Leaf Planes & Writing Places

A New Place to Write

Photo by Amy LV

Today's Notebook Page

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Today, instead of sitting on my couch to write, or settling into our breakfast nook or into the big purple chair...I wrote out in the chilly sunshine at the table you see above.  Writing in a new place got me started in a new way...by sketching a leaf that fell onto my table.

I did not plan to write about the leaf or about the sketch, but later...sitting in my car...waiting...I sat and wrote.  I had already sketched, had already read Aaliyah's poem below, had already fallen in love with the colors of our hill on this very day in autumn.  It felt like a good free verse day, and so off I went. One thing led to another, leaves turned to paper airplanes...and here you go.

This is something I plan to do more in the next few weeks: write in different places than usual.  It makes sense that my brain will be open to new ideas in new locations, and I am excited to try this experiment.  You try it too.  Write in a different place.  See what you find.

I am very grateful to again welcome Mrs. Laurie Luft's poets from Spencerport, NY.  Last week, Trevor shared a poem suggesting a clever use for swimming goggles, and this week he is back with a beautiful love poem.  Aaliyah joins us with a joyful celebration of fall, singing to colors that I was just noticing today!  How lucky we are to have these second grade poets here with us on this Poetry Friday.


Drake

Drake my true treasure.
The one that always puts a smile on my face.
He the, the angel that always watches over me.

by Trevor



Fall

Leaves falling in the fall.
Blue jays singing through the fall leaves.
They’re calling me.
Turning colors in the fall.
There are people raking Leaves.

by Aaliyah


Thank you Trevor, Aaliyah, and Mrs. Luft, for spending time and space with us today.  And a big "Hello!" to everyone else in your class.  Where will you write today?

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, Barry Lane shares his notebooks as well as a generous giveaway of two books and a CD.  The drawing will take place on Sunday. 

Marjorie is hosting today's Poetry Friday party over at Paper Tigers.  Visit here for wordgoodies!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

What Will You Be? Imagining Careers

Rainbow Sprinkles

Photo by Amy LV

Holiday Sprinkles

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Last Friday, I went shopping at one of my favorite shops - Lantz's in Warsaw, NY.  This is a little shop with a lot of food, all in bulk.  I came home with bags of wasabi peas, honey roasted soy nuts, lemon drops, graham cracker pretzels, and lots more.  But once again, as always, I was struck by the rows and rows of beautiful sprinkles in every color!  The two pictures above only show some of the sprinkles at Lanz's, all that would fit my screen.

When I took those photographs, I did not know what I would use them for.  I was simply struck by their beauty and wonderfulness.  The picture waited inside my camera in the same way that a favorite line waits in my notebook.

This is a question poem as you can see right in the title.  And it's a question that children are asked often, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  Well, I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher.  But there are times that I imagine training dogs or designing doll clothes or testing ping pong balls. Jobs are fascinating, how many and how varied they are.  And it's great fun to invent jobs as I did (a bit) today!  What will YOU be?

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, Barry Lane shares his notebooks and offers a generous giveaway of two of his books about writing and a CD.  A winner will be drawn on Sunday, September 30...the beginning of Banned Books Week!

A Favorite Shop

Photo by Amy LV

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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Flames are Horses - Metaphors

Heat

by Diane Mayr

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Here you can see another partnership between Diane Mayr and me. I regularly participate in Amy Souza's SPARK, a regular way for artists, musicians, and writers to share work and inspire each other.  This is a poem that I wrote quite a while ago, and I have come back to it again and again...making changes here and there.  Diane's art above was inspired by today's poem, and I think that the way she layered words and images over each other is just hauntingly lovely.

Sometimes we all look at objects or places and think, "This looks just like...."  or "This makes me think of...."    or "This is a...."  When we compare two things in such a way, we are thinking metaphorically, allowing one thing to become something else in our minds.  In today's poem, you can see that the flames really do become horses: galloping, cantering, riding night, leaving hoof prints.  That is so because in this poem, I wanted to hold one comparison in my hand (flames are horses) and carry it all of the way through every stanza.

You might wish to try this sometime. Stare around the room you sit in right now, or out of your bus window, or into the night sky.  Does something make you think about something else?  Is the connection strong enough that you might weave a whole poem around it?  Your class might like to try this together first.  If you do, please let me know!

