Very long time sitting in one place
Taking your suitcase where you go
Eating at new restaurants
Learning new cultures
Asleep somewhere else.
(Travel)
--Gibran R.
Many competitions
Sticking the landings
Amazing at all events
Tumbling
Girls love to do this
Injuries
Conditioning
Never give up
You can learn a lot of skills
Strong.
(Gymnastics)
--Aditi C.
Flying ball through the air
Oh, I can’t catch it; it’s too far
Over my head the ball flies
Too fast, too fast
Because I cannot catch it
A ball is not soft
Losing is so hard
Losing is sad.
(Football)
--Kyle C.
Late hours playing football
Awesome
D.C. Visits
Not always hot
Many storms
Yellow vs. Blue football
Always humid
Riding horses.
(Maryland)
--Michael M.
Erase when you’re done
Write anything you want
A scent is strong
Mark the board
Round
Kids use it at
School.
(Marker)
--Carson C.
Wish our dreams into words
Rhyme and rhythm our lines
Imagine interesting stanzas
Tell terrific tales
Illustrate interesting characters
Navigate propitious plots
Give our ideas wings.
--Group poem
Imagination fuels our ideas
Ink flows on a page
Wonder where the plot goes
Navigate our way through the climax
Read to revise our drafts
Tinker with different words
Gracefully end the story.
(Writing)
--Kanak, Jara, Audrey, Olivia, Beth
Persona Poems
Cheetah
As I look out on the savannah I see
My future prey looking at me.
I sit in the trees and wait patiently.
When a gazelle spies me it has to flee.
I run as fast as lightning
And my bite is very frightening.
I wear a suit of spots
They look like polka dots.
Once I catch my prey
I will call it a day.
I eat and eat my fill
Then sleep and lie very still.
--Joshua, Sophie, Allison, Olivia Mattie, Beth
Zebra
My cousin is an animal, you know.
We live on different continents, though.
We both have manes and hooves and tails.
We eagerly eat the hay in bales.
But I’m smaller and live in the wild
And my coat is peculiarly styled.
When we run we make a black and white blur
And this confuses our predator.
What am I, please make a guess.
I’ll put your intelligence to the test.
--Audrey, Evee, Julia R., Kathryn, Shreya, Audrey, Helen
Monkey
I swing from tree to tree
Eating sticky sweet mangoes with glee.
As I chatter chiree, chiree
I argue with friends and family.
Hanging from a branch with my tail,
I may fall but I never fail.
I catch myself when I drop
And swing back up to the top.
My hands grasp things with expertise.
They help me become the King of the Trees.
--Ariana, Kaitlyn, Julia H., Inesh, Cyrus, Chace, Beth
How To Poems
How to be a camper at writing camp
Write and imagine
Make new friends
Learn
Play fun games
Go to the park
Eat good snacks!
--Audrey, Evee, Shreya, Julia R., Kathryn, Helen, Laine
How to be a Soccer Player
Dribble
Shoot
Run
Score
Pass
Dash
Foul
Roar
Swish in the back of the net
The ball travels
With a powerful strike
And the game unravels
In a short five minutes
It’s a win for the team
You’re into the finals
It’s time to get mean.
--Audrey
How to be a camper at writing camp
Write your heart out
Get our snacks
In the back
Remember the 3 Cs
Be yourself.
Pencils and paper are our best friends
Have fun!
--Joshua, Sophie, Allison, Olivia Mattie, Laine
How to be a Ladybug
Be gentle.
Be kind.
Fly up in the sky.
Land softly on leaves.
Eat the bad insects that hurt plants.
Be a gardener’s friend.
Fly back home to sleep.
--Allison
How to be Maddie
Watch T.V.
Read books
Do art
Be creative
Go to school
Go to camp
Be yourself
Be nice
Speak Spanish!
Have fun.
