a letter to our children

The following is a copy of a gorgeous letter the kids received from Sheryl Noethe, the guest poet who worked with them during our unit:

Dear 2nd and 3rd Graders,

Thank you for the wonderful cards you made for me! I came home from work tired and your writing made me so happy! I felt wonderful! You are the nicest children I've ever met, and I have taught thousands of students. You are tops! I would love to return and do more poetry and sign language with you because you do such beautiful work! I love each of you very much and hope we will be friends forever! Here is a poem for you:

Shining faces like lanterns lit
the sleeping lions inside
the children wake
to the poetry
in their hearts.

Love,
Sheryl

Bilingual Poem: La Mariposa, written by the kids in Ted's class

La Mariposa

Escrito por los estudiantes del Segundo y Tercer Grado, salón 5

Floating, floating…

Bright, light

A masterpiece of color

Ugly eater

Making its blanket

Making its prison

Finally free!

Flying from rose to buttercup

In search of sweet dew drops

Giving life

Giving its life

Giving beauty

Innocent

Playful

Floating, floating…

-----------------------------------


Flotando, flotando

Brillante, liviana

Una obra de vivos colores

Feo comelón

Haciendo su cobija

Su propio prisionero

Al fin ¡Libre!

Volando de rosa a margarita

En busca de gotitas dulces

Dando la vida

Dando su vida

Dando su belleza

Inocente

Juguetón

Flotando, flotando…

Guest Teacher, Susanna Sonnenberg

Today we had the pleasure of having Susanna Sonnenberg, Otis's mama, lead us through our poetry workshop. With Ted's class we discussed the William Carlos Williams' poem, "This is Just to Say." After talking about the careful, precise word choice and the power of the language, the children were asked to respond to Williams' note. Their responses were nothing short of brilliant. Below is the original poem that the class discussed and responded to.

This Is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

-William Carlos Williams

Dear William,

I'm sad
but
I forgive you
I wasn't saving them for
breakfast
but for dinner
thank you
for tell me
that was
a
very
kind letter

They were
purple
you
know
juicy
ripe
delicious
yum
they were
good

by Ella

Dear William,

If you ate
my sweet plums
then I get to
eat your
tangy strawberries
and
your refreshing
lemonade.
Oh
and you better
not
be eating more
of my yummy snacks,
and keep your grubby hands
out of my
kitchen.

by Gracie

Thank you for
the last plum
but
I am eating
your pears.
I am not
leaving you
cherries.

by Mari

Dear William,

It's okay
but I was going
to eat them for
breakfast.
I am glad
that you enjoyed them.
I will try to get more for
both of us to eat for
breakfast next week.

Sincerely,
Phoebe

Hello William,

I was saving those
plums for breakfast.
I am gonna spank your
little bottom and there's
gonna be a mark
there for fifty
years now. You march
to the market and get
us some more and
make sure they're purple.

Sincerely,
Mom

by Jack

Dear William,
I have not
been saving those plums
but saving them for my friend
who was saving them
for her son's birthday.
Yes
I know they were
cold delicious sweet
but still don't eat the plums
if they aren't yours.

by Andi

Dear William,

I love your poem. This is why I like to write a lot,
because I like poems and so maybe we can talk sometime.

And so if you want to be
polite
you know already that you have to tell them
that you ate my sweet plums and
my mom said
that you eat my plums
yes, I did
You can't eat them anymore.
Waaaaaaaaaa inf inf inf.

By Savannah

Dear William,
Those plums
were mine.
Give me your
eggs.

by Kine

Dear William,

I am very
disappointed
in you. I thought
I could
trust
you. I was not
saving
the plums for breakfast,
but they were
mine. I
forgive you.

by Sam

Susanna then did a similar exercise with a different poem during her time with Lynn's class. This time she began with the Pablo Neruda poem, "The Queen".

The Queen

I have named you queen.
There are taller ones than you, taller.
There are purer ones than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.

But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass,
the nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
only you and I, my love,
listen to it.
-Pablo Neruda

Here are the children's response poems:

I Love You the Purplest

I have named you purple
from the deepest seas to the top of a
mountain.
You may not be the one
whose hair glimmers in cool night sky
when the moon is up and glistening
NO! You may not be the
one whose voice is as soft as
the wind
blowing over the tree
tops
but as harsh as a leopard's growl
but you are someone
special
you may not
be all these things
because you mean even more than
that
you may not be what beauty's worth
but to me you are 10,000 times that
you are
the sunshine, you are
the moonlight, you are more
than any other thing could be.

by Abigail

Mom

I
love
you so much.
Your eyes are
pure
like the
clear
sun in the morning. They
gleam
in the sun.
You fill my
heart
with
love.
I can't
explain
how much I
love
you.
You
amaze
me.
Spirals
go through my
mind.
Your hugs make me
delighted.
I feel
relieved.
I feel like I'm
relaxed
on a
soft
cloud.
There's this
cheerful
noise inside of me...

by Isabella

Dear _____________,

You make me feel glorious
like the
shining sun. Your powerful words
turned me into somebody different.
I have gotten letters
yes
many letters
but none as powerful as this
one I burst open
pouring out right when I
heard this letter. Oh thank you
thank you!
For this beautiful letter.