Our other pairing (with Diane's photograph inspiring my poem) is posted here at SPARK, and I also posted it last Poetry Friday. I thank Diane for our collaboration and look forward to SPARK 18!

Today is National Punctuation Day!  Here are a few poems from the archives to help you celebrate: Inky Flyers, Emily Apostrophe, and Nolan the Colon.

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, Barry Lane shares his notebooks and offers a generous giveaway of two of his books about writing and a CD.  A winner will be drawn on Sunday, September 30...the beginning of Banned Books Week!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

An Extra Post for Poetry Friday!

Greetings again! Today I have a special second Poetry Friday post for everybody. This morning I was greeted by a cheerful e-mail from second grade teacher Mrs. Laurie Luft in the Spencerport School District near Rochester, NY. She told me that her class reads regularly here, and that they are learning about blogs.

Later in the afternoon, Laurie sent this wonderful poem by Trevor, a young writer in her class. If you've ever cut onions, you will certainly agree that this is not only a clever poem, but it holds a great idea too. When I make soup this evening, I may just reach for my son Henry's blue goggles! Did you notice Trevor's neat use of counting in line 4?

Swimming Goggles

Swimming goggles

for cutting up onions

with a sharp knife

cutting 1, 2, 3, 4

and still have more.

by Trevor

Sometimes when I read poems, I get ideas for new poems.  Doesn't this poem make you wonder what other objects could be used for different purposes? Hmmm....

Happy Poetry Weekend to everyone!  And many thanks to Trevor and Laurie for sharing their love of words, poems, and....goggles...today.  My fingers are crossed that there will be more poetry coming our way from this class.  (Cross your fingers too!)

ps - If anyone in Mrs. Luft's class would like to draw a picture to go with Trevor's poem, please just send it along to me, and I will include it with the words here....

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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Taking Stock & SPARK 17

Murphy Fix

by Diane Mayr

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - This is the second time this week that I've written from a photograph.  On Wednesday, I wrote from that wonderful barn roof near my home, and now this!  Today's poem was inspired by Poetry Friday writer and artist Diane Mayr's photograph above, MURPHY'S FIX, and both are a part of SPARK 17, a project I take part in regularly, a project generously hosted by Amy Souza here.  Anyone is welcome to participate.  Simply read and learn about it, and you can sign up for SPARK 18 with a chance to swap your own writing, music, or art with someone else.

I lived with Diane's photo in my head for a few days before I decided what poem to write.  The colors and variety of candies just got to me, and every once in a while I would see them in my head.  

Should the poem be about candy wrappers stuffed in my car pockets and coat pockets and on this very desk?  No. Should the poem be about how I can chew a whole pack of gum in less than an hour and not even feel badly about it?  No. The poem should be about Halloween night, every Halloween night....when my sister Heidi and I would spread our candy out and trade and laugh and eat the hours away.

You may be wondering why this poem is about a boy and a girl when my personal memory is about two girls.  Well...I wanted to make the poem about a brother and a sister...and so I did.  I have nephews and a son and love including both genders in poems when I can.

Today's poem is partly a list poem.  You can see that there are places that are simply lists of candy names.  I am quite sure that I did this because this week I just kept reading Kenn Nesbitt's book I'VE SEEN MY KITCHEN SINK, and I giggled at the list of foods in his poem, My Special Diet. I also thought about Jack Prelutsky's Bleezer's Ice Cream and Shel Silverstein's Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout, both poems with food-filled lists.  It's quite fun to make a list of rhyming foods, and it's not too difficult.  Try it sometime, even just in your notebook.  Real foods OR make-believe foods.

When I asked Diane Mayr about the photograph above, she replied, "It's just candy for a funeral lunch.  In honor of the departed mother of a dear friend.  (Cross my heart and hope to die, it's the truth.)  I just took a photo of the candy before it was put into a bowl.  I cropped and manipulated the photo a little." 

Don't you think it's the most vibrant and wild candy picture?  I loved writing from it.

It's not Halloween today. I know! But a writer can write and an artist can create about any thing at any time.  Yes!

Teachers - You might wish to try a modified SPARK project in your own class, or with a class across the hall!  If you do, please let me know.  I'd love to feature it here.

