Tag Archives: Poetry Box Project

Direction ~ Five Minute Friday

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“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 (NLT)

Lost? Use GPS

Directionality impaired. That’s me. North, South, East, West? You might as well be speaking a foreign language.  To be honest, I don’t even automatically know my left from my right hand without touching my rings to really be sure. So, as you might guess when I get lost. I. Get. Lost! GPS is a lifesaver you say? I thought so too until…..

An invitation came for me to attend the culminating ceremony of the National Poetry Box Project that I’d put a lot of time, energy, and love into for the students at my school. Oh, how I wanted to go! But there was one problem; the event was taking place in the middle of downtown Columbus, Ohio. That would mean navigating five lanes of interstate traffic, finding exits, and making my way through a maze of city streets. Me! A country driver with no sense of direction. Enter the GPS.

With apprehension, I decided to take part in the project celebration. So, with my GPS programmed, I set out on the journey. And guess what? With its help, I arrived at the right place, on time, and had a wonderful afternoon with the other poetry loving educators. Trouble ensued however, when I attempted to find my way back home.  Turn here, merge there, then as I sat at a stop sign shadowed by tall buildings all around, the voice that was leading me on my way, the one I’d been following, directed me to turn the WRONG direction on a ONE WAY street and I didn’t know WHERE it was going!

Sometimes, I feel the same on my Christian journey: knowing the direction I want to go, but not sure of the way! Maybe you know what I mean. Whether we’re navigating life in the fast lane, trying to decide when to stay and when to get off the road we’re on, or making our way through the maze of distractions that often lead us the wrong way; we can lose our sense of direction. We. Feel. Lost.  Enter GPS. This one a TRUE Lifesaver!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Luke 19:10 (NLT)

Remember the old church sign that said, “Lost? Use GPS: God’s Positioning System”? That’s exactly what we need to do! When we stop trying to find our own route and instead remember to get our directions from God, His guidance along the way will help us reach our destination!  But, because there are those of us who are directionality impaired (me!), we’re still likely to run into roadblocks, encounter detours, and take wrong turns. We may even find ourselves at a “spiritual stop sign” wondering which way to go?

“And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:4-6 (NLT) emphasis mine

Back in Columbus I did the only thing I knew to do: followed the one way sign. Making that turn, I was filled with relief as the GPS began recalculating to put me back on the road toward home.  The same is true for us as Christians. When we follow the One Way, despite getting off course now and then, He takes us where we are and reroutes us to where we need to be. Left or Right? North, South, East, or West? It doesn’t matter. Because with God’s direction we can travel this life with assurance, knowing He’ll guide us all the way Home!

Joining in with the Five Minute Friday Community for the first prompt of 2020: “Direction”. I encourage you to direct yourself over to http://www.fiveminutefriday.com to read the inspiring words of other members. 

 

 

 

I’m a Fool for April

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April first and I made it through the whole day without being fooled once. I have to admit I kind of missed the silly attempts my students used to make to try and trick me.  “Your shoe’s untied, Miss Cindy”, “There’s a spider in your hair!”,  or their favorite rubber snake on my desk trick.  Of course I always had to act the fool for them (it really wasn’t too hard), but I didn’t mind because the sound of their “April Fools” and laughter filled this foolish ole teacher’s heart with joy.

It’s hard for me to believe but April also marks the year anniversary of my writing this blog. The journey began last year at this time with my involvement in Kevin Cordi’s Poetry Box Project and has continued to be an avenue for me to do what I love, write!

April is also special because it is officially designated Poetry Month. In honor of that, a storyteller I admire, Granny Sue, posted that she was going  to write a poem a day throughout this month and not only that, she also challenged her readers to do the same.  I have decided, foolish as it may be, to accept her challenge.  Maybe you’d like to join us “April Fools” too, and let your inner poet shine! I hope you do!

April 1, 2015

Unexpected Blessings

A card, a gift,

A wave or a smile

Lift our spirits

For quite a while.

A touch, a wink,

A warm embrace

Help to ease

The trials we face.

A photo, a prize

A laugh or a tear

Unexpected Blessings

Wish us to persevere.

 

 

Hands

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imageOur month with the Poetry Box was quickly coming to an end and I needed one more actvity for the last Friday.  My co-teacher Leslie handed me that idea and it was a fun one!  We created Watercolor Poems.  The students chose a color and brainstormed ideas about what that color looked, smelled, sounded, tasted, and felt like.  They then put their ideas together and created a poem.  Once in the cafeteria on brightly clothed tables the poets/artists went to work.  They wrote their poem on watercolor paper, drew pictures around the outside of the paper to illustrate their poem, and finally painted their pictures in their chosen color.  The room was filled with quiet chatter and the sound of brushes being swirled in cups of water.  It was beautiful!  My favorite part of these Friday get-togethers has been hearing the words, “Miss Cindy, come read my poem!”  Music to this teacher’s ears and joy for my soul!

