I Build, Fun Poetry Mondays, and Poemdesigns

Our Daughter Hope Built a Stool
Photo by Amy LV

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

Students - Today's poem is a shortie and a sweetie.  It is about something that I believe is very important: making things.  I love making things, and I love watching other people make things too.

Did you notice how each line except the last one begins the same way and then the last line is an invitation?  I very much like inviting readers right into a poem.  What do you build?  (Me?  Poems!)

Today I am very happy to welcome second grade teacher Laurie Luft and her students from Terry Taylor Elementary in Spencerport, NY.  I had the opportunity to visit their classroom in June, and I learned about something new and neat: Fun Poetry Mondays. Welcome, Laurie and students!

Teacher Laurie Luft

Photo by Librarian Mrs. Paul

Click the arrow to hear a Fun Poetry Friday welcome!

The Fun Poetry Friday Folder

Photo by Laurie Luft

Have you ever heard of Fun Poetry Mondays?  This was an idea that my student Meghan had for sharing poems over the loudspeaker of our school each Monday after announcements.  She quickly had three other students get on board with her idea: Trevor, Arriyanna, and Taylor.  They planned and practiced.  First, they decided to write and share theme-poems about famous people.  Then they worked on the roles each one of them would have in the group,

The Fun Poetry Monday group met daily, wrote the opening and closing "jingle", decided on the poem to be read the following Monday, and then practiced the announcement. It was so exciting to see a student-driven project like this come out of one student's love of poetry! 

I was the facilitator and would check in with the group periodically throughout the week to provide guidance and make suggestions. The group performed three Fun Poetry Mondays during the month of June, and I am so proud of them for their creativity, collaboration, and ability to apply those 21st Century critical thinking skills on this real-life project. 

These students got to share their love of poetry and their project idea with Mrs. VanDerwater when she visited. They were so excited! 

Meghan wrote and shared a poem about Amelia Earhart.

Amelia Earhart 
by Meghan

I will find her.
I know I will.
Amelia Earhart.
Her story is sad but I will find her.
She should be somewhere in the Howlind ISlands.
I will.  I know I will.
Amelia Earhart wrote a letter
to her husband
Before she left on her big flight.

It said...

"I want to do it because I want to do it.  Women must try to do things as
men have tried.  When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."

Meghan and Amy with Meghan's Poem

Photo by Laurie Luft

Click the arrow to hear Meghan read her poem, "I Will Find Her".

Trevor, Arriyanna, Taylor, & Meghan with Amy

Photo by Laurie Luft

It was an absolute delight to visit Laurie Luft and her second graders, and I was so happily surprised to find this wonderful slide show of our time together at the class blog.  Thank you, poet friends and thank you, Laurie Luft, for opening your classroom to me.

Today I also welcome George Welgemoed with two more poemdesigns for poems he found here.  In each of these designs, George has used either his own or his son's photographs (yes, that is George's son's tarantula), and then, through filtering and various brushing effects, he brings the imagery to life. Notice how he uses different fonts and colors to create a mood for each poem. If you click on either one, you will be able to read the poems. I have made a special place here at The Poem Farm for George's work, and you can find it by clicking on the Find a Poem tab above, and then following the link to George's art.

Click to enlarge and read the poems.

Sherry is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Semicolon, and Matt Forrest is hosting over at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme. Poetry Friday is EVERYWHERE.

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.
Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.
Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Foxes and Welcome to George Welgemoed!

Little Fox

by Amy LV

(I will add audio to this poem when my voice returns - it was a talky week!)

Students - This is a poem that I found in my old file of poems for FOREST HAS A SONG. It's a forest-y poem that never made it into the book, but I still like it.  You'll see how just as in After Marshmallows, I smushed some words together.  Yes, I do enjoy doing that.  

The other week, when our daughter Hope went to volunteer at the horse barn where she works, we saw some baby foxes playing in the woods nearby.  They were adorable, and once again I found myself wondering how something so cute could be considered so crafty.Yet, in Aesop's fables, the fox is indeed the crafty one. You can see this is so here in The Fox and the Grapes, The Fox Without a Tail, The Fox and the Goat, The Fox and the Stork, and so many more here.

