Painting from an upcoming book by Julie Paschkis, The Wordy Book,with quote by Pablo Neruda
A good poem can jolt our minds…. In early March I happened to read a small article in the New York Times about how poetry is used to start morning meetings at the National Desk. It struck a note with me and came back to mind when Lake and Park teachers gathered after our last Winterim trip to face the news that schools throughout Washington were closing due to Covid-19. We would now make plans for how we would begin to create School Away from School. The arts are an integral part of all we do at Lake and Park. The walls of the classrooms and stairwell and shared spaces are filled with student work. As children move throughout the school building, I often overhear comments about the work. It is one of the ways we get to know each other across the grades. Putting the children’s work up on the wall honors the child’s effort in the creation, it inspires others to take the risk of sharing their ideas, the risk we all take when trying to communicate. Will I be understood? Will my idea matter? Will I be able to connect with others? When we bring the arts into our studies, children learn to communicate their ideas and understanding through painting, poetry, drawing, music and dance. A major part of “learning by doing” at Lake and Park involves the messy risk taking required when we attempt to communicate.
Judah uses the form of a poem and makes it his own.
The inspiration that encourages the necessary risk taking for learning often comes from sharing a poem. The courage to take the risk often comes from the support we feel when learning in community. How can we tap into our joint efforts when learning remotely? How do we channel the bravery we see in others to create our own feeling of strength and courage? Offering a poem each week on our School Away from School virtual bulletin board is a small reminder that we are a community, learning together. Read the poem together as a family, jump rope to the poem, watch videos of your classmates reciting the poem, make art and share it with the whole school community. Sitting with a single poem all week allows time for the poem to blossom inside you. It may also remind you of another poem, and if it does, share that poem with your family. Share it with the school community on the bulletin board stream. Make Sunday dinner the night everyone brings a poem to the table to share. Why not?
“Otherwise” by Aileen Fisher
Otherwise There must be magic, Otherwise, How could day turn into night? And how could sailboats, Otherwise, Go sailing out of sight? And how could peanuts, Otherwise, Be covered up so tight?
School Away from School is still new to all of us. Here is some of the work from the last two weeks that children are doing with poetry. Children have used the poems as a starting place for drawing and writing their own poems.
By Teague
Otherwise by Gus
There must be magic
Otherwise,
How could birds be so graceful in flight?
And how could seagulls
Otherwise,
be so very white?
And how could owls
Otherwise
Go flying in the night?
A biography of Aileen Fisher by Caroline
By Sid
We shared a favorite poem from Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, “Keep a Poem in your Pocket”
Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you’ll never feel lonely
at night when you’re in bed.
The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you
at night when you’re in bed.
So-
Keep a picture in your pocket
and a poem in your head
and you’ll never feel lonely
at night when you’re in bed.
Some children responded with poems of their own:
Dreams
By Lola
Dreams are special
you hold on to them so tight
if you lose them they will go out of sight.
My dream is to paint a beautiful picture
and to get my own trampoline.
On my trampoline I will jump super high.
I will paint the sky and the birds passing by.
But I really want a trampoline so I can jump super high.
The Wonderful Place
by India
This is the wonderful place in my mind
I’m in a field of flowers
With a caramel river
And in that place
Ice cream grows off trees
You don’t have to worry about anything
There’s sparkles in the wind
And glitter on my shirt
You can swing the highest swings
And slide the longest slides
And fairies fly through the air
It’s a wonderful place
The lemonade is pink
The cotton candy is rainbow color
You can lift up to the clouds
On a cotton candy unicorn
It rains sprinkles
You can wish a wish
And it does come true
When you plant a flower and water it
It will grow right up
And the bees will come buzzing over
To drink the nectar
One Night I had a Dream, poem and illustration by Rhea
One Night I had a Dream
By Rhea
One night I had a dream
And one day I had another
A magical thing.
Though sometimes a great bother.
Do not let your dreams
Be sharpened into fear.
For if fear is around
Other things may be hiding near.
A poem by Ione
