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Slice of Life: Daily Poetry

Posted in Gifted Education, Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged #poet, cinquain, I am From, poem, poetry, skinny poem, student poems, This is Just to Say, writing on October 8, 2024| 11 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

This is Just to Say

I have forgotten
the words
to that song
you sang to me

and which
you are probably
humming in your head
while you sleep.

Forgive me:
I will sing
along with you
anyway.

Margaret Simon, after William Carlos Williams

I believe in daily poetry, but I fell off the Stanford Challenge for writing a poem a day. Lately the new book from Sarah Donovan, Mo Daley, and Maureen Young Ingram, 90 Ways of Community is helping. Each day I present one of the prompts to my students and write alongside them. They are responding so well to this daily practice. I hope you don’t mind if I share a few here. First up is a skinny poem by Grayson.

White void endless space just
waiting
wondering
no
thoughts
waiting,
I’m
tired
of
waiting
in this endless void, white space that is just too empty.

by Grayson, 5th grade

We’ve explored ourselves and written I am From poems.

I am from
crunching leaves
and windy days.

I am from
books, and books,
and even more books.

I am from the Bayou,
and I am from the
trees.
I come from murky waters
and lush green leaves
and sturdy branches.

I am from
the scratching of
a pen,
and the flick of a brush.

I am from
the smell of
cigarette smoke
and an autumn evening.

I am
from a household,
a household holding
four.
A mother of books,
a father of autumn,
a daughter of both,
and a sister
of all.

by Adelyn, 6th grade

Each week I invite my students to write to a photograph. They are free to choose their own form even as I model a form for them.

Old tree
Stays in the backyard
Is surrounded by water and ferns
Waiting outside on the porch for the sunrise
Lovely morning

by Marifaye, 5th grade

If you would like to write a poem to a photo, please join me on this blog on Wednesdays: This Photo Wants to be a Poem. I wish for you daily poetry.

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Slice of Life: Cooling Down

Posted in Slice of Life, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged Ethical ELA, oracle deck, poetry on September 24, 2024| 4 Comments »

For multiple reasons, I had a rough week last week. On Saturday, I woke up early and went to a local farmer’s market to sell books and make “zines” with kids. It was really great fun, but hot! By the time I finished, I had not eaten or had anything to drink, so I went to my daughter’s house to cool off, literally.

Maggie and I started talking about my week and the day at the market. She suggested I pull a card from her oracle deck, “Mysteries of Love” from alenahennessy.com.

The card I pulled could not have been more perfect, literally and figuratively.

Today on Ethical ELA’s Open Write, the prompt was given by Larin, Thought You Should Know.

I wrote a poem to the Oracle Deck:

To the Oracle Deck (Snap Dragon: Cooling Down)

I want you to know
I’m trying to balance
will & ego,
soothe my inner fire,
but the system pushes
back again and again.

I want you to know
they say we have to move Mom
to skilled nursing. No! I shout
to you. This is not the path
I expected.

I want you to know
I tried to smile at everyone
I met in the halls at school.
I held onto a door handle
and did tree pose
just to test my balance.

I want you to know
how much I want to love
a puppy that chews my shoelaces
as I write this. If I stay cool,
will he stop and look up
with loving eyes?

I want you to know that no matter
what you told me on Saturday,
my will is fading fast
on Tuesday. I should pick
another card.

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Slice of Life: Mississippi Book Festival

Posted in Books, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged Heather Morris, Kate DiCamillo, Mississippi Book Festival on September 17, 2024| 4 Comments »

Who among us doesn’t love a good book festival? This weekend my husband, my hero, offered to drive on Friday after work so that we could attend the Mississippi Book Festival in my home town of Jackson, MS. We had plans to visit my mother, but the book festival started at 9 AM, driving late into Friday evening was necessary.

It was so worth it! I was able to see an interview with Kate DiCamillo who is always a delight. With Ellen Hunter Ruffin, who is a hoot in her own right, they bantered and kept the audience laughing. Kate was introduced by none other than Ann Patchet, who later joined her on a panel about friendship and narrative.