So this is my question poem.  Are foxes really sly?  Or not?

Today I feel very lucky to welcome my new colleague and faraway friend George Welgemoed to The Poem Farm. From South Africa, George wrote to me in June asking if he might make designs to go with some of my poems.  As a furniture maker, George was searching on the Internet for a photo of a small key box. Through his searching, he Googled his way to poems about keys and found The Poem Farm.  Lucky me! Honored, I said yes, and today you can see two such pieces of his digital work.

George does design work and web design for the South African Police Service and says, "Designs, or art as you say it, is only a way to express some of my thoughts.  I read a lot on the net and every day search for a poem of something interesting, something that you can illustrate to give it more than the poem itself. Sometimes I have this idea with a picture and then search for a poem...I think that all poems should be visualized, to see the power of the words...I choose the poem by its power of words the strongest visualization or I choose a particular image and then search for a poem that fits."

Technically, George makes these designs by searching through the Internet by using Google search results, images that will fit his visualization of the poem.  He uses only pictures that are freely available (not copyright protected), layering multiple images to make something new with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

George creates this beautiful work in the face of some physical challenges.  He walks on two prostheses due to amputations of his legs below the knees as well as amputations of both hands save for his right hand thumb.  He is also deaf.  George says, "With all of this, I am still living a 100% full life." With his strong spirit and love for life, George enjoys woodworking, planting gardens of roses and fuchsia, growing Bonsai trees, and spending time with his family.

When making digital designs, sometimes George finds a poem first, and sometimes he finds an image first.  Either way, he uses different fonts to form the idea of each poem, thus giving "more power to the words".  

"Designs for me are a way to express one"s thoughts," says George. At first he was very shy to do so, but he hopes to make people happy through sharing his designs. I'm so grateful to have met him, and I hope you enjoy seeing these interpretations of my poems as much as I have.  Please, I welcome you, to leave any questions or words to George in the comments of today's post.

(Click to enlarge each image.)

Thank you so much, George, for finding me here and for sharing your work with us!

I am home again after almost a week in Paramus, NJ at the Paramus Writing Institute, organized by principal Tom Marshall of Stony Lane Elementary.  It was a pleasure to work with so many wonderful teachers and to see my colleagues Stephanie Parsons, Karen Caine, the whole faculty of the institute, and the children's authors who spoke:  Vicki Cobb, Alexandra Siy, and Kati Hites.  I had a magnificent time and learned so much.  Thank you, Tom!  (If anyone is interested in reading the poems I threaded through my keynote on Tuesday, you may read them here.)

If you have not yet peeked into Linda Baie's notebooks, you may do so at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, a place to highlight notebooks and notebook keepers of all kinds.  Tomorrow I will draw and announce the name of a new notebook winner.

Jone is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Check It Out.  Stop by her place and enjoy all of the rich poetic offerings in the Kidlitosphere today...

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.
Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks.
Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest!

Sticky Hands and Shirley's Poets

Sticky Hand!

by Amy LV

(I will share an audio recording of this poem when my voice comes back!)

Students - It's clear to see that this poem is simply fun to read. That's why I wrote it...to have fun in my mouth. The verse is about a feeling I have every time I roast marshmallows (I like them burned, peeling each layer off, seeing how many layers I can eat). The word 'sticky' repeats so many times because this is how I feel when I'm licking my fingers clean.

I love poems that play with sound, poems such as: "Click Beetle Clack Beetle" by Mary Ann Hoberman, "The Pickety Fence" by David McCord", "Lemons" by Patricia Hubbell, and "Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread" by Mary Ann Hoberman.  Find these, and read them aloud with a friend!

For today's Poetry Peek, I am so happy to introduce teacher and writer Shirley Thacker from Indiana.  I had the pleasure of meeting Shirley at All Write! this year, and it is a pleasure to welcome her sharing student work here at The Poem Farm.

I love the beginning of the school: new supplies, fresh ideas, and brand new composition notebooks. . . a home to exciting stories and heartwarming poetry. No matter if it is my looping classes (Grades 1 or 2) or my Composition Comp Camps--on the first day we always decorate our new notebooks with stickers or pictures to personalize them. I use Georgia Heard's AWAKENING THE HEART to have the students make a heart and fill it with topics that they are experts at for future ideas. I use Ralph Fletcher's HOW TO WRITE YOUR LIFE STORY to make a map to record the place/time they're most familiar with. . . themselves and their surroundings.

