I rediscovered Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself"
The past and present wilt — I have fill'd them, emptied them,
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.
Listener up there! what have you to confide to me?
Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening,
(Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a
minute longer.)
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
I concentrate toward them that are nigh, I wait on the door-slab.
Who has done his day's work? who will soonest be through
with his supper?
Who wishes to walk with me?
Will you speak before I am gone? will you prove already too
late?
Today, we will create agenda builders for the next generation. We will use our pens to create "real estate" to guide, support, encourage, to serve as a compass for our younger Brothers.
Our goal is to create a new character like Cornbread or Huey.
For a long time, I have wanted to create the Kindergarten Poet.
Young African American males are often referred to as Lil Man. What about
Lil Preacher
Lil Teacher
Lil Garderner
Lil Artists
Lil Politician
Lil Professor
Lil Nascar
Lil Golfer
Lil Swimmer
Lil Poet - The Kindergarten Poet (I want to create him to talk to other young brothers about the power of language).
Create your Lil ????? What do you want him to do?
The Kindergarten Poet begins:
My mother named me, Langston.
Let's work today to create the Lil Files with young African American male characters who can taste the power of life and are full of energy.
The Lil Files should aim to protect the agenda.
10 comments:
I WANT TO BE... (You will see the illustrations during the institute)
by
Alfred W. Tatum
July 26, 2009
I want to be
the fastest
I want to be
the smartest
I want to be
the strongest
I want to be
the coolest
I want to be
the richest
I want to be
the happiest
I want to be
the healthiest
I want to be
the nicest
I want to be
the sharpest
I want to be
the neatest
I want to be
the proudest
I want to be the
the worldliest
I want to be
the awesome-est
I want to be
the best
person ever.
My seven-year-old loved it. He added the line, I want to be the awesome-est.
Let's not be apologetic for what we want for the generation that follows.
The Race
“Hey little Mac did you come up with a blue-print of how the go-kart is going to look.”
The annual Kingsburg father-son go-kart race was next week, and losing wasn’t on the agenda for little Mac and his Dad.
“Not yet Dad but I’m working on what colors and wheels it’s going to have.”
“That’s great son but we have to get to work with the actual go-kart. I’m going to pick up some wood the store, I’ll be back in half an hour.”
While Dad was gone little Mac bolted up the stairs, into his room and quickly grabbed some colored pencils and paper from under his bed. First he wrote an outline of his go-kart on the paper with a regular number two pencil. He then filled it in with bright and vibrant colors, and to top it all off he added some flames on the side. When he heard the jingle of the door opening he ran down stairs to show his dad the outline.
“That’s great son I like every aspect about it. It’s simple yet effective and creative.”
Little Mac and his Dad went out to the backyard to start working on their finished product. Dad cut the wood and pieced it together with a power drill. When the time came little Mac painted it all by carefully following his outline he had written for himself.
“ Oh I almost forgot the finishing touches,” said little Mac.
He then went over to the back of the go-kart and painted “father-son bond” in real big letters. Dad looked at little Mac and smiled.
“Now it’s ready,” proclaimed Dad.
The day of the big race was exciting. Little Mac made sure to eat a breakfast of cereal and Dad had a cup of coffee. They got to the race area confident and humble as they prepared themselves for victory. Both Dad and little Mac strapped into the go-kart and put their helmets on. They looked around and saw all the other dads with their sons bracing themselves for the race.
“ ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!”
As little Mac and Dad rode of into the sun all you could see was the “father-son bond” painted in big bold letters on the back of their go-kart.
Ambitious Flint by Will Thorpe
My real name is Flint Washington.
Everybody in my neighborhood calls me Rocky because I love rocks.
I love to play in the vacant lots in my neighborhood and discover different crystals and stones.
I go to beaches and dig up stones that rough as sand paper.
My biggest find of all was a diamond.
My mother said that if I keep finding diamonds I’ll be on the news for my discoveries!
One day I will find diamonds that are so big they wont be able to fit in museums!
I’ll find stones the size of my head and pearls that are as tall as me!
When I get older I will explore caves and tunnels in search of buried treasure.
Ill even explore lost ruins with Indiana Jones!
I’ll find dinosaur fossils and dinosaur skeletons all over the world.
I want my findings in museums and universities.
I want the world to see what I can do!