I love how the picture above turned out.  When I sat down to go through my photos I realized I had taken several of just the children’s hands.  They resonated with me and once I put them together I knew it was the way it was supposed to be.  These are pictures of hands gently creating beauty, hands unsure at first, gaining more confidence, and hands helping and guiding other hands.  A moment captured in time with my camera that expresses what our lives should express.   When we reach out and give encouragement, support, comfort, and love with a touch of our hand, we are giving a priceless gift to those who receive it.  I’ve found though, that it is a gift that returns to the giver as well.  Using our hands to create a beautiful connection with someone, to reassure another who lacks confidence, or to gently guide a person who is feeling lost and alone toward the bright color of friendship, is when we are truly doing God’s work.  Bill Withers said it best in his song, “Lean on Me”. He sang, “You just call on me brother, when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on.”  Whether in the school cafeteria, our workplace, out in the community, or inside our home we have the ability to reach out and touch someone in a way no one else can.  When we do lend a hand, we create a moment where pain, sorrow, and problems are made lighter.    Is there someone who needs to lean on you today? Just reach out your hand, “tell them you understand and help them carry on,”  because lending a hand adds color where there is dark, melody where there is quiet, and verse to this poem called life.

An Apple a Day

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Whew! It has been a busy time at school and at home so I am behind in my posts! Sorry!  For each of the three Fridays we had in school in April I planned a school-wide poetry activity as part of the Poetry Box Project.  The first Friday was the unveiling of the box and I had the kids try their hand at writing a “Never Poem” using alliteration.  Like:  “I would never wear big, borrowed, blue and burgandy bloomers!” They were great fun and the students wrote some hilarious poems!image

On the second Friday, I based the activity around Kenn Nesbitt’s poem “I Bought a Pet Banana”.  While searching for activity ideas, I happened across Kenn’s website; www.poetry4kids.com . (be sure and check it out)  He suggested to have kids write their own poems about having a pet apple.  I loved the idea AND Kenn has a poem beginning in the Poetry Box,  so it seemed perfect to do a Pet Apple Activity.  The students were each given an apple and crafting supplies and the magic began!  We soon had a cafeteria full of unique “pet apples”.  The children then were challenged to write their own Pet Apple Poems and write they did!  It is amazing what they can come up with!  I decided to try my hand at it as well, and this is what resulted:

I Bought A Pet Apple

I bought a small pet apple

He was round and red,

I tried to sit him on my lap

But he rolled off instead.

He wobbled and he rolled

Across the wooden floor,

And then my small pet apple

Went right out the back door.

I tried to lasso him

To make him come to a stop,

But he fell into the pool

With a flip, a flap, a flop.

I’m taking my small pet apple

Back to the pet store

The water made him mushy

All the way to his apple core.

~Cindy Wilkins

It’s funny how we lose ourselves in “adult life”.  I had journals full of poems I wrote in my teens and twenties and then between family, work, and other committments that part of me disappeared, until now that is!  Who would have thought that an apple could inspire my poet’s soul to reappear?  All too often I think, we believe that we don’t deserve or have time to pursue the things we love.  Maybe we yearn to paint, take photographs, carve wood, run a marathon, or write poetry but we tell ourselves that everyone and everything else needs to come first.  Before we know it, our passions have been pushed so far aside that they seem out of reach.  This experience of being a Poetry Box Ambassador has prompted me to look at things differently and what I now see is that we are all created with our own unique set of passions.  Passions that are designed to define and fulfill us. While we may travel through life completing all the required tasks set before us, we are missing out on the best part of the trip.   Think back to when you were younger.  What did you love to do and think about?  What inspired you?  I think it is vital that we rediscover that part of us to truly live a long, happy, healthy life.  You know what they say….”An apple a day keeps the doctor away” or in my case….an apple poem. I plan to continue to get reaquainted with the poet in me.  I hope you too, will take the time for yourself to rediscover the you that YOU are truly meant to be.

