New handprint poem

I like to do a handprint poem with the kids at the holidays. I got tired of reading the same one over and over again, that seemed to be used in every early childhood room around the world. So, about a dozen years ago, I wrote my own.

I didn't use it every year, because I didn't want it to be overused. I also usually have my kids for three years at a time and didn't see the point in reusing the same material with the same children.

This holiday season, I was left without my assistant for a week, as she was out with the flu. With the holiday singalong coming up the following week, I felt the pressure to get the project done. It's actually very simple. I paint the kids' hands white with a sponge and then print their hands on a colored piece of paper of their choice. I cut out the poem to put on the paper. We have also started to use their photographs, now that it is so easy to print them off. On the back is the child's name and the year.

I'm all excited, hustling through all of the kids. One of my second-year four year-olds gives me a big grin. "I already know how to do this! We did it last year!"

#$%&!#$@^%&

Okay, I have now gone through half of the class. I don't want to waste all of these papers. I don't want to use the same thing I did last year. I don't want to use that traditional one, either. What to do, what to do?

That afternoon, the following words made their way from my brain onto a piece of paper, with a few minor edits. This is what we used.

When I was a baby
I grasped your hand so tight
As you held me through the day
And lulled me to sleep at night

I'm starting to get bigger
And letting your hand go
I still grab it from time to time
For reassurance and hope

The love I find in your hands
Keeps mine filled with promises and dreams
Possibilities are endless
With your support, it seems

Before you are even ready
I'll be grown and away from home
Carrying you with me
Wherever I may roam

I leave you with this memory
Of when we were together
So you can know I hold your hand
In my heart forever

Even the gym teacher said he was about to cry when he read it. And if his daughter were to bring home that project, he would definitely cry. Mission accomplished. ;-)

And for those who would like to read the other one, you can find it at this link.

Feel free to use either one for your projects. Just please leave my name on it when you do and let me know what you did with it. Thanks!

My NaNo recap

Well, NaNo was sort of a bust for me, because I just didn't get much writing done. Every time I would sit down to try it, I would get interrupted. Or the words just wouldn't come. It was very frustrating. At the same time, I was traveling around a lot, going to shows, and preparing for my awesome Bucket List trip to Seattle. I have also learned how to loom knit, needle knit, and crochet, and was working a lot on those projects.

But, I am okay with this. I do have an outline of sorts for the book that I started. I know in which direction I want it to go. I still don't know if it is going to be a standalone book, or if it will require more than one as a series. I won't know until the words begin to flow again. I do find that to be a huge accomplishment for myself, though, because that is more than I have ever done before in a longer piece.

It's weird. I am not usually a fan of reading short stories. I prefer longer ones, because I get more out of them. Yet, I find myself more apt to write a short story than a longer one. I think it's because I get into a groove. Once that train is derailed, it is hard for me to get back into the same frame of mind. The same thing always happened to me with painting. I love oil paints, but lose my mojo when I have to wait in between layers.

So, no NaNo success for me, in the traditional sense of the word. But, a feeling of accomplishment for myself. That is what matters the most.