With Love,
Otis

Dear Tiger,

I love it when you
cuddle with me and
your loud purr
makes my heart race.

by Elliot

Dear Mom,

You are the glimmering sun.
I love you so much, you are pure
gold.
You are all of the
flowers in the world.
You are all of the
trees in the world. I love you more than the entire
universe.
You are the best
Mom ever.
You are more important
than anything. You are
marvelous, you are
lovely, you are
kind. I
love you very much. You are as
pretty
as the golden
shining
sun.
Your smile is as wonderful
as a sparkling sapphire.
You are the pink happiness
around the world.

by Bret

You Are the Princess

Julianne, you are
the princess
and I am your
prince
you are the one
who
fills me with
joy
in the morning
our
kingdom is the
great
rocky mountains
you
use the
eagle and the grizzly bear
for
your warriors
this is what I feel
about you.
How do you feel
about me?

by Justin

DaDee-O!

You are the most
wonderful
thing that I've
ever
had
in the morning, your
head shines
brighter
than light,
when I hear
your laugh, the
elk dance
around the fire.
You are my daddy
and noone can change that.
I love you,
Daddy-O!

by Justin

Mama!

Mom
You are the one
that
encourages me todo
my best
you are the one
that fills the world
with you
you surprise
me with your
jokes. You arethe
person who is the
best mom.
I love you.
I hope you love me too.

by Justin

Meredith,

I hope I see you soon.
I wish we saw each other more often.
I love it when you see me and then you
hug me.
I feel lke you know
everything
about me. I love that
as a sister
or something like that.

I am alone now.
I remember the time when there was asound of the piano
but no one was there.
We thought it was a ghost.
I remember when you came to the cabin
with us and we would go
swimming.

Sometimes I feel liek a great
storm of sadness comes
because I don't get to see you.
I sometimes feel like the giving tree
when the boy stays away for a long time.
To me you are pretty
and kind.

So here is a poem for you, almost as prettya s the one you gave me:

Meredith,
Your name sounds like the wind princess.
I bet almost every guy thinks the same way I do.
No one sees the crystal clear raindrop form of jewel
fall from your body.
No one sees the jewels
and diamond of kindenss that coem
from you.
You are perfect.
You are beautiful.
You are funny.
You are friendly
and much more things that I don't
know how to describe.
I miss you so much.

Your loving cousin,
Mabel

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for writing that note.
It blew
my mind
and I cried of joy
Boom!
and it made me think about you
because I would write the same thing
about you.
I know that I am not a princess
but in our world
I am a princess.

by Addison

Mom,

The letter you wrote abotu me was
extraordinary and outraging.
You complete me.
In some ways, you make me better
than who I am.
You and you again help me by what you do.
I love you.
Here is one for you:

You
sing
you giggle and laugh to make me
smile
the chimes and fortune cross me
I love you for who you
are
and what you
do
I love you with all my
life
as big as the
sky
you make me
joyful.

Your Daughter,
Georgia

Dear Dad,

I love you
so much. My heart breaks
when you say
you are my love.
When you say something and
it means that you don't
know what to do with out me
I cry
with happiness. It is not just
happiness I cry about,
it is also something
hard to explain.
It is like
I love you so much
I can barely spend
a day without you.
You are
my only love.

by Lorraine

Personification Poems

This exercise, inspired by Ruth Gendler's, The Book of Qualities, uses personification to bring to life different human qualities.

Self-Conscious
by Abigail

Self-conscious is shy and open-hearted.
She has a clear bright spirited, but calm
personality.
In the classroom, she doesn't speak out
in small groups and she's afraid
to call attention
to herself.
In her free time,
Self-Conscious loves to read
chapter books about adventures.
She always includes people in
games and activities.
She's also always open to
playing with her best friend, Truthy.
She loves sitting under
one of the
great trees in the
Redwood forest.
She is a solo orphan who lives on her own.
Self-Conscious absolutely adores sports,
but she's scared of
winning, and losing.


Beauty
by Mabel

Beauty is a singer.
Her voice has lots of expression when she is singing in the rain or sun.
She lives on top of a mountain with a lake and a waterfall.
It is all hers.
SHe named it Halaluya.
Beauty's closest friends are kindenss, freedom and calmness.
She wears a dress the color of the weather like the sunsets or the rains.
Her mother is Wonder and her dad is Ugliness.
She has no brother or sister. She is alone.
She left her parents at the age of eight.
She goes swimming in her waterfall every night.
Beauty can fly.

