With Halloween coming up, many children are involved in activities in preparation for this day. 
I worked with a class of second graders who wrote a poem on a Halloween topic…witches, bats, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, etc.
Even though I teach poetry workshops for children and adults, this format was new to me.  The youngsters had great fun with it.  Perhaps yours would, too.
Simply choose a topic (and it could be about anything, not just Halloween).  Then answer these questions and your poem will evolve.

Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?

You don’t place these words in the poem, simply give the answers.  For the second graders, this often consisted of one …read more

Do you incorporate poetry into your crafts? 
Since I’ve begun to get back to my poetry writing and have thoughts of compiling poems I’ve written over the years into a book, I’ve also given thought to incorporating these into crafts.

I think first of doing illustrations and collages that will reflect the theme of particular poems.  Then these might be something I could display (and sell as postcards, posters and originals) along with my children’s anthology, Tales of Adventure & Discovery, and the upcoming poetry book.
Also in mind are the altered books I’ve seen that take lines from poems and use them …read more

I’ve discovered that youngsters enjoy poetry…reading it, listening to it and writing it.  The other day, when I was substitute teaching, the first graders recited poetry from their reading book. 
During story time, I read some of my poems from my story/poetry anthology, Tales of Adventure & Discovery.  Often I teach poetry workshops for youngsters.
Frequently when youngsters attend a writing workshop, they want to write poetry.  So I start with simple ones that don’t necessarily rhyme.  However, some youngsters are very adept at rhyming, so automatically incorporate this into their writing.
I remember from my childhood, reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry.  Even …read more

For a class I taught combining writing and scrapbooking, I created a small scrapbook using my fall photos, taken over the years. I’d also written several fall themed poems and selected the one about “Jack Frost,” an imaginary fall and winter visitor of my childhood.
The 5 x 7-inch scrapbook album was ideal for my photos. I used scrapbooking stickers, papers, and stamps to decorate the pages. These were arranged around the words of the poem throughout the book.
I also scanned several of the pages to show writers they (or a printer) could reproduce this album as a book they might …read more

When I began painting classes and had assignments to paint foliage in the scenery around me, looking at it in different lights, I realized there were many shades of green.  These also changed with sun and shadow, time of day and season.
If you’re involved in any crafts that include the green of nature, you’ll find it fascinating to study the different shades.

trees
bushes
grass
flower leaves
fields of grain
pastures & meadows
swamps & marshes

Sometimes your green variations will be very realiztic and follow nature’s course.  For other occasions, you might be more dramatic.  Much depends on the effect you want to achieve and the medium …read more

In Bird Watching with Youngsters, I discussed birds and in another post, Keeping a Bird Watching Journal.  One of the journal activities I mentioned was writing a story or poem about the birds you and your youngsters see.  You/they may want to read some bird stories or poetry first to get an idea of the type of writing you’d like to do.
*Poetry – Your poem can be of any type, rhyming or free verse, about one bird or the numbers of birds you see around your home or on a trip.
*Nature Story – I often wrote these for children’s magazines.  …read more

Keeping a bird watching journal provides an enjoyable summer activity for youngsters and the adults.    Actually this can be a year round project, but since it’s mid-spring, let’s start yours now.
There are various ways you can do this:

Simply keep a list of the birds you see.
List the birds and write something about them.
Add a sketch to the list and description.
Write a story or poem about the birds you see.
Make a papier mache model of a bird…or use other materials for a bird sculpture.
Make a painting of some of these birds you see and list.

In my anthology, Tales of Adventure and Discovery, …read more

I’ve been preparing for the class I’m teaching tomorrow…a writing workshop for 15 children, ages 6-14.  This is my second session with them and their moms.  It’s refreshing to see them embrace creative writing and delved into poetry, fiction and non-fiction.

Tomorrow we’re going to write poems about Spring.  I shall  encourage their moms to try, too.
The simple poems, such as “skinny” ones, shaped ones and acrostic, seem some of the easiest and most fun  for youngsters to start with.

For skinny, line or list poems, simply have the youngsters write SPRING across the top of their paper.  Then list 10-12 words they …read more

 
April showers don’t just bring May flowers! A whole lot of fun things are going to happen in May, here at Guerrilla Parenting! It’s called “May Madness” and I have a few tricks up my sleeve (insert evil laugh here.) We will be featuring a project called “Three Doors Down,” which highlights our neighboring blogs here at the B5 Lifestyles Channel. The neighbors don’t know it yet, but I’m about to get up close and way too personal when I conduct mini interviews with each of them. Ohhhhhh….Juicy! A new blogger will be grilled interviewed each week, so check back …read more

I truly believe that there is someone for everyone. But I also believe that you have to make the choice to recommit yourself to loving that someone, every single day. Love does not regulate itself. It needs constant attention, regular maintenance and daily reaffirmation to continue to thrive in a relationship. In honor of Valentine’s Day, the B5 bloggers are paying tribute to all things romantic, chocolaty and heart shaped. Here is my contribution to the celebration of love.