Nothing Better Than Receiving a 1st Grader's First Poem! I'm So Happy A Teacher Is Assigning This

Truth is, there's always more layers that what first intrigues us.

Last night, my partner in crime at CWP, Caryn, sent me a poem her son, Kyle, wrote. He's in 1st grade and she couldn't help but share it with me. Caryn was enrolled in our literacy program at Fairfield after a career with ESPN and in other marketing capacities. Although she didn't complete the program, she fell in love with the joys of teaching a young person to read and write. When her son's words came to her, she had to feel proud. I don't blame her. I've read a lot of 1st grade writing and it's not as easy as Kyle makes it look. In some rooms, I'm lucky to get a sentence from that age group.

Here, however, a teacher is expecting poetry. Kudos to her. I love it. There's something free and whimsical about letting kids to write freely, especially while using imagination and spacing. There's a playfulness that seems natural and fun. If only we allowed kids to play in poetic romper rooms throughout their entire K-12 experience. Ah, voice and originality would definitely find its way into the secondary and post-secondary classroom.

The Flying Dog - by Kyle

The dog flew from a tree
to catch a bird.
To make a friend.
To meet a new friend.
So they flew two outer, space (to)
to play on the moon.
To play tage and fonda old (to play tag and they found an old)
taster so they made toset and (toaster so they made toast and)
waffles. So they go
back to the earth to go to
bed and they fell asleep
together.

Only a true poet could see the beauty of dogs and birds as friends --- the power of toast and waffles. The serenity of falling asleep together after visiting outer space.

Beautiful. I'm starting my day with happiness and am glad to share it with you.