Son, I Want You To Know
Son, I want you to know something today
Son, I want you to know that just being me isn’t what you should settle to be
That you can be, should be, so much more than your daddy
Son, I want you to know that you can have a house or be a fancy hotel’s resident
No job is too far from reach – you can even an astronaut or the president
Son, I want you to know that the world is at your fingertips
There’s nothing to hard for you to accomplish - always remember this
Son, I want you to know that you will always be supported
Your mother and I have your back, and your good works will be awarded
Son, I want you to know to wake up every day with a smile on your face
A bounce in your step, a puffed-out chest, and a soul alight with grace
Son, I want you to know to raise your head high when trouble comes
To never waver in the face of danger, to stand tall until you are done
Son, I want you to know that no one, not one person or group, can stop you
No word or stone can make you quit from seeing your task through
Son, I want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with shedding tears
It’s okay to cry; it’s not something you should fear
Son, I want you to know to focus on the good when life seems at its worst
And to not stay negative for long; those darks clouds will eventually disperse
Son, I want you to know that you’ll need some good people around
The ones that laugh with you when you’re happy and can turn your frown upside down
Son, I want you to know that all of this is important for your mind to keep
And to have these values from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep
And one more thing for you to remember, son: I love you
And there will never be a day, an hour, a second when that isn’t true
The Day Down by the Pier
By: Jhaylin Benson
Today will be my big day, momma.
I will be seeing dada, and we will go fishing.
I am going to catch a big fish for us to cook.
I am going to make dada proud.
I will catch at least 100 fishies.
That should hold us out for at least a few days.
I need to look out for Davy Jones, momma.
He already took SpongeBob, he not getting my dada or me.
Oh, is that right?
Well, you tell your daddy to put a hurting on Davy Jones.
I was so happy I did my fishy dance.
All that dancing was tiring; I need some juice.
Dada pulled up, and I was happy.
I jump into his arms, and we drive to the pier.
He helped me put the line in the water, and the fish bitted it.
We yanked the line out, and the fishy jumped in the air.
I was scared of the blue fishy.
The fishy was as big as a building.
This fishy was a giant monster.
But, it was no match for dada. He grabbed the fish and wrestled it.
That fishy was going down.
The fishy tried to eat my dada’s face,
But it did not work.
The fish tried to attack me
Dada saved me from the big monster.
This was the best fight ever, and
My dada was winning.
The fishy tried hard to get back in the water, but
Dada stopped him from getting away.
The fishy bit
My dada threw the fishy in a bucket, and it died.
My dad had won!
Yeeeeehaw, I yelled as we got off the boat.
Me and dada went home.
We talked about the fishies we caught.
I was amazed at how my dada beat all those big fishies.
The fishies were bigger than me, but dada put a hurting on them.
He is so cool.
This day was awesome.
My dada is the best!
I was always gone to the store with mommy and this time it was Target I found my favorite super hero, Batman. Mommy bought him for me and told me not to lose him. When we got home and I ran to my room with my new Batman I would play with him all day and night I would take him everywhere with me.
I always put him at the top of my bed before I go to sleep. He prefers to be there, so he won’t get away and do heroes work before daycare. I woke up one morning and he wasn’t there. I looked high and low, top to bottom. I didn’t see him anywhere and I started to cry louder and louder.
My mommy came into my room and said “What’s wrong sweetie!” “Mu-Mu-Mu T-T-Toy is L-L-L-Lost,” I cried. “C-C-Can you He-He-Help me F-F-Find it.” I screamed. “Yeah but only for a few minutes, I need to take you to daycare.” I started to pout and was stomping around the house because I didn’t want to leave without Batman.
I still never found Batman. I hope he didn’t run away to be with Woody and the Toy Story crew. I did so much with him, there’s a zip line across my room that he really likes.
I was sad in daycare without Batman. He was always in the spotlight from the other toys. He stayed by my side the whole time I was there. He is my hero and I just want him back.
When mommy picked me up from daycare and stopped in front of the ice cream shop. I yelled “IIIIIIICCCCEEEEEE CCCCRRRRREEEEAAAAAMMMMM!!!!!!!”
Mommy said “cool down crazy, lets see what they have inside” I got out and held my mommy’s hand to the door. Inside there were so many flavors of ice cream to vanilla, chocolate, mint, to cookie dough. I just got a vanilla ice cream cone and mommy got a ice cream called the sundae.
