writing from the rooftops

ok, maybe not my best

2010-11-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

hey guys! i found this post from my other blog words amd photo booth moments [wpm] from a few years ago and thought i'd share...

I should have known it was all over, set in stone --the France thing, and my amazing writing talent+style --ha! demonstrated by this eloquent and classy image, drawn out with the subtle rhyming elements of the words ‘France’ ‘pants’ and ‘dance’-- when at age 9, I wrote this poem:

There was a young girl of France
and all she would do is to
dance, she got her best pants
and was ready to dance
and she danced
and she danced and she danced.

It’s strangely prophetic.

In fact many of you will be forever convinced that that's all I did during my five-year stint in Paris, shopping and dancing.. (in my best pants bien sur)

And yes, in my best moments, I did do my fair share of both.

...and she danced and she danced.

dark 'n stormy

2010-11-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

dark 'n stormy barbie

(writing talent not included)

* accessories, ken doll, and

awesome story writing skills

sold separately

at the newspaper meeting last friday (before halloween), dressed in costumes, the kids and i used our stormy creativity on the old
"it was a dark and stormy night..." line--
taking it places it had never been...

"DO something with it," i told them, "like, something, different, from a noise scratching at the window..." i knew they were capable
(and frankly, they knew it too.)

later, tucked in the stack of pages to photocopy i found this one written by my dearest abby, and standing there in the bright and empty copy room... i read for the first time, exactly what i'd been expecting them to write, (but at the same time never knowing what i'd expect to find...) and all at once finding myself overwhelmed and so so so proud and pleased and in love with this:
abby's dark 'n stormy adaptation.

It was a dark and Stormy night .........

a young couple danced

under the dim light of the moon as

it was snowing.

The Christmas Spirit

was just around the corner,

but not one Christmas tree was up.

10/29/10 by abby

all alone with a huge grin, i shook my head at the page saying, ABBY! abby abby abby you got it-- this is-- that's it abby, i knew, you knew... exactly. abby!! this is why, this is exactly, kind of-- the thing i'd--

•••

photos by chantal

are you kidding me?

2010-08-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

school is soon

to come
and say to u
"school is here
wake up"
by (abby)

or as Shakespeare wrote....

"summer's lease hath all too short a date"

(huh? oh you get it, come on he wrote in English,
it means SUMMER IS TOO SHORT!!! and you definitely get that!)

photo credit: Chantal

moving for words

2010-08-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

to better understand a poem written by someone else,

write it down for yourself in your style,

how do you see it in your mind, what do the words

sound like, look like, move like... for you?

in Angee's hands this poem became a piece of art...

and inspired her to write a poem!

original poem: The Fourth by Shel Silverstein

original artwork: all Angee

photo: by Chantal

summer reading

2010-08-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

[not-so cringe worthy] summer reading – the things we carry

Summer reading time—

Not the pages-blow-in-the-warm-breeze, vacation-on-the-beach or loungin-at-the-summerhouse summer reading, I mean the required-by-school, untouched andsummer-days-blow-past-books-must-be-read-school-is-starting-page-one summer reading. And here we stand looking over the edge of summer— balancing on the edge, that time of year when summer reading can't wait— becomes a weight— and you carry the books around with you everywhere whether you read them or not...

Summer reading never did a vacation make. I never knew how to take from the edges and make something of it. It wasn’t until I was overloaded with reading in university as an English and dramatic arts major, and in graduate MBA and MBC studies, that I realized the part of education that is simply, deciding which books to carry— to read— to get to later— and the ones that somehow never—

The edge, in time—
With simply more things to read than can possibly be read, one must find a way of learning that is both realistic and comfortable, in order to survive, enjoy and actually learn. The sooner you can learn to learn, to appreciate and find relevance in words, both reading and writing, in your own way, you can make it work, anywhere. Now I know, and I do it all the time for myself, though I'm not in school anymore, and I encourage this with students that I mentor, because I love to inspire writing and a sort of three-dimensional learning in everyone, I mean, it's right there—

In the midst of the madness and chaos of studies is when I found myself devising strategies that finally carried me somewhere else and helped me live through, very much like when I was trapped in the MRI tube earlier this year, moments before I panicked, when I transformed my perception of the horrible noises that surrounded me inside the tube, until I heard a sort of techno music... eventually finding a strange calmness inside, but that's another story.

There are many ways to figure out how to live through and experience learning, instead of just flipping past page numbers as fast as possible because it's the night before school starts and you have two books to read, (it's not gonna happen, btw) so really focus on part of the book, really take something away from it that you can use. For instance, I could tell you about writing papers about books you haven’t finished reading (or, for that matter, haven’t started!) the art of thoroughly examining one chapter and writing a five-page paper on it, or scouring one of Shakespeare's soliloquies, or arguing the significance of a single apostrophe in the title of one of his plays (I’m not kidding, I did that) but in doing so, learning as much as you would have— if not more— from scanning the entire text. If you get to a point when you have to be... creative... in your choices, then do it, but learn something from it, make something of it.

