I Love My Plaid Shoes...

"Pete the Cat was walking down the street in his brand new white shoes."
Can you tell what I've been reading and listening to lately?  Not only do my own children love this story, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, but my students are CRAZY about it!  Not only am I listening to it multiple times every night at my three-year-old's request, but I'm asked repeatedly throughout each and every day at school for this song or book.  So much so, that I have downloaded the songs to my desktop so that my daughter can start the music herself and so that I can easily click my mouse and bring music and smiles to my classroom.

I've heard the song and read the story so many times that I catch myself singing it while I'm making dinner, when I'm in the shower, as I am rocking my baby girl to sleep.  In fact, it's been so much a part of my life, that recently I wrote my own version...based on my own snazzy new shoes.

Mrs. S was walking down the street in her brand new white shoes.  Mrs. S loved her white shoes so much, she sang this song:

I love my white shoes,
I love my white shoes,
I love my white shoes,
I love my...oh no!

Mrs. S stepped in a large pile of...crayons!
And what color were her shoes? Plaid!
Did she cry?  Goodness no! 
She kept walking along and singing her song:

I love my plaid shoes,
I love my plaid shoes,I love my plaid shoes,

I love my....

Well, you get the idea, but you might be wondering where I am going with all this?

 I've been working up to writing poetry in my classroom.  I've been reading poems - all different kinds.  I've been filling my students ears (and hopefully their hearts too!) with poetry.  I've even used my own poem (a huge first for me)!  My kids are loving it!  Today, after we had shared a boisterous singing session, I showed them a fun little secret...shhhh...don't tell...did you know that songs are poems too? 

You know what happens next, right?  We had to check that out a little bit.  So what did we do?  Yep, we listened to "I Love My White Shoes", we listened to "Circle of Smiles" from Reading A-Z (our second favorite song), and we listened to "Yellow Bus" by Rick Charette (a new favorite song). 

I'm working up to empowering my kindergarten kiddos to write their own poems.  I'm taking inspiration from ANYTHING that might work.  I'm reading poems about animals, school, butterflies, and even dragons, nursery rhymes and songs; ANYTHING that will fill up their little ears with the rhythm and harmony of poetry.  And I just keep being patient and keep reminding myself that I have to fill their poetry buckets before they can dish out their own poems.  I keep reminding myself that they have it in them already - they just need to reach in and find it.  I keep reminding myself that it is new and it might get messy, but, as Pete the Cat says:

"No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song because it's all good!