2 by 2 in 2nd npm18 #20

Dear Diamond Miners,

It's Poetry Friday!  Today we have been finishing our "Little Slice of Earth" poems and our poems for two voices. Our progressive poem is also growing, with words from Patrick yesterday.  Today it's Ziva's turn and we will pick one more person for Saturday. I think we also owe Elena a word...she chose twisting and ended the sentence with a period, but that's not a word.

I keep thinking of Chan Lo from The Jade Stone...I feel a little like the stone carver listening to a rock to find out it wants to be!

Here I stand, O Noble Class,
to help your poem come to pass.
Whisper words of Lego blocks
That I your teacher may unlock.

Love, 
Ms. Mordhorst

P.S.  Blog visitors, the Diamond Miners love it when you leave comments directly for them. Thanks for all your encouragement!

***********************************************
BRAINSTORMING 
work hard, seems like, to think, we love, to have, we could
apart and together, pulling and pushing, turning and flipping, stacking and building and modeling
***********************************************

When we work  
together
it feels fun 
and
difficult like Lego
pieces,
feels like struggling 
with
frustration and figuring
what 
to do. We
live like Legos,
pushing and building, 
pulling and flipping,
lifting and twisting.
We only 

************************************
Words have been added to this poem by these wordsmiths, in order:
Round 1   Round 2
Ms. M      Ms. M
Ziva         Henry
Eric          Elena*
Eldana     Patrick
Henry      Ziva
Kathy     
Ines       
Elena     
Sophia
Patrick
Xavier
Arya
Tyler
Caleb
Max

2 by 2 in 2nd npm18 #18

Dear Diamond Miners,

Everyone has now had their first turn to add two words!  We had some catching up to do again today.  Max and I chose words from the list we brainstormed on Friday.  Then Elena and Henry continued our repetition of  -ing words by choosing more words with the same vowel sound in the middle:  flipping, lifting, twisting.  That's called assonance. 

We are really getting into some great wordplay!

Love, 
Ms. Mordhorst

P.S.  Blog visitors, the Diamond Miners love it when you leave comments directly for them. Thanks for all your encouragement!
***********************************************
BRAINSTORMING 
work hard
struggling with
seems like
to think
we love
to have
we could
apart and together, pulling and pushing, turning and flipping, stacking and building and modeling
***********************************************

When we work  
together
it feels fun 
and
difficult like Lego
pieces,
feels like struggling 
with
frustration and figuring
what 
to do. We
live like Legos,
pushing and building, 
pulling and flipping,
lifting and twisting.

************************************
Words have been added to this poem by these wordsmiths, in order:
Ms. M *
Ziva
Eric
Eldana
Henry *
Kathy
Ines
Elena *
Sophia
Patrick
Xavier
Arya
Tyler
Caleb
Max 

2 by 2 in 2nd npm18 #15

Dear  Diamond Miners,

On Friday we actually got out our Legos, three pieces each, and played with arranging them into different structures over and over again.  We noticed a lot of apart and together, pulling and pushing, turning and flipping, stacking and building and modeling.

These are all juicy and powerful words that are helping us develop our poem.  Tyler and Caleb added their words, giving us more alliteration, another simile and some action!

And then we combined all our pieces into one big structure! Max and I are next....


Love, 
Ms. Mordhorst

P.S.  Blog visitors, the Diamond Miners would really love for you to leave comments directly for them, since after all it is THEY who are writing the poem.  Thanks for all your encouragement!
***********************************************
BRAINSTORMING for tomorrow!!!
work hard
struggling with
seems like
to think
we love
to have
we could
apart and together, pulling and pushing, turning and flipping, stacking and building and modeling.***********************************************

When we work  
together
it feels fun 
and
difficult like Lego
pieces,
feels like struggling 
with
frustration and figuring
what 
to do. We
live like Legos,
pushing and 

************************************
Words have been added to this poem by these wordsmiths, in order:
Ms. M
Ziva
Eric
Eldana
Henry
Kathy
Ines
Elena
Sophia
Patrick
Xavier
Arya
Tyler
Caleb

progressive poem line 14 is here!

What a journey--and we're only halfway along! I'll start today by thanking everyone for reading my host post interview with Irene and Liz way back on March 30, and for playing along with our request to note where you thought we might go with Liz's first line.

Now it's my turn to reveal my initial expectations....

"I'm picturing a garden, and while we could spend 30 lines chronicling the growth of this one seed--who is she?!--I see the stories of many awakenings taking place in our garden setting, twining together in the way that spring growth happens, burgeoningly!"

I was imagining the sprouting, budding and blooming of many plants and maybe some minibeasts, all thoroughly grounded, so the introduction of Jasmine (not just jasmine), a thousand stars and the Moon as a character required a total reboot.  And then Owl! And now Lee and his party!  I won't think of myself as "wronger and wronger with every line," but you poets, you really know how to turn a ship with a well-chosen word!

Here's something funny: for a couple days this week I got confused and thought that I had the line on the same day as the surprise party for Lee Bennett Hopkins.  I had already begun to think how I could slip in that other definition of "lee" (shelter from wind or weather given by a neighboring object, especially nearby land), or some hopping, or some little reference--but then I realized that was Linda's job...

and boy, did she do it! She has sent Jasmine and Owl and maybe Moon directly to Lee's party!  Why equivocate?  No symbolic sleight of word here!  Linda, you are now officially a braver poet than I.

But let me move forward, with curiosity if not courage:

  

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, What wonderful dreams she had! 
Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine
invented a game.

"Moon?" she called across warm honeyed air.
"I'm sad you're alone, come join Owl and me.   
We're feasting on stardrops, we'll share them with you."   
"Come find me, Moon called," hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in talons' embrace, Jasmine rose
and set. She split, twining up Owl's toes, pale   
moonbeams sliding in between, Whoosh, Jasmine goes.
Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee's party!

Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.

********************
I hope that puts my friend Donna in an intriguing and challenging position for Line 15!

I'll sign off, wishing a glorious National Poetry Month to all, and inviting you to scroll down for the latest development in the progressive poem project of my 2nd graders.  They really do appreciate and learn from your comments. Thank you!

2 by 2 in 2nd npm18 #13

Dear  Diamond Miners,

Today we actually got out our Legos, three pieces each, and played with arranging them into different structures over and over again.  We noticed a lot of apart and together, pulling and pushing, turning and flipping, stacking and building and modeling.

These are all juicy and powerful words that are helping us develop our poem.  Tyler and Caleb added their words today, giving us more alliteration, another simile and some action!

And then we combined all our pieces into one big structure!


Love, 
Ms. Mordhorst

P.S.  Blog visitors, the Diamond Miners would really love for you to leave comments directly for them, since after all it is THEY who are writing the poem.  Thanks for all your encouragement!
***********************************************
BRAINSTORMING for tomorrow!!!
work hard
struggling with
seems like
to think
we love
to have
we could

***********************************************

When we work  
together
it feels fun 
and
difficult like Lego
pieces,
feels like struggling 
with
frustration and figuring
what 
to do. We
live like Legos,
pushing
and