Charm
by Georgia

There is a girl who lives next door to me.
Her name is Charm.
She is a Newsy with me and is ten years old.
She she loves doing is laying in the grass and making dandelion crowns.
She lives in a little house in Missoula.
I'm Truth and I am her friend.
She has two other friends, Honor and Clarity.
She is so pretty!
She wears sundresses and turtlenecks with long shirts and
always a headband!
Her mother is Truth and her father is Quality.
Her sister is Power.
Her closest friend is Clarity.
Her parents divorced a year ago so she is staying with us, Power and her
two year old brother, Silliness.

Service
by Otis

Service is almost always working and has little time
to do other things like watch TV. He hates Power.
Everytime he comes into his rooms (for he works in rooms service at a hotel),
he is always doing something cool.
His father, Empathy, is always offering to help but
Sevice is always too busy to answer.

Simile and Metaphor Physical Description Poems, Feeling/Color Poems

My hair is as brown as a tree.
My eyes are dark, curious holes underground.
I am fat like a rocket and
vicious like a bear.
My smile is big like the ocean.
My mind is full.
My heart is overflowing with love
like a colorful waterfall.

Love is green like the grass and also
like the vines in the trees or
blue like the big, big sky.
It soars through my body
like a fast eagle.
It reminds me of when my grandpa
used to swim with me.
It makes me feel blue
like the ocean below.

by Phoebe

My hair is as dark as a blackboard.
My eyes are light brown, like a
delicious chocolate bar.
I am tiny, intelligent and excited.
My hands hold happiness.
My words are giggles.
My smile warms my family and they
laugh out loud.
My heart is as red as a juicy strawberry.

Frustration is gray like a pale moon and also
like an old, scratchy scarf and
black like a rusty old anchor.
It stomps through my body
like a gray scratchy cloth.
It reminds me of the time I couldn't
catch a fish.
It makes me feel angry like
a pot sitting on a stove, boiling over.

by Gracie.

My hair is as shiny as a happy heart.
My eyes are shine and sparkle blue.
I am perfect and giggly.
My hands hold pouring gold.
My toes are as wiggly as they can be
in the quiet air.
My smile is as big as an elephant.

by Savannah

My hair is as tangly as a ball of string
stuck in a sewing machine.
My eyes are as light blue as a bowl of
delicious blueberries with white icing on top.
I am enthusiastic like a rushing waterfall.
I love to draw the moisturized rainforest
and the amazing animals that the rainforest holds.
My mind is as flowing
as a sparkling waterfall.

Anger is red like the ponderosa pines in the
redwood forest and also like
lightening that split the night in two or
black like a night with no moon.
It storms through my room
like a jaguar pouncing on its prey.
It reminds me of the time I was at the
fair and suddenly a storm broke out.
It makes me feel excited like
when I enter my living room for Christmas.

by Ella


My hair is as brown as tree bark.
My eyes are like diamonds without corners.
I am comfy, shining and excited.
I love to play baseball and play soccer.
My toes are as little as tiny sausages.
My heart is like red blood.
My smile lights up like a flashlight in the night.

Happiness is white like a fluffy bunny and
also like shaggy clouds.
It hops through my mind
like a big kangaroo.
It reminds me of the time I jumped farther than any other kids.
It makes me feel glorious like a slow sloth
taking my time.

by Otis

My hair is as microscopic as an elf.
My eyes are shining blue like the dazzling ocean.
I am shy, smart and self-conscious.
I love to read and listen to stories on tape.
My spirit is warm, nice and shy.
My mind is full of mysteries
and questions ready to be answered.
My words can be harsh, but also soft.

Truth is green like the radical rainforest and also
like splendid, deep seas.
It prances through my future like
glistening rain, falling to the ground.
It reminds me of the time nature was
soaked and the rain drizzled on the fresh soil.
It makes me feel twinkling like a
glimmering star lit up in the cool, night air.

by Abigail

My hair is as yellow as a smile.
My eyes are brown as an autumn tree.
I am misty, great and ecstatic.
I love soccer and gymnastics in the summer.
My smile is as big and funny -
it makes people laugh.
My personality shines like the sun and
blooms like roses and dandelions in the spring!

Thrill is orange like a juicy mango
squirting sticky juice and also like
sizzling soda about to explode or
yellow like daisies in spring on Easter.
It giggles through my mouth like
fresh water out of a waterfall.
It reminds me of the time I looked in
my soda and got it in my eye!
It makes me feel astonished like a bird
flying so high into another world.

by Georgia


My hair is as brown as a horses fur.
My eyes are really green, like beautiful green grass.
I am funny, happy and marvelous.
I love to play soccer and ride horses.
My heart is pink like a shining diamond.
My smile is as funny as a flower.
My words are intelligent and independent.

