This month I am playing with poetry with poet-teacher-blogger friends. Feel free to play along.
I am also playing alongside my students. We brought out the cookie sheets of magnetic poetry. I talked about two similar poem forms, the How to poem and the Things to do poem. You can read their poems here.
I also played with my Word Swag app in my phone to create a more beautiful and professional looking image.
Here’s another on the cookie sheet. I can’t remember who brilliantly suggested using cookie sheets for magnetic poetry, but it works great. For an itinerant teacher like me, it’s a convenient way to carry them. I also have some in a tin which works equally as well. The lid of the tin serves as a composition space.
I have a new student, Maddox, in 4th grade. Sometimes kids walk into my classroom already knowing how to be a poet. Here is Maddox’s first poem.
How to Be a Storm
rock the ships below
boom like a thundering drum
blast the air with a gale
use your wrath in a tempestuous storm
then let the sun shine again
There are a number of bloggers playing along. One of these is Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wandering.
Yesterday she posted a tanka she wrote using paint chips. Tanka is a form that uses a 5,7,5,7,7 syllable count. My students and I took out the paint chips, and I suggested they find three in the same color hue, so their poems would become about that color in some way. Then we tossed around the Haikubes. Karson said, “This is fun!” Music to my poet-teacher ears.
I pulled out three cards in the orange color range. The words were field of poppies, fresh-squeezed, and sun rays. I thought of pictures I had seen of California poppies. The haikubes mixed it up a bit to make for a compelling poppy tanka.
Field of poppies in
Southern California
fresh-squeezed dripping dots
Precious whispers glancing up.
Flying sun rays from the sky.
—Margaret Simon (draft) 2019
Kim Douillard is a photographer-teacher-blogger living in Southern California. She posted this image on Instagram of poppies near her school’s playground.
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Some of you have been following our wood duck house story. In late February, my husband built a wood duck house and set it up near the bayou. We put a Ring doorbell camera inside to capture the whole process. We were amazed when a hen came in the very next day. It took her a few weeks to lay the eggs and begin sitting on them. I wrote about it here and here.
The last time I was able to count the eggs, I had counted 13 eggs.
The problem with using a Ring camera is, with the constant motion of a hen sitting fairly consistently, the battery runs down. We changed it out once with no problem, but Saturday afternoon, it had totally died. Because we couldn’t look at the camera to see if the hen was in the house, my husband spooked her when he went to change the battery.
She came back for a brief minute then flew back out at around 7:30 PM. After that, nothing.
Did she abandon the nest altogether? Alerts to motion come onto my phone. I usually turn off notifications during the night but I didn’t Saturday. We waited for the buzz of the phone. Nothing.
Sunday morning I looked out the window, saying a few prayers that she would return. I saw the couple in the water. I practically begged at the window, “Please go back in. Please go back in.”
She flew up and around the house and landed back in the water.
I woke up my husband who admits he wasn’t really sleeping. I said, “There must be some kind of sound coming from the camera to scare her like that.”
He said, “To hell with broadcasting, we need to save these eggs.”
But taking the camera out didn’t prove necessary. I heard a buzz on my phone. She’s back! She was in the box, settling in, poking around, as if nothing had happened. Whew! Relief!
Relieved to get this phone alert.
Jeff watched one of the videos from the camera and noticed that there was a hen perched at the hole flying out while another hen was in the box sitting. Could they both be sitting? Are they sharing the nest?
While our hen was away, I was able to get a shot of the eggs. She hadn’t had time to cover them before she left. I counted 20 eggs! Twenty!
If my calculations are right, and the 12 hour hiatus doesn’t change the incubation time, the eggs are due to hatch on or around April 11th. You know I will be posting. You can follow on my Instagram or Facebook page.
Now for poetry. I am playing with some fun poetry games. My students are playing along and posting on our Kidblog site.
With Paint Chip Poetry, I pulled honey, quicksilver, and under the sea. The prompt was “We’re all in this together.”
We’re all wild honey under the sea free and quick like silver sparkles together making waves splashing sprays whale family.
