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Respirator [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)  Also, Poetry Friends who have seen our Poetry Princesses/Poetry Sisters/Poetry 7 posts for many years — After more than a decade of writing together and several years of monthly assignments, we wondered if any of you might like to play along? Here’s what

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Bright Star #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Well, it’s been quite a week. Last weekend, we went to Madison, WI, to attend a drive-up bridal shower and visit in a safe way with our older daughter, whom we haven’t seen in person in three months. It was different, but wonderful. But then

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Snowman - Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations

Metaphors in Snowman-Cold=Puddle #ClassroomConnections

A third-grade teacher emailed me last week to say she was using Snowman-Cold=Puddle to teach metaphors to her ENL students. She wondered if I could share anything with her. I did, and then I thought, this might be useful for other teachers, too! So, here’s what I told her. Thanks for your question! First off,

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Blue Whale’s Apology #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) A few cool things before my poem: I’m excited to share the awesome news that Snowman-Cold=Puddle is on the ILA Teachers’ Choice Reading List! Also, I recently created a bunch of #readaloud videos of some of my books and a few poems and put them

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Online Launch Party and #NationalPoetryMonth Roundup

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) It’s May! Hooray! I want to share two things with you. First up, I’d like to invite you to the online launch party for Secrets of the Loon. It’s Monday, May 4 at 3 pm Central Time on Facebook, and I’d love to see lots

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Day 29: A Special Day? (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

Well, it’s a strange time to launch a book, isn’t it? I’ll be honest. Book publication days are typically mostly normal work days for me, anyway. Because a book launch party doesn’t usually happen on the publication day itself, the day itself is kind of anti-climactic, you know? But we usually go out for a

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Day 28: Secrets of the Loon Book Birthday (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

Whee! It’s the book birthday for Secrets of the Loon (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2020)! So for today’s poem, I’m sharing the opening quatrain of this rhyming picture book. I’m thrilled to welcome this book into the world. Loons are fascinating, and I think this loon chick’s survival story will inspire readers. Also, Jena Benton

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Day 27: Today I Took a Walk (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

Hi, poetry friends! It’s the final stretch of Poetry Month! I actually took this walk and wrote this poem Saturday morning, but I had other poems to share the past couple of days. I’m writing LOTS of poetry this month–how about you? (And teachers, I added a bunch of single-poem #readalouds to my readalouds page!)

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Day 26: A Bridal Shower Equation Poem: (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

Not all my poems are based on real life. My warbler poem last Friday? I just needed a specific bird, that’s all. But this one is definitely real life. Our older daughter’s tropical-themed bridal shower happened on Zoom yesterday. And you know what? It was good. :>)   Like most everybody else, I’m experiencing lots

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Day 25: Seeing Mom Today (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

April is drawing to a close. Are you exhausted? I am! But I’m also grateful for the intense whirlwind of creating poems daily (besides just the book project I’m working on). Now that Laura Shovan’s awesome #WaterPoemProject is over, I’m looking around, seeing which other prompts catch my eye. Goodness knows there are tons of

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Day 24: Daily Party — a Skinny Poem [#NationalPoetryMonth2020]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was a skinny poem with the theme or spring or looking ahead. I love skinnys…sometimes. They’re one of those forms that for me either work right away…or don’t work at all. I wrote one earlier this

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Day 23: These Are the Hands (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

Today’s poem comes from a prompt at Michelle Heidenrich Barnes’ Today’s Little Ditty. This is from the first week of April, and I’m just finally getting around to it…better late than never? I’m also finally reading Michelle’s The Best of Today’s Little Ditty 2017–2018 anthology, and it’s lovely. And her posts have made me want

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Day 22: Staying Calm in a Storm, by a Sea Goddess (#NationalPoetryMonth2020)

It’s the final #waterpoemproject poem. Thank you, Laura Shovan and all the contributing prompt writers! Like most everybody else, I’m experiencing lots of upheavals lately! I have no huge National Poetry Month plans–just hoping to share an imagepoem here each day (or as often as I can). I’m participating in Laura Shovan’s awesome #WaterPoemProject the

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