Cutting corners? Ok, but challenge your skills of analysis— what can you do with the time you have, and how can you get involved so that you can't stop talking about this project? Figure it out now and you will save all the time later. Critically look in between the words and lines of the text. Bring a new take to well-known works— write a fresh opinion instead of turning in the same copy of the same paper that everyone else has turned in before you and forgotten.

Now of course, you have to know your audience, some teachers just don’t want anything but exactly— specifically— strictly— what they have outlined as the reason of existence for the book and subsequently expect to read in your paper, but writing around the edges and inquiring into the depths of the smallest details, or simply playing around with the themes, their relevance, researching the before—during—after— of when the text was written, checking into the life of the author (the real person, the writer, like me, like you), or just writing inspired ideas that arise with the themes and words of the text— these have the potential to become something else along the way... write them down scribble them in the edges somewhere they will benefit you. Write it down, even if it doesn't have anything to do with the book, maybe the book sparked another idea, scribble it down.

(And, hey, if nothing else, you can start a blog and share these outside findings that you’ve scribbled trimmed and collected from around the edges. I'm serious, this stuff will be good.)

The things we carry...

Which is exactly what I recommended to one of the high school students who I started working with recently, start a blog with all the thoughts you have as you're reading this book, so that you don't just carry them around in your mind and forget them, write them down. Then when you have to write a paper or talk about the book, you have so many inspirations to use, and hey you might even come up with some side projects for yourself. Take cool quotes and write them down, write a haiku, a six word story, make commentary about it, something funny or a personal connection with the book, or write something completely unrelated, it might get you started on something that could carry you somewhere else.

If books and words and writing and the lives of authors mingled with their works are experienced instead of just flipped past—scanned— read for the number of pages counted— and tested— they really can be carried long past the time when you lug them along in a bag of obligation. In fact, from a completely different place, now, I too, am carrying around this bunch of summer reading books, like, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, and discovering more about him as a writer has inspired me as a writer. Just this weekend I entered the lives of three authors, uncovered three styles of writing that instantly marked my present thinking and future ideas of storytelling and, I got involved in three new books (even if I don’t get around to finishing them.. ha!) all at once.

Cringe.

Over the phone before our initial meeting, I asked a high school students about her summer reading books. She named The Princess Bride, and I’m glad she couldn’t see my face when she said that title... So when we first met in the café, I sat down at the table and said (with as straight a face as I could make) ‘Uh, do you, uh... like— The Princess Bride the movie?’ And to my great relief she said no she’d never liked it and she was always the only girl who never wanted to watch it when she was at a sleepover with a bunch of adoring Princess Bride fans. ‘Oh me too, it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it’ I told her, not trying to be biased or anything— but really it does. I just can’t stand the movie. I just... can’t.

‘So, then how’s the book?’ I asked. Because, you know, sometimes books are better than cheesy romantic movies. She said she really wasn’t that far into it... 'Ok,well, I do like a challenge,' so I told her I would pick up a copy and see for myself before I, well, judged a book by its cover (though the cover is... uh..ugh, so...) or by its sappymovie.. or.... Anyway. We both realized we’d never even seen the end of the movie, or we couldn’t remember the end of it, probably having fallen asleep to stop from the utter nausea of watching it, we agreed.

And then I challenged her, 'let’s write a poem about this movie that makes us sick. Let’s try to do side projects while reading it, be it poems, haiku, side notes, thoughts, great quotes, etc... Hey, you could even start a blog... let’s find a reason to enjoy this book, from our own perspective, see it through your eyes.' And so, from what we remembered and with an effort to keep our stomachs from turning right there at that table in the café, we took paper and pen and wrote the following:

(I laughed when I read her poem, and almost didn’t need to read the book it was such a great summary...)

Farmerboy. Poor, Dirty. Slave.
The Countess stares, he stares back.
Jealousy kicks in.
Westley. Tan. White Teeth. Buff. I love you.

(Then inspired by her poem, along with brief cringes and unpleasant thoughts of what I think I remembered from the movie, I wrote....)

sword fights ugly—
cuts
deep
thoughts of—
shallow glances at

nothing
buttercup

never grows
in quicksand

and live through it

And so, we’ll see about the blog, it could be really fun, funny, and I’m very serious (serious, as in, I mean it let’s do it) and I reminded her that no one reads blogs unless you tell them to, and even then, hardly anyone reads them, so there’s really nothing to be shy about, it’s simply a way to play with words, with thoughts, to craft your reading of a book, of books— perhaps of not only bringing this book to life, but bringing your own thoughts, reading, words and writing to life. But a blog is just one of many ways to do this, in any case, try in some way, to live through it. You’ve got a lot of books left to carry, so you might as well let us share the weight with you, and let them carry you somewhere else as well.