My box of Paint Chip Poetry arrived just in time for this month’s poetry writing. I am playing with poetry. In Paint Chip Poetry, you select a prompt which is a phrase, along with some paint chips. The paint colors have names. I’m not sure if I’m playing right, but here is what I got.
A little revision:
Far, far away before the rain, a sunburst glows on scarecrow makes him believe in magic like gold at the end of the rainbow. –Margaret Simon, (draft) 2019
Matt Forrest Esenwine has the first line for the Progressive Poem. He is using found lines. The schedule is in the sidebar. National Poetry Month begins!
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I made it! And so did you. I’ve been joining the Slice of Life challenge for 8 years now and always breathe a sigh of relief on March 31st. Some years, and this one included, I will keep going through the month of April with daily poetry writing.
Some of my fellow slicers have written reflective posts about their learning. Terje has been writing for nine years, so she did nine things she learned. Elisabeth inspired Terje’s post with Four Things I’ve Learned in Four Years of Slicing. And Lisa, who I think started this whole idea, wrote Six Things I’ve Learned in Six Years of Slicing.
Here are my Eight Things I’ve Learned in Eight Years of Slicing:
I am not alone. Writing in a community of writers makes my work and my words worthwhile and valued while. at the same time, I feel a sense of obligation to be the best writer I can be. The feedback encourages and uplifts me. I also make friends along the way. People I may meet some day or not, but even so, we are friends.
Writing makes writing easier. Opening the blank page on my blog used to fill me with fear. I’ve learned that there is always a back button, a move to trashoption. The more I write, the more I find to write about. The world is my open for my noticing. There is big magic waiting to be written.
Readers appreciate honesty. Some of my most successful posts (if I take the time to look at the stats) are ones in which I put my heart on the page. There is camaraderie in sharing the vulnerable moments of your life. I’ve learned that readers want to connect in some way. The best way to connect to someone else is to be honest.
There is room for lots of voices. I don’t even know how many people are doing the SOLC this year, but I know it’s a lot. And there is no way I can read and comment on all the posts, but that’s OK. There is room enough for all of our voices.
My go-to writing is poetry, and I’m OK with that. I can always count on a poem coming to visit me, so I’ve stopped making excuses for it. I am a poet; There, I said it.
I have time to write. I stole this one from Elisabeth, but it rings true for me, too. People always ask me, “How do you find time to write?” I don’t stay up late. I do get up early, but most of the time, I carve out the time and it works. I am currently writing at Whole Foods outside in the breeze with a vanilla latte’. This makes me happy!
A teacher of writing must be a writer. I’ve heard this over and over. Now I live it. I am a better teacher because I do this every day. I know how it feels to be vulnerable with my writing. I know how good comments feel. I am a writer, and it makes a difference.
Slice of Life is not just for a month. The people I’ve met here become lifelong friends and even writing partners. If you sliced this year, don’t go away. Stay and write at least once a week on Tuesdays. You will be glad you did.
Thanks for reading my daily posts. And now…Playing with Poetry Time!
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The shoe showed up in the school parking lot sometime in September. Someone graciously placed it on the curb, like an offering. “Here I am. If I am yours, take me home.”
But no one claimed the shoe.
Every day I park in the same vicinity of the shoe. It became like a parking spot marker. “Oh, you. Back again. I’m still stepping in your path.”
Winter months came. Lots of rain. The shoe remained.
One day I asked the secretary when I stopped to sign the ledger, “Have you seen that shoe in the parking lot?”
“Huh?” She looked up from counting money. The secretary always seems to be counting money. “No, I don’t think so.”
I tried to ignore the shoe. Maybe I could pass in peace and not notice.
Well, the shoe heard me all right and decided to do something to show me. Here we are, almost to April with 7 weeks left of school, and that darned shoe stuck herself right in my path. I opened my car door about to step out and Yikes! There it was!
By this time, I felt the shoe was stalking me. I took no sympathy and kicked the thing underneath another car.
