Friday, November 30, 2012

TERMITES: An Original Animal Mask Poem





I know I’ve mentioned more than once on this blog that I LOVE writing animal mask poems. I have written dozens of them. A few years ago, I took the advice of my friends Grace Lin and Janet Wong and culled out all the poems about smaller animals and insects that children might observe in their backyards or find close to home for a collection. I also wrote some new poems. I had tentatively titled the collection Backyard Voices. Then I changed it to Listen! Listen! after I wrote the following poem to introduce my collection of animal mask poems:

Listen. Listen. Cup an ear.
Little creatures living near
Speak in voices we can hear.

One of the new poems that I wrote for Listen! Listen! is about insects that we hate to find invading our homes—TERMITES.

TERMITES

Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Yum, yum!
Wood
Tastes so
Tastes so
Tastes so good.
A piney plank
A two by four
A big broad beam
A parquet floor
A pair of clogs
A tool shed door
We eat all day
And we still want more.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Yum, yum!
Wood
Tastes so
Tastes so
Tastes SO GOOD.
 
 
Amy has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Poem Farm.
 
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We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving at "The Farm." Julia didn't sleep all day. She so enjoyed having lots of company.
 
Julia on Thanksgiving



This week I took Julia outside  a couple of times so she could explore her yard. I took this short video of her:
 


It is great being a nanny granny! I love spending so much time with my granddaughter Julia.

 

 


Friday, November 16, 2012

Poetry and Songs for Thanksgiving

 
THANKSGIVING
Author Unknown

The year has turned its circle
The seasons come and go.
The harvest is all gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway—
Thanksgiving comes again.


THANKSGIVING TIME
Author Unknown
 
When all the leaves are off the boughs,
And nuts and apples gathered in,
And cornstalks waiting for the cows,
And pumpkins safe in barn and bin,
Then Mother says, "My children dear,
The fields are brown, and autumn flies;
Thanksgiving Day is very near,
And we must make thanksgiving pies!"

 
Click here and here and here to read some more Thanksgiving poetry for children.

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Thanksgiving Song - Mary Chapin Carpenter


 

Thanksgiving Songs for Children - FIVE LITTLE TURKEYS - Turkey Kids


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Anastasia Suen has the Poetry FridayRoundup at Booktalking.

 

 

Friday, November 9, 2012

A Poem about Night


 
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for me. We had a family Halloween party the last weekend in October at “The Farm.” That’s what my husband calls the house that we’ll be moving to at some time in the future. My daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter have already been living there for two months now.
 
My husband and I have plans to have some renovations done on our new living quarters before we move in. One thing that is a must—having a wall of bookshelves built in our upstairs office/den. I have thousands of children’s books that I don’t want to sell or give away. I want to keep them for my granddaughter Julia. She LOVES Books!
 
Last week, we had to batten down the hatches in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Fortunately, the storm didn’t hit my area too hard. This week we had a nor’easter. We got snow here on Wednesday night. The weather is looking up here for the long weekend ahead.
 
I’ve been so busy taking care of Julia and with our renovations plans that I’ve found little time to blog or write poetry. I did, however, write a poem “in my head” a few weeks ago when I was taking Julia for a walk to a nearby park on a beautiful autumn day. Here it is:


Night
Sang the sun a lullaby
And sprinkled stars across the sky
And lit the moon
And made it shine
Into this little room of mine.

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Ed DeCaria has the Poetry Friday Roundup at Think Kid, Think!