Poems From Hartshorne Primary School

As part of Swadlincote Festival of Words 2025, I spent a day at Hartshorne CofE Primary School, sharing poems and helping the children to use their brilliant imaginations. In Pine and Oak Classes, we wrote poems together as a group, with the help of wordy games and a bag of magic beans!

In a Book I can... by Pine Class

In a book I can

Cross a river of lava using paper

Ride a tall, rainbow dog to school

Create a meow-meow Skibidi

Zoom on a T-Rex to Mars

In a book I can

Fly on a giant rabbit to Jupiter

Fall down a sinkhole and land in China

Go back in time and paint the Mona Lisa

Trip over my own head

In a book I can

Call Bobby McBobster The Third to give me KFC

Time travel with Big Bird

Wrap a dragon in toilet paper then ride him into ancient times

Run round Saturn's rings to be part of The Big Bang

Distract a dragon with chocolates and teach it how to skip!

In a book I can do ANYTHING!

Beans by Oak Class

Luke's magic beans grew an everlasting lolly with Infinity sprinkles

Tom's magic beans grew the world's biggest magic dogs

Issy's magic beans grew minions which give you unlimited wishes

Lila's magic beans grew colour-changing emotion ice-cream

Rav's magic beans grew terrifying farty socks

Joey's magic beans grew making-things-become-real pencils

Elle's magic beans grew a super-fast hover-Lamborghini

Matt's magic beans grew little-sister-eating monsters

Dolly's magic beans grew multi-coloured hypnotising gems

Jude's magic beans grew hearts exploding with love

Flo's magic beans grew enchanted refilling treasure chests

Elaina's magic beans grew x-ray vision glasses

What will my beans grow?

Well done, everyone!

Why not have a go at writing a magic bean poem about your family, friends, or classmates? Or perhaps a book poem about all the things you have read about in the books you love? Have fun!

Swad Scribes - Feel the Fear and Write it Anyway

One of the joys that has come out of my writing journey is running a local creative writing group. It wasn't something I planned to do, but it has become very close to my heart. It's a relaxed and friendly affair - we do writing prompts, games, and exercises, and we chat about all things Writing, Publishing, and Creativity. There's some soul-baring, tea, and plenty of laughter. From the taster session in Autumn 2023, to the addition of a second weekday session in 2024, Scribes has grown into a wonderful writing community.

It isn't everyone's eventual aim to be published; there are so many other reasons to write. But lately there has been a wonderful flurry of Swad Scribes successes, which makes me very proud. I have lost count of the number of Scribes who have had poems broadcast on BBC Local Radio over the past few months, via BBC Upload. Two Scribes have had children's poems published on The Dirigible Balloon poetry site, several have had micro fiction published on the website Paragraph Planet, and this week I heard that a Scribe has had a micro-memoir accepted by a different website. Several of these writers had never submitted anything for publication before.

A fantastic new spoken word event has started up locally, encouraging and supporting writers with all levels of experience, to share their words. Scribes Aloud is the brainchild of one of the very first members of Swad Scribes, and together with a friend and fellow writer, they host warm and supportive open mic evenings, attended by Scribes, friends and family, and attracting a few new faces (and voices) every time. At last month's event, during the readings, an audience member asked for a pen and paper (so inspired was he), wrote a piece then and there, then got up and performed it. Then he wrote another and read that too. Just wonderful.

Members of Swad Scribes will have their poems displayed as part of the upcoming Swadlincote Festival of Words (another project of mine, for another blog post, probably!), and there is a Scribes Aloud open mic night happening as part of the festival, too. All details here: www.swadlincotefestivalofwords.co.uk 

Swad Scribes meet twice a month in the coffee shop of Massey's DIY store, Swadlincote. More details on the events page of my website.

*New! Scribes on BBC Upload (broadcast 20.2.25) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0klsxsh?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Trying Them Out - Poems in Action

This week I've been thinking about upcoming school visits and tweaking my planning. Just as when I was teaching, I don't use a one-size-fits-all approach; I adjust and amend my sessions according to group sizes, length of time, children's ages etc. But what I find really useful is experience gained from sharing my poems in schools.

Just as a teacher might consider teaching a lesson in a slightly different way to better get a message across, occasionally I will decide that a poem needs looking at. I've been doing that with my poem Reading is my Superpower this week. It always goes down well. It's a lively one, full of fantastical images and it makes its point well. BUT (or should I say butt), it has two slightly cheeky lines, one of which comes very near the end. The end is important, the end says LOOK! you don't need anything fancy for any of that wonderfulness, you just need to read a book! (not the actual lines). And for it to be absorbed as a message, it needs to be heard. What happens currently is that I need to wait for the laughter to subside before I can make the important message at the end of the poem, because a line about pants is getting in the way.

I was advised early on by poets who know their stuff, that too many bums and farts in poems might not a well-respected poet make. It's all about balance. I have left in the line about flames shooting out of your bum, but the pants have gone (burnt to a crisp, I expect). What it means is that half way through the poem, there's a delightful chuckle (she said BUM!! tee hee), but their interest is held all the way through to the ending, which is now has a flea in it, rather than a line so giggle-inducing that the important final message isn't heard.

While you're here, a word about poem endings in general. They are often a kind of punchline, and I love writing poems like that. But endings can be powerful and effective in many other ways, too. I have read several poems recently which capture something wonderful, only to turn at the last moment because the poet feels that humour is necessary. Be brave and try to finish a poem another way. The options are endless.

Happy poeming and thanks for reading,

Attie x