....?  or How did...?  If you allow questioning to become a part of your everyday thinking, you will find that rooms and mansions of writing ideas plop themselves right into your lap!

Yawns are the ultimate in recycling.  Think about it.  Passed from person to person, never thrown away, yawns are something people and animals all share and reuse.  If you have ever wondered why we yawn, you can learn the science of yawns at KidsHealth.

Did reading this post make YOU yawn?

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Poem #294 Tickles Us With Whiskers

Won't Fit!

by Amy LV

Students - did you know that a cat's whiskers have several purposes?  Whiskers help cats in many ways, most importantly in understanding whether they will fit through small spaces.  Because cats' whiskers are about the width of the widest part of their bodies, testing an opening with whiskers will help a cat know if s/he can make it through.  

I do not know why I wrote this poem.  If I did, I'd tell you.  But sitting on my couch last night, I began a poem titled, "blah."  It was going to use the word "blah" many times, in meter.  Then I began a poem about writing in loopy cursive.  Then our dog Cali came over for a little snuggle.  Snuggling her got me to looking at her whiskers which led to thinking about cat whiskers which led to wondering why cats have whiskers which led to this poem.

It's strange and fascinating to see the road trips our minds will take us on when we travel without a map.  If you have a story about following one thought to another through writing, please share it with me in the comments.

In case you were wondering, I did type the word whiskers in that spaced-out way to mimic the spacing of real cat whiskers.

You can learn more about the importance of cat whiskers at HowStuffWorks.

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Rams in Snow & Rams for Sale! - #293

Rams Wait for Manicures

Photo by Amy LV

Mark Trims ReRa's Hooves

Photo by Amy LV

ReRa's Apple Branch

Photo by Amy LV

It is so cute to watch our sheep walk in snow.  They walk single file...all in a row...making skinny little paths.  Way in the background, you can see a bit of one such path in the above photo of waiting rams.   We have been known to get out there and stamp down a few extra paths, just to make their lives easier.

Today was "hoof trimming day." Flipping each ram on his back, Mark clipped twenty-four ram hooves.  Clip...clip...clip!  Above you can see ReRa with a branch from the apple tree.  Sawing the branch, Mark said, "It's just like getting a lollipop after a haircut!"

We have three Icelandic Sheep for sale right now.  If you are interested in purchasing Icelandic Sheep, please check out our sheep pictures here.

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For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Poem #292

"Any law that uplifts human personality is just.

Any law that degrades human personality is unjust."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is an important day.

Earlier this week, Carol Rasco from Rasco from RIF tweeted, "Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham Jail and the statement by local clergy prompting the letter. http://bit.ly/hDM72e"  

I followed Carol's link and through her blog found Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail and the Statement by Alabama Clergymen Directed Against Martin Luther King Jr. I had never read either of these documents before, and if you have not done so, I highly recommend you do.

Students -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter is so strong, so eloquent, and choosing one point was important to me in writing today's poem.  This section inspired me deeply:

"First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.  I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice...Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.  Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

I wanted to write about silence, how choosing silence is as dangerous as choosing evil.  I began writing and very soon, I began to struggle with rhyme.  Entering "silent" into RhymeZone, there was only one rhyme: violent.  I was startled, and I knew that this rhyme would form the foundation of my poem.

Today we can read about the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial under construction in Washington DC.  Every day we can live our lives as walking memorials, standing up for good and speaking out for justice.

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Dog & Cat Snuggle in Poem #291

Cali the Dog & Mini the Cat

Photo by Hope LV

This picture is one of the cutest scenes from our home this week.  Mini has been sleeping on Cali's bed for some time, and a couple of days ago, we found them together.  Cali looked a bit uncertain at first, but after a bit they just looked cozy.

Students - it's fun to take a picture of something adorable, gorgeous, strange, interesting...and then write from it.  Today, Hope saw this scene and snapped it.  I'm so glad!

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Poem #291 - My dad works in a coal mine...

Students - I wrote this poem out loud, vocally.  Driving home from school yesterday, I flicked on the radio and heard the words, "...coal miners..."  I do not even know what the rest of the sentence said.  But instantly, I flicked off the radio and began writing in the air with my voice.  Somehow I knew what to write about.  

I repeated each line over and over again, playing with sounds and meters until I finally found a place to stop my car - a tiny post office.  And in its darkened parking lot, I sat and jotted these lines into my notebook.

Stories about trapped coal miners haunt me, and I sometimes think about the bravery of people who work in physically dangerous professions.  Yesterday I wondered, "What might the child of a coal miner think when kissing Daddy goodbye?"  

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PF & Poem #290 - Is Your Body in a Book?

This is poem #2 in my Friday series of poems about books and reading and words.  I have posted other reading poems, but they emerged before this new series. 

Students - the idea for this poem came from just thinking about reading and expressions around reading.  So often people say, "You have your nose in a book!"  I just took it one step further, imagining every part of a person disappearing inside a book.

After reading this poem, my husband said, "Oh, it's a bookmark talking...and it's a bookmark."  He's right!  If you'd like a pdf of this as a bookmark, please just send your e-mail address to amy at amylv dot com. 

This week, our daughter Georgia had a poem published over at Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter's creativity blog Spilling Ink, named after their fabulous book which is a Cybils nominee.  I recommended this writing book and shared Georgia's poem here last June, and if you scroll down to the bottom of this post at Spilling Ink, you can read "Why Write?" on Anne and Ellen's blog.  Congratulations, Georgia!

Teachers and Parents - be sure not to miss the Teacher's Kit section of the Spilling Ink blog.  Both tone and information are happy and healthy for all writers!  Too, please don't miss my right-hand sidebar with information about places where children can publish their work.  I highly recommend encouraging and helping children enter their writing into contests, magazines, and other sharing opportunities.  Many adult writers are able to trace their writing-love to a childhood memory of publication.

