Showing posts with label Cat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cat. Show all posts

Monday, August 6, 2018

Mental Library: Poetry: Types of Poems-- Acrostic, Free Form, Sonnet

Hello, Friends!

Today concludes our poetry series. There is tons more to talk about with poetry, but I'm just providing a basic overview. I enjoy poetry, just not as much as other types of literature. :)

Last week, we looked at a few different types of poems, and this week, we'll finish that. There are millions of types of poems, so these past two poetry posts are not complete at all, but these are just a few I've come into contact with.

Acrostic

Basically, acrostic poems use adjectives starting with the letters in a word. Here's an example:

Charismatic
Agile
Terrific

The first letter of each adjective spells the word "Cat." When I was little, I made acrostic poems for my parents using their names. :)




Free Form

Free form poetry is anything you want it to be. This is fairly self-explanatory, so I'm not going to give you an example.

Sonnet

Hurrah! Sonnets! Sonnets are tricky.

First, there are three stanzas of four lines each. These are called quatrains. After these, there is a couplet. The rhyme scheme is: abab cdcd efef gg.

To make it more complicated, sonnets have to follow a specific foot pattern. Feet are made up of stressed and unstressed syllables (if you do not know what these are, please see here.) Sonnets use iambic pentameter, which means five feet, each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A famous example from Shakespeare says: (U = unstressed, S = stressed)

Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMMer's Day?
      U   S  U      S     U     S   U    S        U     S        


Have you heard of any of these before? What type do you prefer to write? What type do you prefer to read?

Spruce Nogard

Monday, July 2, 2018

Mental Library: Poetry: Types of Poems--Concrete, Diamante, Haiku

Good day, Friends!

Last month, we learned about rhyming patterns in poetry. This month, we are learning about some common types of poems.

Concrete Poetry (Shape Poetry)

This type of poetry uses a shape as an outline. You can really pick any shape. The only confines are the shape you pick. Usually, the shape has something to do with the topic of the poem.

Diamante Poetry

This kind of poetry is similar to concrete poetry, but has more specific rules. The first line is a noun, the second line is two adjectives describing the noun, the third line is three verbs describing the noun, and the fourth line has a short phrase about the first noun, and the last noun [line 7]. From there, it's just like a mirror. The bottom line is a noun opposite to the top one, and right above that are the two adjectives describing the last noun, and it continues. Here is an example. (I just made it up now, so it's not the greatest. Also, I'm thinking of the sea. I just read a book about pirates. . . :) )

Sea
Calm, wild
Roaring, churning, bellowing
Untamed glory, Quiet monotony
Living, growing, submitting
Awe-inspiring, dull
Land


Haiku

Haikus have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Here's an example. (Again, I just made it up.)

The tiny mouse runs.
My cat pounces on his prey.
A playful game starts.


Here are a few types of poems. Next month, we'll talk about even more types of poems! Do you have a favorite type of poem? Why?

Spruce Nogard

Monday, May 22, 2017

On My Mind: My Dream House*

Hello, Dreamers.

Today, I was wondering what your dream house would be like. Even though it's quite unrealistic, imagine what the perfect house (on Earth--we'll save fantasy/dystopian, etc. houses for later) would be.

Mine would have some main parts:

1) Library. I would have a library room, and tons of cats. Some relatives of mine have a library room, and it is one of the most magical places ever. Also, their four cats make the room complete. :)

I always imagine the giant libraries, like in both the Beauty and the Beast movies. Wouldn't it be fun to have that many books?

2) Garden. I would have a giant vegetable garden. Because my dream garden is so big, (and perhaps not doable), I'll have to give it its own post.

3) Cat rooms. I would foster cats, and of course, have my own. I'd have to make sure they all had plenty of space.

4) A cellar, or someplace to hang herbs, and a very big freezer.

5) A few bedrooms, a good-sized kitchen, dining room, and at least one family room.

What does your dream house look like?

Spruce Nogard
*Actually posted on May 31st. See here for details.

Attributions:

Monday, November 14, 2016

Dragons: Eyes

Hello, Dragon Lovers.

On this lovely day, we are looking at dragon eyes. Are they like cat eyes?

Are they all the same color, like in A Tale Dark and Grimm?

*For both these pictures, please ignore the fact that the animals are not dragons. Also, think how much weirder it would be if eyes, all the same color, were on a dragon.

Do the colors mean anything? When I was young, I always had my dragon eyes match their scales. Also, their eyes matched their species. For example, an emerald dragon had emerald-green eyes.

Another aspect of dragon eyes is magic. Do they have magical powers?

Post in the comments!

Spruce Nogard
Attributions:

Monday, September 26, 2016

On My Mind: Origami

Hello, Paper-Folders!

I love to do origami. I only have one thing memorized, and I'm not incredible at it, but I enjoy doing it. My goodness, ever since I did the banned words post, I've noticed how many banned words I use. The second half of my second sentence was originally: . . . and I'm not very good at it, but I really like it. Sigh.

By the way, sometimes I feel like a very bad blogger. The last post didn't have pictures, and neither does this one, which is a fairly big offense in blogging. I mean, who's going to care about a post without pictures? I can only transfer pictures I take to my blog at specific times, due to issues I am having with not having a phone/camera to take pictures. I should put a camera on my Christmas list. . . I will try to be better in the future, but I can't guarantee anything, what with homework and school and all. Sorry!You can now ignore this paragraph! I added pictures to this post!

As I was saying, I really don't know why I like origami so much, because although I appreciate my work, I just put it in a bag when I'm done. In any case, origami is the art of folding paper into shapes/animals. I like making animals. Here are some animals that I've made:

1) Owl












2) Crane












3) Bird












4) Dove












5) Bat







6) Cat








7) Puppy











8) Jumping frogs








9) Turtle








10) Dragon









Here is a picture from the web:


Do you like origami? What is your favorite animal to make?

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Creative Complex: Mythological/Fantastical Creature

Hello, Animal-Lovers.

For today's Creative Complex, create a new mythological/fantastical creature and use it in a story.


Although this just looks like an evil cat, really, it's a creature I made up. It can: spit poison, bite people (which also injects poison), and breath fire. Have fun!

Spruce Nogard