Summer Poetry: ‘maggy and milly and molly and may’ by ee cummings

I Got The Star  (IMG_6851) Photo Credit: Schristia via Compfight

maggy and milly and molly and may

 

maggy and milly and molly and may

 

went down to the beach(to play one day)

 

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

 

so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,

 

and milly befriended a stranded star

 

whose rays five languid fingers were;

 

and molly was chased by a horrible thing

 

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:

 

and may came home with a smooth round stone

 

as small as a world and as large as alone.

 

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

 

its always ourselves we find in the sea

 

ee cummings

 

Children writing poetry: Thoughts for Mothers’ Day: ‘She is the sound of the dishwasher closing.’

mother and child
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My Mother

She is the sound of the dishwasher closing

She is the colour white,

the same colour as the washing machine!

She would be a comfy armchair

She is ice cream

because she is cool when things go bad.

She is a tiger because she protects me.

She is a golden daffodil, standing tall.

She is birthdays all year round.

Tiger! Tiger! Burning Bright
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Here are some more poems for Mothers’ Day:

These poems were written using an idea

called ‘The Furniture Game’

from Sandy Brownjohn’s book,

‘Does It Have To Rhyme?’ (Hodder & Stoughton, 1980)

‘Halloween Countdown’ by Jack Prelutsky

Halloween Countdown

 

 Happy Halloween!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Schub@ via Compfight

 

There are ten ghosts in the pantry,

There are nine upon the stairs,

There are eight ghosts in the attic,

There are seven on the chairs,

There are six within the kitchen,

There are five along the hall,

There are four upon the ceiling,

There are three upon the wall,

There are two ghosts on the carpet,

Doing things that ghosts will do,

There is one ghost right behind me

Who is oh so quiet . . . BOO!

Jack Prelutsky

Countdown to Halloween: ‘In a dark, dark wood….’ – Traditional

In a Dark Dark Wood…
 

Magic! between the trees
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Luc B via Compfight

In a dark, dark wood,

there was a dark, dark house;

And in the dark, dark house,

there was a dark, dark room;

And in the dark, dark room,

there was a dark, dark cupboard;

And in the dark, dark cupboard,

there was a dark, dark shelf;

And on the dark, dark shelf

there was a dark, dark box;

And in the dark, dark box

there was a….ghost!

Day 277/365 - No Ghost
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Great Beyond via Compfight

 

In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house;

And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room;

And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard;

And in the dark, dark cupboard there was a dark, dark shelf;

And on the dark, dark shelf there was a dark, dark box;

And in the dark, dark box there was a….witch!

Paper Mache Haunted House -
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Iva Wilcox via Compfight

 

 

 

Countdown to Halloween: ‘Do you want to be a wizard?’ by Wes Magee

I will cast you a spell
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Flavio Casadei Della Chiesa via Compfight

Do you want to be a wizard?

Well, you need a pointed hat

With silver stars and golden moon

And perched on top ……a bat.

 

Do you want to be a wizard?

Well, you’ll need a Book of Spells

and rotten eggs and fried frogs

to make some horrid smells.

 

Do you want to be a wizard?

Well, you’ll need some pickled brains,

A wand, a cloak, and one dead rat,

And great slime from the drains.

 

Do you still want to be a wizard?

#anfomhar – Autumn Word Pictures – Using ‘Visual Poetry Mosaic’.

Autumn Word Picture

Paths like brown ribbons,

A sky that is dark blue.

A forest of golden leaves,

with a sky peeping through.

Blackberries, deep purple,

A seabirds call,

One day it was summer,

The next it was Fall.

Anon.

 

Autumn Poem

This week we experimented with

Visual Mosaic Poetry

We found it easy to use

and we got better with practice.

#anfomhar – ‘Autumn Days’ (Estelle White) as a Word Picture – using ‘Visual Poetry Mosaic’

We have learned how to use a new online tool:

Visual Poetry Mosaic from Language is a virus.com

With it you can turn words into images.

We are experimenting with it at the moment.

It is fairly simple to use

and we like the way that it connects words and pictures.

 

This is Estelle White’s ‘Autumn Days’

If you click on this

you can see the words and hear the melody.

Autumn Days by Estelle White

#anfomhar – Twitter project – ‘The Squirrel’ – Visual Poetry Mosaic

We used Visual Poetry Mosaic to turn

an Autumn Poem about a squirrel into a picture.

This is the poem:

The Squirrel 

Whisky, frisky,
Hippity hop;
Up he goes
To the tree top!

Whirly, twirly,
Round and round,
Down he scampers
To the ground.

Furly, curly
What a tail!
Tall as a feather
Broad as a sail!

Where’s his supper?
In the shell,
Snappity, crackity,
Out it fell.

Anon.

This is the picture.

Squirrel Poem

Countdown to Halloween: Poem: ‘I saw a ghost that stared and stared’.

OOOOoooooOOOOOooooo!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Valerie via Compfight

When it is late

 

When it is late

and it is dark

and everybody sleeps.

Shhh!

 

Into our kitchen

a small ghost creeps.

Shhh!

 

Then he clatters and clangs,

batters and bangs.

 

So we pull up the cover

over our heads

and we block up our ears

and

STAY

IN

BED.

 

I saw a ghost.

 

I saw a ghost

that stared

and stared.

I stood still

and acted scared.

But that was just

a big pretend.

I knew that ghost.

It was MY FRIEND.