x c

PS.
To all my friends, people reading etc... somewhere else who didn’t grow up as a young girl practically forced to adooooorrre The Princess Bride movie, I guess I never asked (or cared to ask) if you knew or participated in the (extremely tedious unpleasant) 'tradition' of watching it (over and over and over until some of us were sick.) Don’t ask me why, for some reason girls and many women (I think) just believe this is the best movie, they even say words like classic, and ooooohh ahhhhhhhhhhh sooo cuuuuuuuuuttteee just the sweeeeeeeeeeeetest, and soooooo romantic, and....ok I can’t talk about it or like that anymore, but... when young girls all get together before they sleep they all scream and oooooh and ahhhh and have to waaaaaaatch this. You get the point. I hope some of you were able to avoid this. And for everyone else who looooooooooves it, sorry if I hurt your feelings :)

PPS.
I did some research on the author and the book and the writing of the book, even before I read it (hint: this can make the book far more interesting and add another layer to the reading of the text) there are some hidden layers, details and, I have to admit it, funny aspects of this book and the way it was written that are completely lacking in the film. Perhaps I will explain later.

PPPS.
I have read some of the beginning of the book aka The Princess Bride, and there is humor, it is rather clever, at times perhaps trying a bit too hard, but all in all much better than I ever could have thought, yes— already. I don’t think I’ve even cringed, and if I did at all, it was only a slight cringe, or maybe I just cringed in my mind (especially if I was alone in public...) the extra research I did before reading it has really added another dimension to the reading of the book (highly suggested, found out some cool stuff.) Also check outStealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen.

So maybe sometimes I’ve been known to cut corners—

but I always work alongside...

—and scribble all over the edges [six final words]

and we're back

2010-08-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

after an entire year away (we were writing the old-fashioned way... we started a NEWSPAPER!) we're back to manage both the old and the new, and all kinds of writing. let's see if we can keep it going!

inspiring writers through their own words [six words]

i (chantal) am doing lots of mentoring and one-on-one work with writers, giving personalized tips and inspiration, and then together all of us (from second grade to high school, college level, even some adults) have been writing-- sharing-- and some exciting things are coming into view.... as we're writing from the rooftops.

anyway, after we get the next newspaper issue published, i'm looking into a way to do online writing inspiration and assistance, kind of like i used to do with haiku on twitter (if anyone is still out there from twitter) and from there we'll just keep writing and see where this takes us...

i've still been posting on my other blogs wpm and chandeliers on the floor and also there are some great pics of us kids :) etc on my flickr and we will get some up on here and post some of the writing we've done over the past year...

*O* is now in 7th grade! Abby is now in 8th!!!! Pyper is ruling the school as a 5th grader...... And, you missed it, Raquel graduated to 6th, but not before she became our front-page article writer for the newspaper we started (not to mention the comic queen...she writes amazing comics) what a year, but that's just a quick view from above, we'll show you more live glimpses from in between the life as we're writing from the rooftops.

raquel's first words on writing from the rooftops!!!

2009-09-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

i myself am an oxymoron because i make absolutely no sense

by : raquel

today in the garden

2009-09-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

There it is again

The yellow butterfly? Ya!

Into the trees...... gone---

by abby and chantal

And August drifts closer to September—

2009-08-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

Write back from summer--- What's up??!
After a long pause during the summer....

I mean, I didn’t stop writing and neither did they... and I’m sure you didn’t either... but my mind got lost somewhere in the long summer hours and here we are again, I know most of you start school again tomorrow. So welcome back, though of course you never really left.

While you've all been vacationing and camping etc... Abby and I have been writing a lot together this summer... and I will share some of it with you now and in the days to come, to keep the summer spirit with you as we ease into whatever comes next.

I hope to start working with all of you again this school year and I can’t wait to read all the words you’ve been scribbling over there in the extra hours of the daylight.

So.... what did you write?

And here we are again... as August drifts closer to September—

x c

soft evening light words
time melts laughter shadows dance
lemon trees dog sleeps

Pyper’s version of Cinderella’s life story

2009-07-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Cinderella

Cinderella was a poor girl. Infact, she was a maid. She worked for a small family. They treated her very badly. There were three girls and a mean mother. The girls names were Flower, Star and Rose. Cinderella we need our mail said Flower, Star and Rose. I’m coming. There you go. As Star read the mail it said Ball is tomorrow and she ran to her mom and said mother the Ball is tomorrow. Then get dressed said the mother. That night Cinderella made a dress. In the afternoon she was all set. When Star, Rose and Flower saw her dress they started ripping it apart. Cinderella was so sad she ran to the backyard. As she was crying she saw an old woman. Who are you asked Cinderella? I’m your Fairy Godmother. Do u want to go to the ball? Yes. And before Cinderella new it she had a big blue dress on. Thank you Fairy Godmother! Now we need a carriage. That pumpkin will do. Now you are ready to go to the ball. And Cinderella be back by twelve o’clock ok? Goodbye. Before Cinderella knew it she was there. And when the prince saw her he said do u want to dance? Yes said Cinderella. They danced the whole night long. And before Cinderella knew it it was twelve o’clock. I’ve got got to go said Cinderella and as she was running her glass shoe fell off. And she got into the carriage and left. When she got to the house she went straight to bed but the Prince said I need to find that girl. He thought and he thought and he said I will go to each house and see if the girl fit the size twelve shoe. I’ll start tomorrow. And he started when he got to Cinderella’s house he said do you fit in a size twelve shoe? No said Flower, Star, and Rose at the same time. I do said Cinderella in a soft voice. It fits said the Prince. The next day they got married. And that’s the story of Cinderella!
By Pyper

sixwords :: some of our favorites

2009-07-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Happened at the cafe with Chantal, Pyper.
(abby)

.