 

What Poetry Can Do: Life Lessons Part 2

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It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon here! My spirit is full from a lovely church service, my tummy is full from an enjoyable lunch with friends, and now I hope to fill you with a few more life lessons I have learned from the Poetry Box Project.  In preparing for the arrival of the Poetry Box, I had our local librarian collect as many books written by our poetry authors as she could find for me.  One of the books drew my attention right away.  It was “Knock at a Star” by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy (X.J has the beginning of a poem in the Poetry Box).  They listed six things that poetry can do for children.  Those six are included in my life lessons post last time and in this one today, along with two more I added so that we had a balloon message for each classroom. Here we go…..image

Message 5 : “Poetry Sends Messages”

In this month long excursion into poetry, I think the students and I have enjoyed the poems that have sent  funny messages the most!  You know what I mean.  The ones that talk about underpants, bratty sisters, boogers, or teachers being eaten by aliens.  There is something about being in a room of children and having in your hands the power to make them laugh!  And how fun it is as a teacher to laugh right along with them!  (even if they are laughing whille picturing me being eaten by aliens…) Sometimes it would start with a snicker or a giggle, then came the snort, and finally the all out belly shaking, knee slapping, fall out of your chair laugh!  It is a joyous sound and one that is heard far too little in today’s classrooms…..don’t get me started.  I tell my students the first day of school that they need to know that their Second Grade Teacher is Crazy!  (And she is!) I am letting them see that I will make mistakes, have bad hair days, wear mismatched socks, and countless other things.  This creates a safe place for them to be themselves too.  I believe learning should be fun, whether it is learning in the classroom or learning to navigate life. When is the last time you have had a side-splitting, tears down the cheek laugh?  We need to laugh more!  We need to learn to laugh at those little bumps in the road we encounter every day.  We need to learn to laugh at ourselves and allow others to laugh right along with us. We need to make life a safe place to be ourselves. It is pretty hard to be mad at each other or make fun of one another if we are laughing in unison at the comedy act that is life!

Message 6:  “Poetry Starts You Wondering”

We have read many poems about animals and nature.  They have prompted us to wonder about the world around us. One of the scary parts of being a teacher is having to be prepared for hard questions.  Children wonder about a lot of things and they are not afraid to ask.  It happens often during Science time.  The world is an amazing place and there is so much to learn!  I love to turn the hard questions back to the children and ask them why they think things are so.  Their answers are sometimes so full of eight year old wisdom that I have to pause and take it all in.  Having curiousity like a child is a trait I hope to always possess.  Every year we study the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly and every year when the children have gone home and the room is empty, I stare at the caterpillars hoping to witness the exact moment they become a chrisilys and every year it happens in the blink of an eye.  It is a true miracle that keeps me wondering and wondering is a good thing!  So, whether we are wondering about nature, other cultures, religion, problems we see, or our future, we need to do it with the enthusiasm and curiousity of an eight year old.  If we do, we will open ourselves to the limitless possibilities the world has in store for us.

Message 7:  “Poetry Makes Music Out of Words”

I have a confession to make.  I am a music-a-holic.  It’s true.  I can’t get enough.  I like all kinds.  Some people would say that my iPod is filled to excess.  I say, I was born with a musical soul. I pretty much hear a song in my head all day long. (Crazy remember?)  I even wake up at night sometimes with lyrics going through my mind.  I think that is why I love poetry so much.  The words in a poem create a melody and a beat that makes me want to sing along.  There are songs and poems for bad times and sad times in life.  There are songs and poems for joyous and glad times.  They speak to me.  They comfort me. They inspire me.  I want my life to do that for my students, family, and friends too.  I want to be there for them in their good and not so good times.  I want to have the right words to say.  I want to comfort and uplift them.  Most of all I want to inspire them with a tune that helps them want to become the best they can be. And if they awake in the dark of night, I hope that a message of hope, a song of joy, or a poem of love from me, crosses their mind and brings them into the light of day.

And finally, Message 8:  “Poetry Makes You Smile”

Poetry is about life.  It is a gift from one person to the world.  It touches us, challenges us. and can change us. I told the children in our school on the day we unveiled the Poetry Box that “there was poetry in all of them”.  I do believe there is poetry in all of us. We are gifts to the world, we can touch others, challenge others, and bring about change.  Most of all, we all have the power to help someone find their smile.  I hope these lessons have helped you find yours.

