National Poetry Month Coming to an End: Canning Time

It is hard to believe April will soon be leaving us. I carved time out all month to read new, old, favorite, and classic poems. I have had the poster…

What the Living Do

I remember attending a workshop about five years ago and the presenter had us do an activity with this poem. I had never heard the poem and really lo…

April is National Poetry Month: Great Poems by American Women

A favorite anthology I chose today is Great Poems by American Women edited by Susan L. Rattiner. One thing I love about this anthology is how it spans…

Sibling Assignment #130: April

Silver Valley Girl gave us the last assignment relating to the theme of April. "The name April is very common for girls born in this month.  Wri…

The Pleasures of An Ordinary Life

I have written about this anthology and posted this poem before, but it bears repeating as I wind down the celebration of National Poetry Month. Judi…

April is National Poetry Month: The Need of Being Versed in Country Things

A couple of summers ago I was in a used book store and found The Poetry of Robert Frost for three dollars. It is a hardbound collection which " …

April is National Poetry Month: Delights and Shadows: Casting Reels

I have written often on this blog about the poet Ted Kooser. He was Poet Laureate of the United States in 2004. This collection of poems earned him …

Sibling Assignment # 129: Surviving Cancer

Silver Valley Girl gave the third sibling assignment this month around the theme of April. "In the movie “ Pieces of April ”, the plot centers aro…

April is National Poetry Month: Do Poodles Like Noodles?

This anthology is especially popular with my younger readers and writers. The poems are light and silly, but it the illustrations are what keep all o…

April is National Peotry Month: The Trees Stand Shining

The Trees Stand Shining is an anthology of poetry by  North American Indians. In the introduction it explains, "The poems in this book are reall…

April is National Peotry Month: Library

Valerie Worth did four volumes of small poems. This anthology has all four collections plus fourteen more small poems in one book. Students always gr…

April is National Poetry Month: Dog Music

Dog Music is an anthology edited by Joseph Duerner and Jim Simmerman dedicated to dogs. I really love the collection, but as always with poems about …

April is National Poetry Month: A Kitchen Memory

my mom in her kitchen I asked my sixth grade students today to explain why they liked poetry. One said " it is like reading a story... only sho…

"The Rowdy Girls":Designing Woman Classic: RIP Dixie Carter

One of the things that makes the television sitcom "Designing Women" so endearing is how the script used the four women to deal with seriou…

Sibling Assignment #128: " April Is the Cruelest Month"

Silver Valley Girl gave another assignment using the theme of April. "In T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Burial of the Dead”, Eliot refers to April as th…

April is National Poetry Month: Magic Words

I first wrote about this anthology in November. You can find that post here . This volume had been recommended to me by a former student Shawna and I …

April is National Poetry Month: poetry 180

Billy Collins, inspired by his poem-a-day program with the Library of Congress, chose 180 contemporary poems for this anthology . The 180-degree turn…

April is National Poetry Month: Good Poems for Hard TImes

"At times life becomes impossible, and you curl up under a blanket in a dim room behind the drawn shades and you despise your life. It can help…

April is National Poetry Month: Prayer for Peace

" One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. In this anthology, I have tried to…

Top Ten Things I Love About the Methow Valley

1.  Eating lunch in the oldest "legal" saloon in Washington State (Three Finger Jack's). 2. Getting reacquainted with Molly's Soaps…

April is National Poetry Month: Fixers

The anthology I have chosen today is The Way It Is, New and Selected Poems by William Stafford. This collection combines previously unpublished poems…

April is National Poetry Month: 100 Poems to Lift Your Spirits

The third anthology I am going to feature this month is one I purchased a few years ago on a spring break trip to Lake Chelan. This collection was a …

April is National Poetry Month: Heart to Heart

Since I discovered Heart to Heart edited by Jan Greenberg at a bookstore five years ago it has been a favorite anthology. The book is a celebration …

Sibling Assignment #127: Christ The Lord Has Risen Today

Easter back in the day with Raymond Pert, Silver Valley Girl as a baby and me. This month Silver Valley Girl is giving sibling assignments around th…

Postcards From the Methow Valley: Highway 20 and Early Winters

We toured Highway 20 as far as the road would go yesterday. The North Cascade Scenic Highway is still closed. We took a break at the Early Winters Cam…

April is National Poetry Month: One Hundred Best Poems for Boys and Girls

The second anthology I am highlighting this month is One Hundred Best Poems for Boys and Girls compiled by Marjorie Barrows. The copy I have was publ…

April is National Poetry Month: Good Poems

The tradition around here in April has been to celebrate National Poetry Month by posting a poem a day.  This year I am going to change that up just …