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SOLC2019: #16 Mother’s Milk

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged morning coffee on March 16, 2019| 15 Comments »

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Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Mother’s Milk

I woke up on the Earth today
planted my two feet
in the soil
of warm slippers
dragged them forward
again
to the kitchen
opened a new carton of milk
poured forth into the mug,
not my favorite today;
that one is dirty
because it’s Saturday
and the rain is still falling,
the dog wants to play ball
again.
Milk in the green mug–
a gift from a student–
heated and frothed,
sweetened with raw sugar,
still and waiting
for the coffee to brew,
the sound of steam pumping
through grains of sand,
like time
again.
Time slows
on Saturday morning,
and milk burns my tongue
again.
I am mindful
of each movement,
my feet, my hands,
my tongue, my voice
silent
on Saturday morning
again.

(draft) Margaret Simon

Process notes: I sat down to write with my cup of coffee beside me and the idea of “mother’s milk” from Laura Shovan’s daily prompt on Facebook. This prompt came from Ann Haman. I read Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’s Poetry Friday title “A Poem for the Earth.” So the words milk and earth were sitting with me and my cup of coffee. The rest flowed out of me. That’s how poetry happens sometimes. I usually write them and let them sit and go back later to see if any of it makes sense. This time I just copied and pasted.

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SOLC2019: #15 Pi Day Poetry

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged Pi Day, Pi-ku on March 15, 2019| 19 Comments »

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Poetry Friday round-up is with Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

“Today is Pi Day,” My husband greeted me Thursday morning.

“Oh, no! I forgot. I always like to do something for Pi Day.”

“I know that. That’s why I’m telling you.”

So once again, flying by the seat of my 31 years of experience, I opened up our class time together with “Guess what today is?”

Some kids knew, but didn’t know why. I wrote on the board, “Pie Day or Pi Day?”

We discussed the meaning of Pi, the irrational number 3.14 and so on, and the relationship between diameter and circumference of a circle.

Then we got to the fun part. Each student chose a piece of colored paper, and we brainstormed ways to make a perfect circle. Then the hunt for possible patterns- the pencil cup, my coffee cup, the lid of a game. Kaia suggested using a paper clip. If I had once known how to draw a circle with a paper clip, I had forgotten.

Place a pencil inside one end of a large paper clip. Hold the pencil point in place on this sheet of paper. Place another pencil inside the other end of the paper clip. Ask your helper to hold your paper still while you draw a circle by moving the second pencil.

I asked the students to use their imagination to create something with the circle and use it as the topic for their Pi-Ku. A Pi-ku takes on the syllable count of Pi, 3.14159….

While we didn’t produce great poetry, we did have a good time playing with circles, wacky drawings, and syllable counts.

I combined this activity with the daily poetry prompt in Laura Shovan’s poetry project. The prompt for Thursday was honey.

Bumblebee
You’re
My honey sweet
Tea
Pouring all you have
Into joy-light for my morning cup.
3.14159

Karson’s elephant Pi-Ku:

Elephant
eats
cabbage and trees.

Karson, 4th grade

Jump! You feel
light.
You hear music,
a
bird. You think nothing lives
here
Tweet, a moon bird singing is soothing.
by Landon, 5th grade

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SOLC2019: #14 Plein Air

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Debbie Myers, En Plein Air, The Shadows on the Teche on March 14, 2019| 6 Comments »

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“Our” artist arrived on Saturday. From Oxford, Mississippi, Debbie is staying with us all week while she competes in the Shadows Plein Air Painting Competition. We were at ease immediately.

Debbie Myers was the only one of her art group of four to be accepted into the Shadows Plein Air Painting Competition. But she would be the last to tell you that it’s because she was the best. Debbie is a humble artist, even though she has been practicing all her life.

I feel such a sense of joy and wonder seeing the paintings she does each day.

Our Grandmother oak by Debbie Myers.

This competition reminds me of the Slice of Life Challenge. It’s a daily challenge to get something down on paper each day. And sometimes you don’t know when you start what you will end up with. I am thankful the the SOLC is not a competition, though.

Competitions have their place, but I have watched Debbie’s stress level rise as the week goes on. Today she has to complete and frame all her paintings for the judging.

To me, her paintings are winners. I’m confident, too, that she has grown as an artist. She’s certainly become a new friend.

Church Alley, Downtown New Iberia.

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SOLC2019: #13 She is Sitting!

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Bayou Teche, TECHE Project, wood duck house on March 13, 2019| 13 Comments »

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Baker’s dozen wood duck eggs!

“There is motion at your wood duck house.”

