Take 1 Poem and a bouquet of Bug Nets and show your kids a universe of words & adventures!
Yesterday afternoon, I popped into Target for a couple of uninteresting necessities, but left with an entire universe of words and poems and adventures.
How is this possible?
I saw, and purchased, the magic of these…
Colorful BUG NETS!
I bought 9 of them… one for each grandchild of mine (a grand total of $9.00).
Because I know a delightful little poem (I’ve written about this poem before!) called DRAGONFLY CATCHER that opens up an entire universe of words and poems and adventures in just 3 lines & 17 syllables!
So, come on! Let’s take a joyous walk today with our kids, grandkids and 20th century poet Japanese Chiyojo as we celebrate a simple wonder and question of life captured in her haiku…
Dragonfly catcher,
How far have you gone today
In your wanderings?
Take a minute or two and read the poem with your kids.
Talk about the dragonfly catcher. Who is he/she. Is the dragonfly catcher a child? How old is the child? Has he/she been at play? Did he/she take along a friend or two?
Talk about the voice or speaker of the poem. Who’s asking the question? Is it a mother? A father? A grandparent? Is the mother or father or grandparent curious? Worried? Or does the question delight the one asking?
Perhaps memorize this haiku as you ask this little haiku question.
Pretend your child is the dragonfly catcher. Let him/her answer… using his/her imagination! Has he climbed mountains, crossed streams, fought dragons and traveled to the other side of the world? Has he used his little dragonfly catching net? How many dragonflies has he caught? What has he seen? What has he learned today?
Older children may recognize the traditional haiku form… 3 lines of verse with 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. You may wish to talk about haiku form with younger children and have them count the lines and syllables.
Or perhaps you’ll simply enjoy the beautiful moment of the poem… time standing still as a mom/dad/grandparent asks the age-old question, “So, what have you been up to today?”
It’s amazing how so few words express so much care and love.
Chiyojo (and a Bug Net) has given us this gift today…
… and tomorrow and then some, because this Grandma’s keeping a Bouquet of Bug Nets handy-dandy on my kitchen table for lots of impromptu wanderings!
With my very own Dragonfly Catchers!
