diamond shiners & Cybils news

I missed Poetry Friday last week while I was out communing with nature at my congregational retreat, but behind the scenes I was awaiting news.  I had applied for the first time to serve as a panelist/judge for the Cybils Awards--the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards--and now I can announce, with a frisson of excitement, that I won!

Well, I didn't literally win anything, but it feels like I've won some kind of prize myself, having the opportunity to participate in the process and to work with poetry-bloggin' friends old and new.  See the illustrious list below.  Once the nominations for poetry books come in--and this year the Poetry Category includes verse novels--we'll be reading and discussing and conferring and eventually selecting an outstanding poetry book published in the last year for children and young adults.  Whoo-hoo!

 

ROUND 1 PANELISTS:  Nancy Bo Flood, Irene Latham, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Margaret Simon,

                                          Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Carol Wilcox, Sylvia Vardell

ROUND 2 JUDGES:  Linda Baie, Rosemary Marotta, Diane Mayr, Heidi Mordhorst, Laura Shovan

 

Meanwhile (which I have just this moment realized is one of my favorite words ever, my favorite concepts ever), in Room 203, we have succeeded in naming ourselves!  It was a multiday process involving lots of voting and yes, a fair bit of teacher spin, but it's worked out well.  We are not Ms. Mordhorst's Magic Pebbles (although that name was nominated), but Ms. Mordhorst's...
Diamond Miners!

And here is the poem I wrote to commemorate this effort, which is designed to communicate to 7-year-olds what the hard work of second grade is all about.  We're using it during Morning Meeting for a "passing greeting," using a glass diamond very conveniently discarded last week by my spouse, who had long ago received it as a volunteer award.  (Thanks, Fiona!)


Diamond Miners,
       diamond diggers,
finding all the precious rocks.
Diamond Miners,
       diamond shiners--
lock them in your treasure box.

~ HM 2015 (c)
 

We pass the diamond around the circle in rhythm with the poem (which instantly became a chant).  Whomever it lands on is greeted by the whole class and then sits down as the diamond continues around the circle.  The last person standing has the hilarious job of passing the diamond back and forth to him- or herself!  They love it.  And I promise that as the year goes by we'll address this idea of mining and make sure that we understand the environmental implications as well as we can in 2nd grade.  They already are beginning to understand that their brains and hearts are both internal treasure boxes.

The roundup this week is with Michelle at Today's Little Ditty...I bet there are some poetry treasures to mine over there too!