I am happily home and cozy after being in Denver for a week of busy (NCTE) and, after Jeff came, walking. We clocked over 20,000 steps on Monday.
Today I am taking a day off before my family comes for Friday Thanksgiving. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the poetry community, so wonderfully kind and generous. Some of you I hugged and talked to at NCTE. Others of you stop by this blog and give support through comments. Reflections on the Teche (pronounced Tesh) is my happy place because of you, my readers.
Today’s photo is a crochet-wrapped tree. I’m using a free verse form today following a prompt from Joyce Sidman after her book Dear Acorn, Love, Oak: a compliment, a question, and a wish.
A Tree that Grows in Denver Single crochet, double crochet, cluster-hills & valleys, green, pink, purple blooming round a tree that juts from concrete. Your colors give warmth when times are tough. Will you twirl with me? I hope your dancing colors fill the gloom with bright like a vine that’s lost control and only seeks the light. (Margaret Simon, draft)
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Text from my daughter: “Family picnic at Myrtle on Oct. 3rd. Can you go?”
“Yes! I’m in.”
Mamére with Stella at the family picnic.
The family picnic coincided with the Scholastic Book Fair.
I’m usually on the other side of the book fair. Now I never did have to run it. Hats off to the school librarian. And I did not volunteer. But it was always an exciting week at school. The librarian had coffee and pastries every day. There were quiet times when I could go in, and I always bought books for my classroom or for my grandchildren. One of the things that bugged me were the toys and trinkets. I suppose these are there for kids who didn’t have enough money to buy a book, but as a teacher, I inevitably was taking away one of the treasures from distractible kids.
I set up a rule before we even walked into the book fair. Mamére doesn’t buy toys, only books.
Stella’s pre-k 4 class was the first group at the picnic. (They had a rolling schedule.) So Stella and I went through the book fair with ease. She picked out two books and a diary with keys. I decided the diary was not a toy. I want to encourage any kind of writing, even pre-k scribble and drawing. There wasn’t a huge crowd, either.
However by the time the first graders made it into the book fair, the line was a swirl and the library was full of parents, kids, teachers, and noise! Again, I didn’t mind. I enjoyed visiting with a mother in line with me. We both have Leos. Hers is Leo Fox and mine is Leo Wolf. I recalled when they were born around the same time. Her sister-in-law is a friend of mine.
Scholastic books are sneaky about the toy thing. Leo picked out a book about snakes that had a plastic snake skull with it, a book about sharks that included shark teeth, and a book about making Play-Doh sea animals that, of course, came with Play-Doh.
Stella was a little bit upset that Leo got toys. But they were excited that I checked them out of school, and we had an afternoon of playtime at Mamére’s house. I think I like this side of book fair madness.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Blogging in this space has led to many friendships over the years. Over the weekend I noticed that one of my online blogger-teacher-poet friends was in New Orleans for a National Writing Project conference. I am in New Orleans babysitting my middle grandson Thomas, so I reached out to Kim Douillard, and we met for lunch. I promised Thomas a visit to the aquarium after lunch, so he was cooperative. Kim and I visited like old friends. Her husband Geoff was with her, and he made the comment, “For two people who have never met, you seem so comfortable.” That’s the magic of meeting face-to-face someone you have been writing with for years.
Me and Kim Douillard of “Thinking Through My Lens” at a restaurant in New Orleans. Matching shirts were serendipitous.
Writing with others, even if it’s over screens, can be a powerful connector. If I read your words and you read mine, we get to know each other on a level that may be as deep as taking a long walk together.
Yesterday I dropped Thomas off at day camp and had some time to myself. I decided to take my notebook and current book of poetry, “The Stafford Challenge 2024-25 Anthology” to City Park for a Poem Picnic as suggested by Georgia Heard in her June newsletter. Today I am sharing the resulting poem. If you take a poem picnic, let me know. I’d love to read what you wrote.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Today is the last day of March which means I have finished my 12th year of writing a slice of life for 31 days. It’s easy to think this is some great accomplishment. But who matters more to me are the bloggers I do this with. Through the Two Writing Teachers blog, we have connected over time and space and supported each other. I always end with the wish that I had read more and commented more. What a wonderful community of teacher-writers! Thank you!
I also want to express my pride over my students who stuck with the daily slicing challenge. Julian wrote “This is the final day for writing and I cannot believe I actually did it. Before I ever did this challenge I was having trouble with writing 1 SOL a week. I never would have thought I would be able to write one continuously for a month straight. But I did and I’m very proud of myself.” You can view their posts at Fanschool/ GT Allstars
Tomorrow begins another writing adventure: National Poetry Month. Many of my poet blogger friends are doing projects. I will be writing with Ethical ELA VerseLove as I have done since 2020. At Ethical ELA, there is another great community of teacher writers who support each other.
I coordinate a gathering of children’s poets to write the 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem. Linda Mitchell has bravely agreed to start us off. You will find her post at A Word Edgewise. We have three slots left at the end of the month if you want to play along. Kidlit Progressive Poem 2025 Sign Up.