What Poetry Can Do: Life Lessons

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I promised in my last post that I would talk to you about the messages on the balloons that were part of the Poetry Box unveiling.  It is interesting that in the last few days I have had conversations with different people about the legacy we leave behind and how we’ll be remembered at our funerals.  What do funerals have to do with Poetry?  Funny you ask……

Who would have known (not I), how this interaction with poetry would end up teaching me so many life lessons.  The messages on each balloon are a good example.   I wrote the messages to provoke thought around poetry in the kids’ minds and then hoped it would spark  conversations.  Little did I know that each of the messages not only represents something poetry can do, but also have provided me with a better vision of a blessed life!  So here we go!image

Message 1:  “Creates Images”

Just as the poet’s words can conjure images up in our minds, so can we leave images with others we come in contact with.  There are those pictures we can bring forth from our memories of images that have touched us.  A stranger’s smile just when we needed it most, your grandma’s open arms as you arrive for a visit, or a child’s eyes lighting up when she finally understands.  We choose everyday what images we leave with those around us.  I am becoming more aware how important it is to leave as good an image as I can, as often as I can, so that those who are watching are left with beautiful pictures when they need them.

Message 2:  “Helps You Understand People”

Poetry is a safe place where you can express yourself freely.  Reading poetry exposes us to different values, beliefs, customs, thoughts, and ideas.  It helps us see the world in a new way.  We need to be open to read people and allow ourselves to be read in the same fashion, letting our differences create beautiful verses together, one building on another.

Message 3:  “Shares Feelings”

There is a reason why certain poems have lasted through the centuries; they elicit strong feelings in the reader!  Poetry is often the language of love.  The Psalmists used it as heartfelt praise.  There are poems that express every feeling a human has ever felt.  That’s why we love poetry.  We discover we are not alone in our feelings.  There is nothing more reassuring as when someone says, “I know how you feel.  I’ve been through it too”.  Sharing our feelings with each other is risky.  It is uncomfortable.  It is sometimes embarrassing.  But sharing your feelings with someone else is also the greatest gift you can give them (and here’s a little secret it is a gift for yourself too!)

Message 4:  “Poetry Tells Stories”

I am a story teller at heart.  I love to use my words and phrases to draw a listener into my tale.  To make them feel as if they are one of the characters and part of the action.  Poets do the same thing with their rhythm and rhyme.  They lure us into their story with their web of verse and suspend us there until we reach the end, leaving us wanting more.  This is life!  We all have a story to tell!  Some funny, some sad, some scary, some boring, you get the picture, but a story to tell  just the same.  We all like to tell them (some over and over again) to any audience we can find.  Sometimes, we are all trying to tell them at once and we get louder and louder and louder until no one can hear anything….  I think the lesson here is that yes, we do have a story but we don’t always have to be the teller.  It is important to also be a willing listener.  For what magic do we miss out on when we hear only our own story?  What heights might we soar by hearing what others have to say?  Instead of seeing ourselves as story tellers, why not be story collectors?

These first four balloon messages while intended to describe poetry, have helped me see a little more clearly the person I hope to be remembered as.  I hope that each day, I leave an uplifting image with someone I meet.  I aspire to be understanding and accepting of the differences between myself and others and to build on those differences to create strong relationships.  I want to be more willing to bare my soul and share my feelings with those who need reassurance all the while realizing that I need it too.  And I hope that one day when I am being remembered people will laugh at some of stories I’ve told, but in their hearts they will recall that I collected theirs too.

 

Life is a Poem

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Opening the big yellow box, unveiling the Poetry Box, and me talking with the Poetry Pooch!

The day I had been waiting and planning for finally arrived last Friday when I unveiled the Poetry Box to the students!  Picture one hundred plus children, a big yellow box, and one nervous teacher gathered together in the school cafeteria.  My heart was pounding like a drum. Would everything come together?  Would the kids buy into my plan?  Would they actually be excited about poetry?  I am glad to tell you YES, YES, and YES!

Oohs and Aahs filled the room when my teacher friend and I opened the top of the box and eight helium balloons floated out, each balloon bearing a message (more about that later).  What came next is still a blur to me and I am sure would have been a great embarassment to my own children!  Checking the box for anything else, I found…..wait for it……an invisible dog who introduced himself to me as the “Poetry Pooch”!  I reported to the children that he was there to “sniff a whiff of poetry” and boy did he ever!  That pooch pulled me screaming, all around the cafeteria until he found his way back to the big yellow box and it was there he sniffed out the Poetry Box.  I have to tell you that the giggles, snickers, and out and out laughs were music to this ole teacher’s ears and warmed my heart! (The rest of me was warmed by the running around the cafeteria….don’t know what I was thinking!)

With the help of the Poetry Pooch I told the kids about the Poets and their poems waiting to be finished and then how they would be sent in the box around the United States and maybe the world.  Again, oohs and aahs.  Each child then worked at writing a short poem to finish the afternoon’s activities.  It is hard for me to put into words what the room sounded like as they wrote their poems. Almost every one of the students, Kindergarteners through Sixth Graders, was engaged in poetry!  The room was alive!  It was one of those magical moments in teaching!

