Universe on the Sidewalk

Not another post on sidewalk chalk art... I caught myself trying to talk myself out of this post, but, it was such an imaginative and energetic activity last weekend morning(s) that the cherish-the-simple-moments side of me persevered.

There is something magical about Outer Space that captures kids of all ages, right? So, we've been reading A Look At Planets series (Mary R. Dunn), My First Look At Planets series (Teresa Wimmer), A True Book series (Elaine Landau) about planets and dwarf planets and meteor showers and asteroids and galaxies and our sun and what-not over summer, among others. Flash cards, DK sticker books,  not to mention TMBG's How Many Planets?, plus info on the web and such supplement our reading...

So when Oggie offered to lay out the universe as he knows it so far, on the sidewalk, I willingly tagged along armed with my camera and a cup of hot chai.

Besides the solar system which includes the Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, there's the Kuiper belt at the far edge as we know it, the Horsehead nebula, and the 5 dwarf planets, and rockets and space shuttle and lunar rover and comet and asteroid Vesta,and of course probes and rockets and space shuttle, even a black hole, and "a bunch of other stuff".

Seeing that it was self-initiated and self-sustained, much like the Tide Pool on the sidewalk, with non-stop chatter about each of the things being depicted, I just limited myself to making strategic comments (followed by a "tell me about it") and smiling inwardly as I heard the ready responses.

I see the Vostock-like rocket right next to Horsehead nebula.
 I noticed a black hole that is really close to Starro. 
Makemake is right along the Kuiper belt...
Is that the Earth's moon?
I am looking for the largest gas giant of our solar system...
So, Saturn your favorite planet?

Tide Pool Poems

Following our tide pool hands-on study at the Oregon coast and the books we read, both the kids have been interested in doing projects involving tide pools.

Oggie made a Tide Pool Book with me a while back, second book on the subject as a matter of fact. And since then has moved on to other things that interest him, while still retaining a special place for tide pool in his heart (the recent sidewalk chalk art being one).

After considerable thought about what sort of a tide pool project she wants to do, inspired by the How To Write Poetry books we've been reading, knowing what an inspiration A Kick In The Head has been, Ana was firm about making a Tide Pool Poems book.

I was thrilled about the idea, but did not want to steer or direct it in any leadership role, nor co-write it which might stamp out her signature in this maiden venture.

However, knowing that it can be overwhelming and intimidating to tackle such a project all on her own, this being her first of this kind, I asked strategic questions and guided her with enough information and suggestions so she can realize her vision, always standing by to lend a hand if she is stuck.

How many poems do you want in the book?
What creatures/features/things are you going to write about?
What poetic forms do you want to use?
Will there be illustrations in the book?
What style of illustrations do you want to use?

When she answered those questions to her satisfaction, the book started taking shape in her head.

One poetic form per tide pool creature, one illustration to go with each poem, a title page plus an About the Author page, and six poems in all. She had it all laid out in a scrap sheet of paper, with some preliminary notes about illustrations and poem ideas.

Which poetic form to use, and for which animal, was entirely up to her and I have no idea why or how she arrived at the final result.

She worked on one poetic form at a time when the creative streak hit her over the last few weeks.  She referred to A Kick In The Head by Paul B. Janeczko for the poetic forms, sample poems, and inspiration. And brainstormed with me about the tide pool creature in focus, throwing out ideas and weird verses until things started to fall in place.

We did sit together and jot down rhyming words first like pool, cool, fool/nose, close - of course, we went down the letters of the alphabet bool, cool, dool, fool, gool and so on till we can extract a few we can use; and we also looked up the definition of some of the sea creatures in the dictionary/encyclopedia to find words that might be interesting to use (like spiny echinoidea, nudibranch and so on).

What did the author have to say after the poems were complete?
"Haiku was the hardest. Couplet and Tercet were the easiest and most fun to write. Limerick was the silliest. Acrostic took the longest to write. Concrete poem was not as easy as I thought it would be."

All that was left to do was create the illustrations and put the poems in a book.

The illustrations for each poem was either cut-paper collage or just a drawing colored in as the mood dictated. Picture on the left and the poem on the right was the format Ana settled on for each page of the book.

Of course, the title/cover page of the book had to be gorgeous - so we did glue-and-chalk-pastel work. (Top picture.) I applied the glue to Ana's pencil sketch, "fixing" it as I could not help myself.

And it was my job to write the About the Author page, which is always fun to make up, while Ana drew the profile picture of herself to go with it.

