Yesterday was a full day of being Mamére with Leo, 7, and Stella, 5. We went on a walk in our neighborhood. There is a vacant lot where a new house will be built soon. They had done some dirt work, so there was a mountain of dirt. In the mud, Albert, my dog, had sniffed out a small snake, thankfully dead.
Being Mamére, I allowed Leo to carry the snake home. He gave it a bath and wanted to show everyone. When I brought them home, he opened his gift from my sister-in-law who came with me specifically to see the kids open their gifts from her.
He opened a huge set of paint markers and a new art tablet and immediately drew this illustration. He also wrote this story.
Of course, he made this writer grandmother proud. Today, I am pulling from his writing a small poem. The elfchen form includes 1 word topic, 2 words, what topic does, 3 words, where or how, 4 words, what do you mean, and 1 word, outcome.
Snake
Lay dead
dug from earth
a young boy’s buried
treasure
Margaret Simon, draft
Please join me today in writing a small ekphrastic poem. Have a wonderful holiday! Thanks for being a dedicated reader and writer.
Reflections on the Teche 
I adore this. What a special time of life…discovery of living and dead things in the mud and words to describe it. Gosh, you ES teachers have so much towork with.
Brilliant, Leo! And kudos to Mamére for allowing the young scientist to bring his specimen home.
science
sparks curiosity
inspires close study
with diagram and writing —
wonder-full
Love your last word! Leo has a special interest in science and discovery.
Lucky kiddos to have a grandmother that encourages (well, at least allows) snake washing! Love Leo’s art and story.
Blue-footed froggy
wears red britches
and a green waist-coat–
set for the festive froggy bash!
Buffy, this is such a fun response. I’ll share it with Leo.