Poetry Friday: A Prompt and an Announcement
Happy Poetry Friday, everyone. How are you doing in these times of social distancing and self-quarantines?I have a DIY writing prompt for educators and parents to share with kids at home today. And I also have a BIG announcement!Announcement first:Due to the number of children who are learning at home right now, I have adapted my February Poetry Project for kids! The details will be posted tomorrow (Saturday, March 21) at the Nerdy Book Club website. This year's theme for the adult poetry project was Water. It was such a rich topic that I decided to use it for young writers too.But the thing that I'm most excited to share is that some stellar children's authors, poets, and poetry educators will be in charge of the daily prompts! "Who?!" I can hear you asking. I'm still trying to decide whether to announce names or save the surprise. Hmm...On to today's writing prompt. This is one that adults (and kids) can create at home, then mail to a student or friend who is sheltering in place. It is related to the persona poem prompt that I often use in my school poetry workshops.You can find a full description of the persona poem workshop at Today's Little Ditty. And I made a video where I talk through this DIY writing prompt, which you can view on Facebook.
- Create a postcard. Find an image of an interesting person in a magazine or newspaper. Cut it out and glue or tape it onto a postcard-sized index card. (If you have unused postcards with images of people, that works well too.)
- Add a note with a writing prompt. Some examples are: "What is this person's story? Who do you think she is? What are his hopes and dreams? If they could speak to you right now, what would they say?"
- Add a stamp and address to a young writer.
Given the stress children are experiencing right now, I might not specify that the resulting writing must be a poem. Keep it loose -- this is a story starter, a poem starter, a way to get the creative juices flowing.Sending love out to everyone. Stay in touch!