Spring 2009: Look Around You!

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NEW SUMMER PROGRAMS!
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Spring Songwriting Challenge
Poll: What Did William Carlos Williams Eat?


SUMMER PROGRAMS: Register Now!
I'm excited to announce that we have two brand new additions to our summer programs this year. Songwriting for Kids Vol. 2 (K-3) and Poetry Writing for Kids (3-5). If you like to write, I hope you'll join us for one of our fun workshops. We'll learn how songs, stories, and poems are put together and have lots of fun creating our own! Sessions will be held the weeks of July 13th and July 20th, 2009. For more information, please visit the Songwriting for Kids website or download the 2009 brochure (.pdf).


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Chloe, age 10...Chloe wrote a hit song!

Chloe, from Renoldburg, Ohio, wrote a song called "Once Upon a Time" and you can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. I think it's great! Please stop by and leave a comment for Chloe to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.


Songwriting Challenge: Look Around You!

It's springtime, and after a long winter in Maine, I'm so glad to finally open the windows wide, take long walks, and take a good look at the changing world around me. Birds are starting to come back from the south and sing outside my window, trees are beginning to bud (and that means *leaves* and *green* will be here soon!), and little green sprouts are beginning to poke up from the ground.

All of these things can make great subjects for songs. The other day, I was watching a blue bird hop around from branch to branch, and this little rhyme popped into my head:

Hey little bluebird
What you gonna' do?
I might have a little secret
That I could share with you

I jotted it down, and then I started to wonder what kind of secret it could be. Maybe the secret is the beginning of Spring. Or the beginning of a song!

Spring '09 Songwriting Challenge:
Stand outside for 10 or 15 minutes and Look Around You!
Can you write a song about what you see?

Here are some things to think about:

1. Pay attention to your senses. What do you SEE, HEAR, SMELL, or FEEL?
   
2. Let your imagination run wild. Do you live in the country? Try to imagine where that squirrel might be rushing off to. Do you live in the city? Try to imagine where the taxis are all rushing off to. What is that place like? Is it real, or is it a fantasy world?
   
3. Try it again. I bet if you try it again tomorrow, you'll notice something completely new.
   

Here's a video from Secret Agent 23 Skidoo that I like and thought you might like too (thanks to Zooglobble for the link):



Poll: What Did William Carlos Williams Eat?

April is Poetry Month, so here is one of my favorite poems by William Carlos Williams. Can you fill in the blank and guess what it was that the poet ate?

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the ______
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold


(Click for answer)
If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)

Spring 2008: Something New

Do you know a friend who would like Songwriting for Kids?
Click here to send them a link to this newsletter!

The SFK Club Newsletter is switching to a quarterly schedule. We'll publish an issue in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Here’s what’s in this quarter's newsletter (click a chapter title to go straight to that chapter):

SUMMER PROGRAMS ARE HERE!
I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner
Spring Songwriting Challenge
Poll: Quote of the Day


SUMMER PROGRAMS ARE HERE!

I hope you'll join us for a Songwriting for Kids or Fiction Writing for Kids workshop this year. We'll learn how songs and stories are put together and have lots of fun creating our own! Sessions will be held the week of July 14th, 2008. For more information, please visit the Songwriting for Kids website or download the 2008 brochure (.pdf).


I Wrote a Hit Song! Contest Winner

Congratulations to Oksana, age 6...Oksana wrote a hit song!

Oksana, from Great Falls, Virginia, wrote a song called "Since My Friend Moved Away" and you can view the lyrics at the I Wrote a Hit Song! webpage. I think it's great! Please stop by and leave a comment for Oksana to let her know how much you enjoyed her song.


Songwriting Challenge: Something New

Spring, at least for those of us in cold climates, means all kinds of new things: flowers, green grass, sunshine, birds coming back from the South, t-shirts (maybe even shorts for those of us who are *really* brave!)

Spring '08 Songwriting Challenge:
Can you write a song about something NEW in your life?

Here are some things to think about:

1. It could be absolutely true. It could be a song about a new friend, new sister or brother, new house, new shoes, new school.
   
2. It could be totally fake. How about a new planet, new country, new monster, new invention, new flying saucer?
   
3. How does the *new* thing make you feel? Happy, excited, sad, scared? Make sure those emotions are reflected in the song.
   
4. What's the *best* part about the new thing?

Here's a great example of a song about something new. It's called "New Blue Star" by Gustafer Yellowgold. (Sadly, I can't post the whole song here. The whole thing...& lots of other cool songs & videos...can be found on Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World.)




Poll: Quote of the Day

(Click for answer)
If you can't see the poll, just click here. (Once you vote, you'll be able to see other people's answers, too.)