Happy Friday!!

From Above

When it is a warm time
     in the evening
and my people are
     laughing
and warm
beside me,
it almost feels
I can fly.
Above the city and
     everything
I know.
--And I am happy in
     the coolness
as I am in the warmth,
because I can fly as
free as I feel
and watch my people
with love
from
above.
                  
                Angela Johnson

The Reason I Like Chocolate

The Reason I Like Chocolate

The reason I like chocolate
is I can lick my fingers
and nobody tells me I'm not polite

I especially like scary movies
'cause I can snuggle with Mommy
or my big sister and they don't laugh

I like to cry sometimes 'cause
everybody says "what's the matter
don't cry"

and I like books
for all those reasons
but mostly 'cause they just make me 
happy

and I really like
to be happy

                             Nikki Giovanni

The Moses of Her People

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff
Wasn't scared of nothing neither
Didn't come in this world to be no slave
And wasn't going to stay one either

"Farewell!" she sang to her friends one night
She was might sad to leave 'em
But she ran away that dark, hot night
Ran looking for her freedom

She ran to the woods and she ran through the woods
With the slave catchers right behind her
And she kept on going till she got to the North
Where those mean men couldn't find her

Nineteen times she went back South
To get three hundred others
She ran for her freedom nineteen times
To save Black sisters and brothers
Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff
Wasn't scared of nothing neither
Didn't come in this world to be no slave
And didn't stay one either

      And didn't stay one either

 Eloise Greenfield

Listen to the poem here:

Thelma the Storyteller        

I Can

I Can

I can

be anything

I can

do anything

I can

think

anything

big

or tall

OR

high or low

W I D E 

or narrow

fast or slow

because I 

CAN

                                          and

I 

WANT

              TO!

               

                 Mari Evans

Gone Fishing...

To Catch a Fish

It takes more than a wish
to catch a fish
you take a hook
you add the bait
you concentrate
and then you wait
you wait    you wait
but not a bite
the fish don't have 
an appetite
so tell them what
good bait you've got
and how your bait
can hit the spot
this works a whole
lot better than
a wish
if you really
want to catch
a fish

                  Eloise Greenfield 

I Love The Sea

I Love the Sea

I love the sea! the rippling sea,
The ebbing, smiling, sunlit sea,
Hiding a world of mystery,
     Like you and me!

I love the sea! the placid sea,
The sleeping, glassy, silent sea.
Dreaming on long eternity,
      Like you and me!

I love the sea! the heaving sea,
The mighty, moontost, angry sea,
Fretting from bondage to be free
     Like you and me!

                            Alfred M. Cruikshank

Another Mountain

Another Mountain

Sometimes there's another mountain
that I must climb
even after I've climbed one already
But my legs are tired now
and my arms need a rest
my mind is too weary now
But I must climb before the storm comes
before the earth rocks
and an avalanche of clouds buries me
and smothers my soul
And so I prepare myself for another climb
Another Mountain
and tell myself it is nothing
it is just some more dirt and stone
and every now and then I should reach
another plateau and enjoy the view
of the trees and flowers below
And I am young enough to climb
and strong enough to make it to any top
You see the wind has warned me
about settling too long
about peace without struggle
The wind has warned me
and taught me how to fly
But my wings only work
After I've climbed a mountain

                                   Abiodun Oyewole

Two Poems By Black Poets

By Myself

When I'm by myself
And I close my eyes
I'm a twin
I'm a dimple in a chin
I'm a room full of toys
I'm a squeaky noise
I'm a gospel song
I'm a gong
I'm a leaf turning red
I'm a loaf of brown bread
I'm a whatever I want to be
And when I open my eyes
What I care to be
Is me
                     Eloise Greenfield


Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.

Or does it just explode?

                              Langston Hughes

What Have You Been Wondering Lately?

I Wonder

I wonder how it would feel
If I 
Could walk on the ceiling
Like a fly--
Or instead of sleeping
Stetched out flat
Slept upside down
Like a bat.
I wonder how I would look
If I
Had bright, colored wings
Like a butterfly--
Or instead of having
A short little nose,
Like an elephant's trunk,
Mine touched my toes.

                                                Laura Arlon

Home

We have all been spending lots of time in and around our homes.  This poem looks at what makes the place you live a home.

A House, A Home

What is a house?
   It's brick and stone
   and wood that's hard.
   Some window glass
   and perhaps a yard.
   It's eaves and chimneys
   and tile floors
   and stucco and roof
   and lots of doors.

