I need to
I must
Oh, no, first I should
But if I’m not
No one else can
Everyone counts on me
Did I forget to
I hate to, but if I don’t
If I don’t, who will?
I haven’t had a chance
I’ll do it myself, just as soon as
Don’t worry, I’ll get to it
We teachers take on so much,
We forget that we take it on voluntarily
And we forget it’s okay to say no.
We caretakers and quiet leaders need care, too.
It’s time we put ourselves first – and mean it.
Girl Scout brings cookies,
Yummy, sweet deliciousness.
Back to it…Who’s next?
You have secret staff.
Made of yummy chocolate.
Happy cubicle!
If you haven’t guessed, Girl Scout cookies arrived recently. I had a box of thin mints at my desk.
originally posted in March 2007; originally published in WSRA Journal in 1997
When we were young
And could pick up a book,
A man with a gift
Made us all take a look
At a cat with a mission,
A feline with style,
Dressed up in a hat
With a hint of beguile.
The cat made us smile,
The Grinch brought a tear.
While the Whos down in Whoville
Inspired a cheer.
Those red fish and blue fish
Or green eggs and ham
The Star Bellied Sneetches
And that Sam-I-Am
The poor little boy
Wearing five hundred hats
Got caught in the oobleck
That fell and went splat.
His stories had morals,
Were strong with conviction,
Even though written
As young readers’ fiction.
A clear point of view,
The compassion he saw,
Like”…a person’s a person,
No matter how small.”
The elephant Horton
Who said what he meant,
That he could be faithful,
One hundred percent.
And think of the Lorax,
The one who said, “Please,
Oh, Please stop destroying
The Truffula Trees!”
His creatures were special,
Both comic and tragic,
Some small and some large,
With an aura of magic.
Think of the characters,
Ageless and timeless,
And how he could make
Something rhyme that seemed rhymeless!
The point of my story,
I’m sure you have reckoned,
Someone quite special
Was born on March second.
Creator of Yertle,
And Thidwick the Moose,
A talent unequaled:
The dear Dr. Seuss.
Got a sniffle, a trickle down the back of my throat
Got a little sniffle, a dry itch in the back of my throat
It’s just school starting, on a tired and run-down note.
Pushing all day, feeling like I’m all worn out
Moving and shaking all day, all my energy’s drained out.
It’s the start of school, and my getupandgo’s got up and got out.
I’ve got the blues
(insert guitar lick here, if I played guitar)
The reach for a vitamin C and a cup of Airborne blues.
I’ve got the blues (more guitar, maybe a little piano bass)
The rundown immune system blues
I’ve got lesson plans to write and papers to grade —
And I’ve got the run-down school starting immune system blues.
These are partial ABC poems. Choose a letter from the alphabet and the four letters that follow. Write an acrostic using those letters. Here are a couple of examples.
Winter in Wisconsin
Extreme weather
Frost
Great sledding
Hills of snow
Icicles
Recess
Leaping
Making
Noise
Outside
Playing
I wrote this to demonstrate/model the Acrostic Poem form for my class. They had brainstormed words pertaining to the citizenship theme of “compassion” and were preparing to write acrostic poems on the theme.
For a piece created spontaneously in front of an audience, it’s not bad.
Across each line
Contains words or phrases
Rarely (really, almost never) rhymes
Only use words that make
Sense.
To write an acrostic,
It helps to think about
Compassion.
Poetry has many forms.
Others are Haiku, verse, and Cinquain.
Enjoy these examples.
Maybe you’ll like this one!
a co-op poem created by sixth grade students during their first week of school
Start with one gingerbread school with a chocolate bar roof.
Add gingerbread teachers.
Put in desks, chairs, and sugar cookie books.
Spray with sticky notes, cinnamon rolls, and caramel lunch money.
Slice and dice with scissors.
Mix the books with folders and cooks.
Drop in a couple of gym shoes.
Sprinkle with school supplies.
Deep fry all ingredients.
Spread some eagerness.
Place gingerbread kiddos in desks.
Fill the backpacks with goodies.
Frost with glue and chocolate chip cookies.
Serve with friends.
a co-op poem created by sixth grade students during their first week of school
First, place nice teachers in a bowl.
Add well-behaved students.
Fill desks with pencils, markers, scissors, colored pencils, paper, and folders.
Add a couple brains and a Tablespoon of friendship. Add some kindness.
Combine with math facts.
Stir into full desk.
Bake for a year. Take out of oven.
Cut into 30 pieces. Sprinkle with focus.
Serve to 30 people and
Enjoy!
When we were young
And could pick up a book,
A man with a gift
Made us all take a look
At a cat with a mission,
A feline with style,
Dressed up in a hat
With a hint of beguile.
The cat made us smile,
The Grinch brought a tear.
While the Whos down in Whoville
Inspired a cheer.
Those red fish and blue fish
Or green eggs and ham
The Star Bellied Sneetches
And that Sam-I-Am
His stories had morals,
Were strong with conviction,
Even though written
As young readers’ fiction.
A clear point of view,
The compassion he saw,
Like”…a person’s a person,
No matter how small.”
The elephant Horton
Who said what he meant,
That he could be faithful,
One hundred percent.
And think of the Lorax,
The one who said, “Please,
Oh, Please stop destroying
Tha Truffula Trees!”
His creatures were special,
Both comic and tragic,
Some small and some large,
With an aura of magic.
Think of the characters,
Ageless and timeless,
And how he could make
Something rhyme that seemed rhymeless!
The point of my story,
I’m sure you have reckoned,
Someone quite special
Was born on March second.
Creator of Yertle,
And Thidwick the Moose,
A talent unequaled:
The dear Dr. Seuss.