You didn’t think I was going to pick it up, did you? I didn’t see it today. Perhaps it’s gone to another parking lot. One can only wish.
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Poetry Friday round-up is with Carol at Carol’s Corner.
Spring is in full swing and weeds are choking the ground. When we discussed service projects we could do for this quarter, Landon brought up the garden. He is in the garden club, so he knows it needs some loving care.
I suggested Thursdays. 30 minutes. Keep it a secret.
When Thursday came, the sun was high in the sky with a slight breeze and the perfect temperature to be outside. The kids didn’t forget.
Landon showed us the stash of gloves and tools, and we went to work on a small patch of weeds.
I was surprised at how excited they were to get down and dirty. Kaia said, “I have a poem.” We had also talked about writing secret poems for poetry month and placing them in the garden.
We hadn’t brought our notebooks (note to self for next week), but I had my phone, so I opened Notes and captured her poem. Jayden laughed when she got the chance to star in our poem.
We are the secret gardeners.
We don’t make a sound.
We are digging weeds
Right out of the ground.
We are pulling and pulling.
Watch out for the bees.
What a charming day!
Jayden’s about to sneeze.
Aaaaah…..Choo!
by Kaia, 3rd grade
Bouquet of flowers from the garden.
Poetry Month is just around the corner. My NPM19 Poem A Day project is Playing With Poetry. I am joining Jone MacCulloch and Mary Lee Hahn. We will be playing with Haikubes, Magnetic Poetry, Metaphor Dice, and Paint Chip Poetry. Join in if you’d like! We can use the Twitter hashtag #playwithpoetryNPM to find and support each other.
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“You created a group of kids who advocate for themselves.” My supervisor called me on my way to school.
“I didn’t create them. They came to me like that. I just encouraged it.”
“Yes, but so often that spirit is crushed by teachers.”
B. called me to tell me good news. That’s the kind of supervisor she is. A group of gifted seventh graders had summoned her to come to answer questions they have about their next steps in math. It’s a pivotal decision that will put them on a certain math track.
These were my kids in 6th grade. One of them was in my class from 1st through 6th. They are my heart. I’ve come to understand how to best respond to these moments of affirmation. I just say, “Thanks.”
On deeper reflection, however, I think back to how these kids were with me during a vulnerable time. Their education involved very little choice. They often came to my class frustrated over one constraint or another. What I gave them in the safe space of our gifted classroom was freedom. They could be themselves. They had choice over what they read, what they wrote, and who they wanted to be. Acceptance and love permeated the room.
I miss these kids. They stretched me to be the best teacher I could be. They trusted me as I trusted them. They taught me to embrace them as unique individuals, to respect each one’s dignity and voice. They demanded it. We made a difference together. I’m happy to know their wings are soaring.
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I take inspiration wherever it comes from. My friend and I recently discussed the book Big Magic. He said, “It really works. I send the wish out into the universe and inspiration comes.”
Jennifer Laughran from Andrea Brown Literary Agency represents an impressive list of authors, ones I admire and follow like Kate Messner, Linda Urban, and Nancy Castaldo. Jenn is hilarious. Along with her humor, she presented ideas around creating your own brand. Ask yourself these questions:
What are the meaningful themes, subjects behind my writing and life?
Who is my audience?
What is my tone?
What is my Big Dream?
She reminded us to “Be a mensch!” Ok, new word. It means to be a good person.
Meet your book sellers.
Make friends with librarians.
Boost fellow authors.
We also heard from Grace Kendall, an editor with FSG Books for Young Readers/ Macmillan who reminded us of the 25+ questions to ask yourself about your manuscript. And from Laurent Linn, art director at Simon & Schuster who took us through the steps from concept to book cover.
I was in awe of these giants who were easily 10 or more years my junior. I am such a novice in this book making business, but they each made me feel like it was doable. If my goals are in the right place, and I have a heart for children, there is room in this kidlit world for me and others like me.
If you are writing for children and ever have a chance to attend a regional SCBWI conference, go. You will be glad you did.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She is a retired elementary gifted teacher who writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 