Silent Sunday: April 29, 2018
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Category Archives: clmooc
Finding Faces: Day 28
Some days I make games out of my photography. To avoid taking the same photos over and over again, I challenge myself to look for letters of the alphabet, a particular color or item…and faces. Today a face grabbed my attention…and got me thinking about today’s poem.
Finding Faces
Take a look around
and find
a smile
grinning up from a patch of grass
Look at the sliding door
and find a face staring back
The cliff suddenly comes to life
watching you walk along the shore
unblinking eyes
look over the pier, the surfers, the seagulls
They’re all around
reflecting our expressions
mirroring our emotions
evoking
surprise
disgust
elation
look closely
and
you’ll find
faces
Douillard 2018
Today’s student poem is by Siena…a poem of apology inspired by William Carlos Williams.
Runaway Dog
Dear Jake,
I’m sorry for leaving the gate open and letting you escape to our neighbor’s house
I was so excited to go
But l just got carried away
Forgive me, l thought l lost you
But then
We found you
By Siena
What kind of poem will you play around with today?
The Art of Learning: Day 27
Art is essential to learning. I like to integrate it into all we do in the classroom. Art takes many forms: writing (like the poetry we’ve been composing), music (singing and dancing), and of course, the visual arts including painting, drawing, photography…and today, clay. Art seems to release inhibitions and increase confidence when students have the space to fail…and to iterate.
We’re lucky at my school. We have access to clay, glazes, and a kiln to fire the products we make. But as the classroom teacher, I have to have enough confidence and knowledge to teach the skills and processes to my students. And I am no expert. I talked with the teacher at my site who is in charge of the clay materials and kiln about working with clay, the ideas I had in mind, and then used the internet to further explore possibilities.
Yesterday I showed my students my ideas for our clay project and a short video demonstrating the techniques they would use today. And today, I pulled out the clay and the creating began. Students created pinch pot ocean creatures. The room hummed with creativity and imagination. They supported each other, they accepted feedback, and they worked independently. They know that disaster might be around the corner as our creations hit the kiln…and they are hopeful. We’ll try a second iteration on Monday.
Clay
Earth offers
her treasures
damp soil
a malleable medium
shaping ideas
creativity
possibility
hands molding
smoothing, crafting
cool earth
warmed through manipulation
giving life
to expression
embodying imagination
forming tangible objects
as earth
becomes art
Douillard 2018
And a student poem about earth’s bounty:
The Artichoke
Dragon scales tough and sharp
An artichoke with leafy greens like dragon wings
Flapping high in the wind as it soars
To a new spot with its dragon-like head.
Kai
Art and earth…and of course, day 27 of poetry!
Time’s a Ticking: Day 26
On Poem in Your Pocket Day my students carried an original poem and a published poem they had studied in their pocket to share with friends and adults around school today. Although I have heard many of my students’ poems, I heard some I hadn’t yet heard as they shared theirs with me today. And as always, poems inspire poems…and Jameson’s clock poem inspired my writing today. Here’s his:
The Clock
Tick tocktick tock
moving every second,
every minute
and every hour.
Watching,
looking
tick tock
observing.
Looking at action,
moments
and memories.
Jameson
And my own:
Time
Time
ticks and tocks
a metronome
playing life’s rhythms
tapping the beat
insistent, urging
march, dance, move!
Time
stands still
frozen in terror
disbelief
or the monotony of boredom
clock hands
stubbornly standing in place
Time
races
evaporating like morning fog
gathering clouds of seconds
raining down
in the urgency of time lost
Time
hovers
nagging at the edges of consciousness
a stern taskmaster
demanding attention
Time
lingers
like sweet kisses
or the taste of chocolate
reminders of precious memories
Time
slips and slides
tomorrows become
yesterdays
creating a roadmap of the past
made up of everyday minutes
tick, tick, ticking
Time
Douillard 2018
We’re in the waning days of our 30-day challenge. What will inspire today’s poem?
Sunset Silhouettes: Day 25
The upside to a busy day that keeps me away from home much later than usual is that I was driving home as the sun set. I drove down along the coast, instead of the freeway, so it would be easy to find a place to park and head out with my camera as the sky pinked and the sun dipped lower and lower.
