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

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!

• Wheel of Affection
• Fingerprint Cards
• Craft Stick Photo Frame
• Hot Chocolate in a Jar
• Easy Handprint Coaster

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?

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?

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.

POETRY 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:

• Add a poetry book to our read-aloud pile and just read 1 or 2 pages. Some of our favorites are Tasha Tudor’s illustrated version of Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses, A Child’s Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa and T.S. Elliot’s Book of Practical Cats.
• Find picture books that illustrate one narrative poem as a stand-alone story. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Casey at the Bat, and Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening are some that we have enjoyed.
• Add a poem to our memory work binder. Poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses are a great place to start with young children.
• Listen to poetry in the car using A Child’s Introduction to Poetry.
• Sing. We often forget that most hymns and folk songs and other good songs are poetry set to music. In ancient times poetry was almost always recited with musical accompaniment. Don’t discount singing together as a family.

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 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:

• First Words Magnetic Poetry Kit – grades K-2
• Magnetic Poetry Kid’s Kit - grades 2-6
• Kids’ Magnetic Rhyme Maker Kit - grades 2-6
• Genius Magnetic Poetry Kit - teens and adults

2. Enter a Poetry Contest

Encourage your budding poets to enter a contest. Here are several to consider:

• Poetic Power – spring deadline is April 29, 2012
• America Library of Poetry contest – deadline April 30 each year
• Kids’ Hummingbird Poetry Contest – deadline September 30, 2012

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 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.

1. Something you would never eat.
2. Something you would never wear.
3. Something you would never buy.
4. Something you would never do.
5. Someplace you would never go.
6. Something you would always like to think about.
7. “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.

. . . . .

The 2012 National Poetry Month poster is available as a free download.
Photo of blue ball © Sharyn Morrow. Used by permission.

Writing activity centers are a great way to reinforce the formal composition skills you’re teaching in your curriculum. They’ll give your kids more practice writing in a fun, relaxed setting. Here’s the second post in our four-part series.

Clay Creatures

Mold and sculpt figurines from modeling clay or dough. When they’re finished, write five words or phrases describing the figures.

Family Poetry Jam

Place books of poetry in a basket for examples and inspiration. Supply paper, pencils, and colored markers for your children to write poems about family members, topics of study, or any subject they wish. Use other poems as a guide or invent new formats. When finished, dim the lights, spread out comfortable pillows on the floor, and host a poetry reading. Serve milk and cookies!

[Kim says: Looking for a great poetry resource? The Random House Book of Poetry for Children has been our family's favorite. Compiled by Jack Prelutsky, this anthology is a delightful collection of both classic and contemporary poems children love. My own well loved copy has literally fallen apart!]

The Further Adventures of…

Collect a set of picture books with interesting, appealing characters. Read a book aloud, and then continue the story on paper, with additional adventures of a favorite character. Create imaginary illustrations and colorful covers for these new tales.

Order, Order, Please!

Provide envelopes of pre-written sentence strips, each envelope containing the lines of a familiar poem. Have the kids work together to read the sentences and figure out the correct sequence of each poem. Provide copies of the poems for the kids to check their efforts.

Pasta Punctuation

Each child writes sentences on construction paper. Using a variety of pasta shapes such as elbow macaroni, orzo, and linguini, have the kids glue on the “punctuation” where necessary. The children should incorporate all the punctuation marks they’ve been taught to this point: periods, question marks, commas, quotation marks, exclamation marks, and/or apostrophes.

How Do You Do It?

Ask your children to think of experiences they’ve had in which they’ve learned to do something all by themselves. Perhaps it was the first time they rode a bike without training wheels, learned to tie their shoes, or did the laundry on their own. Ask them to write a set of directions teaching someone else how to do this specific action. Illustrate the directions to provide more details. Then, have each child “teach” another child using his or her instructional page.

“I’m Thinking of…”

Each child writes a very specific description of an object nearby, whether in the living room, kitchen, etc., without actually naming the object itself. When finished, read the descriptions aloud and see who can identify the items described.

Related Post: Writing Activity Centers: Part 1, Writing Activity Centers: Part 3

. . . . .

Janet Wagner is a regular 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.

Spring is in the air—and it’s a great time to look for some fresh writing opportunities for your children. Considering my wacky schedule this week, I thought I’d visit the archives and find some creative writing ideas that will help you dispel spring fever. Give them a try!

Poetry

New birth, fresh growth: springtime fairly explodes with life! Poetry is a perfect way to capture the fragrance, blossoms, showers, sunshine, and birdsong of the season. Visit these mini poetry lessons for some inspiration.

