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NPM16 #13 Turning off the Critic

Posted in Poetry, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Poem a Day, writer's block on April 13, 2016| 15 Comments »

My internal critic is turned on high voltage. I take my journal in my backpack to school to school (I teach at two), and I turn the page and write some words, then a student needs me. I come back to the page focused, thinking, and another student has to share.

Here I am at home with Charlie and there’s nothing worth much in my journal. This is day 13 of my personal challenge to write a poem a day, and my personal critic thinks I can’t possibly keep this up.

Step one: upload a picture. Here’s another sky picture taken from my car with my phone.

Sky Sea

How to Stay a Poet (A synonym poem)

Attach a line to a thought
with a long string, maybe even wire

Fasten sprinkles of light,
a frosting of powdered sugar would taste good.

Unite clouds to sky to space,
an ethereal concept, I know.

Abide with your favorite poets,
savor their strength, their providence.

Linger over the page, make a statement,
scratch it out, start again.

Remain committed; don’t listen to the witch
in your head telling you to abandon all.

Keep on writing. Stay a poet.
Stay here.

–Margaret Simon

Process: After writing the title, I did a synonym search for “stay.” I used selected synonyms as the first word of each stanza. Creating rules for myself helped me get through writer’s block. This is not one of my finer poems, but it’s a poem. Let’s keep moving forward.

Follow the Progressive Poem to Teacher Dance

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NPM16 #12 Dancing with a Paintbrush

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, music poems, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Poem a Day on April 12, 2016| 6 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

We brought out the paintbrushes and watercolor paints. Each table had a stack of white paper. I turned on the music. Painting flowed in time with the beat.

This is dancing with a paintbrush. When the music stops, we title the piece of art and list three words that come to mind. This continues for three rounds. The songs are all instrumental, one sounds oriental, another symphonic, and another Irish.

Following this painting activity, we write.

Freedom of expression, playing with words, making associations with music and poetry, the resulting poems went in all kinds of directions. (My students share their poems on Kidblog.)

In reading Tara Smith’s book review of Writing with Mentors, I pulled out this piece of advice: “Mentors Show Students How to Play: In order to grow as writers, students need safe places to play with writing – places that aren’t assessed or evaluated or given a grade. They need places where their work can be messy, where thinking outside the box and being wild with ideas is encouraged.”

When I was struggling to write a poem with my painting, I turned to a favorite author, Mary Oliver. From A Thousand Mornings, “Poem of the One World” begins “This morning/ the beautiful white heron/ was floating along above the water.”

Writing beside this master poet helped me to follow the rhythm that my own words wanted to take.

This longing
the beautiful white egret
wanders from known to unknown waters

And then
onto the shore of this
one stream we all swim in

where everyone
is part of the blue vein
where we can throw a stone in

which thought made me feel
for a small moment
welcomed home.

–Margaret Simon, after Mary Oliver

The abstract painting that led to my poem.

Follow the Progressive Poem to Today’s Little Ditty

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DigiLit Sunday: Line Breaks

Posted in Digital Learning, Poetry, Writing, tagged digital literacy, Don't Feed the Boy, line breaks in poetry on April 10, 2016| 6 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

For National Poetry Month, I am not only writing a poem a day myself, but I am also asking my students to do the same. Something I have noticed this week as they go from the written form to the typed form, my students are thinking about line breaks. They are making their poems look like poems on the page.

Attention to form is made easier by digital media. When they type into a blog post, they can press shift enter to make the lines fall directly below each other. To create stanzas, they simply press enter.

They haven’t all caught on to this easy solution. Kielan made a note in her post “Every stanza ends when the text color changes.”

We haven’t had explicit conversations about line breaks. I talked with Erin about her poetry style. She tells me she is using a list poem style. “Today I am going to stick with my list poem style. I like the way it looks on the page.”

Kaiden said he didn’t think his poem was a poem. “It’s more like a story.”

I said, “That’s OK. When you type it, think about line breaks.” His line breaks made the difference. He was proud of the result.

Every day I am providing some sort of prompt, but I am allowing freedom of form. I think, for now, that is working well. I like to see my students experimenting with form and sounds and styles in poetry. Poetry is like that. Freeing and fun!

