Month: July 2019

Summer is in full swing! For some this means hiding in the AC, for others it means bugs or vacation, and for still others it means hot Hot HOT! When it’s just “Too Darn Hot” there’s one surefire way I know to beat the heat: Head to the Beach.

Beach time is way more than just a thing to do. It’s a mindset. And best of all, it’s way COOL! So let’s get beachy! Begin by listing whatever comes to mind when you think of the beach. Here are a few things to get you thinking:

Frothy surf, bikinis, surfboards, sand, shells, waves, orange sherbet sunsets, coconut and cocoa butter, Frankie Avalon aka Moon Doggie . . .

Now you try. If “sand in your pants” is what Beach Time means to you, go with it. Create a poem using as many of those beachy words as you can. Here’s a little theme music to get you in a beachy mood: Da-na-nah-na-nah-nah-na…WiPE OUT!

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1100 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.

Cousins appear in lots of books. In some versions of City Mouse/Country Mouse, the mice are cousins.

In The Secret Garden, young Mary Lennox meets her cousin Colin.

In Eight Cousins, orphaned Rose Campbell goes to live with her uncle—and seven boy cousins.

Do you have cousins? Are they older or younger? Do they live nearby or far away? When is the last time you saw them? How are they like you? How are they different?

Write a poem about your cousins—all of them or just a few. Tell a story about something you’ve done together or something you wish you could do.

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1100 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1100 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.

Cuckoo for Coconuts!!

Hooray! Hooray! It’s National Pina Colada Day!                                  

So, whether you do or do not like getting caught in the rain . . .

Whether you are or are not into health foods or champagne . . .

Regardless of your opinion about waking up at midnight—

Let’s put the lime in the coconut and bust out in poetry! Pul-lee-e-e-e-sa!* PLEEESE!

Thinking coconuts, tropical islands, pineapples ripe for the plucking, and cuckoo birds write a poem. And yes, because the notion that there even is a National Pina Colada Day is slightly cuckoo, use as many words as you can think of which include the letters C and O in that order. If you really want to cut loose, try including a bird call or two!

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1100 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.

Fireworks!!!

In the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, Max and Freak attend the Fourth of July celebration and Max is amazed at what Freak knows.

This is from page 32-33 in the book:

“Magnesium!” (Freak) shouts as the white sparkles glitter down over the pond. “Potassium chlorate!” as the shells go womp-womp-womp and everybody goes oooooh. “Potassium nitrate! Sulphur! Aluminum!” And after a burst of hot red fire in the sky, Freak tugs my hair and screams, “Copper! That’s copper powder combusting with oxygen!”

Try writing a poem that includes fireworks—either your description of them or their chemical names. Let your words burst on the page!

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1100 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.