When a teacher in the audience asked Kate about themes in her books, she said, “I have no idea what the themes are. Forgiveness and family seem to be my preoccupations. Those things are in there unwittingly. The only way to tell a story well is to let your guard down. Be vulnerable.”

As a teacher, a standard that I hit my head on constantly is “identify the theme.” It is so interesting to me that theme is the last thing an author thinks about when writing, if at all.

Kate is a cheerleader for reading aloud. I’ve started reading her new book Ferris to my students. They can’t wait to read more.

Kate DiCamillo after signing hundreds of books. We could be best friends.

Authors are real people. They struggle, as we do, to make sense of the world and to do their best to mold and shape the lives of children.

I ran into a new children’s book author who I had met at the Fay B. Kaigler book festival in April. She joined me and Irene Latham for dinner one night, and we hit it off immediately. Fate and this festival brought us back together. Her new book is Trunk Goes Thunk: A Woodland Tale of Opposites. She was on a panel of children’s book authors. They talked about who they were and where their ideas came from. Heather was enthralled by a live cam video of a fallen log. She wanted to write a book about all the animals that travel the log bridge which ultimately leads from separate to together. If you collect children’s books, be on the lookout. It’s coming out soon.

Author Heather Morris and me at the Mississippi Book Festival.

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Slice of Life: Student Inquiry

Posted in Gifted Education, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged fibonacci poem, Gulf Fritillary, raising butterflies, student inquiry on September 10, 2024| 4 Comments »

I teach gifted elementary students. I think of my classroom door as a revolving one because students from grades 2-6 come in and go out all day long. Two weeks ago I brought in some Gulf fritillary caterpillars in a butterfly net. I placed them on the table and invited my students to ask questions.

This is Marifaye’s sketchbook neatly written with her 5 questions and the answers. (Not all notebooks looked this neat.)

Students gathered around the table and drew what they saw, asking question after question. They became enthusiastic yet frustrated that I would not give them a straight answer. They practiced using Google to research and answer their questions.

This week the caterpillars eclosed (hatched) and once again we observed and drew pictures then released the butterfly.

Danielle, 2nd grade, wrote a sentence. “This is my drawing of a Gulf fritillary. I drew a vine with a flower.”

James wrote a fib poem about the butterfly. (We talked about using more specific vocabulary than words like nice and cool.)
Gulf
vine
flowers
butterfly
a fritillary
flying through the beautiful sky

I don’t always have nature at my fingertips to lead inquiry with my classes. This was a wonderful way to introduce the idea that asking questions and wondering are all part of the process of learning. And releasing was just pure Joy!

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Words that Mend

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged #90WaysofCommunity, #EthicalELA, #JustYA, #WordsThatMend, Ethical ELA, poetry in the classroom, Sarah Donovan, teacher healing on September 3, 2024| 9 Comments »

Writing in a community of writers has led me to so many wonderful connections with other teacher-writers from all over the world. I discovered the writing community at Ethical ELA in the spring of 2020 when we were all isolated. Being able to find meaningful writing prompts and support from others helped me feel less alone.

Now, four years later, I am honored to be involved in a book project. I have two chapters in a book that gives teachers an understanding of how poetry can be healing in our classrooms and beyond. Words that Mend is here, alongside its sister books 90 Ways of Community and Just YA.

One of my chapters in Words that Mend appears in the section Teacher Healing titled Walking through Grief with Poetry. I wrote about my grief journey after my father’s death and how writing poems helped me process that grief. The comments others left for me on my poems felt authentic and caring. Healing from grief doesn’t happen quickly, if ever, but finding a space for sharing my thoughts in poetry gave me a purpose. And having this book now out in the world gives me purpose.

The second chapter I wrote is titled Write Along with Me, An Invitation Accepted. I wrote about how one of my students used poetry in my class to carry her through grief and how she reached out to me to start a small after school writing group. In that chapter, you can find writing prompts that worked for me as I worked with her. In fact, each chapter includes a section for a prompt for teachers and students.

