Indoor Recess
Too cold again.
Too snowy for outdoor recess.
Too many days spent with the same twenty classmates.
Too limited without electronics.
We already built with blocks.
We already played board games.
We already made up a storytelling game.
We already finished four jigsaw puzzles.
Let's play all together!
Let's play a whole class game!
Let's play Heads Up Seven Up!
Let's play!
***
It's amazing to see them ALL play together.
It's amazing -- first time in my career it's happened.
It's amazing to know that collaboration can emerge so naturally.
It's amazing to have faith and hope reaffirmed during indoor recess.
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2014
The Poetry Stretch at Tricia's blog was a new form to me -- anaphora, "the repetition of the same word or phrase in several successive clauses." There are some spectacular examples in the comments. Mine describes what happened at recess this week.
Tara has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at A Teaching Life.
Fun to see what you do, Mary Lee. I haven't heard the 'heads up/seven up' words for a long, long time. I like seeing your poem from Tricia's suggestion. I haven't had time to try it-you make it look easy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a thrilling, even anaphoric, moment--for you AND the kids! It's that kind of moment which can support insistent repetition.
ReplyDeleteLooking "forward" to more indoor recess today....
Only teachers who've endured long seasons of indoor recess will understand how truly amazing this moment was! The end of indoor recess is nowhere in sight, is it?!?
DeleteMary Lee,
ReplyDeleteYour picture of the playground is beautiful! And I love how you captured this small (and wonderful moment in an anaphora. And that you were brave enough to post it! I think anaphora would be a fun form to try with kids.
I know, right? Pat's is flat out AMAZING and the other two are right behind his. Mine...not so much. But I'm totally at peace with this poem-a-day thing. I've written about 5 really good poems this month. But if I hadn't written the other 20ish "meh" poems, the good ones wouldn't have happened! Process. It's all process.
DeleteHow delightful that you were able to witness such an alignment of planets in one classroom! Your photo is stunning, Mary Lee.
ReplyDeleteI have used the repeated phrase myself and with students with success. It helps to drive the poem forward. It can be rough to spend recess indoors day after day. My students enjoy having the time to play games.
ReplyDeleteI adore this, Mary Lee. I am having a happy seven-up memory back from fourth grade, when Mrs Patchett would let us play for indoor recess. These are the memories life is made of, and you are giving so much good to these children...and to us! Thank you. xo, a.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful - your words perfectly capture what I observed. I love recess duty in your room - always something fabulous to watch or read on your walls!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend to you! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat fun -- thanks for the indoor recess playtime. Now I feel a little deprived since I've never played Heads Up Seven Up. Gorgeous photo!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter played a whole group game at indoor recess recently and she loved it. It was the first thing she reported about her day. Her younger brother was super jealous! I'm sharing my anaphora poem too.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love this poem, Mary Lee! Heads Up 7up was a favorite game when I was teaching and when I was in elementary school! " collaboration can emerge so naturally" - swoon!
ReplyDeleteHeads Up Seven Up? Maybe the game hadn't been invented way back when I went to school!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad this magical moment happened, and that you shared it with us in such a fun way. I'll head over to check out the other poems!
ReplyDeleteI love the repetition in your poem. It really feels like we are repeating these indoor recess days a lot lately doesn't it? I'll be glad when they can have outdoor recess again...so much energy!!!
ReplyDeleteYour poem is so perfect for anaphora - or maybe I should say, you've used anaphora so well in your poem. Your classroom experience reminds me of my childhood days - country school in Sask., cooooold, so we all played games like Fruit Basket Upset, or filled the chalkboard with two-person drawings of Hangman, Grapes or Initials.
ReplyDeleteViolet N.
So glad to hear about frustrations with being indoors turned into collaborative play! Congrats on having written five poems that you are happy with this month, Mary Lee! I think writing one every day is amazing.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary Lee. I love how your poem resolves. It's so hard to keep the kiddos indoors when they need to run around and play. (I'll have to send you my "No-Ode" to indoor recess.)
ReplyDeleteI love the repetition of this poem. We are not having this kind of winter. I feel sad that the snow and rain have been quite limited. We are headed for a drought. I feel for you having to keep the kiddos indoors so much.
ReplyDeleteNice! I remember once seeing a book for teachers called, Lord, Please Don't Let it Rain at Recess. At least we don't have to worry about snow in my neck of the woods!
ReplyDelete