Tomorrow is a big day for me. Release day for Were You There? A Biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet that I co-authored with Phebe Hayes. I will be presenting this weekend at the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival at the Shadows on the Teche Visitors Center at 11:15 AM on Saturday. My co-author Phebe Hayes and I are excited to launch this important book about the history of New Iberia, LA. If you are local, please join us for this long awaited release.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Cat in the Window, Kilcullen, Ireland by Jone MacCulloch
When I choose a photo to feature as a poem prompt, I choose what pleases me. Sometimes it’s a picture I’ve taken during the week, but this week it’s a photo that caught my eye on an Instagram post from Jone MacCulloch. I asked her if I could use it this week, and she sent me the photo and the collage she had made with it.
Collage by Jone MacCulloch
Jone wrote, “The piece you like is a mixed media piece. I have been playing with landscape scene. This was a cat in Kilcullin, Ireland, 2022. This has some pieces of my grandmother’s journal(copied). It’s part of a new exhibit in April.” Congratulations to Jone on her upcoming exhibit.
I love how blogging has opened windows and doors for me to creative people. Jone and I have not met in person, but we’ve been on multiple Zoom meetings together. We’ve had conversations through blogging and email. She featured this same photo on her blog for “Wordless Wednesday.” But I think the photo invites words.
Please join me in the comments by writing a small poem today inspired by Jone’s photo or art collage. Encourage other writers with comments.
“A cat’s eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world.” Irish proverb
Behind a lace curtain on a warm windowsill, a nonchalant cat holds a light until her people come home.
When was the last time you wrote a card or letter and put a stamp on it and raised the little metal flag on your mailbox? With emails and texts, it’s easy to send a quick message to a friend. But when someone is sick or going through a tough time, many (women for the most part) turn to the old-fashioned card in the mail. I have quite a collection of cards from my multiple health issues. And many of them came from my blogging community.
I recently got a notice from WordPress: Happy 14th Anniversary! I have been blogging for 14 years. When I started, I had no idea what I was getting into. A writer friend was doing it, mostly to review books. So I tried it out. Found Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge and through that community found Poetry Friday. I coordinate the Spiritual Thursday group and This Photo Wants to be a Poem.
All along the way I thought I was self-serving, getting my writing out in the world, craving comments and recognition. But something entirely unexpected and beautiful happened. I built a community of friends. Friends who see me, know me, care about me, and send me cards when I’m sick.
Today I celebrate You! You are a buoy, a gift of friendship, and my circle. Thanks for the comforting words, the beautiful cards, and especially for the thoughts and prayers. I am healing and taking each day step by step. I believe my experience will help me be a better friend to my widest of circles.
Cards left to right, top to bottom, from Connie Castille, Dani Burtsfield, Michelle Kogan, Linda Mitchell, Laura Shovan, and golden plant butterfly from Jan Annino.
(Message from Jan)
Down near the bottom of the crossed-out list of things you have to do today,
between “green thread” and “broccoli” you find that you have penciled “sunlight”
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Today is March 31st, and I have successfully written a blog post every day this month. Today, many of us in the Two Writing Teachers community are breathing a little easier knowing we made it. Earlier this year, I received an Emergency Encouragement Writing Kit from Irene Latham. When it came time to make a new journal cover, I cut out this quote and placed it front and center.
I don’t always (actually, rarely do I) believe it to be true. But just in case it is what the world needs from me, I keep at it. I have to thank you, my dear reader, for your dedication to listening. You honor me with your presence.
According to Kate DiCamillo, writing is a “sacred task”. And though I am not and never will be a writer like Kate, I believe that what I do here is sacred.
It matters. Story matters. What we do matters.
I attended a mental health seminar last night. I was pleasantly surprised that there was food and wine. The intention of the evening was to let teachers know their own self-worth. The speaker was a local counselor who talked about ways to take care of ourselves. She repeated a mantra: “I am worthy. I am enough. I am amazing.”
We all have times when we feel like imposters. Writing a blog post each day that friends and strangers can read makes you vulnerable. Often I feel like I don’t know what I am doing. Thank you for reading and appreciating and caring.
Tomorrow begins a new chapter: National Poetry Month. I am committing to writing a poem each day and leading my students to do the same. April is my favorite month of the year. Click here to read a post I wrote for Cardinal Rule Press about National Poetry Month. Happy writing. Happy reading.
What a pleasure to take part in the After Darkblog tour. After Dark is a picture book of amazing illustrations by Stephanie Laberis and intriguing poems by David Harrison. Publication date is tomorrow, Feb. 25th. Read more about David and his many books here.
David L. Harrison
David’s poems explore the lives of nocturnal animals. In the end pages you can find more information about each animal. With my students, I started with the end pages. I asked them to select two animals they were interested in. We read the facts and then the poem. “Look for ways the poet wove the facts in with poetic language.” We noticed elements like rhyming, slant rhyme, alliteration, repetition, and others.
This reading and talking piqued our interest in finding out more. I gave students the option to select the same animal or another one to research using Wonderopolis.