A volleyball game became a silhouette against the sky’s glow. I snapped, trying to catch the ball in flight.
Sunset Silhouettes
In the pinks and oranges
of sunset’s glow
the world appears in silhouette
sharp black outlines
against a cotton candy sky
painted clouds
shift and drift
a game of hide and seek
the sun hides
and then reappears
beside the lifeguard tower
under the volleyball net
glowing just beyond reach
I chase it through my lens
playing peek-a-boo
until it splashes into the sea
Douillard 2018
And a student poem:
Poetry is…
Poetry is always threading and weaving into your mind,
Poetry is when I hear the birdies sing to the tune of the wind,
Poetry is a river of words splashing and crashing with joy!
Poetry is whatever you adore coming in and flying by.
Alyson
Afternoon Walk: Day 24
I’m a pretty faithful beach walker, often logging miles several days a week out on the shore. Today, I decided to take an urban walk, exploring a path not far from home. The first half mile was a pretty steep climb–my device registered it as 19 floors! I crossed a bridge and headed off a dirt pathway were I had views of the city below.
On my return trip I got the downhill portion of the walk and felt my heart in my throat when I nearly stepped on a snake! But it did inspire today’s poem.
Skinny Snake
Late afternoon
as the sun heads west
is the perfect time
for a walk.
The birds chatted
conversing
with squirrels and lizards,
the whitewashed fence
a perfect porch.
Drought-stricken trees
strick a pose against
the baby blue April sky.
My feet carried me
across the miles
the dirt, the gravel, the leaves
back to the asphalt
where I crossed paths
with skinny snake,
also walking.
We froze
in our tracks
scared still
by the sight of the other
until the breeze whispered
and we parted ways.
Douillard 2018
And a few poems about poetry written by my students. It’s such fun to watch their poetry skills grow over the course of the month!
Poetry is Many Things
Poetry is a magical treasure of words
in many different forms
hidden away in a jungle
where the birds sing their songs of inspirationwarming the spark in you that makes
you look at the poems in the clear diamonds on leaves.
Bryce
I love when a line in a poem catches me by surprise…
Poetry Is
Poetry is ideas floating onto a blank piece of paper
and rivers of words rush onto a page.
Powerful words stick out
like a Ferris wheel at the crowded fair.
Onomatopoeia brings poems to life
and similes crash like waves in the ocean.
After all the commotion
a poem is born.
Koa
And when you can feel emotion…
Poetry Is
Poetry is like the last rays of sun on a sunset
it leaves with beauty and sadness at the same time
poetry is like a song that sings forever
and when you forget
it will always whisper back.
Avi
And one more…
Poetry is…
Poetry flows in my mind like the ocean
Softy and gentle like a breeze
Fragrant like a rose
paints a picture in my mind
When I hear poetry it sounds like nature
When I start a poem it tastes ripe and fresh
Poetry is a feeling in your heart
Cody
Enjoy your walk through some poetry today!
Poetry Is: Day 23
Mondays are odd for me…I barely have time with my students as they rush off to their “specials,” leaving me with some precious planning time but also feeling like I have to cram all that I want and need to do into the remaining and minuscule time segments.
Today I read my students Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer as a way to inspire their poetry as we approach our last 8 days of the 30 day challenge. In the book, Daniel asks all the animals in the park what poetry is…and they each share an idea which he then combines to create his own poem. This beautiful book is deceptively simple, yet the language is both approachable and inspiring. I’ve invited my students to create their own “poetry is” poems–reminding them to use the poetic techniques we brainstormed in class. Hopefully I’ll have a few to share with you later this week!
We also spent some time in the garden — looking for the letters of the alphabet to photograph. I randomly assigned each student a letter and then we headed off with our iPads to capture those letters in photos to create a “bank” of letters for some upcoming projects. My students didn’t disappoint. They not only found all 26 letters, they helped out when someone was having a hard time with their assigned letter. “S” was hard, “V” was easy. Now to figure out how to manipulate our letters digitally to spell some words and create some wordy images! (Any ideas are welcome here!)
My students also inspired my “Poetry Is” poem for today.