It comes as an alert on my phone. I can’t help but look.

Two weeks ago, we set up the wood duck house that my husband had made. The next day a hen came.

We placed a Ring doorbell camera on the roof of the house, so anytime there is motion, the device records a video and sends it to my phone. Incredible technology!

Incredible nature!

I marvel at how this bird knows exactly what to do. For the last two weeks, she has come into the house daily. In the morning, she flies in, rearranges the furniture, and lays a few eggs. Then she leaves.

I’ve watched each day, and if she didn’t cover them up with the shavings, I can count the eggs. The count approached a dozen.

I’ve been posting updates to my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I wrote the first post about the house here.

Last night as we were having dinner, my phone buzzed. This was unusual to get an alert at night. And the alerts continued.

The wood duck hen came in at 7:09 last night, and she’s still there!

Now we count 29-31 days to hatching. But the big day is the day after hatching when the baby ducklings climb up the side of the box and JUMP! If it’s a school day, I will have to call in sick.

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SOLC2019: #12 In the Middle of the Night

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged Laura Purdie Salas, mask poems on March 12, 2019| 9 Comments »

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Happy Book Birthday to In the Middle of the Night by Laura Purdie Salas!

I met Laura a few years ago at NCTE and have followed her ever since. She is gentle, kind, and generous, everything a children’s poet should be. I am inspired by her every week on her blog. On Thursdays she posts an image with an invitation to write a 15 words or less poem. It’s a great space to show up in each week to read other poems and interact with the children’s poetry online community.

Laura is also a pretty awesome presenter. In November, 2018, we presented together on a panel at NCTE, Writing Poetry in the Wild. Here’s a link to the slides.

In her presentation, Laura encouraged us to look around and write about what we see. Well, that’s not exactly what she did to write this latest book. In the Middle of the Night requires more than just observation; it requires an imagination. The poems are all written in the point of view of some object doing something during the night.

Twenty-six poems share the wild adventures that toys, food, and other household objects have at night while you sleep. Everything from stuffed animals to clothing to writing utensils comes to life under the cover of night. An overdue library book searches for the perfect place to hide. A paper clip skydives with a tissue parachute. A fruit snack unrolls to create a tricky racetrack for toy cars. Come sneak away for some moonlit adventures!

In my class, I wanted my students to experience this fun idea and Laura’s poetry. From the Table of Contents, my students selected a few poems they wanted to hear. I always start with “What do you notice?” They noticed that the poems were written in first person (Cha-Ching! for that concept), and I reminded them that they are called mask poems. They noticed rhyming and rhythm patterns. With a little more prodding, they found alliteration and imagery.

In addition to working on close reading skills with poetry, we stretched our writing muscles. We used this activity sheet from Laura to write our own poems.

Laura has a Padlet for contributors’ poems here. We placed links on the Padlet to our Kidblog site. If you have a minute, stop by and place comments for my kids.

Click here to go to Laura’s web page.

Monday, 3/11 Mile High Reading

Tuesday, 3/12 Reflections on the Teche

Wednesday, 3/13 Poetrepository

Thursday, 3/14 Check It Out

Friday, 3/15 Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

Sunday, 3/17 Great Kid Books

Monday, 3/18 Simply 7 Interview/Jena Benton blog

Tuesday, 3/19 My Juicy Little Universe

Wednesday, 3/20 Live Your Poem

Thursday, 3/21 Reading to the Core

Friday, 3/22 KidLit Frenzy

Beyond Literacy Link

In the Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House Author: Laura Purdie Salas

Illustrator: Angela Matteson

Publisher: Wordsong (3/12/19)

ISBN: 978-1620916308

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SOLC2019: #10 Blooming

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged bridal wreath flowers, nature poem on March 10, 2019| 17 Comments »

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It doesn’t take much to bloom–
a space in the yard
tucked away from plain view
safe from weeds and snakes.

Just stretch out your branches,
bend to the light,
open your eyes
and be white lace, clouds of lace

woven on air
swept up in a tangle of wind
waiting for hope.
That’s all it takes to bloom.

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SOLC2019: #7 Balance

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged balance, Spiritual poetry on March 7, 2019| 12 Comments »

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See more Spiritual Thursday posts with Doraine at Yoga Inspired.

This is the first Thursday of the month, so the Spiritual Journey gathering is happening at Dori’s site today around the topic Balance.

photo by Danne from pexels.com

Balance is a levitated word
held between my fingers
with no space for doubt.

Balance doesn’t lean or lose;
it’s always in control.
Gravity is its guide.