Here are the six original Tide Pool Poems by Ana. (Clicking on the picture below pops up a larger image that might be easier to read)

Sidewalk Chalk: Tide Pool

When I was growing up, there was a lot of street chalk art in our neighborhood - amazing 3D visuals, usually of various gods from mythology, sometimes the imaginative cosmos or nature scene... artists would be creating it right as we walked by - carefully around the work, of course.

And then there are some mind-blowing 3D Street Chalk Art masters - something I pore over on and off online and show to the kids.

Anyway, so, sidewalk chalk art being a default summertime activity, kids have been indulging in it on and off, as expected. I willingly tag along as well, assisting the kids as needed, with a mug of morning coffee in hand, and maybe a small jug of milk/lemonade and cups for the kids to help themselves in between.

We just use the low grade, cheapest-at-the-store chalks which are not as vibrant and colorful, soft and easy to apply as some special grade "Sidewalk Chalk". But we are happy with it so far as we are not doing anything too fantastic.

Ana brings along one of the Ed Emberley's Drawing books we have at home, to draw from; or just doodles whatever she fancies; sometimes writes a few words. She prefers to just draw the outline and not color in; I end up coloring in her drawings.

Og has been particular about what he wants to see on his area of the sidewalk - he makes up elaborate stories to be represented as best as we can. And I am the appointed "drawer" while he is the "colorer".

Today, he was specific about creating a tide pool scene on the sidewalk. "You draw the creatures, Mama, like starfish, a limpet family, chiton, crab, anemone, urchin and a lobster who got pushed out by the sea and got caught in a tide pool; and I will draw the background water and the mud and the sand, and a sea monster that hides in the sand."

I was, naturally, thrilled about his choice as it indicated that the fascination with tide pools from our recent study still continues.

Of course, what about the water and the sand. "But, we don't have brown, Mama, so that's why I am going to color the mud purple and the sand pink."

And, then further out, away from the tidepool, is a family of hammerhead sharks swimming about looking for food to eat...

If we start early enough in the morning, we get about a couple of hours of cool shade to work under; after which it gets pretty bright and hot to be drawing on the sidewalk where there are no mature trees to offer the shade we need.

I know we need the rains and it has been an unusually long spell of hot and dry weather for my neck of the woods, but am glad for the dry days when we can be outside on weekends, drawing to our hearts' content, until it gets washed off and we can start over again another day.

Kids Craft: Latch Hook Rug

D wanted to share the joys of making latch hook rugs with Ana. So, they did this project together. I simply satisfied my curiosity by doing about half a row and kept my hands off this project.

Latch Hook kits are available for a reasonable price - pre-cut yarn bits in required colors, pattern code, color coded mat and instructions.

The kit we bought did not include the latch hook tool, which we had to buy separately.

It is much like cross-stitch, only easier I think, if one masters the working of the latch hook tool.

And, puppies being Ana's favorite, this project got done in about 3 weeks, a few rows a day every few days, with quite a bit of help from Papa.

Now that it is finished, we might make it into a pillow as Ana prefers, or finish it as a rug or, put it up as a wall picture.

If any other pattern catches her fancy as we browse online and she is in the mood to finish one by herself and requests it, maybe we'll do more. Or maybe this satisfied her curiosity for now and we'll move on to other new crafts...

How To Write Poetry

Poems caught the then 6 year old's attention which led us to seek out poetry books from silly to informative, from thought-provoking to amusing...

And then, this summer, we've been reading about How To Write Poetry.

What is poetry and why is it so? The answer can be a bit ambiguous, especially for a 7 year old. So, we tried not to get too technical, but just learn from other poets and see how it inspires us.

Without further ado, here are a few books that demystified the concept and offered practical tips for writing poetry.

Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry
by Jack Prelutsky
(Children's Poet Laureate)

With a catchy title like that, and an easy conversational tone that engages a young reader, Prelutsky has presented a 190-page volume that am sure will amuse and instruct the kids (and adults).

The book is about sharing the creative process, so no academic discourse about dactyls, quatrains or iambic pentameters (my favorite!)

The one thing repeatedly emphasized in this book is to carry an "Ideas Book" with you always - to jot down an idea for a poem, a story, even just a feeling, which we can then expand later. If not written down, it surely escapes the mind and never returns easily.

Another important message was to use the tools available - like the Rhyming dictionary and  Thesaurus - when stuck for words. Although poems don't have to rhyme always, it helps to have a lilt/rhythm and a format for the words to flow easily.

The biggest tip of all was how the process can range from a few hours to a few days to even a year or more to finish a poem. Prelutsky shares how he sometimes had difficulty finishing a poem - finding the right way to end it so the poem feels complete. And, in fact the book encourages budding writers to write, ruminate, rewrite and repeat till it feels done.

