Poem #74

Yikes! I forgot to post this on Thursday.  So, here it is (on the eve of a big snowstorm) a poem about fall from Eva...

    Trees


   Trees   are
   Green   and
   Brown.   Trees
   Can   be   tall
   And   short.
   Trees   can   be
   Fat   and   skinny
   But   now   the
   Trees   are   red.
   Fall   is   here!
   The   trees
   Are   yellow
   The   End

Thanks, Eva!
And I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday!

Poem #73

Here's a poem by Raina...


       NO!


  No!   You   cannot
  Have   a   dog   said   mom.
  Can   I   have   a   snake?
  No!   You   cannot
  Have   a   snake.   But
  Mom,   I   said.   No
  Means   no.   Hhhhhhhh
  It's!   Not!   Fair!!!!!!!!!!
  Can   I   have   a
  Cat?   Yes   you   can
  Have   a   cat   Yay!!!!!!
  I   said

Thanks, Raina!

Have a good night, everyone!

PS - Parents As Reading Partners, Friday, January 7th, 8:30AM!
Hope to see you there...

Poem #72

Way to go today, First Graders...you have a hit on your hands! Audience members raved about your Eyes In The Dark musical!  Where next? Broadway? A tour of the Midwest? Europe? Sky's the limit...

Really nice job, everyone!

Here's a poem by Sophie...

     Bee


  I   have   a   bee
  A   little   bee   a   cute
  Bee   a   friendly   bee
  My   bee   your   bee
  I   have   this   little   bee
  His   name   is   bumble
  He   never   stings   me
  He   is   a   nice   bee
  A   friendly   bee
  A   loving   bee
  I   think   I'll   make   my   own   bee.

Thanks, Sophie!

Happy first day of winter!

Poem #71

Here's a poem from Eva...

     School


  I   like   school
  We   read   in   school
  We   have   math   in   school
  We   use   Pennies   and
  Nickels   and   Dimes   in   school

Thanks, Eva!

PS -  Eyes In The Dark: A Little House On The Prairie Musical,  tomorrow at 9AM and again at 12:15PM... Hope to see you there!

Have a nice night!

Poem #70

Seventy days of school!

Here's a poem by Grace...

     First   Snowflake


    The   first   snowflake
    Falls   from   the
    Sky.  With   the
    Snow   coming
    With   it.   In   the
    Winter   it   falls
    From   way   up
    Hi.   The   snow
    Flake   is   water.
    The   second
    Snowflake
    Falls   from   the
    Sky.   It   is   beautiful.
    Three   snowflakes
    Fall   from   the
    Sky.   Ten.   Eleven.
    Twelve.   Thirteen.
    Fourteen.   Fifteen.
    Sixteen.   Seventeen.
    I   love   snowflakes.

Thanks, Grace!

Reminder - Dress rehearsal Monday!
Have a great weekend!

Poem #69

Here's a poem by Kaytlyn...

    About   December


       Snow
       Snow   is   tiny
       Everybody   likes   snow
       It   becomes   water
       I   like   snow
       Anthony   likes   snow
       Mom   likes   snow
       Dad   likes   snow
       Everybody
       I   love   snow

Thanks, Kaytlyn!
I feel the same way!

Have a good evening!

Poem #68

Here's a poem by Sophie in honor of our class fish...

     Swimmy


  My   class   has
  This   little   fish.
  A   Beta   fish   with   a
  Little   tank   with    different
  Blue   rocks   like   dark
  Blue   and   light   blue
  and   in   the   middle
  We   feed   him   fish   food
  His   name   is   Swimmy
  He   is   a   loving   fish
  I   love   our   fish.

Thanks, Sophie!

Have a nice night!

Poem #67

Jordan wrote a poem inspired by a Langston Hughes poem we learned a few weeks ago. Here's Jordan's...

     My   Best   Friend


          I   love   my
          Best   friend
          He   went   away
          Aiden
          Went   home
          I   had   to
          Watch   him
          Go   home
          Goodbye   Aiden

Thanks, Jordan!

Have a good night, everyone!

Poem #66

Here's a poem Lylith wrote last week...

     Nature


   The   wind
   Blows   when
   The   kites
   Fly   the
   Sun   shines
   When   the   clouds
   Go   by   and
   The   grass
   Stays   still
   While   the
   Flowers   grow

Thanks, Lylith!

Have a nice night, everyone!

Poem #65

Today James wrote a poem about his dog, Casey. I asked him if he felt like sharing the poem with everybody on our blog. He said he did. I checked with James before posting his poem because earlier this week Casey died. James is a brave writer...

