Showing posts with label Poetry Month 2018. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poetry Month 2018. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Poetry Friday -- The Final Golden Shovel



Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right. ~Henry Ford


Blessing 

You are going to fail, whether
you want to or not, in big and small ways. You
can spend your time worrying about that, or you can believe
that failure is valuable. It’s the way we learn. You
are in charge of how you think about your mistakes. You can
embrace them, trying to fail better every day, or
you can wallow in your catastrophes. What you believe
will determine how well you
live. I can’t
predict your future, but I have a good feeling that you’re
going to be more than all right.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



In April, I wrote a golden shovel for each of my students, using a quote chosen by each student as the striking line. Only one poem was missing from the collection: mine. Here it is. Number 31. It is the blessing I bestowed upon the Hahn Squad as I sent them out into the world and off to middle school. 


Buffy has the Poetry Friday Roundup for today at Buffy's Blog.

And it's time to gather Roundup hosts for July - December. That post is here.




Monday, April 30, 2018

High Flight



Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
~Kevin Durant


High Flight

The last day of school is in sight. You can’t imagine how hard
it is to release my masterpieces, say goodbye to my best work.
Launching you, I imagine the sigh of wing-beats
as you fly away, soaring with your talent,
your sense of humor, your desire to set the world right. When
you alight again next fall, don’t you dare hide your talent,
head under wing, letting others lead. Genius doesn’t
need adult plumage to rise and spiral. All genius needs is work.
And remember, the work of flight is joyful, not hard.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018






Sunday, April 29, 2018

Word Game Wednesday




Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is not path and leave a trail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Word Game Wednesday

What would you like to do?
Play Word Around? Rhyme Out? Bananagrams? Do not
dawdle; find a group and go
tinker with words! Play Scrabble; observe where
the
words intersect, criss-crossing a path
of letters that may
lead
to unexpected mergers. Perhaps go
online instead
and play Free Rice, where
you earn kernels of rice for nuggets of knowledge. There
is
no
guarantee, but Word Game Wednesday could have been the path
that led us to be homophone, homonym, and
homograph hunters. Words open the world. Using them, we leave
a
splendiferous trail.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Saturday, April 28, 2018

Winter Memory



Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.  ~Unknown

Winter Memory*

When you consider the life
of another creature, it is is
often humbling. The temperature that day was not
much above zero. We measured
the cold by
the
frost on our scarves from our breaths.
We
were by the lake to take
winter pictures, but
we became fascinated by
the
geese in the water. After a few moments
of observation, we could see that
the cold didn’t seem to bother them. We had begun to take
our
photos when we saw it – goose breath
puffing in the cold air. Blew us completely away.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



*Mr. Wald, our classroom stool-repairer, provided the memory that became this poem.



Friday, April 27, 2018

Poetry Friday



Whatever you are, be a good one.  ~Abraham Lincoln


Poetry Friday

Pick a poem about whatever
captivates you
endangered animals, a hotdog car, dinosaurs, or ants – you are
in charge of choosing and practicing. Be
an attentive audience for others. Then, be a
positively excellent performer. Make us sigh, or laugh and say, “Good
one!”


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018




Poetry Friday is one of the most beloved routines in our classroom. My students start the year not knowing the names of any children's poets and end the year with favorite poets and favorite books. (I'm pretty sure someone has hidden I'm Just No Good At Rhyming so they won't have to share it!) One of my greatest hopes is that they will be able to hold onto this love of poetry!

Irene has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Live Your Poem.


Thursday, April 26, 2018

Endless WInter



You're never a loser until you quit trying.  ~Mike Ditka


Endless Winter

Indoor recess AGAIN? You’re
kidding me! Spring is never
going to get here! Oh, well. Grab a
board – mancala, chess, Clue – there’s no loser
in a never-ending game. We’ll play until
…what’s that you
say? The snow has quit?
The sun is shining…or at least trying?!?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018




Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Go Ahead and Give It Your All


Life is short. Make it amazing.  ~Hugh MacLeod (gapingvoid.com)


Go Ahead and Give It Your All

Making a Valentine box is like making a life.
The amount of effort you put into it is
the amount of fun you get out of it. Don’t be short-
sighted. Use every bit of imagination to make
it
(your life or your Valentine box) amazing!


