A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Robert Louis Stevenson, Cider Donuts, and Candles

Here is our tea time photo. The boys read original poems and I read some from our Robert Louis Stevenson binder of poems. Such fun!

Notice the cider donuts and candles. The cider donuts were not homemade. We had gotten them that morning at a farm store nearby. I realized at the register that I had just not quite enough cash to pay for our items. The woman behind me offered to give us the few dollars and after I resisted, she said, “It’s okay, just do the same for someone else in need in the future.” And I said to her, “Pay it forward–absolutely I will!”

This lead to a discussion of the expression “pay it forward” in the car on the way home. My boys had never heard of it before! They really loved that the woman did that for us and I think we spent a lot of time discussing her act during the tea time–in between the poetry reading!

Thank you for the inspiration!

~Nancy

Finally Made the Plunge

We’ve used many parts of Brave Writer for several years, but this week I finally made the plunge and committed to doing a weekly Poetry Teatime. Here is a photo of our very first one. We don’t have a pretty tablecloth yet, or fancy tea cups. But I did buy a huge assortment of hot cocoa mixes at Sam’s for my kids to choose from. Who knew you could get eight different flavors! Our favorite poem of the morning was “If-ing,” by Langston Hughes. The kids all say that they really liked doing it – and not just because of the hot cocoa. I think there’s something about poetry that really resonated with kids.

~Aimee

P.S. Here’s the poem, in case you haven’t read it.

If-ing

If I had some small change
I’d buy me a mule,
Get on that mule and
Ride like a fool.

If I had some greenbacks
I’d buy me a Packard,
Fill it up with gas and
Drive that baby backward.

If I had a million
I’d get me a plane
And everybody in America’d
Think I was insane.

But I ain’t got a million,
Fact is, ain’t got a dime —
So just by if-ing
I have a good time!

~Langston Hughes

Images (cc)

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