Love is turquoise like a little sea turtle
and also like the glittering big ocean
and blue like the glimmering sea.
It flies in the whistling, gentle wind
like a colorful, soaring bird.
It reminds me of the time I was playing outside.
It makes me feel funny like a fluttering,
beautiful butterfly!

By Bret

My hair is as brown as the front door
(but I wish it were purple like a clown).
My eyes are as blue as a bright ocean.
I am energetic as a jumping monkey
or a chimpanzee.
I love to play hockey, and I like to play goalie.
My toes are as smelly as howler monkeys
in a pile of horse manure.
My smile is as big as a fresh banana.

Jolly is purple like my big wiggly toe and
also like a purple balloon and red like a bright heart.
It zooms through my toes
like a kangaroo.
It reminds me of the time I saw a fluffy bunny.
It makes me feel happy like a lollipop.

By Justin

My hair is as dark as a cloud.
My eyes are brown and dark as the night.
I am colorful, crazy pieces.
I love to draw and dance.
My smile is a round banana.
My words are sometimes silly,
sometimes smart,
sometimes kind and different.
Sometimes I say, yakkety yak yak yak!

Wonderful is gray like a fluffy bunny
and also bunny playing the drum and
blue like the ocean.
It dreams through my room and my mind like
a happy bunny.
It reminds me of the time I saw my favorite bunny.
It makes me feel happy like a star shining.

by Sydney

My hair is as brown as a chocolate horse.
My eyes are brown as the skin of a little girl in Mexico.
My smile is as big as the world.
My heart is a red fireworks.
My mind explodes when I think like
tricky birthday candles.
My words are happy, always good and funny.
I am joyful, nervous and marvelous.

Happiness is pink like a floating balloon
and also like a flower blooming or
blue like the sky with no clouds.
It rushes through my school
like a cheetah running.
It reminds me of the time I went to the zoo
and I saw a cheetah.
It makes me feel excited like I
am the cheetah running for some food.

by Addison

My hair is as curly as springers.
My eyes are brown like tree bark.
I am happy, funny and bouncy joyful.
I love to play soccer and legos.
My smile is as curved as a skateboard ramp.
My mind is as big as a truck.

Happiness is yellow like the dazzling sun and
also like a smiling banana and
blue like the wavy ocean.
It rips through my room
like a speeding bullet.
It reminds me of the time I saw a white, fluffy bunny.
It makes me feel excited like a bouncing alligator.

by Llwyn

My hair is as bright as the sun.
My eyes are as caring as Mother Earth.
My hands hold a group of appreciative birds.
My smile is as gentle as a sunset.
My heart is beats like the rhythm of music.

by Lorraine

Peace is white like soft dancing snowflakes and also
fluffy polar bears and purple
like new, beautiful flowers.
It flies through my arm like
a magical bird.
It reminds me of the time when we found
a Christmas tree in Lolo.
It makes me feel free like a leaping deer.

by Mabel

Money Can't Buy Everything poems

In this poetry exercise, we discussed things from various areas of our lives (family, friends, health and nature) that money can't buy. Here are some of the thoughts put into poems:

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Mari

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't buy sitting in a glassy stream with Gabriella,
as our hands touch the lazy waves.
We grab hands and speed up.
We jump like pink dolphins swimming
in the Amazon, the stream streaks our bodies as
we pass by.

Money can't buy skiing with my cousin Emma
on big, puffy powder with the sun on the top of the hill.

Money can't buy playing frisbee with
a whirling disc with my dad.

Money can't buy me!

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Indra

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't buy the bright sunshine.
Money can't buy stars or the peaceful mountains.
Money can't buy natuer.
Money can't buy the love that my mom gives me every day.
It can't buy my family that plays with me and gives me lvoe.
Money can't buy my family.
Money can't buy the happiness in my home.
Money can't buy friendship.
Money can't buy laughter.
Money can't buy my smile.
Money can't buy the lovely secred I tell my friend.
Money can't buy everything!

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Gracie

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't buy the love my Grandma gave me
before she died.
She used to make me Mickey Mouse pancakes
or Donald Duck pancakes if I wanted.
Money can't buy the laughter me and my
friends share ro the smiles that
surround us in our little world, in my
room with my friends.
In our world of laughter,
we also have something else,
tolerance. We don't laugh
at some other friends dress or
make fun of their silly looking hat.
We make compliments about it.
Money can't buy the love that your family
sharew with you.