Laura is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at Writing the World for Kids.  Skip on over there for the complete roundup!

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Poem #289 Speaks to Children Who Bully

This poem is dedicated to Hannah, for her strong heart and kindness in the face of a difficult day.  

Students - we have spoken before about how writers take on topics which trouble them.  When I read the story over at Two Writing Teachers about Hannah's experience at recess, immediately I knew that I wanted to write a poem about this feeling.  I certainly know how it feels to be left out.  It has happened to me...it happens to each of us.  But what will we do?  I hope my children, and I, will react as Hannah did.  I hope to react not by running away, not by acting out of my own mean places, but rather by creating a new solution and inviting others to be a part of it.

If you read what Hannah's mom (Ruth Ayres) wrote over at Two Writing Teachers, you may have noticed that the words, "...don't know what's in my heart..." are directly repeated in today's poem.  That is because they are perfect words, and I felt grateful to hear them and pass them along in another shape.  Sometimes beautiful words come to us when we listen to wise people of any age.  Thank you, Hannah.

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Do You Take Forever to Say Goodbye? #288

Poem Pencil Draft

by Amy LV

Students - this poem comes from a very real place in our family's life.  Whenever Mark or I go to pick up one of our children from a friend's house, they always end up with more play time than we had expected.  This is because we adults have such a fine time chatting in the doorway.  I didn't figure this out right away, but now I know about it.  Hope, Georgia, and Henry told us, "We always get extra time to play because you talk so much!"

Can you think of something, some little thing that happens over and over again in your life?  It might be as small as the way your cereal crunches or the way you like your toilet paper to hang on the roll (coming out from under, please) or the sound of your dog's tail thumping on the hardwood floors.  You know what?  I may write about each of these things...

Ideas.  Everywhere.  Yes.

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1/1/11 Our Collaborative Poem is Here!

Several days ago, Charles Ghigna and I invited anyone interested to join us in writing a collaborative poem for today's date, 1/1/11.  Here is the poem!

1/1/11

One one one one

2010 is done

one one oneone

2011 has begun

days are tumbling

months are rumbling

years are bumbling by

pages from the calendar

fade in winter sky

one one one one

days of thunder

days of sun

one one wonders

where and why

one minute

hour

life

flies by

one one one one

resolutions to pursue

old year finished

another chance to start anew

one one remembers one

a loved one 

in times of fun

concatenated moments

of when or why or how

are either gone or not yet here

the only one is now

one one one one

just marks in time

like ladder steps to climb

on the way to greater things

as the new year rings

or like lines plowed in time's shifting sand

marking goals met as planned

mapped out worked out and won

one wonder after another

one wonders after

another and yet another

quiet quite commonplace

miracle

the lit smile the poured sky

the breached seed the strung word

how one more wonder may be born

but look there's another

just beyond the next breath

one one trip

around one sun

one night

one life

one one one one

won

by Lori Faas, Jenn, Mike Artell, 

Larry, Melissa Wiley, Amy LV,

and Charles Ghigna

Onederful!  Thank you for writing and reading along with us.  Ten months from now, we'll have another interesting date on our hands.

And what fun that right now...today...The Poem Farm is at 101 followers!

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Poem #287 says, "Listen to Your Shoes!"

My "New" Goodwill Shoes

Photo by Amy LV

Once again, today's poem comes from Tricia's Monday Poetry Stretch over at The Miss Rumphius Effect.  It's fun to see what other writers post given the same nudge.  

Students - Oh, what fun it is to make inanimate objects talk!  To me it does seem as if every thing in the world has feelings and secrets, and my daughter Hope has this same sense.  Yesterday morning I found her hugging our Christmas tree to say goodbye, something I used to (and still) do.

To open yourself to this way of thinking, spend an afternoon asking yourself, "Hmmm...what would that clock say?  I wonder what my pencil is thinking..." and on and on.  You may discover a secret door into an interesting poem or story.

Somewhere during the past few weeks, I read a poem about how shoes have many body part names: eye, heel, sole, tongue.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember the poem, but surely it also provided inspiration for today's poem.  If you know which poem I'm talking about, please leave its title in the comments.

Today I am tickled to announce the illustrator of my forthcoming poetry book with Clarion Books.  It is talented watercolorist Robbin Gourley, full of whimsical joy and realism too.  I could not feel luckier.

Today is also my first interview ever.  Toby Speed, of The Writer's Armchair, graciously invited me to her blog for tea and a chat about The Poem Farm.  If you're interested in learning the history of this craziness, please visit.

If you did not see yesterday's ALA winners, here they are at The American Libraries magazine.  Congratulations to all!  Please note that Joyce Sidman's poetry book, THE DARK EMPEROR, won a Newbery Honor.

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Today's date is 1/1/11.  By day's end, Charles Ghigna and I hope to post the collaborative poem contributed to by so many - "1/11/11."  Happy one one one one one day!

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Happy Birthday to Our Dear Henry! #286

Today is the ninth birthday of our dear Henry.

Henry - Building in 2004

Henry - Swashbuckling in 2006

Henry - Riding in 2008

Henry - Picking in 2010

Our youngest child, Henry, is full of verbs.  He juggles, drums, reads, falls on purpose, builds, writes, draws, super-hugs, and climbs.  He thinks, sings, jumps, spies, creates, tricks, and snuggles.  He chops wood, skiis, questions, catches, listens, works, and experiments.

Year-by-year, we have watched Henry grow stronger and wiser, funnier and kinder.  And today, the gift is ours.  Another moment, another day, another year with our boy who loves to get dirty and loves just as much to dress up in a shirt and tie.

Happy birthday to you, darling Henry.  We love you more than words or poems or pictures can say!

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