poetry

Calling Writers and Teachers

/ Sheri / Leave a comment

An insightful (and fun:-) writing prompt

Calling all ELA teachers, parents, poets, and writers! Do you want to:

  • explore the inner terrain of you
  • connect with your students/child/children
  • inspire self-exploration and self-awareness

If the answer is a resounding YES to any or all of the above, you’ll want to keep reading:-)

For the Educator

Whether you are an ESL secondary teacher or Language Arts teacher to 1st graders, the activity I’m shortly going to suggest will boost:

  • insight
  • emotional intelligence
  • creativity
  • language development
  • self-esteem

So, what’s the activity? Hold onto your academic seats…

I Am From

Students of all ages love a creative activity that offers a rare combination of form and freedom. Enter the I Am Fromwriting prompt.

Just having a sentence stem soothes yet challenges the novice to the experienced writer.

Bonus points — while your students are waxing creative, two big things are developing:

  • a positive association with writing
  • a connection between teacher and student

When a student is given the verbal water wings of a sentence stem, they can “swim” with an idea.

Sentence stems promote students’ confidence and provide a focused theme for them to explore.

For the Lover of Words

The I Am From is no ordinary I Am prompt. Oh dear lover of words, just look at the beckoning use of the preposition “from” teasing us to respond.

The I Am From writing prompt is an invitation to explore our soul’s journey.

This is your chance to weave those unspoken thoughts into a tapestry of verbal color as intricate and mesmerizing as wonderful you.

I’ll be running a writing camp for the next couple of weeks. Their ages range from 5–14. So, I’ve created an I Am Frompoem as a model for them.

Poetry is to writing what a trailer is to a movie.

Poetry gets to the heart of a matter, literally pulling on the gamut of emotional strings just long enough to let us know there’s more lying many leagues below the sea of our psyche.

Poetry is the sampler; prose is the buffet.

My Poetry Sampler

I am from
metal swings,
plastic-covered couches,
and station
wagons

I am from
dogs barking
at mailmen,
8 millimeter films,
and fireflies
on summer nights

I am from 
45 records,
playing hopscotch,
and Mr. Softy’s 
ice cream truck

I am from 
building forts
cartwheels,
and the end 
of the Vietnam War

Whether you are a teacher or lover of words (or both:-), I hope you find the I Am From prompt inspiring.

Abundant Living

Rupi Kaur’s Gift to Humanity’s Appetite

/ Sheri / 1 Comment

It’s no wonder Rupi Kaur is the author of two New York Times bestselling poetry collections. The twenty-seven year old writes with a brave vulnerability that draws us in; through her metamorphic journey we are also changed, encouraged by her candor to seek our own inner exploration.

I couldn’t resist sharing the excerpt below from Ms. Kaur’s latest publication, the sun and her flowers:

“you are a mirror
if you continue to starve yourself of love
you’ll only meet people who’ll starve you too
if you soak yourself in love
the universe will hand you those
who’ll love you too
– a simple math”

Kaur’s words remind me of the famous quote by former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” The world is a reflection of our own perceptions. If we perceive ourselves as unworthy of love, we will continue to feel starved; if we believe that we are deserving of love, we will receive its unending sweetness.

Kaur is correct: It IS simple math. But I am so grateful of her grace with words for offering us a much-needed metaphorical mirror to determine whether we are nourished or starving.

Food for Parents and Kids of All Ages

/ Sheri / 2 Comments

During this pandemic, while doing our part to stay home and flatten the curve, I stumbled upon this poem my son had written at nine years of age. The genius of this assignment is its simplicity, it’s ability to extract one’s perceptions and personality preferences through present tense verbs: I see, I cry, I dream.

While many of us are still homebound, I encourage you to nourish yourself and your family members with this poetry “workout” of sorts.  We have all seen the GIF pictures flooding social media now of people going into their respective fridges every ten minutes, irrationally hoping to find something new to eat. 

But more often than not, we are hungry for connection and understanding—particularly during this unchartered world of COVID-19. Why not try to feed yourself and your loved ones by fostering that connection and understanding via poetry?

Here’s what I’ve created:

I am apart but never alone.

I wonder if our new normal will ever feel normal.

I hear the news in the background like a garbage compactor that never shuts down.

I see hope in the angels on the frontlines fighting to save humanity every day.

I want the pandemic to unite, not divide us

I pretend I can go to my mailbox without fear

I feel for the planet

I worry about what comes next

I cry for humankind

I understand my parents more each decade

I dream about sitting in a restaurant with family and friends

But the most important thing I do is see each day as a new opportunity

                       My Son’s Poem in 3rd Grade