    Casey


   Bowl
   Water
   Food
   Dog   Bowl
   Dog   Dish
   Wet   nose
   Lots   of   hair
   Big   small
   Collar
   Chains

Thanks, James!

Poem #64

Big News!... We have a new student! Welcome, Olivia!

Also, on Tuesday, December 21st the first graders will perform a Little House On The Prairie musical!  Show times and location: 9 AM & 12:15 PM in room #1 at New Franklin Elementary!

Now for our poem. This one comes from Will...

     My   Sister


    Funny
    Weirdo
    Her   name
    Is   Kayla
    She   likes   chocolate   milk
    She   loves   Dora   The
    Explorer
    I   love   my   sister

Thanks, Will!

Have a nice night!

Poem #63

Here's one from Marcos...


       Hairstyles


   Hairstyles   can   look   any   way
   A   mohawk
   Curls
   Smooth
   Bald
   Spiky
   Puffy
   Braids
   Colorful
   Ponytails
   Short   and
   Tall
   Blond
   And   brown

Thanks, Marcos!

Have a good night, everyone!

Poem #62

We decided a silly poem in three parts was in order for today...

                Emergency


    Teacher!   I   have   to   go   to   the   bathroom!
    Teacher   is   talking   to   another   child.
    Teacher!   I   have   to   go   to   the   bathroom!
    Teacher   is   grading   homework.
    TEACHER!   I   HAVE   TO   GO   TO   THE   BATHROOM!


    Why   didn't   you   tell   me?   Says   the   teacher.
    Oh,   brother!


                  Oh,   no!   The   bathroom
                  Is   under   construction!
                           Closed!


Have a good night, everyone!

Poem #61

Here are two from the vault...

                       I   Like   to   Play
                                                                                                               -by Eva
  I   like   to   play.
  I   like   to   play   with   my   blue   ball.
  I   like   to   play   with   my   red   yo-yo.
  I   like   coloring.
                 The   End.


                                         Games
                                                                                                            -by Michael
  Games   are   made   for   fun.
  Games   are   made   for   winning   as   well
  Games   can   be   any   kind   of   game.
  There   are   a   lot   of   games.


Thanks, Eva! Thanks, Michael!


Have a good night, everyone!

Poem #60

We thought it would be fun to use words from other languages in our poem today.  So, we brainstormed some words and then asked, "Who would say these words?" And, "What might they be doing when they say them?" These questions lead us to this poem...


               Languages


  "Guten Morgen!"
  Say   two   German   people   in   the   zoo   by   the
  giraffes.


  "Rojo!"
  Says   a   bullfighter   in   Mexico.


  "Si!"
  Says   a   prince   when   someone   asks   him   to   dance
  in   Chile.


  "Aloha!" "Au revoir!" "Ciao!"
  Say   three   kids   in   the   airport   leaving   America.


Have a great weekend, everyone!

PS - Thanks for a really nice Parents As Reading Partners today!

Poem #59

Here's one Michael wrote at home...

           Trees


  Trees   help   the   world   to   breathe.
  Trees   are   full   with   nests.
  Trees   can   hibernate.


Thanks, Michael!

Hope to see everyone here tomorrow for Parents As Reading Partners!  8:30 AM!

Poem #58

Alessandro's grandfather (Nick Ciani) inspired the class today by guiding us all through a science experiment. As kids headed out to recess, I overheard several of them saying things like, "Let's go do science outside!" Thanks, Mr. Ciani!
At the end of the day they wrote a poem about it...


     Science   Experiment


   Orange   and   blue   flame
   Black   bent   wick
   The   flame   needs   oxygen
   The   wax   dripped   down
   The   fire   is   bright
   Mr.   Ciani   mixed   vinegar,   water   and   baking   soda
   It   fizzed   carbon   dioxide.
   He   poured   the   gas   on   the   candle
   It   blew   out!


Have a good night everyone!

Poem #57

Poets occasionally take inspiration from words or phrases they hear or discover in all sorts of unlikely places - in the ad jargon on a Cheez-It box, in words on the back of a math book, or in the title of a comic book... etc.  "Using" these words or phrases might be considered found poetry.  Toady we tried our hand at it...

