Jacques Brel would have felt right at home. The Discovery Community School's (DCS) Middles students (grades three and four) hosted a very European poetry café the day after Valentine's Day, complete with Beatnik music, dark shades, checkered tablecloths and finger snapping (in place of clapping). Cuisine included grapes and pain et fromage (bread and cheese).
The students took turns at the karaoke machine, reading their haiku, tongue twisters and free form poems. Their work is a culmination of a lengthy and popular poetry unit taught by Mrs. Carol Fletcher.
The piece de resistance was the appearance of nationally-known, comedic children's writer, Kenn Nesbitt, who spent the entire day at DCS coaching the kids and reading his wacky work. Nesbitt's work had been a key part to Fletcher's instruction, and was integral to hooking the kids on writing poetry.
Originally from California, Nesbitt makes his home in Spokane, and spends a good part of the year visiting schools. April is particularly popular, he said, since it's National Poetry Month.
His early works included "My Foot Fell Asleep" and "The Aliens Have Landed at Our School!" His next collection, "The Teachers Jumped Out of the Windows," is due to be released this fall. Nesbitt's Web site is www.poetry4kids.com, and is interactive, updated often and a great way to introduce children to poetry.
Following is a poem that Nesbitt penned along with the Olders (fifth and sixth grade) class:
PAINTBALL
My grandma is a paintballer pro.
She plays it every day.
She can hit a moving target
50 feet away.
My grandpa went with her to play
And learned she had the "touch."
She claims it was an accident.
I miss him very much.
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