• Writing a cinquain - A simple five-line descriptive poem
• Writing a diamante - A seven-line poem of opposites
• Writing a haiku poem - Imagery-packed poem in seventeen little syllables

Creative Writing

• Spring into writing, part 1 - Journaling prompts and descriptive writing ideas
• Spring into writing, part 2 - More poetry for spring: acrostics and color poems

Brighten up your schooling: let your children dabble in these simple, creative, colorful writing exercises. You’ll love the results!

First Place

We have our winners in last week’s haiku contest! I used random.org to select the first place winner, Cullen. Here’s his haiku poem:

The grasses are green
dew is sparkling here and there
earth’s morning beauties. 

Second Place

Second place goes to Andrew K., age 9, who wrote my personal favorite and won a World of Animals StoryBuilders card deck. Here’s his haiku about a yellow jacket:

buzz-black, yellow bug
in garden flying, eating
stinging all the worms

It was a tough choice because there were some very clever and well-written entries. But in the end, Andrew’s won out because he:

1. Followed the format.
2. Avoided “to be” words.
3. Made every word count.
4. Picked a nature theme.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Keep up with your haiku!

Words Matter Week: Day 1

Every single day, almost without fail, the poetry lessons draw more folks to this blog than any other article (with the two most frequently accessed posts being Writing a Diamante Poem and Cinquain Poetry). 

This inspired me to launch right into Words Matter Week by introducing a brand-new lesson: how to write haiku (and offer a fun contest too)!

What Is Haiku?

Japanese in origin, haiku is not based on rhyme, but on a pattern of syllables. At three lines long, haiku is a poem of economy. Traditionally, only 17 syllables are allowed, so a finished haiku may end up being just 12 or 13 words long.

By its nature, haiku is concrete and concise, capturing a single moment in a mere handful of words. It’s a tall order to write a poem full of rich imagery, paint a picture in the reader’s mind, and leave an impression on a heart or soul—and do so with so few words.

Every word counts, and that’s why—perhaps more than any other poetry genre—haiku is especially fitting for Words Matter Week.

Writing Haiku: An Experience with Nature

Choosing a Subject for Your Poem

Haiku poems celebrate appreciation for beauty and nature. Plants, animals, water, weather, and seasons are often subjects of haiku. Powerful yet sensitive, these poems communicate a mood or tone without actually using words to describe feelings. 

Red and gold poppies
explode with fresh spring colors,
invading my yard.

Notice how this haiku expresses a crisp, springy, bright feeling. You can picture a tired winter garden coming to life. The words never actually say, “After a cold, colorless winter, I am so happy and cheered to see flowers again!” Yet this is the message the poem brings. 

In the darkest wood
with heads hanging mournfully,
weeping willows cry.

This poem gives a feeling of sadness, even though the words don’t tell you how the poet feels, or how you should feel. Notice how personification helps to communicate this tone. When writing your haiku, think about the emotions you want your reader to experience. Paint a picture with your words to express a mood.

Formatting Your Haiku Poem

Some poetry forms require the writer to follow a certain format, or structure. You may remember that cinquains and diamantes, for example, call for you to use an exact number of words within an exact number of lines. Haiku, on the other hand, requires you to carefully count syllables instead of words. This form of poetry always uses 3 lines and 17 syllables.

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

When counting out syllables, listen to the beat within a word, silently tapping it out on the table. Usually, a syllable is marked by a vowel sound. “Butterfly” has three syllables (but/ter/fly). The word “cocoon” contains two syllables (co/coon). The word “exuberantly” has five (ex/u/ber/ant/ly). “Flight” has only one (flight).

Because your entire poem is only 17 syllables, every single word must be carefully chosen to say exactly what you want to communicate. Rely heavily on a good thesaurus for terrific, specific words! Your thesaurus will also be useful when you need to find a synonym of more or fewer syllables that will fit better on a line of your poem.

What to Do if a Line Contains Too Few or Too Many Syllables

> Either leave out or add articles (a, an, the) to shorten or lengthen the number of syllables. Example: a six-syllable line must be shortened to five syllables.

A/ small/ frog/ trills/ loudly = 6 syllables
Small/ frog/ trills/ loud/ly = 5 syllables (drop the “a”)

> Use your thesaurus to find a similar word that will fit.

Suppose your haiku looks like this:

Thunder clouds follow me (6)
booming from behind (5)
the sky is so mad. (5)

Do you see how each line has too many or too few syllables? Let’s look at them one at a time.