     Golden Celebration


  "It's   a   lazy   Sunday,
  One   hundred   percent   sunshine,"   said   Momma.
  "Let's   have   a   golden   celebration,"   said   Bubba.
  "Just   this   once,"   said   Momma.
  Bubba   and   Momma   stood   on   the   couch
  In   their   living   room   in   Hong   Kong.
  "It's   the   last   day   of   November,"   said   Bubba.
  "Wonderful!"   said   Momma.


This poem is good for the environment - 100% Recycled Material.
Have a good night, everyone!

Poem #56

Here's today's poem...

     Thanksgiving   Dinner


  "It's   time   for   dinner!"   said   mom.
  "Stop   playing   with   your   toys!"
  Yellow,   mushy   mashed potatoes
  Crunchy   cranberry   relish
  "Who!   Who!"   went   an   owl
  The   turkey   smelled   sweet
  Scrumptious   pecan   pie   with   vanilla   ice cream
  "It's   time   to   go,"   said   mom.


I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend!

Poem #55

We tried a recipe for clove apples from The World of Little House book by Carolyn Strom Collins. Our class smelled delicious! Then we wrote a poem...

    Apples   with   Cloves


   We   made   apples   with   cloves
   We   took   an   apple
   We   took   some   cloves
   We   stuck   cloves   in   the   apple
   Cloves   have   a   round,   brown   top
   Cloves   smell   spicy
   Cloves   have   a   sharp   end
   Cloves   look   like   a   stick
   Everything   smelled   sweet   and   spicy


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Poem #54

Here are two recent poems from Michael...


       Balls


   Balls   are   bouncing   away
   Balls   can   be   whacked   away
   Balls   can   pop!
   People   pick   them   up
   People   bat   balls.




       Ropes


  Ropes   can   be   whacked   with
  Ropes   can   be   twirled
  Ropes   can   be   thrown
  Ropes   can   be   cut
  Ropes   can   be   tied.




Thanks, Michael!
Have a good night, everyone...

Poem #53

Hello Everyone!

Early reminder - Parents As Reading Partners on December 3rd at 8:30 AM!  Hope to see you there!

Here's our poem... 

       November

   November,   it's   cold

   Some   trees   are   bare

   But   pine   trees   still   have   needles

   Little   rivers   have   thin,   icy   tops

   Do   not   step   on   them!

   Frost   is   on   leaves

   Frost   is   on   roofs

   The   ice   is   silky   slippery

   November

Here's the quote of the day:

Student #1: I got the wind knocked out of me...

Student #2: I did too. I got the wind knocked out of my leg!

Have a nice night!

Poem #52

Here's a poem about the Big Woods of Wisconsin, Laura Ingalls' first home...


     Big   Woods


   So,   so   wild!
   Brown   and   green   trees  
   Swish,   Swish   the   wind   blows
   The   leaves  away   in   the   air
   The   sun   light
   Shines   through   the   trees
   In   the   Big   Woods
   Each   year   a   tree   grows   a   new   ring
   The   stumps   have   lots   of   rings

Have a good night!

Poem #51

Raina brought in a song she wrote. We talked about how a song is like a poem put to music. Here it is...


 Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight


    Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight
    Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight
    Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight
    With   me


    Don't   sit   in   the   house
    And   play   a   board   game
    Go   outside   and   ride   your   bike
    Or   ride   your   scooter
    Or   play   ball


    Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight
    Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight
    Take   a   Walk   in   the   Sunlight
    With   me


Thanks, Raina!  I'll be humming that one for awhile.
Have a good night everyone...

Poem #50

The fiftieth day of school!

Today we talked about how the land plays such an important role in the Little House stories so we decided to write a poem about it...


     The   Land


  The   frozen   Mississippi -
  The   ice   melts
  The   sun   shines
  The   clouds   go   by
  The   prairies   of   Kansas -
  The   grass   blows
  The   land   smells   sweet
  The   water   streams   through
  The   smooth   grass   waves   gently
  Through   the   land

Have a good night!

Poem #49

Here's Jack's poem (Laura Ingalls' dog)...


      Jack


  Good   dog,
  Smart   dog
  Brave
  Good   old   bulldog,   Jack
  Paces   in   front   of   the   log   cabin   door
  To   guard   the   family   from   wolves
  Chases   squirrels
  Plays   with   Laura
  Cuddles   near   the   fire
  Jogs   under   the   wagon
  From   the   Big   Woods   of   Wisconsin
  To   the   prairies   of   Kansas


Have a good night!

Poem #48

Here's a poem with a lot going on!


