Love Is, Part Deux #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday, all! Jone MacCulloch is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, Check It Out. Won’t you join us there? Not only is she hosting the Roundup this week, but she’s also hosting a CYBILS Awards Party. Party on, Jone!

Back on February 1, I shared poet/author Kwame Alexander’s latest poetic challenge to loyal teacher listeners on NPR’s Morning Edition. (Click here to read my post.) The challenge this time was to give the following prompt to your students: “Love is…” and see what they come up with. Participants could submit individual lines, an entire poem, or even an audio file.

After reading a book to my Kindergarteners about love, I posed the question to them. “What is love to you?” Here are some of their ideas. 

 

I submitted all of these wonderfully sweet ideas to Kwame’s challenge. I also included a poem I crafted (or midwifed, as my dear poetry mentor Amy Ludwig VanDerwater once taught me) using some of their ideas and some of mine. 

Yesterday, on Valentine’s Day, Kwame shared submissions and his crowdsourced poem with host, Rachel Martin. (Click here to listen.) Over 2,000 teachers sent in poetry. Amazing! Although we ended up on the editing room floor, I’m thrilled so many participated and that my students had a chance to be involved. That’s what it’s all about. All for the love of poetry. 

ADDENDUM ADDED FRIDAY NIGHT: Would you believe that at our February all school meeting yesterday it was announced that a 3rd Grade teacher’s class would share a “Love is…” poem they had written? I was astonished, as I thought I was a.) the only NPR listener on our faculty, and b.) the only teacher participating in the “Love is…” challenge. I’ve since shared my poem with the teacher and we now have plans for our classes to share together after vacation and possibly work on a Kindergarten-3rd Grade collaboration. 

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Thanks for wondering and wandering a bit with me today. I hope you’ll join us on this Poetry Friday by posting a bit of poetry — your’s or someone else’s — and leaving a comment here or there.  Thanks for hosting, Jone! 

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Love Is #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday, all! Tabatha Yeatts is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, The Opposite of Indifference.  

On Monday, during his monthly-ish appearance on NPR’s Morning Edition, poet/author Kwame Alexander issued his latest poetic challenge to loyal teacher listeners. Listen up, teachers! Kwame’s talking to us!  The challenge this time is to give the following prompt to our students: “Love is…” and see what they come up with. Participants may submit individual lines, an entire poem, or even an audio file. On Valentine’s Day, Kwame will be back to share submissions with host, Rachel Martin. I can’t wait to get started with my Kindergarten poets next week. 

I’ll be honest. I wish Kwame’s visits with Rachel occurred weekly and not monthly-ish. Their rapport with one another is endearing, to say the least. What a way to start your morning! These segments usually air when my husband and I are just sitting down at our kitchen island to eat breakfast together before heading off to work. As soon as Rachel begins her intro, my husband says, “Here’s your Kwame! Poetry time!” We listen together. Together. I think that’s part of why I love these segments so much. It’s a small moment in the day that my husband and I share. He knows the role poetry — reading and writing — plays in my life, and appreciates that it’s a part of who I am, just as history is for him. 

To get caught up on some of these poetry segments, you can listen to:

• November’s “Thank You, America,” crowdsourced poem here
• August’s “Teamwork” poems here
• and “Getting kids interested in poetry” from July 2017 here

For more information about Kwame’s current “Love is” challenge, or to submit your students’ poetic offerings, click here. 

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Thanks for wondering and wandering a bit with me today. I hope you’ll join us on this Poetry Friday by posting a bit of poetry — your’s or someone else’s — and leaving a comment here or there.