Congratulations to all of the 2012 Cybils judges, especially the ones for poetry. You can see a complete list here (full of many names you know and love)...and follow their tweets and updates as the books come rolling in.  Please send your nominations between October 1 - October 15.

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I am so happy to welcome Barry Lane.  Teachers - Barry has offered a generous giveaway of two of his books about writing and a CD, and the drawing will take place on September 30.  

This week, I have finally linked all of the wonderful Poetry Peeks from this blog into one index.  If you are looking for some inspiration, student mentor poems, or ideas for ways to bring more poetry into your classroom, don't miss this new index.  You will permanently find it in the tabs up top.

I had to smile when I saw Renee's Poetry Friday roundup today over at No Water River.  She's hosting us with candy.  Quinkidink!  Head on over to enjoy all of the goodies she has spread before us.

Addition:  This afternoon I received a special poem from a second grader, and it warranted its own Poetry Friday post.  Click here to read it!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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For One Day - Writing from a Photograph

On Sanders Hill Road

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Yesterday as I was driving to the post office, I passed this barn. Now, I've passed this barn many times before, but today I actually pulled into the driveway, stopped, and took a picture of it.  On Monday, I'd read this week's poetry stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect -- to write from a photograph -- and the barn above just felt perfect.

I've never written an imaginary story from a photo before; usually I'll write a family story.  So this was a stretch...and a fun one at that.  Today's verse makes me think about how many writers ask "What if?" to get a story going.  What if bicycles could fly?  What if they did so again?

Stuck?  Take any photo and play with this idea.  Imagine a "What if?" of your own from any picture at all!

'Want to know something funny?  Just as I was about to take a second photograph of this barn, I saw a truck drive down the hill with its blinker on. Yep, it was the man who lived here, ready to turn into his own driveway.  I backed out and called through my open car window to his open truck window, "I was taking a picture of your roof!"  He gave me a salute-wave, and we went our separate ways.  (I may slip a copy of this poem in his mailbox...)

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I am so happy to welcome Barry Lane.  Barry is a cartoonist, a songwriter, a teacher of teachers, and a very inspiring notebook keeper.  If you keep a notebook (or if you're a curious person) do not miss his post.  Teachers - he has also offered a generous giveaway of two of his books about writing and a CD!  

I have also just added an index to Sharing Our Notebooks.  Click here to see a list of previous posters.  I will continue to add to the descriptions of the posts so far.

Today I have finally linked all of the wonderful Poetry Peeks into one index.  If you are looking for some inspiration, student mentor poems, or ideas for ways to bring more poetry into your classroom, don't miss this new index.  You will permanently find it in the tabs up top!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

A Letter from the Country

 Abandoned Kittens

by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Did you ever have anything bad happen to you that turned out to be good after all? Our family has. One such thing was finding kittens (which I have written about many times before). Many years ago we found some kitties on the side of the road, not even in a box, and we cared for them. Two we still have. It was a bad thing...turned good. Such stories of good and bad intertwined make strong writing topics.

You might also wish to try writing a letter to someone you have never known. For this is what today's poem really is, something I did not realize until I did this lengthening-revision. It's a letter with no real recipient.

Today's poem is a grown up poem, grown up from a shorter version of the same poem that I found in a pile of old poems.  Looking at it (below), I realized that it didn't tell the whole story of the cats or the whole story of my feelings either.  Try this sometime - find an old piece of your writing and ask yourself, Am I telling the whole story here, or is there more to say?  And then try revising by adding more.  You may be quite happy with the result...or you may stick with your original shorter version.  It's the experimentation that matters.

Did you like the sound of kittens in the background of the recording?  Those voices are the voices of two kittens we are fostering now, Apollo and Luna.  They were not abandoned, but they are looking for homes!

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I am so happy to welcome Barry Lane.  Barry is a cartoonist, a songwriter, a teacher of teachers, and a very inspiring notebook keeper.  If you keep a notebook (or if you're a curious person) do not miss his post.  Teachers - he has also offered a generous giveaway of two of his books about writing and a CD!  