    I   Like


  Red   balls   are   red.
  Yo-yo's   are   blue.
  I   like   to   run
  I   like   to   play.
  I   like   to   jump.
  Red - blue
  Red - blue
  I   like   my   dog.
  I   like   cats
  I   like   dogs
  I   love   my   mom   and   dad
  1   2   3
  A   B   C
  The   End


Thanks, Eva!
Have a good weekend, everyone...

Poem #47

Here's Ma Ingalls' poem...


      Ma


  Sprained   ankle
  Helpful
  Pioneer   mom
  Generous
  Brave
  Family   protector
  Churns   butter


Have a nice night!

PS - No school tomorrow. See you all Friday!

Poem #46

We continue our character studies so here's Mary Ingalls' poem...

     Mary


  Tidy
  Neat
  Calm
  Ladylike
  Plays   with   dolls
  Gentle
  Sometimes   scared
  Horrible   fever
  Blind
  Pioneer   girl


Have a good night!

Poem #45

Another entry in the Characters of Little House series...


     Laura


   Pioneer   sister
   Wild
   Farm   girl
   River-crosser
   Adventurous
   Mary's   eyes
   Married   Almonzo
   Writer
   Loved   her   good   old   bulldog,   Jack


Thanks for the great Parents as Reading Partners last week!
Have a nice night...

Poem #44

Here's a zen-like poem from Will...

                                   Leaves


         All   different   colors
         In   fall   they   fall


     Down


Clear and refreshing as a glass of cold spring water!
Thanks, Will!

Have a good weekend...

PS - Conferences start next week! Please call Ms. Lister if you need to make one - 436-0910   Thanks!

Poem #43

The Crossing The River poem got us thinking... We're in the middle of writing a play based on the Ingalls' adventures and we want to know our characters really well so we thought, "what better way to know someone than write a poem about him/her?" (Okay, it was me who thought this, but first graders were quick to agree - they're good sports). Here's our first one:


       Pa


     Hunter
     Pioneer
     Builder
     Fire-maker
     Fiddler
     Brave
     Has   a   raccoon-tail   hat
     Great   man!


Have a good night!
Hope to see you all tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM for Parents As Reading Partners!

Poem #42

Here's a poem by Kaytlyn...


     I   Like   Green


     Green   is   like   grass
     Green   is   like   leaves
     Green   lollipops   taste   like   apples
     Green   is   just   like   watermelon
     Leaves   are   green
     Caterpillars   are   green   too
     Ice   cream   is   green


Thanks, Kaytlyn!
Have a good night!

Poem #41

We're reading lots of Little House on the Prairie stories and today we were inspired to write a poem about one of the chapters.

  Crossing   The   River


   It's    going   to   be   hard
   The   river   is   rough
   The   river   is   high
   The   river   is   dark   blue
   Swish,  Swish,  the   river   waves.
   We   have   to   go   through
   We   can't   go   around


Reminder - Parents As Reading Partners this Friday!  8:30 to 9:00 AM in our class.

Poem #40

Wow!  The fortieth day of school already! The fortieth poem!

And, there's another reason for celebration... today's poem completes a big goal we set for ourselves: one poem for each student based on the green biographies from the beginning of the year! Yea!

Here's Jordan's poem...


     Jordan


   White   shiny   rocks
   He   collects


   He   goes   to   the   fireworks
   And   feels   the   sounds
   Through   his   body


   He   climbs   trees
   If   he   climbs   just   right
   He   can   grab   an   apple


Nice work everyone!

Also, important news - Parents As Reading Partners is this Friday! Come and read next to your child (or someone else's, or both) and enjoy yourself.  There will be coffee and friends and kids and lots and lots of books. Hope to see you there!

Poem #39

Thank you for a really great Halloween party today!  The food was super tasty!  The notebooks and mazes were big hits!  And the costumes and decorations were a lot of fun!  Thanks again everybody!

Now for our poem...

Michael brought this one from home.


     Cranes


  Cranes   pour   sand
  And   when   the   sand
  Hits   the   pile
  Some   pieces   blast
          out
  Then   it   turns   back
  To   get   more
  Cranes   reach   sand
  For   the   sand pile


Thanks, Michael!


Have a great weekend and a happy Halloween!

Poem #38

Here's Kaytlyn's poem...


     Kaytlyn


   Sometimes   shy
   She   sometimes   hides
   Poof!   Behind   the   teacher
   She   thought   everyone
   Would   laugh   at   her
   Self-portrait   picture
   She   came   out
   They   didn't   laugh
   She   made   new   friends


See you tomorrow!

