I visited Ecclesall Juniors last week for National Poetry day. I received an email earlier this week with a great story - the Y6 children from the Junior school were taken to watch Benjamin Zephaniah in action at the Lyceum in Sheffield. I'd have loved to have gone myself, but unfortunately when you have three girls to look after, things like this midweek are rather unattainable. When Mabel's in school...then...then...I'll be able to do it all!
Anyway, Joe, one of the boys who read out a poem in the final school assembly on the day of my visit, also managed to get himself on stage with BZ himself at the Lyceum. Not only that, but he also read out his poem that he'd written during my workshop, got to high five BZ, and was the recipient of much whooping and hollering from his classmates. Irie! Well done Joe, that's awesome. To have the approval of the great Ben Zeph, now that IS something to shout about.
I also suspect, (though have no proof to corroborate this 'fact' as I was not there), that the Ecclesall bunch, with their Benjamin Zephaniah hats, were by far the coolest kids there. I'll leave it to you to agree or disagree. Like I say, I wasn't there...
Thursday 11 October 2012
Monday 8 October 2012
Bird Brains at Altofts go bananas!
Q:What do you get if you gather 70 children from six different schools and ask them to write stories and play drama games?
A:A whole lot of fun!!!
Today, thanks to the wonderful Mrs Blackstone, G & T and English coordinator extraordinaire, 70 children, from 6 different local schools, gathered at Altofts Junior school for a day of writing and drama games. Somehow, they all arrived at the right place and on time (well, almost on time...).
I had the KS1 children in the morning, and so told them that we'd be making up a story about a monkey. That's about as much as I did. The rest was up to them, and how they shone! They named the monkey bananas, decided he was very cheeky, and began to come up with cheeky things that he did. All of which was a great deal of fun. However, when he did one cheeky thing too many, their ultimate revenge plot was fantastic! Shave him whilst he sleeps, catapult him into the Antarctic, and let him freeze or be devoured by Polar Bears!!! Who said children always want happy endings? Not these ones! The calibre of writing and the confidence of the children to formulate their ideas and then put them down on paper was quite something to behold.
All of which then led on to the afternoon session with the KS2 and lower KS3 children. I loved watching the Year 7s. Part cool, yet part loving being allowed to be juniors for one day more, having stepped up and away from the Junior school at the end of the summer term. I think that at that age it's great for children to be allowed to still be children, if only for a day here or there. We've just had our house decorated by a wonderful decorator called David, and he told us that when his eldest granddaughter comes to play with her younger cousins, she joins in with the dolls and the prams, things that in her normal life she's left behind. Hurray for acceptable regression, that's what I say! I'm hoping my three girls will live in that state until they're mid twenties. Boys? Who wants to play with boys? We just want to play pretend tea parties with the teddies. Sadly, that may not be the most realistic of hopes, but still...
The older children wrote a story about Boulder, a enormously fat bird (morbidly obiece, according to one girl - I just loved that spelling of obese!), who loved nothing more than bursting the bins round the back of McDonald's and scoffing his face with mouldy chicken nuggets, old burgers, and greasy fries. Despite warnings from the other animals as to the possible pitfalls, Boulder kept scoffing his greedy face until...
...and at that point I asked them what might follow. And boy! Did they have some ideas! Many of them centred around a grizzly end to Boulder, including him being turned into an 'Ultimate' Big Mac. The children didn't finish writing their stories as we did not have a massivly long session, but how I'm looking forward to reading the finished articles when they've been completed!
It was, quite simply, a brill day. I am loving my job these days. Who'd have guessed it when, 8 years ago, I was measuring smelly, sweaty, overweight miners for overalls. How things can change.
Goodnight Bananas. Goodnight Boulder. May your creativity keep the children captivated today, tomorrow, and as long as it takes them to finish and type up their stories!
A:A whole lot of fun!!!
Today, thanks to the wonderful Mrs Blackstone, G & T and English coordinator extraordinaire, 70 children, from 6 different local schools, gathered at Altofts Junior school for a day of writing and drama games. Somehow, they all arrived at the right place and on time (well, almost on time...).
I had the KS1 children in the morning, and so told them that we'd be making up a story about a monkey. That's about as much as I did. The rest was up to them, and how they shone! They named the monkey bananas, decided he was very cheeky, and began to come up with cheeky things that he did. All of which was a great deal of fun. However, when he did one cheeky thing too many, their ultimate revenge plot was fantastic! Shave him whilst he sleeps, catapult him into the Antarctic, and let him freeze or be devoured by Polar Bears!!! Who said children always want happy endings? Not these ones! The calibre of writing and the confidence of the children to formulate their ideas and then put them down on paper was quite something to behold.
