May 9th, 2012 — Holiday & Seasonal Ideas, Poetry
MOTHER’S DAY is right around the corner. Time for breakfast in bed, roses, homemade cards, and extra snuggles!
There’s just one teeny-weeny problem: unless your children are self-motivated (or Dad’s on the ball), you may find yourself pouring your own orange juice, quietly weeping into the pancake batter, and emailing yourself a sappy e-card to mark the occasion!
Instead, be proactive and ask your children to write or create something special for you for Mother’s Day. Whether it’s a letter, essay, card, poem, or simple crafty gift, it will bring you joy to bask in your children’s sentiments on your special day!
Mother’s Day Writing Prompts
Journaling about Mother’s Day can help your kids focus on the important role of motherhood. Whether they write about special times you’ve shared together or ways you show love to your family, your kids may gain a better appreciation of what it means to be a mom.
Type up, print, and cut out the following prompts. Tell your children how much you love getting special notes and letters from them, and invite them to choose the prompt(s) they want to write about. Make craft supplies and fancy paper available in case they also want to create a card.
Prompt Ideas
- Tell why you love your mom.
- Explain how you know your mom loves you.
- Tell how you know your mother loves being a mom.
- Write about some important things you have learned from your mom.
- What are some things you can do to make your mom’s life easier?
- What do you think is the hardest part about being a mom?
- If you could give your mom anything in the world for Mother’s Day, what would it be?
- Describe something that made your mom really happy.
- Write about five things a good mom must do.
- How can you tell when your mom is proud of you?
- Write a list of 10 things you appreciate about your mom.
- What are three of your favorite things about your mom? Write about them.
- Why is it important to celebrate your mom with her own special day?
- Write a prayer thanking God for the things that make your mother special.
Mother’s Day Poems
- Write a cinquain or haiku poem about mothers (or about your mom).
- Write an acrostic poem about your mom using the letters in the word “MOTHER.” Older kids might enjoy the challenge of using all the letters in “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY,” while younger ones can write a simpler acrostic using “MOM” or “LOVE.”
- Ask a young child to think of words that describe you (soft, huggable, kind, loving, beautiful, warm, friendly). Then have her compare some of those traits to familiar things. For example, she might say, “Mommy is as soft as a marshmallow.” Help her create a simile poem like this one:
Mommy is as sweet as _______.
Mommy is as gentle as _______.
Mommy is as huggable as _______.
My mommy is ________.
Mother’s Day Cards and Crafts
![Mother's Day Card [front]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3347/3611587556_24f5df3632_m.jpg)
I realize it may be hard to actually ask your kids to make you a Mother’s Day card or gift, but maybe you can hint to your husband or teen to organize younger children to make one of these fun crafts!
No matter how your family celebrates you, I pray each of my mom friends enjoys a special Mother’s Day surrounded by those you love the most.
. . . . .
Your Turn
What was your most memorable Mother’s Day? OR, what is the most special Mother’s Day gift you’ve received?
April 25th, 2012 — Poetry
TOMORROW IS April 26, and that means it’s the fabulous Poem in Your Pocket Day!
The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends on April 26. “Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores. ~Poet.org
Ideas to Try
I love these little-known but oh-so-celebratory holidays, and there are many clever ways to embrace Poem in Your Pocket Day! With a little bit of simple preparation today, you’ll be all set to celebrate tomorrow.
- Keep a short poem in your pocket. Look at it often and memorize it.
- Type up and print some favorite poems and pass them out in your community.
- Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines.
- Post a poem on your blog or social networking page.
- Add a poem to your email footer.
- Text a poem to friends.
- Tweet a poem using the hashtag #pocketpoem.
SHARE! What poem will you keep in your pocket on April 26?
April 24th, 2012 — All ages, Poetry
AS WE continue celebrating National Poetry Month, I’d like to share a few more great (and free) online resources with you.
Poetry Links
Poetry-Writing Workshop with Karla Kuskin – Children’s poet Karla Kuskin helps children turn their words and ideas into descriptive and powerful poems.
Ms. Kuskin includes writing tips that she uses when she writes her own poems, as well as ideas children can use to revise their work.