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Fisher

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't break the connection between
me and my family.
Money can't buy the tiem I enjoy with my cousins.
Money can't buy life.
Money can't buy beauty.
But most of all,
money can't buy friendship.
Money can't buy happines in this life time.
Money isn't everything!

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Sam

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't buy your friend's
friendship and compassion for one another.
Money can't buy the love and compassion,
and money can't buy your own mom and your own dad either.
Money can't buy the swaying flowers.
Money can't buy the big and glorious world.

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Andi

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't buy the place I go to at the end of the
day called home, the warm life.
I have heard a story that goes like this,
"A place to go is home and someone to love
is family. Having both is a blessing."
So be careful...
Money can't lasso the moon or the sun
that makes me shine.
Money can't buy the love I spread
on that shiny day.
Money can't buy the friends that live
right here, in this world.


Money Can't Buy Everything
by Phoebe

Money can't buy everything.
Moneyfcan't buy the bitter winds that
blow through my window or
the magical tree where I sit.

Money can't buy
family. It can't buy
love or my mom and dad.

Money can't buy
happy laughter or the
good relationships that my friends and I have.
Money can't buy health.
It can't buy the fort I have in
my backyard or the
flowing river by my house.
It also can't buy the fish that live
in the river, the deer that graze in
the brown grasses or the robins that
eats the worms in the spring.
Money can't buy everything.

Money Can't Buy Everything
by Ella

Money can't buy everything.
Money can't buy the glistening stream,
the dazzling clear blue sky,
the sparkling wind that blows
gently agains the tree tops,
the slim, rough rock,
the spotted coat of a fawn hardly about to see,
being so well protected by a bush.

Money can't buy smiles and laughter
between two people,
friendship is so strong and sturdy.

Money can't buy a family of love,
laughter and joy, the people in
that family get inspired and then
the love cannot be
destroyed.

Money can't buy running on the
silver paved sidewalks with my mom
by my side, with the cool breeze
at my back.

guest artist, Sheryl Noethe!

What an exciting day of writing we had today! Local poet and author of Poetry Everywhere, Sheryl Noethe, came in and did a guest workshop with the students. She lead an exercise called, "going inside" where the kids were asked to become microscopic and "enter" whatever they chose. They were then asked to write, using their five senses, about the world from "inside." Here are some of the tremendous poems that came from our kids:

Inside Snow
by Gracie

If I could go inside something,
I would choose snow because I think
snow is cool.
Inside snow there is a passage way
to a never been seen land,
a shimmering town of stars.
I would smell the scent of a fresh flower
springing out from the ground.
Its sight is so dazzling that you might faint.
But as long as you have the courage to not
be burdened by the beauty of this flower,
you can find a door that is white and covered with stars.
It will lead you to a room where you are
the only thing of color.

Ruby Heart
by Savannah

I want to go inside my haert.
I smell beautiful perfume and it tastes like
a ruby, juicy strawberry.
The sight I see is a snowy, white mountain.
I hear rainbow animals.
The animals ilve in the ruby heart in the
ruby juicy strawberry.

As Frozen As Ice
by Mari

I walk into an ice cabin.
It's hollow water plips onto the floor
as it calls, "Plip! Plip! Plip!"
It smells damp,
it tastes misty.
A mist starts to float in the air.
It freezes the water.
I stop as frozen as ice.
I wonder what is happening.
I go farther in the cave.
I see chunks of ice, sides clear as crystal.
I sit down.
Again I am
frozen as ice.
Going Inside...
by Sam

If I could go inside a snowflake,
I think it would be like going inside
a maze with see through diamonds
and you would never know
where you are.
You would never be on the ground because
you would be falling from the sky.
You would be upside down,
right side up and so on.
Then it will be still,
you have landed.
Then you disappear.

Inside A Snowflake
by Ella

Inside a snowflake is
crisp, clear, white, pure and beautiful.
It tastes like ice with a watery
tang in the air.
It emlts in your mouth.
It's quiet and still, with a dim light
almost pitch black, like a night
with no moon.

Going Inside a Tree
by Phoebe

If I got to go inside anything,
I would go inside of a tree.
The tree smells damp and if I
touch it, some pieces of it would get stuck
to my hand. Right in front of me and
off in the distance, there are big bugs
wandering around.
Sometimes, there is a huge banging noise
and the whole tree would shake,
and a big beak would pop in
and eat some bugs.
It is a woodpecker.
I taste the humidity and
I get hot.
I walk out on a branch
and pop my head out of the tree and look down.
I see the green grass and I look up
and see the light, streaming through the leaves.
I walk back in.
I travel to the bottom of the tree
and see ants and three centipedes.
One tried to bite me.
Right then, I jump in a hole,
the hole leads to the roots.
The roots are damp and smell weird.
A huge ant is striking its long, bit
jaws in my face. I jump in a hole in the
top of the roots and I am out of the tree.