Example: the first line of a haiku poem must be 5 syllables long.

Thun/der/ clouds/ fol/low/ me = 6 syllables (it’s too long – you need 5 syllables)

Now, look up follow in the thesaurus. Can you find a one-syllable word that will fit? (chase)

Thun/der/ clouds/ chase/ me = 5 syllables (this will work)

> Look for a word to drop.

Thun/der/ clouds/ fol/low = 5 syllables (just drop the “me”)

> Find a different way to say a similar thing. Often your thesaurus will help, but sometimes you just need to think! How can you express the same message while adjusting the number of syllables?

Example 1: The second line must be 7 syllables.

boom/ing/ from/ be/hind = 5 syllables (it’s too short – need 7 syllables)
bel/low/ing/ from/ a/ dis/tance = 7 syllables (use longer words)

Example 2: The third line must be 5 syllables.

the/ sky/ is/ so/ mad = 5 syllables

The number of syllables is correct—so what’s wrong with this line? Remember that you want to avoid “to be” words such as is, and empty words such as so:

the/ an/gry/ sky/ shouts = 5 syllables, OR
the/ black/ sky/ threat/ens = 5 syllables

While still expressing a “mad” feeling, these lines use more specific words that paint a fuller picture.

OK, here’s the finished haiku poem:

Thunder clouds chase me (5)
bellowing from a distance (7)
the angry sky shouts. (5)

Should haiku have a title? Typically not. If you think it needs a title to better explain the poem, do your best to work the title into the poem by removing and replacing words. Use your new syllable skills to help!

Copyright © 2010 Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

A Haiku Contest for Words Matter Week!

Now it’s time for you and your children to write some haiku! Everyone who posts a haiku poem in the comments section between now and March 7 will be entered in a contest.

• First Place: One winner will be chosen randomly to win your choice of a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card or a $20 WriteShop gift certificate.
• Second Place: I know it will be hard to decide on a winner, but I’m going to give second place to my favorite haiku poem. If there are too many “favorites,” I’ll draw from among them.

The Rules

1. Only one entry per person is allowed, so pick your best poem.
2. More than one family member may enter as long as each entry is separate and email addresses are different.
3. Your haiku must be formatted properly in order to qualify for a prize.
4. To win a physical gift, winner must have a U.S. mailing address.
5. I will notify winners on March 8. As soon as they’re confirmed, I’ll announce the winners on the blog.

Happy Words Matter Week . . . and happy writing!

~Kim

Math poetry—who would have thought?

I’ve always been a big fan of writing across the curriculum. After all, it just makes sense to tie writing into as many subjects as possible. Why separate the two when they’re so much happier married?

It was’t hard to assign related writing when studying history, art, geography, Bible, or literature, though I must confess that dovetailing math and writing was a stretch for us. (I did sometimes have the kids write their own word problems. That counts, right?)

My new friend Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage took up Math Mama’s challenge to write a poem that puts a positive spin on math. I think it’s a brilliant idea, and both she and her daughter Sprite wrote some very creative math poems. Here’s one by Sprite. Isn’t it clever?

Untitled, by Sprite
Dividing is divine,
And four plus five is nine.
Adding is just fine,
Four plus five is nine.
Negative and positive are always great.
But four plus six is is not eight.

There are no prizes involved, and no deadline, so why not plan a time to squeeze this activity into your homeschooling—and join Math Mama’s challenge. And if you’d like to share your poems here as well, you know I’d just love to see ‘em!

Meanwhile, you can visit a page filled with fun number poems you’re sure to enjoy. Here’s the first one to whet your appetite!

Money Poem
Penny, penny, easy spent,
Copper brown and worth one cent.
Nickel, nickel, thick and fat,
You’re worth 5. I know that.
Dime, dime, little and thin,
I remember—you’re worth 10.
Quarter, quarter, big and bold,
You’re worth 25, I am told.
Half a dollar, half a dollar, giant size.
50 cents to buy some fries.
Dollar, dollar, green and long,
With 100 cents you can’t go wrong.

Edit: Jimmie duly chastized me, wondering where MY poem is. So I too am rising to the challenge! Here’s my humble offering.

Of Sides and Angles
Geometry, ordered and tidy,
Pyramid, circle, and locus;
Precision of sides and of angles,
A midpoint that keeps me in focus.

Symmetry, area, compass,
Diameter bisects a chord;
Distance, dimension, and drawing,
You see why I never get bored.

Parallel planes and perspective,
The measure and tilt of a line;
Volume and ratio and surface,
Geometry suits me just fine.

~Kim