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Collaboration



We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree.  ~Aang (in Avatar: The Last Airbender)


Collaboration

Testing means work silently (all by yourself) but we
are accustomed to collaboration. We know we are all
smarter when we work together, but we have
to take the
test alone. It is not the same
as (all those times) when we discovered how our (very different) roots
could lead us to common understanding. Testing is too quiet and
the air is filled with tension. We
struggle silently (on our own) until we are
all finished. At last we get our voices back and we are all
of us (once again) like branches
(grafted from many nations and cultures) of
the
(strong enough to support us all and tested by time) same
(collaboration makes us all smarter) tree.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Monday, April 23, 2018

Easier Said Than Done



Treat people the way you want to be treated.  ~The Golden Rule


Easier Said Than Done

Learn to treat
yourself with kindness, because other people
might not. Believe the
truth contained in your heart. Get out of your own way
and become the person you
were meant to be. If you want
to, you can fix what’s broken. You can be the one to
make sure every injury will be
treated.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018


Sunday, April 22, 2018

Persona


Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.  ~Einstein


Persona 

I’m interested in everything.
The world is full of ideas and wonders that
blow my mind. I can
make amazing connections, be
the one who sees what others cannot, be counted
on to be the one who does
not take a statement for granted – the one who is not
afraid to question (but also who does not necessarily
think before I put my opinion out there). However, you can count
on me to understand that everything
I do or say matters, and that
admitting my mistake counts.
I have a keen sense of humor, and although I cannot
necessarily
time my jokes accurately, I keep trying. My best might be
the Poetry Friday ant rap. That definitely counted.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Saturday, April 21, 2018

Advice to Writers



Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins. ~Sharon Creech (Walk Two Moons)


Advice to Writers

Writing well is more than just words on a page. Don’t
be satisfied with your first draft. Be the one to judge
your own writing with a
critical eye. Man
up (or woman up) -- work on revising and editing until
you’ve
walked
through your piece at least two
times. If you’re writing about stars and moons,
get your facts straight. Don’t write “in
his
shoes” if what you really mean is moccasins.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Friday, April 20, 2018

Reciprocal


When you live happy, you are happy.  ~Layann

Reciprocal

The Sparkly Unicorn Award is given when
you notice someone being amazing. You
get as much joy giving it as receiving it. The sculpture will live
on the recipient’s desk for the rest of the day, making them happy
every time they look at it. You made their day, so you
are
also happy.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017



Late last fall, we spent a morning messing around with plaster of paris. We made discs and ornaments and pendants and other assorted creations, which we decorated with glitter, ribbon, sequins, shells, etc. One of the creations was given to me -- a disc with edges dripping glitter and a Unicorn Horn Shell jutting up out of its center. Weeks later, on a day when someone did something totally awesome that needed a spotlight, I dubbed the disc+shell The Sparkly Unicorn Award, and I bestowed the award upon the awesome child. I allowed them to keep the award on their desk for the rest of the day (getting glitter all over someone else's work for once). Since then, students have begun bestowing the award upon each other, and one girl especially (the one who dances and draws through "Luminosity") has become our Lead Noticer of Other People's Awesomeness. She has given the award more times in the last few weeks than I have since last fall. It's one thing to BE awesome, but it's another kind of awesome to shine a light on others.

This class. I think I'm already starting to miss them.


Tabatha has this week's Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, The Opposite of Indifference, which is what I would say my poem and post is all about this week!


Thursday, April 19, 2018

Positivity


At least I tried.  ~Hugh MacLeod

Positivity

A smile is at
the heart of all that is good, and it is the least
I can do. Every single day I am a success because I can say, “I
came, I smiled, I tried.”