What is a home?
   It's loving and family
   and doing for others.
   It's brothers and sisters
   and fathers and mothers.
   It's unselfish acts
   and kindly sharing
   and showing your loved ones
   you're always caring.
                                       
                                               Lorraine M. Halli

What does home mean to you?

The Pet of the Day is a Hamster

Dinky Trails

I had a hamster named Dinky you see,
she had a habit of escaping to locate me.
She’d prowl the house, all night long,
It’s obvious, her searches were often, prolonged.

At times I’d feel her in my bed,
though I was never filled with dread;
for Dinky loved me, oh so dearly,
such passion, she poured into the search, clearly.

Hamsters are like little Houdini’s,
escaping in oh, time’s aplenty.
Dinky was so easy to find,
her tiny trails, I didn’t mind.

Though once or twice, they were quite high,
filling my chest of drawers, so wide.
Between the layers, tiny brown piddles,
her executed escapes, left one big riddle.

Short of a padlock, her home was secured,
with fitted tops, stacks of books, hooks and boards.
But, Dinky Houdini, pulled off many escapes
and I never knew, to what, I’d awake.

I Once Had A Pet...

turtle

The turtle
Does little
But sleep
On a stone,
Alone
In his glass
Bowl.

Is he bored
By it all?
Does he hope
Something
Will happen,
After a hundred
Naps?

Or is it enough
To wake
Quietly,
Shawled
In the shade
Of his
Shell?
   
             Valerie Worth

A Cat's Work is Never Done!

Busy Busy                  

It's 8 am and time to nap
It's 10 am and time to relax
It's 12 pm and time to doze 
It's 3 pm and time to zonk out
It's 6 pm and time to slumber          
It's 9 pm and time to snooze
It's 12 am and time to sleep
It's 4 am and time to hang upside down from your bedroom ceiling, screaming.
                                                     

                                                           

                                                           

Pet Week

This week I'll be sharing poems about different kinds of pets.  
Send me a picture and some information or a poem about your pet and I will post it here!

Puppies

There were puppies on the sofa
   And puppies on the chairs
And puppies in the dining room
   And on the cellar stairs
There were cold ones on the icebox
   And hot ones near the stove
There were puppies by the pack and herd
   And puppies by the drove 
There were puppies in  the parlor
   And puppies in the hall
And puppies on the porch and roof 
   And on the garden wall
There were puppies in the attic
   In the bedroom
In the den
   And even in the closets
There were puppies (nine or ten)
   "Look at all those puppies, Henry.
Aren't they just dear?"
   "Enjoy them while they're puppies, Jane
They'll be full-grown dogs next year."

                                                                              Jack Kent

I notice the word puppies is repeated in practically every other line of the poem.  This reinforces the idea that there are so many puppies.  What is something you notice about the poem?

Monday is Memorial Day

On Monday, we remember and are especially grateful to the men and women who have served and died in the service of protecting our country.   Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day. It is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the soldiers and other military who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 

Remembering Day

All the soldiers marching along;
All the children singing a song;
Al the flowers dewy and sweet;
All the flags hung out in the street;
Our hearts throb in a grateful way---
For this is our Remembering Day.

                                                                  Mary Wright Saunders


Memorial Day

It started right after the Civil War.
Our country was trying for wholeness once more.
Flowers were placed by an unmarked grave
To honor the fallen men, hardy and brave,
Whose lives had been given, our freedom to save.

Today, we will honor all men, brave and true
Who fought to protect us-- to guard me and you.
A freedom worth having, to keep it secure,
Takes a wide-awake heart and a hand that is sure
And a humble remembrance of  what went before.

                                                                                                                        Mary Gray

Hey, First Graders!

This poem by Lilian Moore is especially for my first grade friends who are practicing words with blends. Can you find and read the words with blends and digraphs?  Remember they can be at the beginning, middle or ends of words!

Sometimes

Sometimes 
when I skip or hop
or when I am 
          jumping

Suddenly
I like to stop
and listen to me
        thumping.

How many did you find?
What does the poet mean by thumping?
What do you think is thumping?

Loose Tooth

Yesterday's poem was describing a safety pin!

Both of today's poems are about losing a tooth, and they even use the same word- wiggly- to describe it.  Can you find any ways the poems are different?
What words would you use in a poem about your own loose tooth?  


My Loose Tooth

I had a loose tooth, a wiggly, jiggly loose tooth.
I had a loose tooth, hanging by a thread.

So I pulled my loose tooth, this wiggly, jiggly loose tooth,
And put it 'neath the pillow when I went up to  bed.