Balance grows on solid ground,
strengthens while it weighs nothing,
suspension in space and time.

So how is it, then, that balance
eludes the seeker? Here for a second,
then gone, out of reach.

We request balance in our lives
of diet
of things-to-do lists
of spinning plates.

But balance is only of God,
of true peace
of kindness
of mercy.

Balance can not be achieved alone.

(c) Margaret Simon

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SOLC2019: #4 Forgive Yourself Today

Posted in Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged Enneagram, forgiveness, Monday, self-love on March 4, 2019| 12 Comments »

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EnneaThought® for the Day

Type Two EnneaThought® for March 4th

Everyone has positive qualities that they usually do not recognize in themselves. Today, can you see your own strength which is at the center of your love for others—and for yourself?

photo from Pixabay.com

I subscribe to EnneaThought for the Day from the Enneagram Institute. The small messages come daily to my inbox. It’s usually the first email I open expecting it to inform my day. I’ve used the messages for writing prompts in my notebook, and today when a little stuck about what to write, I copied and pasted the message into the blank page in WordPress.

I know that everyone has positive qualities, and especially in teaching, I look for those in others. But how often do I focus on my own positive qualities? This message reminds me that my strength is at the center of my love for others. Without it, I am useless.

Finding a sense of peace through forgiveness of myself is a daily exercise. Nobody is perfect, but I tend to stew on stuff, especially if I feel I have hurt someone or given a false impression of myself. Stewing is not productive. It keeps me from moving forward. It weakens rather than strengthens.

Writing helps me sort through the muck of my mind. I feel strong and productive when I write. When I wasn’t sure what to write this morning, I jumped into the page and just.did.it. Is this the best I’ve got? No. But here it is and that’s enough.

Monday should be Forgive Yourself Day because we all need to start our week off with a positive outlook, a show of strength, and a sense of self-love. Give that to yourself today.

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SOLC2019: #3 Carnival

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Mardi Gras haiku, New Orleans Carnival on March 3, 2019| 6 Comments »

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Carnival season in New Orleans is unique. Like other celebrations, families gather, food is abundant, and happiness abounds. But in New Orleans at Carnival time, there is something else in the air. Not something I can name exactly. It’s a mixture of decadence and absurdity. Sometimes the more absurd, the better. There is definitely too much drinking, especially from the “frat boys,” as my children call them. And the costumes run the gamut. But it’s the complete regard for absurdity that fascinates me.

I didn’t get a picture of myself, but I wore a pair of purple, gold, and green sparkly swirly sunglasses. I pinned a tiny top hat to my hair. My son-in-law had a pair of whacky sunglasses that he tried on Leo, my grandson.

Leo’s Mardi Gras shades. (photo by Katherine Simon Andry)

Here’s a picture of another baby we saw walking about. She didn’t seem to mind the wig.

Mardi Gras baby

You don’t quite know what you will see on the streets. Most people are kind and full of cheer. In my many years of attending New Orleans parades, I have never seen any violence. There are rampant rumors about it, but from my experience, Carnival is about having fun and the more absurd, the better.

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SOLC2019: #2 King Cake Time

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Travel, Writing, tagged food poetry, King Cake, Laura Shovan, Mardi Gras, New Orleans on March 2, 2019| 11 Comments »

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In addition to the Slice of Life Challenge, I am writing a poem each day with a Facebook group for Laura Shovan’s annual birthday project. This year we are writing about food. The prompt yesterday from Laura herself was sourdough bread. Not having much experience in sourdough bread, the baking or the eating of it, I took the option to write about any bread.

I am currently in New Orleans with my girls celebrating Mardi Gras. A staple pastry during the Mardi Gras season is King cake. King Cake is symbolic of Epiphany, the season of the church year following Christmas. On Epiphany, the three kings arrived to worship Jesus. The dough is baked in a circle symbolizing unity of faith. The frosting is colored sugar in purple, gold, and green. Gold represents power, green is associated with faith, and purple illustrates justice. (Southern Living)

Of the many Mardi Gras traditions, this is one of my favorite. In our small town of New Iberia, there is a donut bakery that makes King Cakes like a donut. My son-in-law brought one yesterday that he swears weighs more than his 2 month old. It’s infused with cream cheese and strawberry jam. There are two more on the kitchen counter each with its own flavoring and pastry recipe. The tradition is that a plastic baby is placed inside the King Cake to symbolize the search for baby Jesus. Whomever gets the baby in their piece is obligated to buy the next King Cake for the next celebration.

I’ve decided to forego my no carb diet just for this weekend. Let the good times roll!