I begin my Poetry Study in Reading Workshop 2-3 weeks before I start it in Writing Workshop. Students will have read and enjoyed lots and lots of poetry before I ask them to write any. (Some will already be ahead of the game!) One of my favorite mentor texts is PEACH AND BLUE by Sarah Kilborne. It is rich with a variety of writing craft that I use for mini lessons. I had re read the section describing the pond when we talked about imagery. Bray wrote his piece about Rock Skipping.

Rock Skipping Pond

by Bray Wilson

When you skip your rock

A magic

Overwhelms you.

It feels so good.

PLOP, Plump, SPLASH.

As it sinks

The magic seems

To leave,

But really the magic

Never leaves.

That’s when you wonder . . .

What might

Happen next??

Sometimes ideas are generated from class discussions too. After reading SOMEDAY, by Allison McGhee, students paired up to discuss their somedays . . .which led to 'I Wonder' with some of them. Kingston wrote his 'I Wonder' for Comp Camp.

Why?

by Kingston Browning

Why do birds fly? Why can’t fish cry?

Why do we walk? Why can’t dogs talk?

Why do we pass away? Why can’t we stay another day?

Why don’t we live in ice and snow? Why do fibs just grow, grow, grow?

Why is the world so big and round? Why are things lost and found?

Why isn’t every day a sunny day? Why do pets run away?

Why are bugs so small? Why can’t we fit inside a ball?

Why?

Mentor texts: ALL THE PLACES TO LOVE by Patricia MacLachlan, OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! by Dr. Seuss, or Mark Teague’s HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION are all great leads to the students’s special places. Madysin wrote about her desire to go to Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

by Madisyn West

Smells like Chocolate

Light Posts with Hershey Kisses on the top

In another state

Hershey Kisses on the pillows at night

I can’t wait to go there. . .

I know I will someday

I know it smells like Chocolate,

I know it is temperate,

I know it is sweet.

I can’t wait to go there. . . .

I know I will some day

Someday . . . Someday . . .

Out to the garden to pick green beans, listen to the birds, and watch the butterflies. Summer is good!

Much gratitude to Shirley and her young poets for joining us today with these delightful poems and suggestions.

This week, I shared a writing exercise at Kate Messner's Teachers Write! Summer Camp. You can read the exercise - and stunning writing in the comments - here and read my whole DEAR STRANGER letter here if you wish.

If you have not yet peeked into Linda Baie's notebooks, you may do so at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, a place to highlight notebooks and notebook keepers of all kinds.

Michelle is hosting Poetry Friday over at Today's Little Ditty.  Visit her place to find all of the poetry goodness being shared in the Kidlitosphere today.

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!
Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks...

This Picture - Writing What We Do Not See

Country Road

Photo by Amy LV

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

Students - One exercise I have tried in a writing workshop is to "write about a photo that has never been taken, a photo that should have been taken".  This is a great exercise because there are so many meaningful snips in our lives that we do not document with pictures.  As a second part of this exercise, sometimes the leader asks us to write about the story that does not show in the photograph.  Every photograph has things you can see...and things you cannot see.

This morning, driving Henry home from his swim practice, we were tickled to see a parade of ducklings crossing the road with their mom.  I put on my flashing lights, stopped the car, got my camera, and the two of us got out to look.  Wobble, wobble went the ducklings into the tall grass, and my camera was not quick enough to catch it!

Today's driving surprise was an gift, a reminder of the unexpected beauties that wait around every corner.  This photograph and poem, my souvenirs of that moment in time, nudge me to find magic in unlikely places.  I find myself wondering about all of the befores and afters of every moment I have ever lived, the happenings right before and right after I leave a meadow or a room.

Keri is hosting Poetry Friday!  Head on over to Keri Recommends to find out all of what is happening poetry-wise in the Kidlitosphere today.

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!
Visit Sharing Our Notebooks to peek in all kinds of notebooks...