Countdown to Halloween: Poem: ‘The skeletons are out tonight’.

Strike Up the Band
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Brett Kiger via Compfight

The skeletons are out tonight,

They march about the street,

With bony heads and bony knees,

And bony hands and feet.

Bony, bony, bony, bony,

Nothing in between,

Up and down and all around

They march on …

 

HALLOWE’EN.

 

Traditional

 

A goblin lives in our house

in our house

in our house.

A goblin lives in our house

all year round.

 

And he bumps

and he jumps

and he thumps

and he stumps.

 

And he knocks

and he rocks

and he rattles

at the locks.

 

A goblin lives in our house

in our house

in our house.

A goblin lives in our house

all year round.

 

Anon

 

Countdown to Halloween: Poem: ‘Witch, witch, where do you fly?’

the most beautiful witch of the world
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Bernat Casero via Compfight

Witch, Witch

Witch witch,

where do you fly?

Under the clouds

and over the sky.

 

Witch, witch,

what do you eat?

Little black apples

from Hurricane Street.

 

Witch, witch,

what do you drink?

Vinegar and good red ink.

 

Witch, witch,

where do you sleep?

Up in the clouds

where the pillows are cheap.

 

Traditional

 

The Smallest Witch

 

The smallest witch,

I ever did see,

Just peeked through the window

and looked at me.

I waved once or twice

but very soon,

She jumped three times

and flew to the moon.

 

Anon

‘Prayer of a Donkey’ by Carmen Bernos De Gasztol

THE PRAYER OF A DONKEY

by Carmen Bernos De Gasztol

fauxhawk
Photo Credit: sookie via Compfight

O God, who made me to trudge along the road always,

to carry heavy loads always

and to be beaten always !

Give me great courage and gentleness.

 

One day let somebody understand me …

that I may no longer want to weep

because I can never say what I mean

and they make fun of me.

 

Thistle
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Colin via Compfight

 

Let me find a juice thistle …

and make them give me time to pick it.

And Lord, one day, let me find again

my little brother at the Christmas crib.

 

Amen

 

This poem is a useful model for writing others.

See ‘Prayer of a Teacher’ by Stephanie W.

You could try writing ‘Prayer of a Student’ 🙂 

 

 

 

 

Children’s Writing; Poetry; A Heroine

Spring has sprung
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: darwin Bell via Compfight

Ms O’M

If she was a tree,

she would be an oak tree

because she is wise.

If she was a flower,

she would be 

cherry blossom

because she is

pretty in pink.

If she was an ice cream,

she would be chocolate mint,

because she is cool.

If she was candy,

she would be an apple drop,

because she is sweet.

If she was food,

she would be 

‘Queen of Puddings’

because she is 

the best in the world.

She is the colour gold,

because we value her.

She is sunshine all year round.

 

The school won’t be the same without you.

Children’s Writing; Poetry; ‘A Villain’ by Rory

X
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Kikasz via Compfight

I was tidying up my papers

at the end of the school year

and found a remarkable poem,

written by a past pupil.

 

‘Voltemorte’ by Rory

 

If he was a sound…

he would be a snake hiss.

He is the colour grey.

He is thunder and lightening.

Splintered wood.

He is a poisoned cup.

He is a thorn bush.

He would be a dark, cruel,

Winter’s night, all year round!

Children’s Poems based on Frank Asch’s ‘Sunflakes’

We read Frank Asch’s poem Sunflakes

We talked about images that the poem put into our minds.

Then we wrote our own poems.

 

M45 - Pleiadi
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Luca Argalia via Compfight

‘Starflakes’ by Shauna

If stars fell like snowflakes,

bright, shining and beautiful,

we could build a starman.

We could have a star fight.

We could watch the starflakes

dancing in the air.

We could have a star party

and we wouldn’t have a care.

 

London says
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Steve Bridger via Compfight

 

‘Fireworks’ by Max

If fireworks fell like snowflakes

multicoloured and sparkling,

we could build a firework man!

We could have a firework fight!

We would watch the fireflakes

flickering in the dark.

We could have a firework display

and watch it in the park.

 

The Magic Touch
Photo Credit: David Blackwell. via Compfight

 

‘Magic’ by Alice

If magic fell like snowflakes,

sparkly and so pretty,

we could build a magic man,

we could have a magic fight.

We could watch the sparkle flakes

drifting in the blue.

We could have three wishes,

two for me

and one for you!

 

‘Sunflakes’ by Frank Asch

‘Sunflakes’ by Frank Asch
Good Morning!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Frank Wuestefeld via Compfight
 
If sunlight fell like snowflakes,
 
gleaming yellow and so bright,
 
we could build a sunman,
 
we could have a sunball fight,
 
we could watch the sunflakes
 
drifting in the sky.
 
We could go sleighing
 
in the middle of July.
 
 
We talked the images in the poem
 
and about
 
what else might fall from the sky!

 

You can read about the ideas we had here.

 

Mumbling Bees by Daphne Lister

Bee Landing
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: David Reece via Compfight

 

Mumbling Bees

by Daphne Lister

 

All around the garden flowers

Big velvet bees are bumbling,

They hover low and as they go

They’re mumbling, mumbling, mumbling.

To lavender and snapdragons

The busy bees keep coming,

And all the busy afternoon

They’re humming, humming, humming.

Inside each bell-shaped flower and rose

They busily go stumbling,

Collecting pollen all day long

bumbling, bumbling, bumbling.

 

Can you spot the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs?