Merely Day By Day

National Poetry Month:  29 of 30 When I saw Mary Lee's choice from WikiMedia today I decided this was the perfect opportunity to play with a little nonfiction poetry.  I did some quick research and used some of the information to write about these meerkats who appear to be standing guard.  It turns out meerkats are quite cooperative working together for the greater good.   Photo by Sara & Joachim via WikiMedia Commons Sentries together we listen for hawks, jackals, eagles. we watch tirelessly. together we stand while others hunt for lizards, insects, birds. foraging for food. we are ready at a moment's notice to bark our call, warning all to take cover, to hide deep in our tunnels. together we stand strong, we protect, we are the lookouts, guarding our mob. together we are one. © Cathy L. Mere Meerkats often seen in groups work together in numbers a few stand as lookouts while others forage for foo...

Today is the Tuesday Slice of Life Challenge .  For those of you just stopping by, I'm writing a poem each day this month in celebration of National Poetry Month.   I have been thinking about nonfiction poetry and collecting titles to consider as mentor texts for my first graders.  Last night I came upon Jane Yolen's , Bug Off! .  On each page Yolen shares a poem about an insect with a few research facts carefully collected underneath.  So tonight I decided to try my hand at a poem with just a bit of fact peppered within. I have been collecting interesting hummingbird facts so I decided to give a poem a try.  It needs a lot of polish, but when you are writing a poem each day there is no time for that.   Photo from ODNR Hummingbird Dear hummingbird, You have already arrived From your summer home In Mexico. I heard you buzzing As I sat on the patio Admiring the flowering trees. Watching the birds build their nests. I heard you We...

When I started this challenge, my original intent was to get back in the habit of writing AND to try some of the types of writing we create in our classroom.  I've been fascinated by literary nonfiction.  I've been wanting to give a piece of literary nonfiction a try.  Tonight I'm collecting interesting facts about herons.  Maybe I can turn this into a piece of literary nonfiction.   Mandy, at Enjoy and Embrace Learning , gave me the final push with her post about manatees.   "Some people criticize nonfiction writers for "appropriating" the techniques and devices of fiction writing. These techniques, except for invention of characters and detail, never belonged to fiction. They belong to storytelling."  Tracy Kidder Visit ODNR  In the last several years I've noticed many more herons in Ohio.  Now it is possible they've been this common all along.  Perhaps I've just started to take note of the bird as it gracefully moves thr...