Once upon a time long ago!
::
pyper!

.

:: for (abby) ::
I can't find my shoe! Prince!
:: c ::

.

:: for pyper! ::
Walking talking yellow road lost shoes--
:: c ::

.

Stories end with well who knows
(abby)

.

Ok! Now it’s your turn, write some six-word stories and share them with Writing from the Rooftops as a comment, we’d love to read them and post some of your sixwords!!!

lots of words--

(abby) pyper! :: c ::

By the way......

In case you were wondering where we got the idea to do six-word stories, the original six-word story was written by the famous writer Ernest Hemingway, it is said that he thought this was the best story he ever wrote. This is his story:

For sale: baby shoes, never used.

:: oh ya! find us posting six-words, haiku & more on twitter @rooftop_writing ::

Once upon a yellow brick road--

2009-07-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

We also wrote some six-word adaptations of The Wizard of Oz {another story Pyper has written and will share with you soon:
The Wizard of Oz from a monkey’s point of view!}

Here are some of our six-word stories
:: down the yellow road of bricks ::

Ruby shoes click on yellow bricks.
:: c ::
.

Dorothy was nice to her friends.
::
pyper!

.

Yellow, red, shoes, bricks all around..........
(abby)

.

This story, your little dog too...
:: c ::

.

Ok your turn write some six-word stories and you can share them as a comment...we’d love to read them and post some of your sixwords!!! Too bad you can't join our meetings at the cafe......

write-- write-- write--
(abby) pyper! :: c ::

By the way...... In case you were wondering where we got the idea to do six-word stories, the original six-word story was written by the famous writer Ernest Hemingway, it is said that he thought this was the best story he ever wrote. This is his story:

For sale: baby shoes, never used.

:: oh ya! find us posting six-words, haiku & more on twitter @rooftop_writing ::

we have six words for you

2009-07-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today we wrote six-word stories while sitting in our cafe. Pyper {Abby's 4th-grade sister and our newest rooftop writer} joined us and shared an abridged {shortened} adaptation of Cinderella that she'd written {she is typing it up as we speak and will post it here very soon} and then we challenged ourselves to write even shorter versions of Cinderella: Cinderella in six words, to be exact!

Pyper groaned and looked at me like "you've gotta be kidding me" and Abby who is used to my crazy challenges just had a big smile on her face as she watched her little sister's shock. But then Pyper was struck with sudden inspiration and we all got to work!

Here are our six-word stories :: enjoy!!

6 word stories Cinderella and more
(abby)
.

Once upon a time Cinderella's life....
(abby)
.

No shoes until the shoe fits.
:: c ::
.

Once upon a time long ago!
::
pyper!
.

Cinderella's life good but then bad....
(abby)
.

Cinderella looked good at the ball!
::
pyper!
.

Cinderella never got the way, but.....
(abby)
.

Dream clean dance run search love
:: c ::
.

Cinderella and the prince love eachother
{this one's actually 7 words but
that’s ok!! each other = 2 words}
::
pyper!
.

Fairytale end hard work happily ever--
:: c ::
.

Life for Cinderella ended, just right
(abby)
.

Cinderella had a good, bad life!
::
pyper!
.

Endings are always crazy, and perfect
(abby)
.

I cannot find my shoe!
(abby)
{technically 5 words, but.........
so good! and it actually happened
Abby lost her shoe as she was writing
these stories! lol isn’t that appropriate?!}
.

Ok! Now it’s your turn, write some six-word stories and share them with Writing from the Rooftops as a comment, we’d love to read them and post some of your sixwords!!!

write soon!

(abby)
pyper!
:: c ::

For sale: baby shoes, never used.

:: oh ya! find us posting six-words, haiku & more on twitter @rooftop_writing ::

::

Pink Princess the winter........... ending

2009-07-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

That Friday at Princess Training was their dance they had been learning. They wore dragging pink dresses, and they had ballet shoes on. All the parents came to watch. The dance was so good! At the end all the parents screamed and clapped so loud.
After winter came, it got colder so it was winter break! Katy, Max and Pinky loved playing in the snow! They made snowmen, snow forts for snowball fights and they made snow angels!! They loved winter, because their birthday was the 20th of December! They had their 3rd, 4th and 5th balls that winter. And who knows what’s next.
To be continued ……………

The ending of Pink Princess!!!! soon coming Pink Princess 2..............................................................

pink princess four times the loooooooooooooove

2009-05-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

They were always together like sisters. They shared a room, outfits, shoes and more. They acted like they had been together forever!!!