I have also just added an index to Sharing Our Notebooks.  Click here to see a list of previous posters.  I will continue to add to the descriptions of the posts so far.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

I Was a Tree Before

Me, a Tree

Photo by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students -  Have you ever stretched out on the grass underneath a tree?  I did so yesterday afternoon, and looking up, took this photograph. All evening and maybe even asleep, I thought about this picture.  And then, this morning...I suddenly imagined turning INTO a tree.  At first, I thought that would be grand to be a tree, but upon writing...I realized that it would be scary too.  How strange to not be able to move!

One of my early ideas was to write a poem where the tree and I changed places.  But once that little black pen took off, it decided not to write about the tree being a person, just about me being a tree.  This is something important for us to remember; we do not always know where our pens will go, and sometimes we must follow happily, discovering!

Some of my favorite poems are those which take an imaginary journey.  It can take my mind a while to free itself up enough to travel into unreal places, but when it does...I am always grateful.

You may notice that the last line of this poem also holds the title.  Many times, I title a poem after writing it, just letting the title jump out and choose itself.

(Those of you who know my work will notice that favorite rhyme again - bird and word!)

Teachers - For those of you who keep writers notebooks with your class, you will want to check out the new index that I just put up of all of the Sharing Our Notebooks posts so far.  This index will continue to grow as the blog grows, and I invite you and your students to post here if you love your notebooks and have something you would like to share.  (Please stay tuned as I continue to describe each post in the index.)

If you teach in a writing workshop district, you might be interested to know that I have just found some video clips of me teaching demonstration lessons in classrooms in Hilton, NY.  Feel free to check them out here and to use them for your own staff development if you wish.  I will continue to add more as I preview them!

Also, don't forget that you can win a Poetry Friday mini-grant including a copy of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY as well as a Poetry Friday start-up kit - see here for details with Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.

Diane is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Random Noodling.  Visit there to see what everyone is sharing today in the Kidlitosphere...it's a poetry party, and all are invited!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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Money Plant - Writing about Simple Things

Deseeding the Money Plant

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - I am not a great gardener.  I am not a good gardener.  I am not a gardener at all, unless you count my weeds as flowers.  But last week I looked behind the house and found these money plant stems growing as happily as could be.  Instead of leaving them to be buried under snow (as I usually do), I picked them.  

When you look at the picture above, you can see the dried plant and two bowls. In the left bowl, you see the outer coverings of the shiny coins; each coin has a covering on each side, and the bowl is full of those.  In the right bowl, you see seeds.  To deseed, I needed to gently rub my fingers over each coin, release the coverings, and then tap off the seeds.  It was very calming, one of my favorite moments of the past several days.

Today's poem is about a simple and meaningful action.  What meaningful action have you taken lately?  Brushed your dog?  Fluffed your pillow?  Filled a bird feeder?  Such acts of work and love are very worthy of your poetry.  Did you help make soup this week?  Write about it.  Did you sort some socks?  Write about that.  Always know that these daily actions, these pauses are full of meaning if only we notice it. 

If you think that your life does not already hold many of these actions of work and help and giving and connection, make one on your own.  Go pick a small bouquet and place it in a jelly jar.  Or write a note and stick it under your mom's pillow.  Ask to help cook.  Pick up litter or leaves.  You will be enriched.

Tomorrow, I will pick teasels!  Then, I will place them on my front porch to greet anyone who visits.

If you would like to grow your own money plant, you can purchase some seeds here through Burpee.  Or, just ask a friend if you can have a few coins and release your own little seeds.  I hope to have quite a money plant garden next year.  Yes, money DOES grow on trees!

Teachers - if your class visits The Poem Farm from time to time, I would love to hear from you, to learn what is most useful and what you would like to see more of in this space.  I welcome your comments below or e-mails to amy at amylv dot com.  It is my hope to make this place useful for children, and I would love to feature more student work as well.  I welcome you!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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Skipping Stones

Into Air!
by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Have you ever skipped a stone across a smooth water surface?  Well, I have to say that it is difficult to skip just one.  Whenever I skip stones, I always say, "Oh!  That one went two skips!  Let's see how many THIS one can go!" or I say, "Darn!  No skip!  I"m trying again."  And so it goes.  Over and over.  Skipping stones is a very pleasing pastime.