The fairies took my loose tooth, my wiggly jiggly loose tooth,
So now I have a nickel, and a hole in me head.    
                                                           
                                                         Ruth Kanarek

                 

Wiggly Tooth

Once I had a little tooth
That wobbled every day;
When I ate and when I talked,
It wiggled every way.

Then I had some candy--
A sticky taffy roll;
Now where my wiggly tooth was--
Is nothing but a hole.

                                                 Lillie D. Chaffin

Guess What It Is

You probably have a few of these in your house, but I bet you never saw them in quite the way Valerie Worth does:

Closed, it sleeps
On its side
Quietly,
The silver
Image
of some
Small fish

Opened, it snaps
Its tail out
Like a thin
Shrimp, and looks
At the sharp
Point with a 
Surprised eye.

Post a comment with your guess, I'll reveal what the item is tomorrow!

Small Poems

Writers observe. They describe the simplest things so that we can see the simple beauty in them.  Here are some small poems from Valerie Worth.

coins

Coins are pleasant
To the hand:

Neat circles, smooth,
A little heavy.

They feel as if
They are worth something.


marbles

Marbles picked up
Heavy by the handful
And held, weighed,
Hard, glossy,
Then poured clicking,
Water-smooth, back
To their bag, seem
Treasure: round jewels,
Slithering gold.

dandelion

Out of
Green space,
A sun:
Bright for
A day, burning
Away to
A husk, a
Cratered moon:

Burst
In a week
To dust:
Seeding
The infinite
Lawn with
Its starry
Smithereens.

Look around and see what inspires you with simple beauty.

Cats and Dogs, or Pigs and Noddles?

It's Raining Pigs and Noodles

It's raining pigs and noodles,
it's pouring frogs and hats,
chrysanthemums and poodles,
bananas, brooms, and cats.
Assorted prunes and parrots
are dropping from the sky,
here comes a bunch of carrots,
some hippopotami.

It's raining hens and pickles,
and eggs and silverware.
A flood of figs and nickels
is falling through the air.
I see a swan, a sweater,
a clock, a model train--
I like this so much better than
when it's raining rain.
                                  Jack Prelutsky

Happy Friday!!

Did You Ever Have One of Those Days?

Today Was Not My Day At All

Today was not my day at all,
today was not my day,
for everything went wrong today
in almost every way.
This morning I was menaced
by a troop of marching ants,
I brushed my teeth with shaving cream,
I split my brand new pants.

I smashed my only glasses,
and the key snapped in the lock,
the toaster didn't toast the toast,
then handed me a shock.
I walked into a doorknob,
something squirmed inside my shoe,
I found an ugly beetle
at the bottom of my stew.

A bird I didn't recognize
flew down and pecked my nose,
a chimpanzee on roller skates
sped by and squashed my toes.
I wonder if I'm under
some unlucky sort of curse,
today's the twelfth, and Thursday--
tomorrow may be worse.
                                     Jack Prelutsky

Luckily today is the fourteenth, and tomorrow is NOT Friday the Thirteenth.  Our next Friday the Thirteenth is not until November!!  

Time To Clean Your Room!

Why Do I Have To Clean My Room?

Why do I have to clean my room
when I would rather play?
The crayons scattered on the floor
are hardly in the way.
I almost never trip upon
my basketball or drums,
and I don't pay attention
to the cake and cookie crumbs.

Why do I have to clean my room?
I think my room looks nice.
There's pizza in the corner,
but it's only half a slice.
I'm not at all concerned about 
the gravy on the chair,
my piles of model planes and trains,
my stacks of underwear.

I will admit some bits of clay
are sticking to the wall.
I scarcely even notice them
and do not mind at all.
Beneath my bed there's just a wedge
of last week's apple pie,
and yet I have to clean my room...
I simply don't know why.
                                           Jack Prelutsky

What does your room look like right now?
Super clean          Clean             Sort of clean           Messy                Total disaster 

Write your own poem, or draw a picture of your room!

More Fun from Jack Prelutsky

I've Turned Into A Carrot

I've turned into a carrot 
It's baffling and strange,
Somehow, while I was sleeping,
I underwent a change.
Last night I was a human,
with head and hands and feet,
this morning I'm a vegetable
I've rarely cared to eat.

I look into the mirror,
and see I'm long and lean.
I have an orange body,
my hair ls leafy green.
A further complication
compounds my current woe,
a rabbit is approaching...                      So long! I've got to go.