They had Princess training that same day. At Princess training they were learning a dance with ballet and free style at the end of the dance. When they got to the palace, they found there mom’s and showed them the dance. They got bored so they talked Princess talk.

After their 9th b-day, they went to their first ball. They met lots and lots of princes and danced with all of them. But they could only stay one hour after 6:00pm. When they got back they talked all about princes. Max said, “I like Prince Mark the best.” Then Pinky said,” I like Prince Luke the best.” Then Katy said,” I like Prince John the best.”

Two weeks later was their second ball. And they got to dance with who ever they wanted to dance with.

by (abby)

Disneyland the haiku continued

2009-05-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Bus ride up to Disneyland

Starting the ride
The fun trip to Disneyland
As long as can be...............

Two hours later......
Our first bathroom stop on,
The way, Disneyland

Wow, getting closer
Almost there, well not really
Not much farther, yap

Four hours later
Lunch time, finally lunch yum, yum
Yum, a sandwich, yum

Two hours later
Last bathroom stop until........
Disneyland, oh right

Thirty minute now
I mean twenty minutes
Just a bite longer

Now even longer, man........
Yes, yes, almost there
Yes, yes, Disneyland

by (abby)

day 1 Disneyland trip coming sooooooooooooooon

another double fun dose lalala

2009-05-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

When Pinky and Katy turned 5 years old princess training was so much harder. They learned how to do the tango, waltz, and more ballet. That first day of their new class. The girls meet a new princess named Max. (Her real name is Princess Maxine.) Pinky and Katy invited Max over to the palace. Max was living with Miss Julia. Pinky and Katy asked if she could live with them, their moms said “okay but ask Miss Julia.” So they asked if Max could live with them and Miss Julia said "yes!"

When Max first walked in she was surprised how big their palace was. But after she was moved in and had stayed there for a while she was fine. They played in the palace, ran in it and lived in it. She loved the palace as much as Katy and Pinky loved it.

BEFORE DISNEYLAND

2009-05-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

One
Just two days left
Until the big trip goes
It’s Disneyland, wow

Two
Disneyland wow, wow
Already here can’t wait much more
Ahhh, here we go, yaaaaa

Three
It’s Minnie, wow
Wait don’t leave I’m.............
Man to late, ahhhhh.......
Four
There it is, come on
Splash Mountain, lets go on
Almost there, ahhhhhhh, ya............

Five
I’m wet now
Me too, that was so much fun
Lets go again, yaaaaaaa

Six
Lets go to the room
Broom ..... I’m sleepy lets ......... zzzzzzzzzz what
Where are we now

Seven
The end of the ..........
What, oh trip right ya
The very end ...........

by (abby)

SMOOTHING DAYS

2009-05-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

lovely summer days
dancing in the melody
waltzing in the park

by
(abby)

Just in Time

2009-05-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

Why are you so mean? / You try so hard to hide your / Insecurity

by *O*

pink princess - double the action!!

2009-05-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

When Pinky got to the palace she tolled her mom all about class. Pinky started to talk, “I learned how to count to 10 and ballet.” She also told mom she met a friend, “her name is Katy, but her real name is Princess Katlin,” Said Pinky. Pinky and Katy were always together. Katy’s dad died in war too. That Monday Pinky and Katy walked into class holding hands. They learned to count to18 and how to fold a napkin, and learn some more ballet. Katy and Pinky walked home together. Then asked if they could maybe have a sleepover. Their parents said, “Sounds like fun!” That night Pinky and Katy had a sleepover; they had lots of fun watching Princess Diary 1 and 2. The games that they played were, freezes dance and pretty, pretty princess. That Tuesday they had Princess training at 4:00pm to 4:30pm.That time they learned to sing the whole ABC’s. Then on Wednesday they sang the ABC’s to their parents.

Queen Jordon (Katy’s mom) and Queen Olivia (Pinky’s mom) decided to live in Pinky’s family palace. Pinky and Katy shared a room; the walls were pink and purple. The beds were pink and purple too.

sorry we missed a week!!
more to come next week we promise this time.........

Pink Princess the drama ensues

2009-04-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

So when princess training started, the Queen had to take Pinky, although the King was supposed to take Pinky because, he was her dad. When Pinky was walking in, the teacher asked Pinky, “why are you so sad?” Trying to ignore her pink skin. She replied in a sad but strong voice, “my dad died in war.” All the little princesses were surprised.

the next act.........
to be continued next week.............................!

by,
(abby)

The one you love

2009-04-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

The one you love
Could be right
Around the corner

The one you love
Could be right
Across the street

The one you love
Could be right
At your feet

When you find them
You may feel
Complete

by,
*O*

(another terrific poem by Olivia, she had instant inspiration grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and wrote this in approximately 2.5 minutes!!)

