Today we started off the morning with reaching into a bag of words and randomly pulling out one to use as a diving board into writing. The writing these words inspired was wonderful and you will be hearing some of it at the reading on Friday.

Next we set out to explore the concept of "Found Poetry". Found poetry is like making a collage with words.

Riffing on the theme of "Found Treasures and Scavenger Hunts" we became word hunters, first pouring through magazines and old books cutting out words and phrases we were drawn to and then setting out on our second outdoor adventure. We walked around the neighborhood gathering words from scraps of paper on the ground, from street signs and posters. We ended up at Oakland Public Library with instructions to pull a phrase from page 42 of any book, to pull another phrase from page 102, a "y"' word from the dictionary, and "s" word from the dictionary and 5 book titles.

This afternoon we watercolored drawings of a chart of Treasures in My Life or Scavenged Items and you can see the results in the photos. Sophie's treasures were seashells, my dog Maisy, chocolate cream wafers, bare feet and a comfy sofa. Kyra did "Lost and found" articles consisting of a thimble, hair tie, school I.D.card, earring backs and chapstick. All the students put thought in their selections and the paintings are beautiful. We then did jewelry making with beads, bottle caps, and little boxes.

Tomorrow we will fashion our collection of words and phrases into Found poems.

Can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already!