Madison’s poem response to Don’t Feed the Boy by Irene Latham.

Do not feed
me. I’m like
a zoo animal.

Yes. That is true.
And I moo at you
like a cow.

And snap at
you like a
snake.

I care
like a
cat.

I’m fat
like a
pig.

I cluck
like a
chicken.

I spread
my tail feathers
like a peacock.

I stick to
things like a
snail.

I am
strong like
an elephant.

Madison, 2nd grade

Enter your link below:

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NPM16 #9 Celebrating Collaborative Progressive Poetry

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Poetry, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, Kevin Hodgson, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Poem a Day, Progressive poem on April 9, 2016| 16 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

It’s my turn!

Today is Saturday, time to celebrate with Ruth Ayres and my fellow bloggers, but first I must stop and post a line to the Progressive Poem, the brainchild of author Irene Latham. This year’s poem has taken on a pattern. It rhymes, too, but I am grateful I don’t have to complete a rhyming line. All I have to do is set up the next stanza. The pattern of first lines began with Laura’s “A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky.” Then Penny made the decision to repeat this pattern in “A cast of crabs engraves the sand.” So all I have to do is fill in the blanks “A __da__ of __de___ __da-da____ ___di___ __doe___.” Where do we want to go next? From observing the sky to the ocean we have watched hawks and hummingbirds and crabs.

I have been working with images for my poem a day project. My friend, Kimberley, in Maine sent me this picture of purple crocuses in her yard wilting in the recent cold snap. I decided to keep us in the natural world but move into the plant world.

photo by Kimberley Moran

A squall of hawk wings stirs the sky
A hummingbird holds and then hies
If I could fly, I’d choose to be
Sailing through a forest of poet-trees

A cast of crabs engraves the sand
Delighting a child’s outstretched hand
If I could breathe under the sea

I’d dive, I’d dip, I’d dance with glee

A clump of crocuses crave the sun.

In the spirit of poetry and connecting through blogging, Kevin Hodgson left a comment on my abecedarian post yesterday that honored me as a writer, but also honored the entire blogging community. Thanks, Kevin!

A
Blog has
Character beyond
Description:
Everywhere you write,
For yourself and readers,
Good words chewed like fine food, nourishing
Health and happiness and creative
Inspiration.
Just listen to the music of the dance,
Knowing you are invited to
Learn about the world through
Many voices, many stories, many
New ways of seeing the world, always
Open to
Possibilities.
Quell your qualms, for writing has
Real value beyond the shape and texture, and
Somewhere, someone will read your words
Though it might seem terribly silent at times,
Until that moment when they write a note that lets you know with
Veracity that your Truth resonates
With their Truth,
eXceeding the notion of one writer/one story;
You are writing the World together, dancing the
Zydeco Write!Kevin
— Cheated at X.
:0

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NPM16 #7 Merciful

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged cinquain, Liz Steinglass, mercy, Spiritual poetry on April 7, 2016| 5 Comments »

Day 5 is with Liz today. Click here.

Join the Spiritual Thursday round up at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

For Spiritual Thursday, we are reflecting on the word “Merciful” today, Bobbie Ann Taylor’s One Little Word.

A Merciful Cinquain

Failure
clouds my vision
like fog in the morning
drapes the coming sunshine in
mercy

Every morning I drive to my school in the country while the sun rises. I am often in awe of the way the light plays in the sky. This image of fog covering the sun made me think about my feelings of failure. These are natural, I suppose, as a teacher who cares deeply for her work with children and as a writer putting her words out to the world every day.

Liz Steinglass inspired me to use a cinquain form (2, 4, 6, 8, then 2 syllable lines.)

One tenet of faith that I have trouble grasping is mercy. We are already forgiven even before we ask it. When I fail, I tend to wallow in self-doubt. I need to repeat the mantra I am worthy until I believe it.