With Writing Tips and sample poetry to illustrate the point, Prelutsky's book seems to have made quite an impact on Ana. Especially anecdotes from his childhood where he seems to not have been Mr.Goody-Two-Shoes.

I read the book first before I handed it off to Ana. The fact that she chose to read it by herself, from cover to cover, bookmarking certain pages to share with me, indicated that this book is quite a hit with her.

[image source:  harpercollins.com]
[Sample this book at: Browse Inside Harper Collins]

Words, Wit, and Wonder
Writing Your Own Poem
by Nancy Loewen
illustrated by Christopher Lyles

The team has collaborated on a few of The Writer's Toolbox picture books that inspire readers to turn into writers.

How are poems different from other kinds of writing? is addressed in the first page.

The following pages present 12 tools, one tool per page, with colorful illustrations and sample poems, explained in easy-to-follow language.

Tool 1 is Rhythm, and Limerick is given as an example. Limericks are Ana's favorite form of poems and she creates one every now and then - not that they all make sense, but they at least have the right meter and pattern.

Tool 3 is Alliteration and Going To St.Ives is the poem given as an example, which is also a riddle. There's two great ideas for creating a poem!

Similes, Metaphors, Onomatopoeia are all explained as tools to creating poetry. And then a few poetic forms are discussed, including Acrostic, Cinquain, Concrete Poem, Haiku, and Limerick.

[image source: amazon.com]

How To write Poetry
by Paul B. Janeczko

Along the lines of Jack Prelutsky's book above, Janeczko (A Kick In The Head, A Poke In The I) shares writing tips and creative process with "Poet Craft" and "Try this..." sections to inspire the aspiring poet.

Poet Craft sections include tips like using Figurative Language for vivid comparisons that make the poem come alive.


Try This sections sets you to work right away. Like,

Try This... Before you read another word, open your journal to a fresh page and write down some of your favorite words. Don't stop to think or analyze your choices. Just write.


I liked the chapter, Starting To Write, early on that broke down the process roughly with the well-established steps: brainstorming, drafting, editing, revising, and finally publishing.

Submitting Poems To A Publisher section offers a few insider tips for the more serious young poet.

[image source: amazon.com]

A Kick in the Head
An Everyday Guide To Poetic Forms
selected by Paul B. Janeczko
illustrated by Chris Raschka

This book has been a favorite on our bookshelf for a couple of years now. Primarily, the illustrations inspired Ana, and since last year she started appreciating the poetic forms therein.

Why have rules like 17-syllables in Haiku or 14 lines in a sonnet? The answer is: rules make the writing of a poem more challenging, more exciting. Robert Frost once remarked that poetry without rules would be like a tennis match without a net.


29 poetic forms are presented in this book, with clever illustrations by Raschka that give pictorial clues about the poetic form on each page, a representative poem, and the rhyming scheme used for this poetic form. Back of the book gives further information about each poetic form.

This book is just amazing and inspiring all-round.

[image source: http://www.candlewick.com]

Nest, Nook, & Cranny
Poems by Susan Blackaby
illustrated by Jamie Hogan

Although not directly a How To Write Poetry book, the poems here are gems - from tongue-in-cheek sonnet to lyrical free verse, the collection presents homes of various animals, be it shoreline, wetland or grassland, or even tide pool!

Yes indeed, we came across this book during our Tide Pool exploration phase and held on to it.

And, at the back of the book, the author explains why she chose a particular poetic form for that poem and how it captures/highlights/represents the theme of the poem well, and what tools she used to get that across. Example:

Tide Pool


Shallow pools in rocky ledges
Etched by sand and scored by sea.
Are beachfront homes for stranded creatures:
Starfish, snails, anemones.
Twice each day the sea seeps in
When the changing tide runs high.
Battered by the salty spray,
Sodden lodgers cling and sway,
Waterlogged before the drought,
Parching when the tide goes out.


Susan explains that: For creatures in a tidepool, living conditions - either all wet or mostly dry - follow certain rules, but the transition period from one extreme to the other is marked by instability and chance. This poem follows similar pattern. It begins at low tide with one rhyme scheme (ab cb), gets interrupted midway through when the tide comes in (an unrhymed couplet to suggest disorder), and ends at high tide with a different rhyme scheme (dd ee).

The notes mostly inspired me, not the resident 7 yo who liked the poems and the sparse yet elegant charcoal pencil drawings on textured paper.

The few pages at the back of the book that deconstruct and explain the poems can easily be expanded to a  How-To book for writing poetry - why choose a particular form, how to bring out the feelings/mood of the poem through clever use of a particular form - all quite informative and inspiring.

[image source: charlesbridge.com]