Poem #37

Dear Families,

A good number of the songs we sing in class are by the singer-songwriter Dan Zanes - a native of New Hampshire!  He has crazy hair and a talent for lyrics.  On November 20th he performs at the Portsmouth Music Hall, in case you're interested. I've taken my sons to see his band several times before and it's always an uplifting, rollicking show and I always go home afterward and pick up my guitar.

Now, on to our poem:

Raina has begun work on a poem and she gave me permission to publish it in draft form .  I thought it would be interesting to post it now and then see how she revises it later. Here's what the poet has done so far...


     Untitled


   Bandits   come   in
   To   the   castle
   At   night   they
   Steal   our
   Diamonds   the
   King   chases
   The   knights   to
   Fight   back
   The   knights
   Win   the
   Battle   and   the
   King   is   sad


Thanks, Raina! We're looking forward to what you do next!

Poem #36

Here's Eva's poem...


     Eva's   Poem


  Loves   to   jumprope
  When   the   jumprope   comes
  She   hops   once
  She   can't   feel   the   ground
  She   feels   nothing
  The   sound   of   the   jumprope
  Whhh   Whhh   Whhh
  Hitting   the   ground
  Khhh   Khhh   Khhh
  When   she   stops
  Her   feet   vibrate


See you tomorrow!

Poem #35

Here are three from Marcos!


Frankenstein


Frankensteins
Are   green
And   crabby
Frankensteins
Hold   their  arms   straight
Frankensteins   Frankensteins




My   Family


My   Family   is   important
I   love   my   Family
You   should   love   your   Family
Families   care   about   you
You   care   about   your
Family




Bees


Bees   can   sting
Bees   love   honey
Bees   can   be   boys
and   girls   they
Are   black   and   yellow


Thanks, Marcos!

PS - Halloween parade this Friday at 1:15 PM!  Hope to see you there!  Class party to follow!

Poem #34

We decided to write a poem that took a different angle on fall than most of the other poems you read...


       Fall


   The   flowers   die
   The   leaves   fall   off   the   trees
   Can't   go   outside
   Because   the   leaves   are   muddy
   Birds   fly   south
   It   feels   cold
   Winter   is   starting
   The   snow   falls


Sort of a downer, but we had fun writing it!
Have a good weekend!

Poem #33

Today we tried to create a poem using mostly sounds...


     Birthday


   Noise   makers -
   Bbddddddddddrup!


   Birthday   Song -
   Da  da  da  da  da  da
   Da  da  da  da  DA  da
   Da  da  daaaa  da  da  daaaa  da
   Da  da  da  da  da  da!


   Wishes -
   Whooooooooo!


   Presents   open -
   Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiip!


   Balloons -
   Pop!


Have a good night!

Poem #32

The other day Carter brought in a book of poems he'd written all about school.  Here's one of them...


   Writing Time


   "Writing   Writing
   I   like   to   write
   Because   the   stories"
   Pencil
   "Paper   and   books"
   Illustrator
   "Author   and
   Have   fun"


Thanks, Carter!

Poem #31

Here's a poem Patrick recently wrote...


         Motorcycle


  They   go   fast.
  When   they   go   dirt   flies   everywhere.
  Motorcycles   are   cool.
  Speeding!   Down   the   track.
  I   wish   I   had   a   motorcycle.

  The   End


Thanks, Patrick!

Poem #30

Today we went to Applecrest Farms! The weather was beautiful, the tour guide was engaging and the donuts were scrumptious. Unfortunately, a surprise frost killed 80% of the apples last spring so we had to pick ours out of crates. None were left on the trees! And, there was one last adventure that deserved to be remembered in verse...


          Field   Trip


   We   heard   an   alarm
   It   was   a   beeping   sound
   The   bus   driver   called   the   office
   We   got   off   the   bus
   We   walked   on   the   green   grass
   A   black   crow   flew   through   the   trees
   We   did   exercises   on   the   grass
   A   truck   gave   the   bus   a   jump   start


See you tomorrow!

Poem #29

We read Spencer's biography today and here's Spencer's poem...


    Spencer's   Froggie   Poem


            Spencer   used   to
            Carry   Froggie
            On   his   head
            Spencer's   Froggie
            Now   sleeps
            On   the   fridge
            Sometimes   Spencer   takes   him   down
            And   puts   him   on   his   head
            Tiny   beans   inside   Froggie
            Tiny   beans   falling   out
            Spencer   says,
            "Let's   play   leapfrog,   Froggie!"


Have a good weekend!

PS - Field trip at 9AM on Monday!