Breighlynn wanted to learn more about songbirds. Earlier in the week we had discussed allusion and at the beginning of the month, we read about Maya Angelou. I love seeing all of these lessons come together in Breighlynn’s poem.
The song of a songbird the morning alarm. Their vibrant colors just like a rainbow. The smallest of birds make the loudest of songs. Now, I know why the caged bird sings.
After reading this David Harrison poem about the gray wolf, A.J. wrote a poem contrasting wolves to dogs.
Wolves, never tamed, they can’t be blamed.
Dogs, youngly trained, though restrained.
Wolves, running free, free as can be.
Dogs, fun won’t end, with man’s best friend.
A. J. , 6th grade
One of my students asked what was the word for animals who are awake during the day. On a Wonderopolis page, we discovered the word diurnal. In the poem, No Fooling (about the raccoon), David uses assonance, creating slant rhyme. I decided to try out this element in my own poem: Where do Birds Go at Night?
Where Do Birds Go at Night?
At first light, I hear their chatter flitting about our courtyard feeder.
But once the air of dawn is gone, I wonder where the birds have flown.
Most birds are diurnal living their life all day, but where do they go once the sun goes down? Only nocturnal birds hang around.
Some birds find a hole big enough to squeeze in. Others, like the heron, want some mud to wade in. Flocks of blackbirds roost in bunches finding their nighttime safety in numbers.
Every time you go to sleep, wonder where the birds may be.
Margaret Simon, draft 2020
This post is part of a blog tour. The publisher has offered a free book for comments on this post. I will draw at random from commenters and post the winner’s name on Friday, Feb. 28th on my Poetry Friday post. Please leave a comment by Thursday, Feb. 27th. Winner must live in the continental U.S.
Check out other posts to hear more about this book.
See more posts at Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life .
What is your vision for 2019? We really can’t know what the future holds, but we can think about what we want to do and be in the coming year. I’ve never done a vision board before, and I can’t say that I am any kind of expert. I started when my students were working on One Little Word magazine collages.
Yesterday I made the necessary step to add more yoga into my life. I signed up and paid for a class beginning in February. And I put it in as a regular alert on my phone.
I’ve been making smoothies for breakfast ever since the winter break when my middle daughter visited. She made a smoothie every morning and got me hooked. My youngest daughter gave me a Magic Bullet blender in which the container converts to a cup with a top, so I can blend and go. My typical recipe is quarter cup Greek yogurt, quarter cup oatmeal, half cup milk, teaspoon of flaxseed, half a banana, half an avocado (or Kale, if the avocado isn’t riper yet), and quarter cup blueberries (or strawberries). I am amazed at how full I feel after drinking it, and I’m not hungry until lunch.
My students worked this week on their one little word projects. I gave them options for creatively representing their words. I also invited them to blog about their words. I was moved by Madison’s post. This 5th grader has the wisdom that I have longed for all my life. She is comfortable in her skin. I hope she will hold onto her values of Possibility.
This year, my word is possibility. I like this word because there is no such thing as completely impossible, they say, but I’ve added on it: but there is such thing as possible. Always try because if you don’t, if you lay down and let others control and use and block you from your goal, leave them. Always try. Never set a true goal that limits yourself- whenever you achieve one, go higher and higher, always trying. Have confidence. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The way it’s hard is what makes it a good challenge. Nothing ever comes easy, and it never should, or we’ll all be lazy and fat. Be aware of yourself, and don’t let yourself fall out of shape or routine or such just because you don’t feel like it even though it benefits you.
Because, as hard as it’ll seem…
It’s always
Possible.
(Blog post by Madison: to leave comments, click here.)
See more posts at Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life .
My students and I have been writing to Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s daily prompts at The Poem Farm. I usually write alongside my students, so some days I have three poems done because I teach 3 different groups of kids. On Monday, when we were writing using word play, I started writing at school number one about bees.
Dawson, 4th grade, helped me think about rhymes. He told me that bees carry pollen in their mouths and spit it back and forth with other bees until it becomes honey, thus “honey primers.”
I turned to bee research and RhymeZone.
At school number two, Chloe, 2nd grade, told me that a bee’s dance is called a waggle. Google confirmed it.
Last month, I had a bee incident in my classroom at school number 2 that caused a curse word to come out of my mouth, thus “cursing singer.” This incident happened in March, so I sliced about it here.
My students responded with pleasure at my completed poem. They exclaimed “Boomchakalaka.” Great word play for the ending!
Bees
hullabaloo
on flowering trees
humming,
drumming,
buzz-strumming.
Bees
waggle-dance
in the hive
insect communication
tapping out dictation
pointing to a destination.
Bee–one bashful bee
squirming
in my hair
angry stinger
hand slinger
cursing singer.
Boomchakalaka!
I am writing ekphrastic poetry this month for National Poetry Month. Michelle Kogan is an poet-illustrator I’ve met through Poetry Friday. Usually I start with the image to inform the poem. This poem came before the illustration, but I knew Michelle would have one that fit just right. Thanks, Michelle.
Towering Tulip by Michelle Kogan. Click image to see Michelle’s website.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She teaches gifted elementary students, writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 