An outbreak of poetry!

Last day of Term, children in fancy dress, an outdoor specially constructed storytelling area - how much better can it get?! On Friday I told stories and poems to many groups of marvellously dressed children and teachers at Thornhill School in Cardiff.

I was the first person to perform in the circle. It really was an honour. Here I am with the first ever class to come and hear stories and poems in the area. Their teacher is resplendent in the centre of the photo, in his Cat in the Hat outfit.

The sun was shining, and I had several of those I can't believe this is my job moments!

Then today, Sunday, an event in Cardiff for the Children's Literature Festival, making seed packets, and filling them with poems, and with favourite and precious things - photos, pictures, mementoes. I encouraged the adults to make a packet each as well.

Everyone was quiet, and focussed on their own creations. It was a lovely afternoon.

Two very different events, but both celebrating words, ideas, poems and stories. I am SO LUCKY!

Poetry in Action at Pendoylan

A poetry workshop is an active event, especially with Year One! Here I am with the young poets at Pendoylan CIW Primary School, searching for inspiration,

starting small,

reaching for the heights,

and being proper authors.

I told them the story of Sion Cwilt, and then we wrote short poems about our own houses. Here are two of my favourites,

I don't know which I am more envious of, the pirate wallpaper and quilt, or the 4 cats and a rainbow unicorn!
To finish with we performed a story about Little Bo Peep. Here she is, talking to a cow about her lost sheep.

The children were fantastic. It was a great day.

Willy Wonka's Poetry Factory

Oh my goodness, an absolute gem of a day at St Nicholas Primary School in the Vale of Glamorgan, celebrating World Book Day with the whole school dressed up as book characters, and me telling stories and writing poems with everyone. I was dressed as a poet.

The staff at St Nicholas are enthusiastic about everything, even dressing up as Roald Dahl characters. Here they at the beginning of the day, and they all stayed in character until it was time to go home.

It was great going into classrooms filled with superheroes, princesses, Harry Potters, and other assorted literary characters.

I was asked to judge the World Book Day competitions, one for each class. I did this over lunchtime, helped by Willy Wonka and a golden ticket.

And pictured here after the giving of certificates and prizes,

Amazingly, considering all the excitement, the children produced really good poetry and imaginative work.

There are some lovely displays of work on the walls of St Nicholas School, and I was inspired by this picture. I am going to do a version of it using my wooden letterpress letters making exploding words.

This was another great day. I am so lucky.

Poetry with very young writers - the best fun.

Two schools today, to work with year 1 and 2 children, as part of the outreach for the Cardiff Children's Literature Festival. We were writing poetry, and using the great animal cartoons of Huw Aaron as a starting point.

 First, in Roath Park Primary, where we wrote about a pelican balancing a book on its beak, and other things too. A lot of alliteration followed.

I liked the above example because the pelican has a bendy boomerang, a slithering snake and a kicking kangaroo on its beak, and when the pelican sneezes, they slide off into the stars. I also like it because somewhere in the creative process the young poet obviously needed an energy boost and so took a big bite out of the top of the page!

Here are the children all holding their poems triumphantly aloft,

 This afternoon, to Herbert Thompson Infants, to write about a monkey eating lots of fruit and vegetables to help him with his reading,

This poem is great as it includes two languages! The monkey has a big green lettuce to help him read, and a juicy coch strawberry to help him be strong.

I asked the children to think what book the monkey might be reading, and they made up some titles, and put some illustrations on the pages of the book. The poem above had the monkey reading The Banana Book. In the picture below, the young writer had put some text, which I really liked.

 It is wonderful to see the very young writing poetry, putting their own imaginations and ideas into the frame I provide to produce very individual work. There really is nothing better! A selection of the poems produced today are going to be in an exhibition in Cardiff Central Library in April, and I am going to enjoy seeing the children's work again.

Many thanks to Louise Richards of Literature Wales who arranged the day and came to help with the poetry writing, and to the staff at both schools, who joined in with such enthusiasm and helped the young writers to produce great work.

The festival website is here http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2,2869,6584
and Huw Aaron's website is here www.huwaaron.com

Writing outdoors. Porthkerry Park.

I have been spending time with groups of children, walking in Porthkerry Park in Barry, and finding inspiration for writing stories. There's a magical woodland.

And a big pebble beach as well. The work the children produced was thoughtful and interesting, and they loved exploring the woods and the shore.

Often on a school outing, the journey on the bus turns out to be the most exciting and memorable thing for the youngsters. Well, for me a ride on the Ranger's quad vehicle was perhaps the best part of the experience!

http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/enjoying/visit_the_vale/barry_and_barry_island/porthkerry_country_park/porthkerry_country_park.aspx

Cardiff Children's LitFest. Photos. Poetry.

Here are some photos of my poetry performance in Cardiff Central Library as part of the Children's LitFest.

I am performing Spiky Hedgehog, which is one of my oldest and most favourite poems, which has actions for the children to join in with, and is always hugely noisy and enjoyable.

 This photo I really like!

At rest again.

Many thanks to Jennifer Haywood for the photos. 

www.francescakay.co.uk

Cardiff Children's LitFest. Poetry. Libraries. Fun.

After a rampaging poetry reading at Cardiff Central Library with an audience of young children, I staggered out into the fresh air with a slight headache from laughing so much,  and went to look at the children's poetry exhibition in the Old Library.

I had worked for a morning at Penyrenglyn Primary School, and some of the children's work was exhibited. It looked wonderful, enlarged from the original A4, and displayed in the beautiful exhibition space, along with lots of work from other schools, who had all had visits from writers.
We had written about Can't You Sleep Little Bear?  

It doesn't get much better than this - to perform poetry and songs to a young audience enjoying words and ideas, and then to see the results of workshop work displayed in a lovely exhibition.
All thanks to the Cardiff Children's Literature Festival. I am proud to have been part of it.
www.cardiffchildrenslitfest.com
www.francescakay.co.uk

Cardiff Children's Literature Festival event

I am delighted to be part of the Cardiff Children's Literature Festival 2013. LOTS of events, all over Cardiff. Here's the link to the Festival website
www.cardiffchildrenslitfest.com

and here's my event - it's going to be fun!

 Poems, Rhymes and Songs with Francesca Kay

Date Fri 22 March
Location Cardiff Central Library
Time 11.30 am
Age Early years
Language English
Tickets FREE
Poet Francesca Kay presents poems, rhymes and songs to listen to, join with and enjoy. Children and adults alike enjoy Francesca's enthusiasm and sense of fun as she spins words and tunes for their delight. Francesca has performed and written poetry with children in schools, libraries, gardens, woodlands, museums and art galleries.
 
www.francescakay.co.uk