November 15, 2009 | Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me,The Sunny House
This week at The Sunny House: Where I’m From
Today, we read “Where I’m From” poems from George Ella Lyon, Jacob Miller and Hallie Herz. Basically, you take memories from your childhood and put them into a poem. PA had us fill out a Cross-Generational Questionnaire, but the answers had to be based on when we were 12 yrs old. There were 10 questions that asked things like: What toys did you play with? What was your favorite TV show? What candy did you buy?
We had all 5 girls this time and they all had fun trying to remember what favorite books they read or games they played back when they were young. It’s amazing the stuff you remember because for some of us, it was a long time ago. LOL. With the girls, there was a lot of “Remember that cartoon with the cat and the dog?” or “What’s that candy called where it looks like taffy on a stick?” and “Oh, I used to play with this toy.” PA and I are the oldest ones in the group—of course–and I think the girls got a kick out of the answers we provided.
She encouraged the girls to add whatever they wanted and they just ran with it. Only a couple of the girls read their poems aloud, and they not only incorporated the answers to the questions, but where they lived (the actual place or the scenery) and the environment (big family, small family, family issues, etc). There was a lot of laughter in the creation, but the poems turned out great: both funny and poignant.
Since it’s my turn at The Gurl House next week, and we have yet to do a writing piece, I think I’m going to borrow this exercise and use it with them next week. Here’s my contribution:
I am from the land of mountains and cacti,
Shared birthdays with my older
sister and roller skates
I am from hopscotch, Hershey bars, and Hungry,
Hungry Hippo
Of burying my nose in Beverly Cleary,
My parents dancing to Motown in the kitchen,
And watching Thundercats “Hooooo!””
I am from dreams of ballet slippers, hangin’ tough with New Kids on the Block,
And the lasting presence of friendship.
Technorati Tags: George Ella Lyon, Jacob Miller, Hallie Herz, New Kids on the Block