10 Compelling Reasons to Memorize Poetry – Memorizing a poem can be one of the most fulfilling and fun ways to explore poetry.
10 Classic Poems - Some of the world’s most popular classic poems
Poetry Foundation – Browse for poems by title, poet, or subject matter such as ”Animals” or “Stars, Planets, Heavens” (both found in the Nature category).
Poetry in Homeschool - Need help incorporating poetry into your homeschooling? Jimmie of Jimmie’s Collage shares ideas, resources, and links.
Poetry-writing Tips for Children (or anyone!) – Plus a bonus list of 20 poetry anthologies to browse
Interactive Word Mover - Using this online too that’s similar to magnetic words, children can move individual words around to create original poems.
Poetry + Letter Writing = Fun
Not only is April National Poetry Month, it’s aslo National Card and Letter-Writing Month! Here are two ideas for incorporating poetry and letter writing.
Write a Letter to a Poet - Let the poets who you are reading know that you appreciate their work by sending them a letter.
Put a Poem in a Letter – Next time you send a letter or holiday hello, treat the addressee to a poem as well. You can put a poem directly into the text of your letter or include a typed or handwritten copy in the envelope.
Your Turn
Have you ever memorized a poem? What is one of your favorites?
April 16th, 2012 — Poetry
I’m excited to welcome Mystie Winckler as a guest blogger today as we continue celebrating National Poetry Month. You can follow Mystie’s musings at her own blog, Simply Convivial.
POETR
Y IS a wonderful component to add to our homeschools. It develops language patterns, listening skills, and complex thinking ability. Andrew Pudewa writes:
There is perhaps no greater tool than memorization to seal language patterns into a human brain, and there is perhaps nothing more effective than poetry to provide exactly what we want: reliably correct and sophisticated language patterns.
But poetry can also be intimidating.
Here are some simple steps that my family has taken to incorporate poetry:
Particularly when the children are elementary and younger, focus on introducing and enjoying poems together. Don’t worry about analysis or interpretation or even comprehension. Just let them experience and enjoy poetry at their own level.
Allow the time and space for love and taste to develop before teaching content and analysis. Then the analysis in later years will be more like sharing thoughts about common friends and less like dissecting a dead frog.
Mystie Winckler is a wife, mother, homemaker, and home-educator. Mystie has been married for ten years to her only sweetheart, Matt, a software programmer and web developer; both Matt & Mystie were homeschool graduates themselves. Now they raise & educate their four-going-on-five children. Mystie blogs at Simply Convivial on homemaking, home-educating, reading, and organizing.
April 9th, 2012 — Poetry
APRIL IS National Poetry Month. Here at In Our Write Minds, I’m posting a different poetry activity or tip list each week to help you incorporate more poetry into your homeschooling.
Pick one or two of these activities to do with your children to celebrate this special literary month. Together, discover the joy of poetry!
1. Write Magnetic Poems
Put up a magnet board (a cookie sheet works great) with magnetic words and encourage family members to create their own poems. Get them started by reading short poems together and posting some of them near the magnet board.
Check out these fun magnetic word kits:
2. Enter a Poetry Contest
Encourage your budding poets to enter a contest. Here are several to consider:
Warning: There are lots of poetry contests out there, but they’re not all worth entering. Steer clear of bad poetry contests!
3. Hit the Library
April 8-14, 2012 also happens to be National Library Week!
Check out several poetry anthologies from the library and keep them in a basket or on a shelf, along with pads of paper and pencils.
Encourage your children to read several poems each day, writing down the titles and authors of their favorites. When you return the anthologies, have each child check out a book of poems by just one author. For example, if your child wrote down a Shel Silverstein poem on her list, she may want to check out Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, or another book of poetry by Silverstein.
4. Host a Poetry Slam
A poetry slam is a competition where poets read or recite their original work. Host an open mic night or poetry slam where children are encouraged to share their own poems with family, friends, or your homeschool group. Enjoy homemade treats and present awards for “Most Original Poem,” “Best Use of Rhyme,” “Happiest Poem,” or “Best Alliteration.”
Give these a try! When you enjoy, share, and celebrate poetry, you begin building a lifelong appreciation for this well-loved genre.