Penny Kittle wrote this about Words that Mend:

“My time reading Words that Mend was not only worth it, it has multiplied my thinking about teachers as writers in profound ways. These chapters contain the lives and experiences of teachers—written like a colleague who pulls up a chair to sit beside you—and you lean in, listening with intensity and joy. What a gift this book is: it holds so much. Words that Mend is the invitation each of us needs to write in community. In celebration. In support. In discovery of what it means to bring poetry into the lives of all those we know. There is a particular generosity in this book: one of personal experiences, yes, but also the hesitations all writers feel to show their lives in writing. You will find beginnings here (even a notebook page of first thoughts) that will inspire you to write. You will find lesson plans already worn and weathered by use in classrooms. Do not turn from the gift of Words that Mend: you need it more than you might think you do.”

~Penny Kittle, author Write Beside Them, Book Love, and Micro Mentor Texts

Words that Mend is now available for purchase on Amazon (for printing cost only) and a free pdf download on Ethical ELA here.

Sarah Donovan, Oklahoma State University, curator of Ethical ELA tells our story on YouTube:

We will have an online event at 2:00PM CST on September 22nd to celebrate and write together. Stay tuned!

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Slice of Life: Garden Surprise

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged school garden, snake eggs on August 20, 2024| 5 Comments »

School has started so that means back to the butterfly garden. Summer has left it overgrown and in need of attention.

On Friday my student Avalyn and I got to work. Here she is with a mammoth sunflower we planted in the spring.

I started picking up the layers of mown grass around the edge of the planter box. I uncovered a nest of eggs.

Avalyn and I, along with a few curious teachers, began a quest to find out what these eggs were.

They wouldn’t be bird eggs. Bird eggs are hard and round and usually in trees with an attending mother bird.

What about turtle eggs? Turtles usually dig a hole, and they lay near water.

Lizards? Too big.

We finally landed on the scariest option, snakes.

With my cell phone flashlight, Avalyn (Unlike her teacher, she didn’t mind touching and handling the egg.) candled the egg. Candling is a way to see inside the egg. She showed her classmates. We could see the embryo and veins and a shadow of a swirl.

Avalyn shows her classmates how to look inside an egg.

I know that having a garden is good for the social and emotional needs of gifted students (all students, actually) but I hadn’t prepared myself for the possibility of snakes.

I’m relieved to report that the eggs were hatched or eaten, certainly not viable, come Monday morning.

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Slice of Life: The Most Important Thing about a New Puppy

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #minigoldendoodle, Ethical ELA, The Important Book on July 23, 2024| 17 Comments »

This is the week of Open Write at Ethical ELA. I love these monthly exercises in writing poetry. They keep my notebook going as a working document, and it’s a wonderful, kind, and inspiring group to be a part of. Earlier in the week, Kim Johnson left me a comment stating she hoped I would write a puppy poem this week. Today’s prompt worked for a puppy poem.

You may be familiar with the children’s book The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. Gayle leads us through the prompt to discovery the essence of the thing we choose to write about. As I write this post, my new puppy Albert “Albear” is curled up on my lap after his vaccinations. I’m breathing in the puppy smell. He’s 5 months old. I’m not sure when that scent goes away, but for now, I’m loving it.

The important thing about a new puppy
is that he loves you
without conditions.
He will also jump on you
and joyfully chase a tennis ball.
Sometimes he poops on the floor,
but he’s “just a puppy.”
Always cute. Intoxicating smell.
Barks at new bowls, trash bins, and the noise
of the printer. Curiously nibbles
on weeds, follows butterflies, sniffs at kittens.
But the most important thing about a new puppy
is he loves you, no matter what.

Five month old Albert with his favorite tennis ball.

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Slice of Life: New Puppy

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #minigoldendoodle, Albert, new puppy on July 9, 2024| 9 Comments »

Once you’ve had the perfect dog, it’s hard to decide to do it all again. We lost Charlie in September. He was 16 years old. He had been the best dog ever. And we’ve had our share. Charlie was a mix of schnauzer and poodle, a schnoodle. One thing we knew for sure is that we wanted a poodle mix.

We started looking at rescue sites, but my husband thought it best to get a puppy that you knew the history of. We found a breeder of miniature golden doodles within driving distance and set out two weeks ago on an adventure. The girl with the auburn fur was the one we thought we wanted, but, of course, our qualifications for a calm puppy were utmost. She was a wild child. We asked about other pups from the litter. When we held the little black male, we knew he was the one.