--Maddie
I am From Poems
We are from Spongebob and Squidword
We are from a cozy, messy bedroom
We are from reading and writing
We are from our dogs
We are from our phones
We are from soccer and baseball
We are from Great America
We are from dance
We are from x-large chocolate bars
We are from India and Ireland
We are from a big, loving family
We are from heaven.
--Rohan, Mason, Jonnie, Joshua, Ella, Caroline, Leah, Aditi, Katelin
We are from video games
We are from dogs and cats
We are from photography
We are from art, writing and music
We are from cookies, donuts and In and Out
We are from spicy food
We are from animals and nature
We are from “everything that doesn’t taste good is probably healthy.”
We are from running and swimming
We are from hanging out with friends in Redwood City.
We are from Earth.
--Emma, Webster, Carl, Tata, Angelica, Carson, Ivy, Da’wud, Nathan
I am from Texas
I am from writing
I am from the people who love me
I am from my best friends
I am from Animé
I am from too much chocolate
I am from two ER visits
I am from surfing and volleyball
I am from procrastination
I am from lots of video games
I am from Exploding Kittens
I am from cat sitting
I am from the universe
I am from the ocean.
--Leah
I am from sandy beaches and long vacations
I am from tall glasses of chocolate milk
I am from Papa’s Speederia and from the Fosters’
I am from soccer and swimming
I am from fighting with my brother
I am from my dog and my hamster
I am from my amazing family
--Katelin K.
I am from San Carlos, California
I am from a comfortable house in the hills
I am from the sound of a basketball swishing through a net
I am from going to car shows and baseball games
I am from eating crispy bacon in the morning
I am from cross country and doing triathlons
I am from writing and reading and poetry
I am from watching sports on YouTube
I am from going to the shopping center with my friends
I am from going to Giants games at night
I am from San Carlos Charter Learning Center
I am from the Learning Lab
I am from Jamba Juice
I am from Landis
I am from root beer.
--Michael M.
I am from the Bay Area
I am from basketball
I am from homemade food
I am from chilling with my friends
I am from playing sports with my family
I am from my dog Primo
I am from making jokes
I am from being happy
I am from the ocean.
--Webster A.
I am from Burlingame
I am from cheerleading
I am from relaxing every weekend
I am from swimming with my siblings
I am from ice cold lemonade in summer
I am from reading and writing
I am from hot chocolate with marshmellows
I am from extra fudgy brownies
I am from adorable cats
I am from my big loving family.
--Caroline C.
I am from the cities of New York
I am from fresh rice and homemade pork
I am from making dumplings and fried rice
I am from hot summer days with cold lemonade with ice
I am from neighborhood walks with my dad at night
I am from hikes to mountains’ highest height
I am from my brother’s basketball hitting the ring on our garage
I am from messy crafts and mod podge
I am from my brother’s virtual reality set.
I am from my grandmother’s adorable pet.
I am from my family.
I am from me.
--Amy V.
We are from writing with pencils, sharp as sharks’ teeth
tied with strings to our brains
We are from walking to the park and waving flags on the crosswalk
We are form eating watermelon, goldfish and grapes for snack
We are from playing Mafia at recess
We are from writing stories of pets and adventures
We are Peninsula Young Writers.
--Group poem, Session 4
Limericks
There once was a fish named Fred
Every day he’d be fed bread
He ate a big lunch
And had too much munch
So then he ended up dead.
--Caroline C., Carson C. and Ella P.
There once was a cool writing camp
That was lit by one single lalmp
There was a heat wave
Called “Heat Wave Dave”
That snuffed out the one single lamp.
--Collaborative group poem
There once was a cat named Mat
Who was incredibly fat
Once he was in a mood
So he ate a lot of food
And then he went Kersplat!
--Kanak V.
There once was a dog named Pink
He drank a bottle of ink
The can wasn’t glued
And the bottle was nude
So he drank the ink as a drink.
--Anthony Y.
White was the color when the world was born
Just like my good old unicorn
White can sometimes be underrated
Like a Hoverfish when it’s inflated
White is also the color of popcorn.
--Grace Z.