After this post, I will be working at Sprucelands Horse Camp!
I will be back at The Poem Farm on Friday, August 10.
I will be back at The Poem Farm on Friday, August 10.
Sage and Cali Love Mail
(So Did Eli)
Photo by Amy LV
Students - This is a poem I wrote many years ago...back when our dog Eli used to bark like crazy at the mailman! I am looking for a good picture of him, and when I find one, I will add it to the one here of Cali and Sage.
Pets surprise us with their personalities, as varied and funny as people's personalities. Sometimes when I am unsure of what to write about, I just watch my pets for a while. They always do something worth writing about....
Today's poem is written in quatrains. Look at each stanza, and notice how each has four lines. A four line stanza is a quatrain. In each of these stanzas, lines 2 and 4 rhyme. You might also notice that this poem is written TO someone. To the mailman. I like writing poems that are almost like letters. Who might you wish to write a poem to?
Teachers - This past week I had the good fortune to teach at the second annual Paramus, NJ Writing Institute along with author and consultant Katherine Bomer and many wonderful New Jersey teachers. We spent four days learning together about writing and instruction, and I am grateful to NJ Literacy Network Leader and principal Thomas Marshall for inviting me to be part of such a joyful and inspiring week. It was a treat to learn with teachers and also to listen to openings and closings by Tom, Katherine, children's book authors Emily Jenkins and Alison Ashley Formento and literacy experts Karen Caine and Ted Kesler.
A snip from the closing talk that I gave in Paramus on Tuesday will appear on author Kate Messner's blog next Wednesday, August 1. If you have not yet visited her free summer writing institute online, TEACHERS WRITE!, check it out here. My essay is titled "Inviting Hummingbirds."
Sylvia, a Closter, NJ teacher and institute instructor who spent time in my poetry section, shared The Children's Poetry Archive with us. This is an enormous and generous site full of children's poems, poem audio, and poet information. What a treasure! You will find yourself visiting the archive again and again...
Deb Lund shares her notebooks and introduces us to her inner critic this month at Sharing Our Notebooks. Head on over to see Deb's notebooks and leave a comment to win DINOSAILORS or ALL ABOARD THE DINO TRAIN! Sharing Our Notebooks is a blog all about keeping notebooks, for grownups and young students alike.
Bibliophile is hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup at Life is Better with Books. Stop by for this week's poem fiesta!
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I love it! That poem had me laughing with delight. Of course dogs want to lick postage stamps--what a fun image. And a very sweet, satisfying ending.
ReplyDeleteI love it when the dogs bark ferociously while their tales wag just as much. Very cute, Amy. I'm not sure the mail carriers would chuckle, however.
ReplyDeletePoems of address..."Dear Mailman"... HA!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read a bit of your talk. It's so fun to watch the ripples of you jumping into the education pool widen. Your work is touching so many lives!!
Poor dog, so misunderstood! I can't wait to see what you post on Kate Messner's blog on Wed. I will be sure to check it out!
ReplyDelete