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow all of my days. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23

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DigiLit Sunday: TheEdCollabGathering & Poem #3

Posted in Digital Learning, Poetry, Teaching, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, #TheEdCollabGathering, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Kate Roberts, Linda Hoyt, Maggie B Roberts, Mary Howard, Wonderopolis on April 3, 2016| 11 Comments »

Poem-a-day #3, lune by Margaret Simon, image poems

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Yesterday was a glorious day to spend outside. But inside there was a valuable video conference, free PD in PJs at The Educator Collaborative. So many rock stars in the education field all in one place. I couldn’t pass it up, so after a walk with my dog, I came inside to watch and learn.

Some of my online friends were there, too. I saw their Tweets. I’ve invited them to reflect on this conference as well, so I am hoping we will have other DigiLit link-ups today.

The first hang-out presentation that I watched was #PoetryLove with JoEllen McCarthy, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Janet Wong, Alan Katz, Kim Doele & Members of the Poetry Club. I enjoyed hearing some poems read aloud and the talk around how poetry has a place in the curriculum all year long. Amy is writing a poem a day to Wonders from Wonderopolis. My students love Wonderopolis, and I will show them Amy’s work this week as we begin our own poem a day writing projects.

Kim Doele shared how she leads a Poetry Club at her school and writes grants to get visiting poets to her school. Here is her post on hosting a poet at your school.

Catherine Flynn captured Mary Howard’s three power conditions that lead to deep reading.

Mary Howard repeated often that passion is important to reading. If we don’t have a passion for what we are reading, we will not be able to do deep thinking.

“Passion drives the deep thinking bus.” –Dr. Mary Howard

Joining Dr. Mary Howard was Linda Hoyt who discussed the importance of read aloud in every grade level. I loved how some Tweeters were capturing quotes in fancy backgrounds. The above Tweet was created by Leah O’Donnell.

Leah also captured her reflection about Kate Roberts and Maggie B Roberts’ closing session.

Notes from Leah O’Donnell

I used the notepad on my computer to capture thoughts.

After the closing session, I went to Walmart to buy a sketchbook to make a demonstration notebook. What a practical idea! Kate and Maggie have a video about this teaching tool on their website here.

This rich conference went on in my kitchen, my living room, and in my bedroom. It went wherever my laptop would go. I ate lunch, folded clothes, and took notes and notes. I will go back to the archived sessions that I didn’t see. Thanks to Chris Lehman and his fabulous team for this free and amazing video series.

If you have written a post reflecting on the Ed Collaborative Gathering or on any aspect of digital literacy, link up below. Please read and comment on other posts.

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NPM16: #2 Celebrate Poetry

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Poetry, Writing, tagged columbarium, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Spanish moss, spiritual journey on April 2, 2016| 12 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

In the month of April, the whole Kidlitosphere lights up for National Poetry Month. There are so many exciting projects going on.

The gatherer of all Kidlit poetry postings is Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.

Today the Progressive poem is here with Joy.

Click the NaPoWriMo button for more about daily writing prompts and poem sharing.

I am writing a poem-a-day to images. You can join me by leaving a poem in the comments or a link to your blog. Use #imagepoems on Twitter. Today’s image is Spanish moss. It hangs all over the trees in my neighborhood.

Spanish Moss

Columbarium

Moss crawls like skeletons in the trees,
a lacy tent for playful squirrels.
Even my cat, usually lolling and lazy,
joins in the chase, paws at the waving ghosts.

The moss speaks to the heavens,
the heavens that opened up with wind
and a storm yesterday when we placed
your ashes in the dovecote

outside the church
where you can live forever
in the eyes of God, or, at least, I’ll
say hello when I pass by on Sunday.

We do not know what time
has prepared for us
to walk in or to walk out
with ashes on our foreheads,
and now you are ashes in the tomb.

What does this say about the squirrels?
Do they know something?
Who are they chasing?

–Margaret Simon

Process: When I wrote the poem to this image of moss, I had returned from a funeral for a church member. I did not know him well, but every funeral is a deeply spiritual experience. And I was moved by the sudden wind and heavy rain that fell immediately following the placement of his urn into the columbarium. I looked up columbarium on Wikipedia and found the word origin of “columba” refers to the compartments used for doves, dovecote. I somehow think Charles will like playing in the trees with cats and squirrels. And now that I have written it, I will say hello to him when I pass each Sunday.