As the day ended I was exhausted but I felt better than I had for a long time.  I’d been in my element, doing what I love! There is such satisfaction when hard work pays off.  We have all had these moments.  They are what keep us going when we are completing the mundane, everyday responsibilities we have to do.  It is easy to sink into the feeling that what we do at home, at work, at church, or in the community is unimportant.  Thankfully as we are about to go under, someone or something comes along that sparks our inner flame,  pulls us out of the mire, and for a short while we are oblivious to what we look like racing around a room with an invisible dog because, our hearts are soaring, children are laughing, and life is a poem!

 

Arrived and Excited

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imageThe Poetry Box has arrived!  It came to school on Wednesday and I when I opened it, I was greeted by these smiling authors’ faces.  As you can see I posted them as one more clue for the students leading up to the unveiling.  I have been watching from afar and have noticed a few children discussing that the pictures match some of the books on the table, exactly as I had hoped!  The curiosity is growing and so is my excitement!

Arriving at a destination usually does bring excitment!  A family gathering, the beach, a cabin getaway….the closer I get to each of these the more my anticipation grows!  I find myself in a funny place now, however, in my life’s journey……the end of my teaching career.  While there are moments of excitement there is also a mix of jumbled emotions I am not quite sure what to do with.  Sadness, fear, and insecurity mixed with joy, relief, and satisfaction.  Now that I think about it, I guess I have been here before :  moving from Michigan to West Virginia to teach, getting married, and having a family to name a few, and now the new path of retirement.  We are all on the road going different directions.  Some trips more pleasant than others. While we may feel that we have made a wrong turn, found ourselves at a dead-end, or are in the middle of unchartered waters we are not alone.  It continuously amazes me how God brings me just what I need when I need it!  This weekend I have been questioning myself about making the right decision to retire or not; and today this was my scripture reading:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

  Seek His will and he will direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

My destination may be unknown to me, but my GPS (God’s Positioning System) will guide my steps.  I HAVE arrived but my new path awaits…… Now THAT is exciting!

Chosen

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Back in January I was doing a little “computer work”, as my sister likes to call it, basically passing time, when I came upon a posting on one of the storytelling websites I follow.  It was from Kevin Cordi seeking teachers who were interested in participating in a project he had developed called the “Poetry Box Project”. Twenty-five children’s authors have written the beginnings of poems that the students in the project will finish, add to the box, and send on as it travels across the country and maybe even world.  He specifically asked for West Virginia teachers who might be willing to take part.  Without really thinking about it, I wrote to Kevin right away to express my interest in receiving the Poetry Box for my school and the state of West Virginia.  Now, I have to be honest with you, I NEVER expected to be chosen.  After all, I teach in a very small, rural school and I am not an award winning, paper publishing, extraordinary teacher.  Why would he choose me?  Well, you can imagine my surprise when I received an email from Kevin to let me know that I HAD been chosen as an Ambassador for the Poetry Box!  It is on its way from Illinois as I type and our school will have it for the month of April.  Needless to say, I am still a little shocked but very excited!  Blogging about this experience is part of the project and the motivation behind my starting “My Sea of Thought.”

To help begin building curiosity and anticipation for the Poetry Box I have left a message on the wall of our cafeteria for the students to find on Monday morning.  It says, “NFES: We have been chosen!”  This picture shows the sign hanging above a table I set up that has books on it written by the authors of the poem beginnings. I have a few more messages planned for the kids before the unveiling of the box.image

I have been thinking about “being chosen” a lot lately.  I don’t know about you, but there have been many times in my life when I haven’t felt good enough or qualified enough to do something.  It is human nature I think, to stay in that safe spot where we know what we are doing and feel successful doing it.  It is when we are asked to step outside that comfort zone (a place I do NOT like to leave) that we begin to convince ourselves we don’t have what it takes, there’s someone better for the job, and even I’m too old to learn something new. (Can you guess who has said that recently……) What I am learning though, is that when we sell ourselves short out of fear and insecurity, we miss out on opportunities and experiences that will enhance our lives. God designed each of us with special gifts and talents and He has chosen you and me to do great things!  Is it always easy?  NO!  Is it sometimes scary?  YES!  But in the end,  whether it be for the Poetry Box, a new job, helping someone, or you add your own, being chosen is a gift we’ve been given that will bring joys untold to our lives and those around us if we just have faith and leap (or tiptoe) onto the new paths put in front of us.