Cat's Tail
by Elliot

Going inside a cat's tail
There is a wire holding all these walls
I go deeper
And I find a control panel
So I start
Pressing
Buttons and the world I was in
Started to move very fast
So I pressed another button
And it stopped
Hard.
It went slow
and just then
I got shocked by something
and all these tails were floating.

Laugh! With Me
by Georgia

I am in a laugh.
Terrifying
Really, it changes every
Time
It's great and
Funny
Funny
and Suddenly
It's me, I am laughing, it

GROWS

I love to
laugh
with secrets and
giggles but mostly having
great fun
can turn
be grumpy
but what I eat
when I laugh is cackling
popcorn.
If I touch it I
scream
have fun
it's crunchy
laugh to great
things. Something
PERFECT and
laughable.

Rainbow
by Lorraine

Inside a rainbow it is
blurred,
dizzy. All of the sudden there's
a loud
twinkling
sound. It is a wind chime
blowing, a flute playing.
I go more inside the
rainbow. Bright colors are
everywhere. Red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, purple is right in front of me.
It is not like looking at a rainbow
from down below. It is much more
colorful when you are in a
rainbow.

Purple...Everything is Purple
by Abigail

As I go
inside purple
I see
lapping water against the banks
palm trees
swaying in the breeze
polar bears
shimmering pelts in the water
everything is purple
every flicker of
light
lightening crackling above my head
boa constricters
slighering on the salty, sandy rainforest
animals seem
to be
creeping
up on me from every direction possible.
West,
South,
East,
North.
Clockwise
opposite
clockwise
But at the same time
everything is purple.

Clouds
by Mabel

I am inside
a cloud with purple fluff
and all sorts of other colors
like blue, pink, green and more.
There are billions of stars that I fly right past.
I am heaven
I go to the cloud world and I glow
like fireflies
inside. Brilliant flowers grow all over me.
When it's light out
I love it when I rain all over the golden meadow.
In the future, I will travel far away
so the last place that I
was won't even see me.
Or sometimes I will be as gray as a sweet
elephant.
I gleam in the sunshine.
I go "bing" as
raindrops fall.
A life saver is who I am.
A cloud,
a cloud.

Pencils
by Llwyn

Going inside a pencil
would be so fun, seeing all
the lead and climbing up
to the top, looking from the top
of the eraser
seeing
all the writing
from the poet writing
poetry. I would
take out
my pencil to write some notes
for the
writer.

Going Inside
by Justin

Going inside a turtle
a shell as hard
as a rock, soft inside
hard on the outside,
he only has one predator, the -
Jaguar! Ba Ba Ba!

The Journey
by Otis

I will go inside my brain
sentences
are floating around
neon lights
light up
shine one after another
words popping in sometimes.
I slide down the neck
like a waterslide. Slide
down the arm in each
finger there is a bedroom.
I think it smells like Mars. Suddenly
I fall
and
fall
and
fall
and
fall out
of the shoe.
Mars?

Inside a Sticky Fish
by Addison

It is so sticky and I see fish
there is water
it has a little
island and it has
a house.
There are people.
It looks like they are
having a party with
one of my friends.
Oh no!
There is a wolf and there
are flying dragons too.
There was a nice,
cozy hammock and
there were starfish
that complimented me
before bed.

Inside a Drop of Water
by Bret

If I were inside a drop
of water, I would be a
mermaid
with a
sparkly
blue tail and
red
hair. It is a
circle
it is all
white water
it is
wonderful.
It tastes like fresh
drinking water, it
smells like wet air, it
feels
like sea water. It is
glorious.

Snowflakes
by Isabella

Outside somewhere, a
world
of snow, going inside
snowflakes
looks like a
crystally world, a
home
for me,
feeling of
happiness,
freedom
of old
world,
feels bumpy,
too sad of
leaving,
hope
of coming back...

Wonder
by Sydeney

I am going in a
fluffy bunny. I wonder
which way I will come in
and which way I'll come out?
So I might go in the ear.
What will I do now?
I'm wondering
who will help me?
Well, no one.
I may climb.
Climb
Climb
HAAAa! What fear in the ear.
Help, help, what a slide!
Gross!
I am in the brain.
now I must go out.
My mom will wonder
of me. I must go out
the eye. AAAAA! I'm in
the nose now. Oh, the bunny
is crying. I may give a
carrot to the bunny.
Haaa, ouch. I'm home.
Now to a wonderful carrot.
Now the bunny is happy.

I am poems

I found this exercise in the book Poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Woolridge. It encourages children to answers questions such as, "If I were an animal, what would I be? If I were an element in nature, what would I be?"