This is a poem I wrote some time back, but looking at it yesterday, I decided to play a wee bit with the line breaks.  Look below, and you will see the poem as I thought it was finished.  Now look back above.  Do you see how the first and last stanzas both spread out in the above poem, almost like skipping stones?  As I typed and retyped this one, I decided to play with the lines, and I liked my changes.

It's a funny thing about revision...sometimes changes make our writing better. But sometimes, they make it worse.  And that's okay.  Part of being a writer is knowing what works and what does not.  Part of being a writer is not liking every single thing you write (even when you want to).  Part of being a writer is going back again and again and again, just like skipping stones.

What do you like to do over and over?  Have you tried going back to your old writing to play with it?

If you would like to see some stone skipping in action, visit Franklin, Pennsylvania.  Every year Franklin holds a stone skipping competition!  This year's winner took home a pound of fudge on August 25 for the winning skip count of 39!  Here's a super-long skip (about 50 skips) posted by the Guinness Book of World Records stone skipping champ, Russ Beyers.  The current Guinness world record is 51 skips, by Russ himself!

Interested in the science of stone skipping?  This NEW YORK TIMES article digs a bit into some well-studied secrets on the art of throwing stones.

If none of this is enough information for you, you can check out the NASSA (North American Stone Skipping Association!) home page or read THE SECRETS OF STONE SKIPPING, both authored by Jerdone McGhee, the Guinness record holder for stone skipping from 1988 - 2003.

But to really understand this past time, try to find yourself near a rock or a wide creek, a lake or a pond.  Gather a few flat stones in your pocket, and toss away!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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Let's Not Talk About Bullies...

An Old Picture of Hope and Monster 

Photo by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - I have been listening to the news lately, and there has been lot of talk about bullying.  The other day, maybe after too much news, this line popped into my head - Let's not talk about bullies.  Then, over the past few days, it kept on popping up in my head, and I could not shake it out.  So that's where this poem came from at first. Once I started writing, though, I realized that if I don't want to talk about bullies, there must be something else that I DO want to talk about.  And there is.  Kindness.

When we used to live in Amherst, NY, we had a neighbor named Nancy.  Nancy would feed birds right out of her hand, right out of the air, and she knew each chickadee by sight.  This past summer, our daughter Georgia volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center with our friend Margaret, and there she witnessed much kindness as people fed injured herons and orphaned possums.  Just yesterday, I walked into my credit union, and a man waited to hold the door for me to walk through.  Good people are everywhere, and I wish to celebrate them.

If you need a writing idea, you might try asking yourself...What do I NOT want to talk about?  What DO I want to talk about?  You might even want to begin with a line like, "Let's not talk about..." and see where it takes you.  (You can always take off that first line later!)

In terms of structure, you may have noticed that this poem repeats the word let's over and over again, usually at the beginning of the lines.  In my mind, I'm calling this an invitation poem as it invites the reader to do something...talk goodness.

You may also notice the circular structure.  The first two and last two lines are the same - I love doing that!

Today's picture is of our oldest daughter, Hope, a few years ago.  She is holding Monster, a wonderful cat who has since died.  We took stray Monster into our hearts years ago, and he returned the favor by loving some abandoned kittens we found in a ditch.  Sometimes animals are the most kind of all...

Congratulations to Diane Mayr (Random Noodling)....winner of last week's giveaway of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY!  Please send me your snail mail address, Diane, and I will get it off to you.

Over Sharing Our Notebooks, Peter Salomon is still visiting on the eve of the publication of his book HENRY FRANKS. Stop by and read about Peter's first notebooks and enter yourself in the giveaway of his new book - the drawing is tomorrow!

Katya is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Write. Sketch. Repeat. Visit there to see who's got what at today's poem party!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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Two Flowers - Compare & Contrast

Rose and Dandelion
by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Today's poem grew from some scratchings in my notebook. A few months ago, I wrote many of the flower-spoken words you read above, but as I reread them and thought about Monday's post about Thistle and about the YA novel I am currently reading - UGLIES by Scott Westerveld - I realized that I am thinking a lot about freedom vs. captivity lately.  I'm not sure why that is, but when you are writing regularly, you can see patterns in your mind and heart.  That's why I keep a notebook - to know what I think!