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National Poetry Month Day 1

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, Poem a Day on April 1, 2016| 17 Comments »

#imagepoems Day 1 image

Today is April 1st and April Fool’s Day. I have fooled myself into thinking I can write a poem every day in April to an image. This first image was a joke played on me when I entered the bathroom at Ann Taylor Loft. “Watch out for the mannequins.” I was warned. I imagined they had wisdom to share. I also tried to play with the “in” sound. (Note: If you are playing along with me, put your poem or a link to it in the comments.)

Wisdom of the Mannequins

Appreciate the bare skin of things.

Sometimes it pays to be a skinflint.

Stand up straight and let your hips glide.

Don’t underestimate the power of a soft brush of blush.

Listen with a tinted ear.

You want to fit in the skin you’re in.

Bend, blend, and be happy.

–Margaret Simon

Poetry Friday round-up with Amy at The Poem Farm.

The Progressive poem begins at Laura’s site: Writing the World for Kids.

Jessica Bigi is joining in the poem-a-day image poems with this taste of spring today:

Moonbeam crowns
Embroidered bumblebee gowns
Brassy trumpet jazz
Teacup gardens steeping
Sweet is spring’s song
Spades Queens Kings

–Jessica Bigi

Art by Jessica Bigi

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SOL16: #31 Bold

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged April, image poems, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month on March 31, 2016| 14 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Join the Spiritual Thursday round up at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

Today is the last day of March. I find it hard to believe that I have actually written a blog post every day in March. The Slice of Life Challenge is just that, a challenge. Thank you for reading and responding.

Appropriately for this day, Spiritual Thursday’s one little word is Donna Smith’s word BOLD. Being bold is what it takes to put yourself and your life out there for the world to see.

So here I am thinking about continuing a bold move toward the month of April. April is National Poetry Month. What should I do but write a poem a day? I’ve posted my blog here at NaPoWriMo and committed to the challenge. I will be writing poems to images. #imagepoems

Would you consider joining me? No pressure. No rules. Just drafting and playing with words inspired by images. You can use your own images or write about mine. If I get my act together, I may post the next day’s image in the post.

I draw inspiration from other brave writers like Elisabeth Ellington. She wrote a two word poem about her son yesterday. Read the post here.

This is my bold statement about the Slice of Life Challenge in a two word list poem.

I’m here
this page
torn out
left open
for you
a slice
of life
nothing special
ordinary days
my story
your story
we connect
ideas flow
ideas stop
one moment
in time
leads to
friends talking
laughing with
crying with
loving with
each other
Slices done
bold words
left here
for you
and me.

Image for April Fool’s Day:

I was shopping in Ann Taylor Loft. This is what I found in the bathroom.

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SOL16: #30 My Father’s Studio

Posted in Gratitude, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged art, John Gibson, pointillism on March 30, 2016| 14 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

For Easter weekend I visited my parents in Mississippi. I am so grateful that they are doing so well. My father still draws upstairs in his studio every day. My father’s art is pointillism. The images are created by dots on the page. Last year he was on a medication that kept him from being able to hold his pen steady. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to draw again.

Now he is preparing a set of drawings for a gallery show in May. Each one takes at least a month to complete. I admire his perseverance and his talent.

Focus, patience, and a steady hand are necessary for this style of drawing.

In 2013 in honor of my father’s 80th birthday, I published a book of his Christmas card drawings alongside my original poems. The book is Illuminate and is still available on Amazon.

My father’s studio looks out at this view of the lake. He is currently drawing the tree that hovers near this window. Trees are his favorite subject. “Beautiful and complicated and challenging.”

This drawing hangs in the hallway near the studio. The chiaroscuro (play of dark and light) is prevalent in this drawing.

My father is not a famous artist. He doesn’t sell many of his drawings and when he does, they are modestly priced. That is not why he draws. His art is as necessary to him as air, an intimate part of his being in this world. Drawing dots is his meditation and his communication. I am blessed to be a witness to its beauty.

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