Your Turn
Share one thing your family or classroom is doing to celebrate poetry this month.
April 2nd, 2012 — Poetry
APRIL IS National Poetry Month. In honor of the occasion, I thought it would be fun to introduce some new poetry activities!
Today, why not have your children write a “Never Poem”? With only a few simple rules to get them started, they should produce some gems in no time at all.
Alliteration
When your children write their poems, they will need to choose a consonant sound* to repeat using alliteration.
al·lit·er·a·tion is the repetition of an initial consonant sound.
Betty Botter bought some butter,
“But,” she said, “the butter’s bitter.”
Directions
To write your “Never Poem,” you will write one sentence for each of the following, repeating the ___* sound as frequently as possible.
- Something you would never eat.
- Something you would never wear.
- Something you would never buy.
- Something you would never do.
- Someplace you would never go.
- Something you would always like to think about.
- “And I promise you I will never …”
Once their poems are finished, invite them to choose some words from the poem and write a title.
Of Blue Biscuits and Bouncing Balls
I would never eat blue biscuits.
I would never wear a baggy beaded bonnet with brown buttons.
I would never buy a box of bumpy bowling balls.
I would never read a book about boat-building in Bulgaria.
I would never go to Brooklyn to get bologna.
I would always like to think about bouncing a rubber ball in the bathtub.
And I promise I will never let Bubba’s bunny eat barbecued beans for breakfast.
Your Turn
Poetry should be shared! I hope you’ll post your kids’ “Never Poems” in the comments.
. . . . .
April 11th, 2011 — Elementary, jr. high, Poetry, Writing Games & Activities
Sultry spring breezes drifted through the open windows, swaying the blinds, teasing our noses with the perfume of honeysuckle and wild roses. It was hard to maintain concentration on American constitutional history. Competing for attention, the open textbooks on our desks lost to the wide-open world outside.
“Hey, Mrs. Wagner! Can we go outdoors and play the “Looks Like” game?” one student pleaded. He was joined by a chorus of “Please?”
“Sounds good to me!” I don’t know of any human being immune to the southern springtime scent of honeysuckle and wild roses.
Playing the “Looks Like” Game
The “Looks Like” game was a favorite metaphor exercise. Kids played the game everywhere: on the bus, in the classroom, and always outdoors. A quick method of jumping into creative images, it freed imaginations even within my most self-proclaimed “unimaginative’ kids.
We grabbed notebooks and pens, scattering into small groups.
Clouds drifted, veiling the sun, then rolled on again. “The sun looks like a puppy wrestling with the laundry,” a child wrote.
Leaves rustled against an azure sky. Another student jotted, “The trees look like feather dusters, cleaning the clouds.”
Dogwood petals and honey locust blossoms scattered across the fields. “The blossoms look like sprinkled soap powder,” penned a young lady.
Back inside our classroom, the kids’ metaphors birthed the images of a new group poem:
Spring Cleaning
The sun hides in a basket of clouds,
a puppy playing in the laundry.
Trees dust the sky,
sprinkling soap powder blossoms
over the earth’s green carpet.
As the kids demonstrated that day, we naturally see things metaphorically. We constantly compare the way one thing looks to another. Comparison is custom-built into our language. Writing a poem can be as simple as bringing images together through metaphor and simile.
Today with your children, grab pen and paper and play the “Looks Like” game.
What do you see around you? Focus on details and write down:
- I see __________
- It looks like __________
- I see __________
- It looks like __________
Keep going!
What shared poem will you and your kids write together today to mark a wonderful day of living? Post your poems here in our comment section!
You might also enjoy:
. . . . .
Janet Wagner is a contributor to In Our Write Minds. For over two decades, Janet was an elementary and middle school teacher in two Christian academies, a public district school, and a public charter school. She also had the honor of helping to homeschool her two nieces. Janet and her husband Dean live on the family farm in the Piedmont region of north central North Carolina. Currently, she enjoys a flexible life of homemaking, volunteering, reading, writing, tutoring students and training dogs, and learning how to build websites. You can view her web work-in-progress at www.creative-writing-ideas-and-activities.com.