..but..i hate haiku

2009-04-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Olivia's first haiku attempt...

I eat my apple
So crunchy and sour sweet
So many colors

by,
*O*

..turned out really great!

Then Olivia decided haiku wasn't so bad
and we had some fun
(I said it was hikool, ya ya I know stupid joke)

Pink Princess: the sadness sets in...

2009-04-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

When Pinky was three her father, the King, died in war. After it had been a week, Pinky and her mom got the letter. They were very sad and they started to cry. Then after they stopped, the Queen called her friends, “girls, please help, I need you to call all the Kings friends, and tell them the King died.” The Queen’s friends answered, “We’ll tell them all right away.”

the unfortunate tale continues next week...

by,
(abby)

O and C: a conversation in 5 haiku

2009-04-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

*O* and C: a conversation in 5 haiku

C to *O*:
you think you don’t like
these haiku that i write, come
on give it a chance

*O*’s response:
You act like you know
What I think about haiku
You’re wrong they are fun!

C’s response
so happy to hear
you’ve changed your mind it’s clear
now let’s have some fun!

*O*’s response
I kind of feel that
Way, but I much rather go
and play all day long!

C’s response
you roll your eyes, but
really it’s true, you know it
you’re so good at this!

The Saga of Pink Princess Continues...

2009-04-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

...When the Queen got home, her friends were there to congratulate her. When they saw Pinky, they said, “She’s Pink, your baby is Pink!” “Yes I did know that my baby is pink.” Said the Queen annoyed. Then the King looked at them said, “Why do you have to scream it so loud.” The friends answered, “She’s pink!” Then the Queen said, “I still love her even if she’s pink!” Then the Queen friends left. With in one year, Pinky was walking around saying, “playtime.”

to be continued next week...

by,
(Abby)

So much depends upon...

2009-04-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Olivia saw this poem somewhere:

The Red Wheel Barrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

by,
William Carlos Williams

The style and words from this poem
got stuck in her mind! She used the line
“So much depends upon”
in many of her poems.
Here are two great examples:

Red Wall

The pictures sit upon
the big red wall. The wall is
steady so they do not fall.
So much depends upon
the big red wall
for if it
was not there the pictures
would fall.

{a poem literally written in 3 minutes}
by,
*O*

A Poem in Two Minutes

So much depends upon
the wind blowing through the
trees. It moves through the
air blowing through the leaves.
Blowing scraps of trash
through the air. Sometimes
if you're not lucky it
will mess up your hair.

by,
*O*

SURPRISE

2009-04-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Can you keep a secret? You can! Ok then. On March 12, 2009 it is my brother Owen’s birthday. My whole family is coming down to see him. So you’re probably thinking, "What how is that a secret?" Well that’s just it, it’s not I repeat NOT a secret. The really real secret is that my whole family is having a huge surprise birthday party for him. He is turning seven. Owen has never been to or had a surprise birthday party. So this will be a huge shocker for him. So here’s the plan:

6:00pm brother/Owen goes to his baseball game.
6:30pm Mom and Peyton/me go and get decorations for the party.
7:00pm family arrives and helps decorate house.
7:15pm go get vanilla baseball cake from Safeway.
7:45pm give out party toy called Silly String to everyone in family.
7:55pm get everyone in the house. Turn out all the lights. Hide all the family’s car, so it looks like no one’s home.
8pm Owen arrives home, walks to the door, everyone yells “SURPRISE!” Owen falls over, and is in frozen shock mode. Everyone helps him up.
8:15pm we eat our delicious cake with yummy milk.

So you have heard my plan. Today is the 9th which means the party is in THREE DAYS! What! I though we still had 14 more days I gotta get going on this plan for the party. Hope I can finish this plan by the 12th. Please wish me good luck. I hope you liked my party idea. Ask me about it on the 13th and I might just bring you some cake.

by,
Peyton

10 Reasons why I Think Vocab Words are Horrible (a Hypercritical Hyperbole)

2009-04-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

a poem dedicated to the ridiculous vocab words on Olivia’s vocab test tomorrow (and an attempt to define them)

1. Hyperthyroidism, Hyperglycemia these are words
I will never use in my life

2. Hypersensitive, Hypertension they’re too hard to spell

3. It’s Horrible to Hyperextend but at least I know what it means, it means when one of your joints bends and then pops out the other side....Horrible

4. Hypercritical people are no fun to be around they’re judgmental, they’re mean and snooty

5. Once I saw a man going up to the bus stop he must have had Hypertension because his arm looked like it was going to explode (isn’t this what happens when you have high blood pressure?)

