Last year Julia and Ben did a writing/art assignment where they painted monochromatic abstract designs on large paper, then wrote a poem about the color they'd chosen. I liked them so much I have them hanging in my room, and this morning Emma was cuddling in bed with me and happened to focus on Ben's. She read it aloud to me, then announced that she wanted to make one of her own. She was at first disappointed because Julia had chosen blue and Ben had used red, but then brightened up and said, "That's okay, green in my third favorite color, so I'll just do that."
She had the table set up for painting before I'd even gotten out of bed, and immediately wrote "Green" across the top of the paper, then began making leaves growing from each letter. My heart sank a bit--I thought she'd probably end up thinking hers was not as good as her siblings', especially since she's never written her own poem before. I thought this might end in disaster, and I hadn't even had my coffee yet. I philosophically decided that no matter how well she did, it would be a learning experience in one way or another, and went about my business of the morning while she worked.
She did ask Julia for help in spelling a couple of words, but she made up the entire poem herself. And I have to say I am so proud of her! I think my sweet pea did a wonderful job. I took a photo because I wanted the entire piece of art to be visible, not only her words. Enjoy!
(In case it's hard to read, the words are as follows:)
Green
Green is the color of
the leaves on the trees
And the grass and the
frogs and the moss
And plants and peas
and green beans
But green is
the best
of all
of them.
By Emma 5 years old 2/4/10