Finding a name was another matter altogether. We each had our own ideas. I made a list of P-names: Prince, Pippin, Paco, Pax, Puck, Pepper, Pablo. Nothing felt quite right. I posted a photo on Facebook with the message that we were still trying to name him. My friend Mary wrote “He’s got that Albert (Einstein) look. You could call him Al.” Then Susan responded, “if you’ll be my bodyguard…you can call me Al. Total Jeff Simon vibe.” It made me laugh like this new puppy has made me laugh. So we landed on Albert, but we are using the French pronunciation “Al-Bear”.

Albert is asleep on my lap as I write this post, exactly as he should be.

Albert looks out toward the bayou contemplating the buzzing of cicadas.

Of course, a new puppy has its moments of frustration. Potty training is at the top of that list right now. But this will come with time and consistency on our part. Today will be his first grooming. I wish I could bottle the puppy smell for you. There is nothing quite like it.

Albert with a pacifier chew toy he loves because it squeaks and bounces.

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Slice of Life: The Last Baby Duck

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged bayou life, black-bellied whistling ducks, nesting box, wildlife rescue on June 25, 2024| 7 Comments »

On Saturday morning, my husband and I set out on an adventure to buy a puppy. The previous day, Friday, the eggs in our wood duck house began to hatch. This year we did not have a wood duck, though. The sitting mother hen was a black-bellied whistling duck. We have a Ring doorbell camera mounted in the nesting box near the bayou. We’d been watching the comings and goings of this hen for 30+ days.

Black-bellied whistling duck from Creative Commons

Wood ducks hatch on one day and jump from the nesting box on the next day, Jump Day. So do whistlers. Because we were on the road, we were watching the jump from my phone. I became distressed when I realized one of the babies had not jumped. He was jumping and flipping, but not toward the metal mesh that serves as a ladder. Time passed, so I was convinced the mother and the other 14 babies were well on their way down the bayou. What should we do?

Call Ric, of course. I tried Ric and his wife as well as my neighbor Shirley. All became concerned. And the next time I checked the camera, the baby was gone. At first I assumed he had finally made the leap. Then I got a call from Ric’s wife, Svitlana. She is well known for rescuing animals, cats, dogs, and owls. (Here is a link to the owl story.) She had the baby duck and was researching what to feed it.

On Saturday, we successfully found a new puppy. He is settling in and bringing us joy. We walked over to visit the baby duckling. He is also settling in and bringing joy. His (or her) little life was saved. Ric and Svitlana will keep him safe until he’s big enough to fly. Whistlers are migratory birds, so they have an instinct to leave. The owl has not left the area. He still calls across the bayou every evening to remind us that wild animals can be saved.

“Utochka” Ukranian for little duck.
Baby Black-bellied whistling duckling- take a look at those big feet!

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Slice of Life: Exquisite Corpse

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged exquisite corpse on June 4, 2024| 6 Comments »

On Friday evening, Francisco invited me to dinner. At the time, I didn’t know who would be attending. Fran has been visiting from Argentina, and we’ve been meeting weekly for a few months now. We usually meet in a coffee shop with one of my former students to read and write poetry. Corrine is hosting Fran and suggested that they cook a meal for a few friends. I was delighted to see Carolyn was there.

Carolyn and I taught together years ago and have stayed friends, but we don’t see each other often, especially during the busy school year. We are on summer break and maybe that made us giddy, or maybe it was the wine, but we were laughing a lot.

Fran suggested we play “Exquisite Corpse.” I kind of knew what it was; I think I’ve done it with students, but I didn’t think of it as a common party game or a very reliable way to write a poem. Fran insisted this would be good. “It’s making new art–authentic,” he said.

I didn’t take it as seriously. Especially when Carolyn added the line “two left feet.” I laughed so hard.

Exquisite Corpse is a game that inspires creativity. As a sheet of paper is passed around, each person writes a line and folds the paper so the line is hidden for the next writer. After we wrote a few very rough verses, Fran and Daniel put the words to music. I believe good musicians can make anything sound good, even the words, “two left feet.”