6. Hyperthermia is when you turn...is when..uh...is....
when your temperature is really high and you probably
turn all bright red too

7. Hyperactive is when my little brother runs around
the restaurant and is Hyperactive and it’s so embarrassing

8. Ok Hyperextend, Hypersensitive those are words I might use (but they are still horrible)

9. Hyper Hyper Hyper I’m Hyperventilating because all these words are Hyper

10. And finally, I never use Hyperbole they’re so lame, only for people who write poems

Hyper Hyper Hyper these are words too hard to spell Horrible no fun to be around going to explode you probably turn all bright red so embarrassing still horrible, they’re so lame, only for Hypersensitive, Hypercritical people who write poems!

by
*O* & c

Books

2009-04-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

Books

You never know
What a book holds
Until you open up the pages
That sometimes fold
And they look
All crumpled and old
And when you read
The pages that behold
The Miraculous
Adventures
Of the untold
And sometimes
If you’re not lucky
The pages will never unfold
And they will always look
All crumpled and old
And you will not be able
To read the pages that behold
The Miraculous
Adventures
Of the untold

by
*O*

Finally! The Return of Super Brick!!

2009-03-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

Super Brick #4

When we last saw our hero he was on a building thanking Jonny Cinderblock for saving his life. So they took off into the air and Super Brick anciently hit a telephone pole, causing it to crash into a brick building. Again Super Brick said words he thought he would never have to say “@35#%*8!” After he was done with his fowl language they went to pick up the mess. When Super Brick was looking through some bricks he met a very pretty nice smelling brick. Her name was Lady so he called her Lady Brick. They quickly fell in love. And had little baby bricks of their own. They decided to live on mars, were it was red just like them. As for The Sleg he went back to Alcatraz for the rest of his life. Jonny Cinder Block met a Lady Cinder Block and they had little cinder blocks of their own. And everyone lived happily ever after. NOT REALLY! KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE!

by
*O*

Introducing Peyton

2009-03-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Crack!Ouch!

“Oh my gosh, I’m late for school.” I yelled as loud as I could. I ran to my parent’s room and said “mom, dad I’m late for school.” We all ran to the car and ZOOMED to school. When we were three blocks away, my mom and dad remembered one little thing. I almost fell out the window when my parents yelled “OWEN.”

Owen is my two year old brother and we left him at home all alone. So, we raced back home to go get him. When we got to the house it was like he never knew we left. We just found him eating a popsicle on the couch watching Sponge Bob. So, we ran to the car and drove to school.

Then, one last thing happened. My parents almost had a heart attack because of it. I yelled “IT’S VALENTINES DAY!!!” We all drove home, grabbed the cards and then we rushed to school once again hoping there were no more stops.

When we got to school I asked my teacher “have you started cards yet?” She said “no, you are just in time.” We passed out cards and went out for snack.

This is when it happened the horrible thing on Valentines Day. My friend Olivia and I were playing on the monkey bars and she asked “can you skip three bars?” I said “yeah, of course (in a tough way).” Then she said it, the words that sent shivers down my spine, “show me.” I hated those two words. Those are the words that should mean humiliated. So, I had to do it. I tried it and 1, 2, 3… CRACK! OUCH! I landed left on my arm. I could not stop crying. My friend Olivia took me to the office as quick as she could.

The lady in the office named Judy said “oh Peyton what happened?” I said nothing. Olivia told her everything. Then Judy called my parents and they came to school as fast as they could. When my parents got there they said “thank you” to Judy and we left to the hospital

When we got to the hospital the doctor let us come in first. His name was Dr. Black. He told me to lie down on this bed and he started moving my wrist around and cracking it. Then they gave me a shot so I would not remember a thing. But I still remember.

After that not so wonderful time, it was time for me to get my cast. This guy had this HUGE selection of cast material. I picked pink. He wrapped about 20 layers of the material all around my arm. I had to stay in the hospital for about 2 days. I could write but I could not play any sports.

In about one month I got my cast off. The same doctor took off my cast. He used this thing that looked like an electric pizza cutter. He turned it on and he asked “ready?” I said “yeah.” He slid it across my arm and ZAP it was off. He let me take it home.

Well, after that experience, I learned if someone wants you to do something you don’t want to do, just don’t do it. You are your own person. You can make your own decisions. And two arms are better then one.

by,

Peyton

and the story of pink princess begins.....

2009-03-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

Once there was a King and Queen, who lived in a palace in Flower Garden, on Flower Lane. The Queen found out she was going to have a baby. The Queen loved pink lemonade but, she was allergic to pink lemonade. But she kept drinking pink lemonade during her pregnancy. Finally she had her baby girl, to her parent’s astonishment, she was pink! Within two weeks, she and the Queen went home from the hospital. They decided to name her Pink Princess because her skin was pink. Her parents called her Pinky.

to be continued next week...

by,
Abby

Come back every week to read Abby's next chapter of Pink Princess!!

Pink Princess story series coming soon!

2009-03-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time Abby wrote a story about a young little baby princess soon to be born, she is very special, in this way you will learn about her. This is a story written over two years and coming soon a new adventure with pink princess and her friends. Abby will be frequently updating this story every week and will be sharing pink princess's adventures, telling you all about this hard princess life. It’s kind of hard being pink, so sad, so sad...

The stories start very soon.....

O A Party?

2009-03-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

A Party?