Here are some pieces that we had time to focus on for publication today:

I Am
by Indra

I am the color of a
sparkling rain drop.
I am the shape of a star.
I make the sound of a buzzing bee.
I am a dolphin splashing in the sea.
I am an apple because I roll around.
I am a guitar and I play rock and roll.
I am the ocean because
I am crazy like the big waves.

I Am
by Bret

I am a soft quilt.
I am gray, white, black and brown like a race horse
or a ranch horse.
I am the sound of beating like a horses feet
hitting the ground.
I am a beautiful horse.
I am a beating drum.
I am all the loose earth on the ground.

I Am
by Abby

I am purple like a violet blooming in spring or a plum in fall,
all juicy and ripe.

I am a polar bear swimming through the cold waters,
shifting and changing direction in between the
icicles and small glaciers in the slow moving waters.

I am a slice of pie, delicious and warm
ready to get eaten and digested by humans
ready to roll down the road into the gaping hole
of a human's mouth.

I am a mountain all big, tall and proud.
I am home to many animals.
I feel like the boss of nature.

I am a violin playing soft tunes for people
all around me, playing soft noises and high pitched sounds
in the satisfied ears of people around me.
I am music.

I am a circle ready to go on an adventure and define the future.

I am the rainforest full of animals, plants and biodiversity.
I am LIFE!

I am a basketball being thrown into the basket high above me,
ready to score.

I am a high pitched whisper. My voice is harsh but soft
in the same way.

I Am
by Isabella

I am gold like the shining stars
reflecting on the river,
softly flowing through my feet.
I am the circle, like the sun,
going down and ready for night.
I am the sound of the graceful violin.
I am the lion who roams through the jungle.
I am the great vines wrapping around the trees.
I am the maple tree
full with leaves.

I Am
By Otis

I am life.
I am red like fire,
blazing in the night.
I am a kangaroo, playing tag with friends.
I am the number 25 with my friend Cent
on a gumball machine.
I am a sofa so comfy people
would even pay to sit on me.
I am a tree, impossible to cut down,
to give life to all.
I am life.

I Am
by Phoebe

I am a sparkly blue color like the whirling wind.
I am the shape of a jaguar that wanders in the bushes.
I make a quiet blowing noise like someone
blowing in your ear.
I am the number twelve.
I am the violin and go fast like my fingers hitting the strings.
In nature I am the element air.
I am air because air is twirly
and it wanders through the whole world,
soaring through the sky.
I am the kapok tree,
the roamer of the jungle.

I Am
by Gabriella

I am red like a sparkling ruby.
I am long like a flame.
The wind whispers to me that I am a howler monkey, crying out loud.
I am the number three because Jesus came alive on the third day.
I am silky, red, fluffy, raspberry
leaping in the air.
I am the piano in which my owner gracefully moves her hands across the board.
I am Antarctica, my wind softly blows,
WOOOOOOOHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH.
I am the great tree standing in Antarctica
with my soft wind.
I am what I am and I will never change.

I Am
by Mari

I am side to side, up and down.
I am tie die.
I am a wave from the roaring ocean.
I am a fox, sly and sneaky.
I am one, quiet and happy.
I am spaghetti all wobbly and playful.
I am a violin, graceful and kind.
I am a waterfall roaring with laughter.
I am an acorn dropping on the ground.
I am a kapok, all filled with life.
I am a willow with graceful branches.

One day I will be the sun.

I Am
by Gracie

I am the color of a new oak sprouting from the ground in spring
when the snow just starts to melt and the flowers
start to bloom.
I am the shape of a ferocious and fierce Bengal tiger.
I am as gray as a sweet and gentle dolphin.
I am the number 555
because 5 is my lucky number.
I am the frozen ice land.
I am the sound of a summer breeze
gliding through the misty and damp
tropical rainforest.
I am a beaver building its dam in the cool river.
I am a strong metal table when it comes to standing strong.
I am a sweet cherry picked freshly from the vine.
I am a magical drum, pounding.
I am the soft breeze.
I am a great oak tree.

I will be me and I will never be anybody else.

I Am
by Andi

I am a yellow shining star
bright as the sun.
I am the shapes of life.
I am the sound of life.
I am the number you.
I am a piece of furniture called
"Be Yourself."

I Am
by Ella

I am lime green, like the darkest yellow, but the lightest green.
I am a small little puffball.
I am the sound of the wind or maybe a rushing river in a strong current.
I am a wolf with silverish, grayish and white fur
like the snowflakes that fall in its habitat.
I am the number eleven.
I am a pan of fresh baked cookies all toasty warm from the oven.
I am the rainforest, all dripping wet with moisture.
I am the wind whispering in the soft breeze.
One day I will be a ponderosa pine in the redwood forest.