When we got home Batman wasn’t on my mind. “Time for bed” she yelled. Mommy was washing me up and putting on my PJ’s that Batman came back to my mind. Where is he? Was he disappointed in me? Did he want a new owner? I drifted off to sleep and dreamt that Batman came back and was talking to me saying “No matter what don’t give up trying to look for me.” I woke up the next morning and told mommy about my dream and she was surprised. It was daycare time and I needed to find my sock. I checked under the bed and there he was BBBBAAAATTTTMMMMAAANNNN!!!! He was there all along. I guess he was waiting for me to rescue him. Now that I’ve found him I’m his hero.
by Jabari Harrell
At school I’m the master of videogames with the highest score in everything. I was kind of the geeky kid that played games more than im suppose to.
When I get to the tenth level everyone at my school says
WWWWOOOOWWWW!!
Until one day a new boy came around as my neighbor that was short, chubby,
and was just as good as I am at videogames.
He thought he was better than me but he turned out to be pretty annoying.
I wanted to prove I was better than him so I went home clicked
on the power button and practiced until my thumbs felt like they
were gonna fall off.
CLICK! CLACK! I was getting past level by level quickly and swiftly
as the Sun started to fade away.
My mom came into the room and was angry that I was playing my game
all day. She unplugged it and told me to come down to dinner.
MMMOOOOMMMM!!!!! I cried at the top of my lungs. Why did
you do that? Come down to eat and that’s final. She grabbed my ear
and took me downstairs.
I started to pout and shout and started rolling on the floor
getting a load of dirt on me.
After dinner I was put to bed except I sneakily plugged the game back in
and played it most of the night.
The next day I woke up ate a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal momma made
me and I left out to school tired but ready to claim my spot as the best video gamer in the school.
I walked into school tired and ready to go straight back home but the
big strong security guard stopped me from leaving.
I started to get teased because everyone thought I was giving up my spot
as the videogame champion. Of course, that wasn’t happening and I
was gonna play him.
BOOOOOOOOO! All the kids yelled in my face in disappointment.
As I started to set up to play him I started to nod off. I faced him and past him a few times in score but, came so close to beating him. Next thing you knew was that I lost the
third level and that was rare for me to lose that round. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my throne much longer. The second and I heard my guy die I was sleeping on the buttons. Then I heard a new videogame king was crowned. I was really disappointed that I had to go out like that but everybody makes mystakes.
by Jabari Harrell
Ambitious Flint by Will Thorpe
My real name is Flint Washington.
Everybody in my neighborhood calls me Rocky because I love rocks.
I love to play in the vacant lots in my neighborhood and discover different crystals and stones.
I go to beaches and dig up stones that are rough as sand paper.
My biggest find of all was a diamond.
My mother said that if I keep finding diamonds I’ll be on the news for my discoveries!
One day I will find diamonds that are so big they wont be able to fit in museums!
I’ll find stones the size of my head and pearls that are as tall as me!
When I get older I will explore caves and tunnels in search of buried treasure.
Ill even explore lost ruins with Indiana Jones!
I’ll find dinosaur fossils and dinosaur skeletons all over the world.
I want my findings in museums and universities.
I want the world to see what I can do!
My Little Red Truck
Hi, My name is Max.
I love to play with my little red truck.
My Little red truck goes everywhere I go.
On a train, on a plain, even on main.
My Little red truck
Rolls fast
Rolls slow
Through water
Through snow.
My little red truck is
Bright
Have lights
Shines in the sun
And fun when it runs
My little red truck can be
A fire truck
My little red truck goes
VROOM VROOM!!! As it go
SKEE SKEE!!! As it stops.
HUNK HUNK!!! As the horn go when someone is in the way.
My Little Red Truck !!!
I Wish
I wish I were a doctor
So I can save people lives.
I wish I were a firefighter
So I can save people from fires.
And drive truck that sprays water from the top
I wish I were a police officer
So I can arrest people that have committed a crime
And drive a car that goes woo woo
I wish I were strong
So I can help my mom bring bags in from the store
I wish I were a racer
So I can drive fast cars
That makes sounds like vroom vroom
I wish I were a trucker
So I can transport things
And go hunk hunk with the horn
I wish I were a Chef
Cooking delicious food
Like pizza and cake
I wish I could be anything I want to be.
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