All of which then led on to the afternoon session with the KS2 and lower KS3 children. I loved watching the Year 7s. Part cool, yet part loving being allowed to be juniors for one day more, having stepped up and away from the Junior school at the end of the summer term. I think that at that age it's great for children to be allowed to still be children, if only for a day here or there. We've just had our house decorated by a wonderful decorator called David, and he told us that when his eldest granddaughter comes to play with her younger cousins, she joins in with the dolls and the prams, things that in her normal life she's left behind. Hurray for acceptable regression, that's what I say! I'm hoping my three girls will live in that state until they're mid twenties. Boys? Who wants to play with boys? We just want to play pretend tea parties with the teddies. Sadly, that may not be the most realistic of hopes, but still...
The older children wrote a story about Boulder, a enormously fat bird (morbidly obiece, according to one girl - I just loved that spelling of obese!), who loved nothing more than bursting the bins round the back of McDonald's and scoffing his face with mouldy chicken nuggets, old burgers, and greasy fries. Despite warnings from the other animals as to the possible pitfalls, Boulder kept scoffing his greedy face until...
...and at that point I asked them what might follow. And boy! Did they have some ideas! Many of them centred around a grizzly end to Boulder, including him being turned into an 'Ultimate' Big Mac. The children didn't finish writing their stories as we did not have a massivly long session, but how I'm looking forward to reading the finished articles when they've been completed!
It was, quite simply, a brill day. I am loving my job these days. Who'd have guessed it when, 8 years ago, I was measuring smelly, sweaty, overweight miners for overalls. How things can change.
Goodnight Bananas. Goodnight Boulder. May your creativity keep the children captivated today, tomorrow, and as long as it takes them to finish and type up their stories!
Saturday 6 October 2012
More poems
Just had a look through some of the other entries to the poetry competition. Here are some of my favourites, that ALMOST won, but just not quite. The first is written by my wacky and zany nephew, Tom. It's about an angry suitcase and it's superb...
The Angry Suitcase
There was once an angry suitcase
Who snapped and snapped all night
People kept on throwing him
Until his face went white
But one day it all began
And then he had a plan!
An extremely evil plan!
He had himself fitted wheels
And snapped at people's heels
And then he gave birth
Long Drive to Longford!
My first ever school in Staffordshire! Longford Primary turns out to be quite a way away for me...well over 100 miles, and over 2 hours of driving, which at 545 on a cold, dark, wet autumnal morning is not my IDEAL way to start a day.
However, it was VERY worth it. The children and staff were brilliant - made me feel exceptionally welcome and we had a blast. We were celebrating national Poetry Day (a day late!), and I'd been asked to work primarily with KS2 children on performance poetry. No problem, I thought. I'll get them all to perform some of my poems in groups...done that before...worked well...
Then, as I was about to launch into the first session with Y3, I suddenly thought 'Oh, I've not done this with a Y3 group before...hmmmm...will they be ok with it...?' And my goodness they were! In fact, the winning group were really close to winning the whole thing, just getting pipped at the post by Year 6's performance of a new poem of mine called 'New Term, New Germs.'
I was also ably supported throughout the day by Mrs Hume - I think that without teaching assistants like her, schools would fall apart in very short order.
Thanks to all at Longford, and here's hoping we meet again. And next time maybe I'll understand a few more words that the children say...cos that accent foxed me on a number of occasions!
However, it was VERY worth it. The children and staff were brilliant - made me feel exceptionally welcome and we had a blast. We were celebrating national Poetry Day (a day late!), and I'd been asked to work primarily with KS2 children on performance poetry. No problem, I thought. I'll get them all to perform some of my poems in groups...done that before...worked well...
Then, as I was about to launch into the first session with Y3, I suddenly thought 'Oh, I've not done this with a Y3 group before...hmmmm...will they be ok with it...?' And my goodness they were! In fact, the winning group were really close to winning the whole thing, just getting pipped at the post by Year 6's performance of a new poem of mine called 'New Term, New Germs.'
I was also ably supported throughout the day by Mrs Hume - I think that without teaching assistants like her, schools would fall apart in very short order.
Thanks to all at Longford, and here's hoping we meet again. And next time maybe I'll understand a few more words that the children say...cos that accent foxed me on a number of occasions!
Thursday 4 October 2012
Guns 'n' Roses at Ecclesall Juniors!