February 9th, 2011 — Contests & Giveaways, Elementary
My friend Maxine Randall of Speakable Gifts has announced a writing contest for children in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.
Children are asked to write a story based on the poem “Little Words of Kindness“ and submit their story for judging by March 31, 2011. You can find the contest rules and prizes here. WriteShop has donated one of the first-place prizes: a StoryBuilder of the winner’s choice!
November 30th, 2010 — Holiday & Seasonal Ideas, Poetry
Haiku poems may be short in length, but they’re long on vivid
description and imagery that make the most of every word.
Though there are variations, the typical haiku poem contains three lines with a specific syllabic pattern:
Line 1 = 5 syllables
Line 2 = 7 syllables
Line 3 = 5 syllables
For a special holiday twist on the traditional nature-themed haiku, invite your children to pattern a haiku poem after a Christmas carol. This can be challenging, making it a good activity for teens, but younger children might also enjoy giving it a try.
Since it’s rare for the lines of a carol to match the requirement of 5-7-5 syllables, they’ll need to do some creative rearranging of words and lines. Just make sure they stay true to the message of the original song.
Tips for Turning a Carol into a Haiku
Add or remove words to create an accurate syllable count.
O what Child is this (5)
On His mother’s lap, sleeping? (7)
He’s the King of Kings. (5)
Silent, holy night (5)
The virgin mother and Child (7)
Sleep in perfect peace. (5)
Hint: If the line has too many or too few syllables, find a synonym or replacement for one of the words. Sleep in heavenly peace contains 6 syllables, but by changing heavenly to perfect, the line now has 5 syllables. Sometimes a thesaurus will be useful in helping your child find an alternate word.
Swap the order of the lines.
Earth receives her King (5)
Ev’ry heart prepares Him room (7)
Joy to the world. Joy! (5)
Pick and choose lines from the carol.
Hark! The angels sing (5)
Glory to the newborn King (7)
Join in the triumph. (5)
Babe in a manger (5)
Jesus lay down His sweet head (7)
Asleep in the hay. (5)
Combine ideas from several lines of the carol.
Town of Bethlehem… (5)
Tonight, everlasting light (7)
Shines in your dark streets (5)
O red-nosed Rudolph (5)
It’s a foggy Christmas Eve (7)
Drive my sleigh tonight. (5)
Dashing through the snow (5)
In a one-horse open sleigh (7)
O’er the fields, laughing. (5)
Choose a lesser-known verse from the carol.
Come to Bethlehem (5)
Worship Christ on bended knee (7)
He whom angels laud. (5)
(based on “Angels We Have Heard on High”)
. . . . .
Need some ideas to get you started? Ambleside Online’s Holiday Carol Book and Caroling Corner list dozens of popular (as well as lesser-known) Christmas songs, along with lyrics, to inspire your young poets.
Copyright 2010 © Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.
July 19th, 2010 — Encouragement, Reluctant Writers
Ode to the Reluctant Writer
I can’t write today because I lost my pencil.
I can’t write today because I feel sick.
I can’t write today because my parakeet died.
I can’t write today because I wrote yesterday.
I can’t write today because my fingers are sore.
I can’t write today because my chair squeaks.
I can’t write today because I can’t think of anything to say.
I can’t write today because I don’t feel like it.
I can’t write today because it’s almost time for lunch.
I can’t write today because I’d rather draw.
I can’t write today because I didn’t have any breakfast.
I can’t write today because I ripped my paper.
I can’t write today because my hands are dirty.
I can’t write today because I can’t spell.
I can’t write today because I can’t see the board.
I can’t write today because it’s too noisy.
I can’t write today because I hate writing.
I can’t write today because somebody will copy me.
I can’t write today because I couldn’t get my locker open.
I can’t write today because I have to go the bathroom.
I can’t write today because the sun is in my eyes.
I can’t write today because there’s no more room on my paper.
—Robin Staudt
Do You Have a Reluctant Writer?
As you begin to think ahead toward the start of the new school year, why not take a few minutes to gather some encouragement and helpful tips so that you and your child can set out on a better foot come September. Try some of these articles for starters:
– grades K-2
- grades 2-6
- teens and adults
