We had some exciting weather yesterday outside our kindergarten classroom: at 1:35 we went out for our five-minute scream-and-chase-fest and noticed, despite the sunny sky and sweltering heat (and the screaming), some pretty powerful rumbles of thunder. By 1:45 it had grown darkly cloudy and the rain was peltering down. Lightning had joined the thunder, which was then joined by gleeful and fearful shrieking of 5-year-olds. We stopped looking at yesterday's-best Writing Workshop work and spun around on our blue sitting lines to face the weather graph, where we recorded.....our first rainy day in September! And wind! And still red-hot out there!
[As I struggled to maintain control amid the storm and get everybody settled into Think-Draw-Write-Read mode, my parent volunteer, in for the first time, spoke the words we teachers long to hear, because so many people believe otherwise: "This is a very difficult job--I don't know how you do it."]
All of this weather sent me looking for a sudden storm poem. I picked up The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School and found three mighty enjoyable Week 9: Weather poems. 7th grade has Leslea Newman's "After the Blizzard, Outside My Window," and 8th grade has the rather exquisite "Sunbeam Confesses Its Love of Geometry" by Mary Lee Hahn, but it was in 6th grade that I found a poem closest to my stormy afternoon. In case it's not obvious--I identified with the general.
Racing the Clouds | Jacqueline Jules
The sky
is the color of a battleship.
Raindrops
wait with heavy breath,
like tense soldier listening
for a general's barked command.
The battle
will begin tonight.
But now
the sidewalk summons,
and a warm breeze kisses my cheek.
I'll take a chance
and race the clouds.
Hear my heart pound
in rhythm with my feet.
©The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School 2013
The round-up today is with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts, a new place for me. And really, don't miss my Tuesday post below, a poem I found in my Comments inbox. It's just too good (better than my blog lately). And oh my gosh! I almost neglected to mention that I am now a member of the Poets' Garage! This is a wonderful development for me and I'm grateful for the opportunity, plus I like the cool badge. Thanks to all the poets and clever administerial types who make the Garage run like greased lightnin'.
