Poetry Day at Ecclesall

What a GREAT day I've had at Ecclesall Junior school in Sheffield. Rarely have I been made to feel quite so welcome. Everyone was so kind - I even had cups of coffee brought to me as I worked!

And the children were amazing. The Year group poems at the beginning of the day that were showcased to me were outstanding. I loved the song / poem that the Y5 children did about Lowry (very moving, I found). The Y6 poem inspired after their visit to the World War Battlefields in France was stunning (not to mention the trumpet solo - or was it trombone? I always get them mixed up!). I'm still wondering what I'd do if I had Year 4s magic key, but my favourite had to be Y3s pet poem with the stick insect called (stickers?) who lived in some... Brilliant!

After I'd heard them I wondered how on earth I'd follow suit, but I did not need to have worried. As always, it's the children that come up with the really good stuff. I just have to give them some ideas, get them inspired, and then let them go. And go they did! They worked incredibly hard, and seemed to really enjoy the competition at the end of the day. Sammy, the winner from 5 C, was out of this world. But the other poets who made the final were excellent too. Highlights for me included ...

'My love for you is as perfect as teachers shutting up!' (A love poem written to football, I think it was!)

'It's...
It's...
It's...

Fallen out of my ears.' A reference to what happened to one young poet's idea for a brilliant sport poem when he 'forgot' to write the idea down.

Thanks to everyone at the Junior School. I truly truly had a fab time. Oh, and thanks to the poets who kept presenting me with poems that they'd written throughout the day. I was really touched to be given them.

Good school, good fun, goodnight!