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018




Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Persevere



This is your life. Do what you love and do it often.  ~The Holstee Manifesto


Persevere

Hard work. This
is
how you make your
dreams come true. Your life
is yours to mold like clay. Do
not wait for someone else to decide what
you
will be. Find what you love
most in life and
make it happen. Do
not be afraid to follow your dream as far as it
takes you. Just don’t forget to return home often.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018




Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Keen Observer



Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Keen Observer

Unless
you
bother to watch for hawks, unless you try
to
find a preying mantis hiding in the garden, you do
not know that there is something
beyond
what
is obvious and easy. You
have
to stop assuming that you have already
seen it all, mastered
it all. You
must become a keen observer or you will
never
grow.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018




Monday, April 16, 2018

Cookies



We measure minds by their stature. It would be better to estimate them by their beauty.  ~Joseph Joubert 

Cookies

Remember the time we
decorated cookies? There was no unit of measure
for our joy that day. Who minds
learning by
mixing icing and food coloring to make their
cookie’s stature
more massive (and of course, more beautiful)? It
was about way more than just the cookies, though. Who would
believe that such a diverse group could be
unified at Christmas? No better
way than to
share a 34-year cookie decorating tradition. Don’t under-estimate
the power of cookies to overcome differences. Let them
heal the world by
their sweetness and by their
beauty.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Sunday, April 15, 2018

Growth Mindset



Super heroes are made, but heroes are born.  ~Antonio (in 365 Days of Wonder)

Growth Mindset

Think of seeds: what will someday be super
starts small. Those who will someday become heroes
often have no inkling that their tiny lives are
about to be made
into something not just big, but
mighty enough for them to become heroes.
You cannot know the good you will do. It is enough that you are
born.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018



Saturday, April 14, 2018

Endeavor


Do or do not. There is no try.  ~Yoda (Star Wars)

Endeavor

Whatever I do
with my life or
my life’s work, I will do
it not
because I want praise, but because there
is
a problem that needs to be solved. There is no
way of knowing if I’ll completely fix it, but I’ll roll up my sleeves and try.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018




Friday, April 13, 2018

That Feeling You Get When You Solve a Hard Math Problem


Have you had a kindness? Pass it on.  ~Henry Burton


That Feeling You Get When You Solve a Hard Math Problem

The numbers click in place like a combination lock. You have
cracked the code, you
have mastered the challenge! The problem had
you cornered, but it was decimals that gave you a
way out. A mathematical kindness
was bestowed by the universe: a “Pass
Go Collect $100” card, and it
gives you the joy and energy to carry on.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018


A couple of my students had a great day in math this past week. (One was the future astronomer from Day Two's poem.) We were working on irregular volume and they got to the challenge problem -- making an irregular figure with a total target volume of 325 cubic units...with the additional self-imposed challenge of not using a 1 in their answer. So, for example, they didn't allow themselves this solution: 10x(3x10) + 5x(5x1). They were stumped at the end of math class, but later, at the end of the day, grabbed their papers out of the pile and kept working while we waited for the buses to be called. The student who gave me this quote asked, "Can we use decimals?" I answered, "Why not?!" and he promptly found a solution: 10x(3x10) + .25x(10x10).

So there's that amazing feeling you get when you solve a hard math problem, but there's also that amazing feeling you get when you have a birthday and the entire Poetry Friday community sends out best wishes! Add mine to the cascade:

Happy Birthday to the Grand Master of Children's Poetry, 
Lee Bennett Hopkins!!

Robyn has the Poetry Friday roundup and the birthday party this week at Life on the Deckle Edge.


Thursday, April 12, 2018

Tenacity


You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.  ~ André Gide


Tenacity

You are the one who gets the job done. You
don’t wait to be told what to do, you can
find the work and you can do it. This is also true: you are never
the kind to sit on the shore. You cross
to the other side even if you have to paddle across what feels like the
ocean.
You paddle until
you know where you are going. You paddle until you
see the sun coming up to light your way, until you have
a clear view, until you have the
courage
to
lose
all the burdens you carry and set your sight
on the new path that starts at the distant edge of
the
barely visible shore.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018