Poetry Is…
Children’s laughter
bubbling up
and popping in the sun-warmed garden air
Skies as blue
as a lizard’s back
as a jay’s feather
as the blueberries on my morning yogurt
a garden
tilled by the smallest hands
with the largest hearts
growing knowledge
and awareness of nature’s abundance
paying attention
and noticing
all the world has to offer
Douillard 2018
And a poem about a favorite topic in the classroom–especially for this student!
People Play Baseball
For a long time people played baseball.
Making contact with the baseball. Single doubles triples and there’s even HOME RUNS!
They are the best!
The ball sails throughout the air over the fence.
Night day people play.Stone
Are you ready to try a “Poetry Is” poem? Be sure to share yours in the comments!
Earth Day Green: Day 22
I spent a beautiful spring morning walking a low-tide beach…the perfect way to celebrate Earth Day. I watched pelicans swoop and soar, children squeal and run, surfers wait and balance, the waves ebb and flow. The salty air and sun on my shoulders are the perfect antidote for those worries that creep in and invade the mind as work piles up and time feels short.
Thinking about poetry this afternoon I found myself reflecting on Earth Day and the importance of taking care of this wondrous planet where we live. I remembered my wonder during spring break as I experienced the greens of Oregon; greens that are not my everyday experience here in San Diego. I had spent a day listing all the green words I could come up with as we traveled from the coast of Oregon to the mountains. Although I’m not sure this is an actual poem, I took time today to figure out a way to categorized those greens…and there are a lot of them! It certainly is not an exhaustive list…I’m interested to know what green words you, kind reader, might add to my list, as well as what categories I have not yet considered. So here it is…a list poem of sorts.
Categories of Green
Tree Green
Fir
Ash
Oak
Birch
Maple
Pine
Animal Green
Frog
Cricket
Alligator
Grasshopper
Turtle
Snake
Praying Mantis
Forest Green
Tree
Bud
Fern
Bud
Ivy
Vine
Lichen
Moss
Fruit and Vegetable Green
Broccoli
Bean
Granny Smith
Lettuce
Avocado
Lime
Olive
Mint
Pea
Ocean Green
Sea foam
Turquoise
Algae
Teal
Seaweed
Farm Green
Crop
Alfalfa
Meadow
Clover
Field
Grass
Gem Green
Emerald
Citron
Jade
Turquoise
Peridot
Malachite
Color Green
Chartreuse
Kelly
Loden
Sage
Kelly
Harlequin
Irish Green
Ireland
Kelly
Shamrock
Leprechaun
Symbol Green
Traffic Light
Recycling
Money
Jealousy
Greed
Douillard 2018
And an Earth Day themed student poem:
Things to do if You Are a Leaf
Photosynthesize,
lay back, relax,
feel the rays of light feed veins
when you fall, twirl like a ballerina
as light as a feather
when you turn brown and curl up
then crunch, you’re pieces.
Kalani
I’m looking forward to learning more greens and green categories…feel free to leave your ideas in the comments! Happy Earth Day!
Silent Sunday: April 22, 2018
At Not Quite Sunset: Day 21
After a long and productive day spent with my local writing project colleagues, Geoff and I set off for a quick dinner at a local dive. Afterwards, I talked him into a stop by the beach–even though it was not quite sunset and we were not willing to wait to experience sunset. (And to be honest, it was a bit grey so the certainty of even being able to see the sunset was in question)
But it didn’t stop me from wandering down the path from the cliff to the shore and snapping some pictures as I breathed in some fresh sea air and stretched out those legs that sat too much today.
At Not Quite Sunset
At not quite sunset
when the clouds gather like cotton candy
blushing pink before the sun dips low
surfers rush
down the narrow cliffside path
in the ocean, they bob and wait for the perfect curl
to launch them toward shore
and I wander, seeking treasures through my lens
finding inspiration in the gray
in the blue, as the waves breathe in and out
at not quite sunset.
Douillard 2018
It looks like Max was also inspired by the ocean. Here’s his poem:
Wave
Let the sunbeam shower on your back
as you fly like a bird with the flow of dolphins
finally, you lay down on the sand to rest for tomorrow
as you hear the waves screaming to the shore.Max
Where do you find inspiration?
Thinking Through My Lens 