Last year I went to Ecclesall Junior school for National Poetry day, and my abiding memory was listening to one of the year groups singing the Matchstalk Men song about Lowry. I could not get it out of my head, came home, and spent two hours researching Lowry, the song, and a host of things that were most definitely NOT the planning that I should have been doing. All to a backdrop of the song on my computer on repeat.
So...as I headed of to Ecclesall Juniors today, once again on National Poetry Day, I couldn't help but hum the Matchstalk Men song as I had last year. There was no chance that I'd be so taken with something today in the way I was last year. No chance at all. Not a hope...
Until, of course, I walked into an empty hall to be greeted with 'Sweet Child of Mine' by Guns 'n' Roses...on repeat...loud!
So now THAT's what I can't get out of my head. Brilliant! Reminds me of my brother when he was young, listening to that song all the time. I don't know of any other junior school that would have G'n'R blaring out first thing on a morning, and I say WELL DONE! DO MORE!
And what I day we had. I absolutely LOVE this school. Everyone is just lovely lovely lovely! And the children came up with some amazing poetry. Not least, Gina, from Year 3, who'd written a poem the night BEFORE my visit as she got ready to celebrate National Poetry Day. So...here it is, linking in very nicely with the theme for this year's poetry day, which is STARS...
Gina, over to you...
My first shooting star
Bored and frustrated, sitting on my bed
See the curtains - an idea in my head
Rip them open, gaze out far
To my joy a shooting star!
I read it out to the school and they were suitably impressed. As was I! Well done Gina, keep writing 'em.
I was also given a poem by Megan in Year 6...not a star poem, this one, but one that is very topical around this time of the year...So Megan, take it away...
Halloween
Halloween's the time of ghosts and ghouls,
Pumpkins in windows grin like fools
When warlocks and witches meet,
Children go out to trick or treat
Some people do apple bobbing
While the spirits are wailing and sobbing
At the middle of the night,
You can get a fright
Brilliant, Megan, well done.
There were so many excellent poems today. Joe's kenning was awesome, Fraser and Oscar's poem about Teachers vs Aliens was a delight, and so so many more. As I watched all the children filing in to the final assembly I was filled with a real joy, one that I could feel deep inside, and could feel emanating from the children too.
Thank you Ecclesall, you've been great.
Now, what date is National Poetry Day 2013...?!!!
So...as I headed of to Ecclesall Juniors today, once again on National Poetry Day, I couldn't help but hum the Matchstalk Men song as I had last year. There was no chance that I'd be so taken with something today in the way I was last year. No chance at all. Not a hope...
Until, of course, I walked into an empty hall to be greeted with 'Sweet Child of Mine' by Guns 'n' Roses...on repeat...loud!
So now THAT's what I can't get out of my head. Brilliant! Reminds me of my brother when he was young, listening to that song all the time. I don't know of any other junior school that would have G'n'R blaring out first thing on a morning, and I say WELL DONE! DO MORE!
And what I day we had. I absolutely LOVE this school. Everyone is just lovely lovely lovely! And the children came up with some amazing poetry. Not least, Gina, from Year 3, who'd written a poem the night BEFORE my visit as she got ready to celebrate National Poetry Day. So...here it is, linking in very nicely with the theme for this year's poetry day, which is STARS...
Gina, over to you...
My first shooting star
Bored and frustrated, sitting on my bed
See the curtains - an idea in my head
Rip them open, gaze out far
To my joy a shooting star!
I read it out to the school and they were suitably impressed. As was I! Well done Gina, keep writing 'em.
I was also given a poem by Megan in Year 6...not a star poem, this one, but one that is very topical around this time of the year...So Megan, take it away...
Halloween
Halloween's the time of ghosts and ghouls,
Pumpkins in windows grin like fools
When warlocks and witches meet,
Children go out to trick or treat
Some people do apple bobbing
While the spirits are wailing and sobbing
At the middle of the night,
You can get a fright
Brilliant, Megan, well done.
There were so many excellent poems today. Joe's kenning was awesome, Fraser and Oscar's poem about Teachers vs Aliens was a delight, and so so many more. As I watched all the children filing in to the final assembly I was filled with a real joy, one that I could feel deep inside, and could feel emanating from the children too.
Thank you Ecclesall, you've been great.
Now, what date is National Poetry Day 2013...?!!!
Monday 1 October 2012
A VERY secret Secret Diary...
My secret diary is so secret that even I haven't been able to find it for a while...which would explain why I've not posted for a little while...