When I scribbled the beginnings of this poem in my notebook, I only had the lines from the flowers, but as I continued to work on it, I decided it would be fun to "bookend" it with some thinking and a question, the stanzas in italics. One of my favorite poems is Alley Violinist by Robert Lax, and I especially like how it leaves the reader with a question.

In addition to having different voices, this poem uses a technique we call "personification" which means that the writer gives an object or animal human characteristics.  In this case, I let the flowers think and talk. (It's funny, though, because I think that they actually DO talk and it's not a poetic technique at all!) This poem is also a compare/contrast poem, juxtaposing the lives of two flowers.  

So...here are a few things to think about today:  keep your notebook and save those thought-treasures, consider writing something that compares two different things, listen to objects and animals talking (or pretend you can), and remember that you can end your writing with a question.

This week over at Sharing Our Notebooks, I welcome author Peter Salomon and congratulate him on his forthcoming book, HENRY FRANKS. Please stop by and read about his first notebooks, and enter yourself in the giveaway of his new book - coming out this week!

If you are interested in entering to win a copy of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY (in which I am happy to have 5 poems!), please stop by Friday's post and leave a comment there.  Thistle will draw a winning name on Thursday night, and I will announce the winner on Poetry Friday!

This week also marks a change in The Poem Farm schedule - I am now back and posting poems and poem greetings each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Please come back and visit for lessons, poem ideas, book recommendations, and classroom Poetry Peeks.  If you are a classroom teacher or homeschooling parent, I invite you to share your students' poetry or your poem teaching ideas here.  If you are interested, please send me an e-mail to amy at amylv dot com, and I will get right back to you.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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My Bunny - Cinder Blocks & Quatrains

Aerial View of Thistle's Obstacle Course

Photo by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Hope and Thistle
Photo by Amy LV

Students - Meet Thistle!  S/he (we're not sure yet which) is the newest member of our family here at Heart Rock Farm.  3/4 Mini Lop and 1/4 Angora, s/he is one inquisitive and huggable bunny who became part of our family this summer.  Many thanks to Ally (6th grade) and Emily (4th grade) Gordon for raising this little one and selling her/him to us.  They even gave us baby pictures!

Ally & Emily with Baby Thistle (far left) and Her/His Litter Mates!

Photo by Tammy Gordon

Yesterday morning, Hope and I decided to make Thistle's old milk house digs a bit more exciting by building a cinder block and wooden ramp obstacle course.  I love to just sit and watch as s/he sniffs, explores, and hides in every little hiding spot possible! I often think about little pets and wonder what they think.  Yesterday it was fun to watch Thistle's curious mind at work.

In terms of rhyme, I'd like you to take a look at the copy of this poem below.  "My Bunny" is in quatrains, and the rhymes show up every second and fourth line.  What was funny about writing this particular verse, however, is that ALL of the 2nd and 4th lines rhyme with each other.  As you can imagine, I made a big list of all of the -ee rhymes I could think of so that the poem would make sense.

Below you can see a picture of our bunny house.  Thistle lives here now, but for seven years, this was home to Irwin, our first bunny.  And next to this milk house still stands a hutch where Mr. Fluffles (another bunny) used to live.

The Old Milk House (Current Bunny House) & Me

Photo by Elizabeth Pellette

Today is Labor Day.  And Labor Day is 130 years old today!  To read the Labor Day poem I posted 2 years ago, visit here.

This week over at Sharing Our Notebooks, I welcome author Peter Salomon and congratulate him on his forthcoming book, HENRY FRANKS. Please stop by and read about his first notebooks, and enter yourself in the giveaway of his new book - coming out this week!

If you are interested in entering to win a copy of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY (in which I am happy to have 5 poems!), please stop by Friday's post and leave a comment there.  Thistle will draw a winning name on Thursday night, and I will announce the winner on Poetry Friday!

This week also marks a change in The Poem Farm schedule - I am now back and posting poems and poem greetings each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Please come back and visit for lessons, poem ideas, book recommendations, and classroom Poetry Peeks.  If you are a classroom teacher or homeschooling parent, I invite you to share your students' poetry or your poem teaching ideas here.  If you are interested, please send me an e-mail to amy at amylv dot com, and I will get right back to you.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

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