Chatting with Santa

Last week at church,
chatting with Dave
and his wife Sue,
I discovered he plays Santa
for us at the Feast of St. Nicholas.

I never knew it was him.
He nodded over at my Buddy
and said "He's gotten so tall
this year. How is he doing in school?"
Sue laughed and said "Santa is watching!"

"It's true," Santa said,
"I keep my eye on him.
He has been my special project every year."
"We are a little afraid of Santa" I murmured,
not wanting the boys to hear us.

"I know" said Santa.
"Last year he was brave
and almost agreed to sit on my lap.
His younger brother
has no fear at all, does he?"

I laughed. "I had no idea it was you.
Are you really Santa?"
"Are you kidding?" Sue said.
"Santa comes to breakfast
hoping to see Buddy.

For years Santa has been
hoping to get a smile.
He's working on
getting a hug
from that sweet boy."

Dave laughed
with a twinkle in his eye
and I'm sure I saw
his belly jiggle
just a little.

-Andromeda Jazmon

This week I didn't finish my grad school homework until late yestedary, so I am doing my Friday Poetry on Saturday morning. The round up is at Julie Larios's blog The Drift Record. Enjoy and be thankful!

Flu and Asthma poetry

Trisha, at Miss Rumphius Effect, has given us the charge in this week's Monday Poetry Stretch: try a new form called "rictameter, an unrhymed, 9-line poem with a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2 in which the first and last lines are the same."



Swine Flu with Asthma 

Long night.
Coughing non-stop -
little guy has the flu.
No one rests, not mom, who thinks she
might be going to the ER tonight
again, with one sick little boy.
Rocking and listening
to him struggle -
long night.

-Andromeda Jazmon

Written for my own little guy who has asthma and beat the flu. He had to do a nebulizer medication treatment before we went out trick or treating on Halloween. I am also thinking of my friends with sick kids, and all of us struggling this season. God Bless us, every one.

See more rictameter poems on Trisha's blog . The Friday Poetry Roundup is hosted by Greggory K. at Gottabook. Enjoy!

insomniac haiku

chrysanthemum
jeweled with morning dew
next to the gas pumps

-Andromeda Jazmon

Poetry Friday: Autumn Roundel

I have been so busy at work, home, and grad school that I have missed Friday Poetry for several weeks. (I have been blogging at my library school student blog instead of here.) But when Miss Rumphius did her Monday Poetry Stretch on the poetic form Roundel, I had to jump in. Fall is just the perfect season for a circular form like this. A roundel is composed of 11 lines in three stanzas with a rhyme scheme of abab, bab, abab. The fourth line is repeated as the 11th line. Here is my attempt, written while gazing out the library window at the school fields.

Autumn Out My Window

September slowly turns toward fall,

the fields are dusted with golden haze.

Urgent crickets in the bent grass call,

and one more turn quickens our days.

Heavy seed tops brush the wind in a craze

green velvet soccer fields cradle the ball

while fog lifts, aglow, where Asters laze.

Scarlet & amber creep in to enthrall,

brilliant October lights our ways.

Honey gold chases the trees that stall,

and one more turn quickens our days.

-Andromeda Jazmon

Friday Poetry is hosted by Kelly H. at Crossover today. Enjoy!

end of summer

crickets in the grass
beside the still, quiet lake -
a fish jumps

Andromeda Jazmon

A Day at the Lake in Haiku & Photos

only his reflection
wavers in the evening light;
great blue heron

-Andromeda Jazmon



clouds over the lake
leave pools of blue sky
beside beach stones

-Andromeda Jazmon



runners by the lake
breath in the stillness; rushing
past nameless flowers

-Andromeda Jazmon

Friday Poetry is hosted by Kelly at Crossover. Enjoy your weekend!

Review: Raising A Digital Child

A Digital Citizenship Handbook for Parents by Mike Ribble. HomePage Books, 2009. I am reading this book to prepare for the coming school year, where we will be focusing on Digital Citizenship for the entire year. Each month we are going to focus on another aspect of this complex subject in teacher, student and parent education. Ribble's book is an excellent introduction to the basic concepts.

Ribble defines digital citizenship and breaks it down into the following aspects: Digital Access, D. Commerce, D. Communication, D. Literacy, D. Etiquette, D. Law, D. Rights and Responsibilities, D. Health and Wellness, and D. Security. Each facet is explored in ways that parents and teachers can easily understand and apply to their own environment. He writes in an easy style that invites thoughtful participation.

Ribble's message is so important because he is able to show us exactly how and why adults need to be proactive in taking leadership in teaching children the appropriate, responsible use of the amazing interactive technologies at our fingertips. If you have ever wondered about what is going on with music downloads or how to talk to your kids about the way they use cell phones (texting at the dinner table and all night long, anybody?), this is the book for you and your family or classroom.

Ribble includes helpful tools for starting conversations about right and wrong use of technology (technology compass activity), looking at a learning map for the cycle of technology use, finding out what your kids know in quick quizzes, lists of digital usage facts, clear explanation of blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc., and appendixes with definitions and a guide to popular technologies, and a family contract for digital citizenship.

This book is a quick read in spite of all the meaty subjects is covers. I recommend it for anyone raising or teaching kids and young adults.

As Ribble says, "Children need to practice digital citizenship skills while the parent acts as a guide. Without guided practice, inappropriate use of technology can occur without children even being aware of it... Parents need to be positive role models for digital citizenship so that children can follow their example. Kids need to see numerous examples of appropriate technology use to gain a through understanding of digital citizenship."