But I am still alive and still working in schools...lots of them.
I just haven't written about them.
But I have been to them.
Which is probably the best way round to be, if I had to choose. Because writing about my visits but not actually DOING the visits would land me in some hot water with head teachers across Yorskhire. Plus, it'd be pretty hard to write about a visit that I didn't actually make. If you see what I mean. Which you might not. Which is ok. It happens, farily frequently.
Anyway, here is my 'off the top of my head list' of what I've been up to...
1. Bought the entire series of 'Quantum Leap' on DVD last week with birthday money. Has there ever been money spent more wisely?
2. Ran a 'Boys 'n' Blokes' day, followed by a 'Girls 'n' Gals' Day at All Saints Infant School, Normanton on consecutive Mondays recently. What a great time we had, and how much the children made me laugh. Their comments on the feedback forms were priceless. Top of the list of suggested improvements was 'More Marshmellows next time' after the marshmellows for the hot chocolate at break time ran out!
3. Ran a three day writing event for the Juniors at Hallam Primary in Sheffield, where I'd been earlier this year in March. What a wonderful bunch of people they are down there - and to Hilary, the Year 6 TA, a huuuuge thank you and 'how did you DO that?' for creating a display so quickly I saw pictures of me doing stuff that I'd literally been doing only five minutes earlier. And as for the dragon...he hasn't got me yet!
4. Tidied out the cellar. This sounds like a job that might take a morning. It took Clare and I three weeks and ended up involving things like ditching nine bin bags full of baby clothes at the charity shop; emptying our wardrobes; booking in David, the best decorator in the North; and throwing away A LOT of stuff into a rather large skip. Good for the soul it was.
5. Got poorly TWICE leading up to and including the summer holidays, and missed TWO days of work - first time I've missed work since becoming self employed over six years ago. That's how bad I was. It was not pretty.
There is more, but I'm tired and so that's where it's going to finish. I would talk about the INCREDIBLE summer we've had...not weather-wise, you understand, but sporting superstar - wise. Ryder Cup team - a brilliant way to end off a sporting summer the like of which I truly believe I will never again see in my lifetime.
Goodnight one and all.
P.S. Oh, I should also mention that Poetry book number 3 is being written, and short story collection number one is being put together. Exciting times...
But I am still alive and still working in schools...lots of them.
I just haven't written about them.
But I have been to them.
Which is probably the best way round to be, if I had to choose. Because writing about my visits but not actually DOING the visits would land me in some hot water with head teachers across Yorskhire. Plus, it'd be pretty hard to write about a visit that I didn't actually make. If you see what I mean. Which you might not. Which is ok. It happens, farily frequently.
Anyway, here is my 'off the top of my head list' of what I've been up to...
1. Bought the entire series of 'Quantum Leap' on DVD last week with birthday money. Has there ever been money spent more wisely?
2. Ran a 'Boys 'n' Blokes' day, followed by a 'Girls 'n' Gals' Day at All Saints Infant School, Normanton on consecutive Mondays recently. What a great time we had, and how much the children made me laugh. Their comments on the feedback forms were priceless. Top of the list of suggested improvements was 'More Marshmellows next time' after the marshmellows for the hot chocolate at break time ran out!
3. Ran a three day writing event for the Juniors at Hallam Primary in Sheffield, where I'd been earlier this year in March. What a wonderful bunch of people they are down there - and to Hilary, the Year 6 TA, a huuuuge thank you and 'how did you DO that?' for creating a display so quickly I saw pictures of me doing stuff that I'd literally been doing only five minutes earlier. And as for the dragon...he hasn't got me yet!
4. Tidied out the cellar. This sounds like a job that might take a morning. It took Clare and I three weeks and ended up involving things like ditching nine bin bags full of baby clothes at the charity shop; emptying our wardrobes; booking in David, the best decorator in the North; and throwing away A LOT of stuff into a rather large skip. Good for the soul it was.
5. Got poorly TWICE leading up to and including the summer holidays, and missed TWO days of work - first time I've missed work since becoming self employed over six years ago. That's how bad I was. It was not pretty.
There is more, but I'm tired and so that's where it's going to finish. I would talk about the INCREDIBLE summer we've had...not weather-wise, you understand, but sporting superstar - wise. Ryder Cup team - a brilliant way to end off a sporting summer the like of which I truly believe I will never again see in my lifetime.
Goodnight one and all.
P.S. Oh, I should also mention that Poetry book number 3 is being written, and short story collection number one is being put together. Exciting times...
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