An End of Summer Poem

Do you feel sad when summer comes to an end? I do. Right now I'm sitting in our yard swing on a gorgeous sunny day. The sun and breeze feel good on my skin, the air smells like the cedar trees around me, and I'm drinking grape juice with fizzy water. I swear I can also smell the blackberries ripening on the bushes down the road.

Because I love summer so much, it's always hard to say good-bye. I'm in the mood to tell summer why I love it so much, using metaphors (similes without "like" or "as") to fill in the lines. 

Scroll down to read my Summer Poem. Feel free to join in and write your own! 

Summer Poem

Summer, your sun is ____________________________________.

Your trees are _________________________________________.

Your shade is _________________________________________.

Summer, your sidewalks are _____________________________.

And your sky is _______________________________________.

Summer, why do I love you? 

Because your days are __________________________________

and your nights are ____________________________________.

Summer, you're the best! You're a ________________________.

Summer Poem

Summer, your sun is an exploding firework. 

Your trees are lime-green popsicles. 

Your shade is a dark, deep pool.  

Summer, your sidewalks are sizzling pancake griddles. 

And your sky is a big, blue umbrella.

Why do I love you? 

Because your days are a long, lazy bike ride  

and your nights are a cool, soft blanket.

Summer, you're the best! 

You're a jewel in my year. 

Magic Pen Story Starters Part II

This is my second week of teaching summer writing workshops, and what a great group of writers! Some of the stories by the young authors involve a decathlete, a secret room, a fire-station dalmatian, a journey through a garden, a fight for plunder, a gift involving a very special dog, a banana with a mind of its own, an adventure for Goldilocks, and some dragons with attitude. 

Here's a sample of more Magic Pen Story Starters using first and last lines: 

Write a story with this first line: 

• All my life I wanted to be a rock.
• The notebook sighed, wondering why it was destined to be written in and thrown out. 
• The worst thing about living in a desk drawer is the paper clip that won't stop talking.
• "No."

Write a story with this last line:

• "Got you," she said, skipping away.
• At the end, Dad told me to clean up the atomic waste in my room.
• The spaghetti-eating contest was the most fun a mouse and a lizard could have.
• And that's why I always wear orange tennis shoes.

Happy writing!  

Magic Pen Story Starters

I'm teaching summer writing camps over the next two weeks--for ages 8 to 11 and ages 12 to 14. Super fun! I'm inspired by every single writer who walks through the door. Anyone who spends part of their summer vacation at a writing workshop is my kind of person! 


A lot of the young writers have story ideas, but some are looking for a prompt to get them going. For those writers I have "Magic Pen Story Starters." 

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll give you a sample. 

Write a story about:

• an elephant that wants to win a skateboard competition
• a boy who wants to be the broccoli-eating champ in his school
• a tree that wants to live in the desert
• a girl who wants to work in a shoelace factory

Write a story with one of these titles:

• "Goldilocks Moves to Hollywood"
• "The Barnyard Blog"
• "The Big Yellow Sky Falls Down"
• "The Diary of a Paper Clip"

Maybe you'll be inspired by one of the "Magic Pen Story Starters." If so, get out your pen--magic or otherwise--and start writing!  

More Inspiration from the Olympics

I don't know about you, but I'm becoming more and more inspired by the Olympic athletes I read about or see on TV.

The volley players are jumping beans. The swimmers are fish. The runners are blurs of movement. The divers are sharp knives in motion.  

What motivates a person to become an Olympic athlete? What kind of strength--physical and mental--is required to compete at that level?

Even if we're watching from the couch, we can be inspired by the sheer amount of beautiful energy we see on the screen.

What if we tried to experience--through our writing--what the athletes are going through? 

Close your eyes. Imagine you're an athlete at the starting line, on the diving board, at the edge of the pool, behind the net. What's going through your mind? What are you telling yourself as you prepare for the most important competition of your life? 

Write down your thoughts, and have fun starring in the biggest sports arena in the world!