April 17th: National Stress Awareness Day

“Hope Haiku” by Mattie J. T. Stepanek

Gentle and peaceful…
We are the children of one God,
Yet, so many faiths.

True, we are different…
Unique mosaic of life.
Still, we are the same.

United, we are…
The festive fabric of life.
Divided, we fall.

Stepanek, Mattie J.T. Just peace: a message of hope. Andrews McMeel Publishing. 2006.

• Discuss what peace of mind can do to stress.
• List steps to take to alleviate tension.
• Work on stress-relieving tips for those who are stressed.

April 18th: Pet Owner’s Day

“Poochie’s in Heaven” by Emily Margaret Stuparyk

You were a bright light for me
My shining star
Now the light has gone out
How will I go on!

I loved you in life and
I love you in death
Such sadness has swept me
Away like a tidal wave
Carried me to another place
And now, someone else remains to grieve
Because my pain is indescribable.

You were my strength
My brave little soldier
And now, the strength has gone from me too
I miss you, so desperately.

You were everything to me
You gave me so much joy
And now, the angels are the lucky ones
As they watch you romp on heaven's greens.

But I too was lucky once,
She loved me with all her heart
We bonded in life, and now in death
I'll carry her wherever I go.

Stuparyk, Emily M. When only the love remains: the pain of pet loss. Hushion House
Publishing. 2000.

• Students will illustrate their favorite pet and discuss in groups their pet stories.
• Students will discuss the qualities that made each pet special and why they deserve to have a holiday just for them.

April 19th: Humorous Day

“Oh, Woe Ith Me!” by Bruce Lansky

Ath I wath bikingdown the thtweet,I hit a bumpand lotht my theat.
I cwathed my bikeinto a twee.I thcwathed my fathe—oh, woe ith me.
My bike ith wecked.I’ve no excuthe.And wortht of all,my tooth ith looth.
Lansky, Bruce. Bad case of the giggles: a kid’s favorite funny poems. Meadowbrook. 1994.

• Have students explain the mood and tone of the poem.
• Have students create their own humorous poem for humorous day and act it out in front of the class.

April 20th: Volunteer Recognition Day

“Yellow” by Joan Brindley

I choose my favorite color, yellow—
Yellow is a cheerful color;
Yellow is car lights on a foggy day;
Yellow is a maple tree in the fall,
A lemon lying in the dish and waiting
To make your mouth pucker;
Yellow is all around us
In the moon,
In the tomato waiting to turn bright red;
Yellow looks and tastes just like a banana.

Peck. Carol F. From deep within: poetry workshops in nursing homes. New York, NY. Haworth Press. 1989.

• Read the poem aloud to class.
• Discuss with students the importance to volunteer their time to a greater cause.
• Ask students to volunteer with their parent’s supervision over the weekend. Students are to come in and present the result of their volunteer work to the class.

April 21st: Kindergarten Day

“How are you today?” by Stephanie Calmenson

Good morning!
Who’s sleepy?
Who’s sniffly?
Who’s jumpy?
Who’s grumpy?
Who’s silly?
Who’s happy?
Who’s listening?
Who’s ready to learn?
Who’s ready to play?
Who’s ready to start
Our kindergarten day?

Calmenson, Stephanie. Kindergarten kids: riddles, rebuses, wiggles, giggles, and more! New
York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers. 2005.

• Have students discuss their first day of kindergarten. Was it a positive or negative experience? Were they happy or sad, excited or afraid? Were they ready to learn something new?
• Students are to create an inner dialogue that illustrates their thoughts and emotions during their very first day of school.

Family Matters: Poems of Our Families by Theodore Roethke

Poetry Break 6: A serious poem about a difficult or sensitive subject in children's or teens' lives.

Introduction: Ask students to write about a tough time in their life. It could be about loss, grief, depression, divorce, suicide, etc. Teacher will also write about a personal and difficult time and share it with the class. This will allow students to feel comfortable to share their own experiences as well.

Book: Family Matters: Poems of Our Families
Author: Theodore Roethke
Published: 2005

"My Papa's Waltz"
by Theodore Roethke

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

Extension: Students are to create a poem about a sad time in their life or a time when they faced a problem. Students can work on this in class and take it home to reflect on it in private. They are to write about situations that they feel comfortable sharing. The next day, they will create a second poem about a positive outcome that resulted from their problem. This will help students cope with their pain as well as teach them that every negative experience can give positive outcomes. Students who are willing to share will read their first and second poem to the class and explain what they learned and grew from it.

Children's Poetry...practice makes perfect

Blue Bowl Down: An Appalachian Rhyme by C. M. Millen

Millen, C.M. Blue Bowl Down: An Appalachian Rhyme. Candlewick. 2004.

Blue Bowl Down is a poetry book that gives children a tale to follow about something that practically everyone can relate to, watching mother cook. In this case, the mother in the book is making bread for the next morning, and her young child watches as she goes back and forth the night before, and they both later rise (as so does the bread dough) in time for breakfast to a brand new loaf of bread.

Both parent and child will enjoy this book for its universal theme of connection between mother and child in the kitchen.

Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry by Jane Yolen,Andrew Fusek Peters,Polly Dunbar

Yolen, Jane. Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry. Cambridge, MA. Candlewick Press. 2007.

Jane Yolen’s Here's a Little Poemt book is a perfect example of the type of book that children love to listen to during the period when they are most interested in learning the meaning of words. The simplicity of the words in this book captures the mind and thoughts of a young child and are expressed through most talented writers such as Langston Hughes and Margaret Wise Brown.

Not only are the poems wonderful to share with a young child, but their imagination is stirred with the illustrations. The soft-colored drawings are just one more plus in aiding a child to love poetry at it's finest at such a tender age. With over sixty poems written by talented poets, Yolen has taken the best from the best and presented it as a gift to the youth of today.