I Am
by Sam

I am the color of a lilac
with orange spots.
I am the shape of a snake.
I hiss and stalk when I am mad.
I am a snake.
I live only in Africa.
I used to live all around the world,
but not any more.
I will spread across the world once again.

I Am
by Savannah

I am a sky raindrop in a dreaming sky.
I am a shape like a red ruby and
the shape of a diamond.
I am a sound of a click clacking bird.
I am a hiding fox.
I am a shining, shimmering number one.
I am a gold chair.
I am blue and purple like huckleberry cobbler.
I am an elephant drum.
I am a playful playground.
I am a blowing tree.
I am a blooming tree.

the crew

Here are some old shots I found on my computer from our trip to the PEAS farm this fall. I want to be able to show the kids that we can put both words and pictures on the blog.

wild, wild words!

Welcome to our classroom blog!

The second and third graders began a new unit of inquiry yesterday called, "Wild, wild words." As a way to publish their work, I decided to set up a class blog. This is a private blog, only open to the parents of our children. There is so much brilliance coming out of these children and this seems to be an easy way to keep everyone in the know.

The first session was all about gathering words and creating "word tickets." From the words on the word tickets, the children were asked to free write. The objective was to free their minds and see where the word brought them. I turned on funky music and dimmed the lights. The results were pretty amazing. Here are some examples from our first session:

Word: Wonder

I wonder if hedge hogs could fly in the North Pole or if penguins could glide south to Kentucky.
-Abigail

Elephants are wonderful like their big, long trunks. I wonder when I will go around the world and see the elephants?
-Mabel

Wonder is wonder.
I wonder what wonder is.
I wonder many things.
I love wonder.
People wonder.
Wonder!
-Bret

I wonder if a monster will come in the classroom and eat our posters and the beans.
-Justin

Wonder is my thoughts of imagination.
I wonder what will happen in the future.
I wonder why brown is the common color of eyes?
-Isabella

I wonder what's going on in New Zealand?
-Lorraine

Word: Sky

The sky is the most powerful thing in the world.
It makes the world a better place.
It covers our heads and lets the sun breathe.
It can hold so much mobility to the human world just by
sun, clouds and blue.
It holds the world in place.
-Georgia

Word: Safe

Safe is a word of protection.
It's a word that seems to wash over us when we are scared.
A word that military people use a lot in commercials.
Safe! Safe! Safe!
I never knew such a short word could be so powerful!
-Abby

Safe means I am safe in my home
playing with my legos
having fun,
talking to my mom and dad
eating breakfast, lunch and dinner
it is so nice to be safe
in your comfy home.
-Llwyn

Safe is something that you are.
For example, my mom makes me feel safe
and so do you!
-Addison

Word: Darkness

You can't see anything
but cats have great vision
in darkness
for them the sun is shining.
Darkness.
Camping outside
Small light from the stars
and the moon
but not much.
With so much to see,
nothing visible.
-Otis

Word: Wizard

Wizards are magical.
I wonder what they could turn me in to?
A frog?
A bunny?
A sloth?
A dolphin?
-Sydney

Word: Moment

I think moment is cool because it has
"mom" in it and "ant."
It reminds me of ants and ants remind of
of anteaters.
-Elliot

Word: Book

The book opens like
a magical world or land.
I look in the book and see if there is magic.
-Savannah

Books are hard to read at first, but when you get older, you have an imagination like the stars. Like us. We are amazing.
-Kine

Adventure
fun
ideas
truth
school
story
places
world
imagination.
-Phoebe

They are descriptive and they are fun.
I am reading right now
your mind.
It's complicated.
-Jack

Word: Secret

When someone tells you a secret it sounds like a soft, peaceful sound.
Everyone enjoys a secret.
A secret is a sparkling and brilliant way to tell someone a
sssssssssseeeeeeeeecccccccrrrrret.
-Indra

No one knows. Just you.
And who told you.
-Sam

Word: Dragon

Dragons are gigantic, colorful
Mactoplurodons
which fly with their humongo
flapful wings which
rise to the bright, stormy sky
over the wavy water.
Their eyes glisten as you watch them rise.
-Gabriella

Dragons are ferocious.
They breathe hot and steamy fire.
It makes townspeople flee with shock to a new town
or a new dimension.
Dragons are so powerful but the thing we don't know
is they are very shy but they are still scary.
I can never describe a dragon because they come in a different color.
They come in all different shapes and sizes.
You would never want to be next to a dragon!
-Gracie

Word: Rasberry

People like them small.
-Toren

Word: Crazy

Lazy
Cuckoo
Unwise
Weird
Head is spinning
Odd
-Ella

Word: Ocean

The bank of the ocean stretches over the land like a piece of rubber.
Crabs mind their own business while seagulls hunt the fish.
The fish eat other fish.
It's like a food cycle.
-Mari