Riddle Me This

Can you figure out our riddles? Maybe our illustrations will give you a clue.

Emma's:

I like to sleep – love it!
I think of crazy things.
I stand outside,
Sniff the air,
And go back to the door.
I eat my sandwich happily
My mother made it for me.
They scratch my back and give me food.
I love my family.

Jake's:

What am I???
Electricity runs through my veins.
I hate water.
Normally, I’m white.
I’m very lazy and I hardly move.
People hand me disks
So they can hear music.
I say a lot on the TV,
But on the outside I say…
XBOX 360

Audrey's:

I take a wicked pounding
Every time I leave my quiet home.
But, I have a constant companion
Who shares the relentless abuse.
My partner and I rarely spend time apart,
Though we constantly compete
To be one step ahead of the other.
The pair of us, you might say,
Are sole mates.

How 'bout a Haiku?

I used to have so much fun writing poetry in the Haiku form. Even first graders with a basic knowledge of syllabication can give it a go. A Haiku should:

*Focus on nature

*Encourage readers to think in a new way

*Have 3 lines

*Follow a 5-7-5 syllabication pattern

Emma's Haiku is called Dolphins. It reads:

I am a mammal.

I swim above the sea floor,

Dancing on my way.

Jacob's Haiku is entitled Arctic Wolves. It reads:

White blurs on the ice

Move toward the new daylight,

Slinking on the tundra.

I had to try it too! Here is Last Dance:

Trees sway back and forth.

Leaves twist and play in the wind.

The last dance of fall.

Get Rhythm

We've moved on to talking about rhythm in poetry. Chants, nonsense rhymes, and songs keep knocking around our heads. Right now I'm humming an old Johnny Cash song...

Below you'll find our first attempts at using rhythm in our poetry:

Where Is My Cat?
By Emma J. Saunders

Oh, jit, oh jat,
I want to find my cat.
Oh, bit, oh bat,
I wish to find my hat.
Oh, sit, oh sat,
I can’t find my mat.
Oh, dit, oh dat,
I hope to find my bat.
Oh, split, oh splat,
I want to find my rat.
Oh, flit, oh flat,
I need to find that gnat.
Oh, fit, oh fat,
I want to find my fat, fat cat!


Finding Cat
By Jacob Saunders

Oh, flip, oh flap
I want to find my cat
The zats in the cat
It wants to get the rat
The rats on the bat
It wants to get the mat
The mat on the gnat
The gnat wants the cat
Oh, flip, oh flap
I want to find my cat

My dog
My dog, my dog
My dog likes the fog
The fog, the fog
The fog likes the hog
The hog, the hog
The hog likes the frog
The frog, the frog
The frog likes the log
The log, the log
The log likes my dog
My dog, my dog
Oh, I love my dog


Lamentations of a Homeschool Mom
By Audrey Saunders

I have a special job.
At times it makes me sob.
It keeps me up at night
While I work to get things right.

My kids both think I’m mean
Because I’m sort of like their dean.
But I won’t give up hope
When I see my pupils mope.

Someday they’ll actually find
That they cherish their bright minds.
And they’ll turn to me and say,
“We give thanks for you each day.”

Getting in the Mood for Poetry

Love is in the air and paper hearts abound. It's Valentine's Day and we're writing poetry!

All week long we've been learning about personification, similes, and metaphors. We've read poems from our favorite authors like Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. Today we made some attempts at poetry ourselves:

Snowflakes
by Emma J. Saunders

A snowflake is a
Independent,
Self-Organized,
Individual,
Glass Sculpture.


Snowflake
by Jacob Saunders

A small,
fluffy pillow
meant for a fairy
falls from the sky
for me to eat.


Don't you love how that poem takes a turn at the end? Not bad for a first try!