“A party? When?” I asked my mom one cold kind of sunny afternoon. She replied in a plain simple voice “A New Years Eve party, at Lily’s house.” I replied in a happy excited voice “O.M.G! How much fun, this will be my first New Years Eve party!” Lily is my best friend; she is really funny and nice. Like any other pair of best friends we have our fights… oh ok back on topic, Lily is shorter then me, with brown hair and hazel eyes (brown and green). Sometimes people mistake Lily and me for sisters, that is how much we look alike.

I waited impatiently day after day, waiting for New Years Eve. When it finally came I had to wait until 6:30 P.M. to go to the party. I was in agony waiting for the minutes to pass by. What made it even more worth waiting; was that I got to spend the night. So, I got all my stuff together for the sleepover and we left the house.

What happened next was very boring, so I am going to leave it out. So we arrived at Lily’s house with a bottle of sparkling apple cider, a loaf of french bread, and my mom’s homemade artichoke dip, a half an hour after the boring part. I was so excited, I made my mom carry, mostly everything. Once I gathered up some of the stuff I ran across the street, but first I looked both ways, I ran up to the door step and rang the door bell. My mom was still at the truck, I yelled to her “Slow-poke!” Lily ran to the door and flung it open. Finally my mom came into the house. Of course like any other kid the first thing I did was go look at the desserts. They all appeared so appetizingly scrumptious. They had this one cupcake that looked like it had spaghetti top of it, with a meatball on top! All of a sudden Lily grabbed my arm and pulled me up the stairs. She was talking to me on the way up the stairs, but I wasn’t listening. I was thinking about the cupcakes waiting for me downstairs. I wasn’t listening until Lily said the words iPod touch, and then I was all ears. We hurried up the stairs to Lily’s parents’ room, and then she showed it to me. Her brand new, just came in the mail, iPod Touch! It was so beautiful it showed my reflection in it brand new touch screen. I was thinking to myself “How wonderful”. She put it back in her mom and dad’s room and we ran the stairs to play pool in her garage.

Lily is very good at pool so of course I lost. I said to Lily in a desperate attempt to win “You cheated!” Lily said in a puzzled voice “No I didn’t.” I said back in a sorry voice “I know I just wanted to win.” So then we decided to go play Rock Band for the Wii system. I played the guitar and Lily played the drums. I tried the drums after her but I lost and Lily lost at the guitar. So we decided to switch back for the better.

A half an hour later our friend Peyton showed up. Peyton got an iPod Touch also, I was so jealous. So we decided to listen to some music and play on the grass. We listened to ACDC on Peyton’s I-Pod from Lily’s i-Dog. We wrestled and then it started to rain, which made it even more fun. We got soaking wet and had to come inside.

photo credit 1, 2, 3, 4: blissful images mrs french

Since we came inside we went to the dessert table, I ate one of those cupcakes I was talking about. They looked better than they tasted, they were too rich for my stomach. I even had chocolate fudge dipped in chocolate fondue, it was so delectable! We sang karaoke almost all night, Peyton and I sang to Mama Mia and ACDC, it was so awesome! Then Peyton went home. I was bummed that Peyton had to leave.

Lily’s mom finally forced us to go to bed at 2:30 A.M. But that didn’t stop me and Lily from watching Mama Mia the movie on her new iPod touch. When I finally got tired I asked Lily if she could stop the movie, so she did but we ended up talking for about another half an hour. Finally we went to sleep. I woke up still kind of sleepy and woke Lily up, and she said “What do you want?” I replied back in a sleepy yawning at the time voice “Come on, get up it is 9:00.” So we got up and went to Lily’s mom and dad’s room upstairs. We flopped down on the couch in the den; Lily’s mom (Wendy) was watching Mama Mia. We started Mama Mia when the phone rang, it was my mom, and she said to Wendy (Lily’s mom) “I will come and pick up Olivia in about, a half an hour.” So Lily and I decided to go downstairs and watch The Game Plan, in the garage. We were only about 45 minutes into the movie when my mom showed up. I was sad I had to go. I gathered up my stuff as slow as I could, and I said “Good-bye” to Lily and said “Thank you” to her and her parents (Wendy and Steve) and I and my mom left Lily’s house. I said to my mom in the car “That was the best party ever!”

by
*O*

image credit: charlotte gainsbourg

introducing almost real world abby!

2009-03-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Almost Real World
Journal Entry #1

lisa cohen photography

Wow, I think my job of being an upholsterer is great. Me and Jake met when we first went to college together we were in the same class writing. We have been married for a year and have had a great life so far. Me and Jake are looking forward to moving into Almost Real World. We have no children but one dog named Gracie. Gracie is a very friendly puppy and loves being around people. She just recently turned one about a month ago.

We are trying to find a place that allows us to have pets so Gracie can live with us. Me and Jake get the total of $60,000.00 a year. I think we have just the right amount of money to get everything we need. My husband Jake is a teachers aide he loves helping kids and is soon going to be working at Almost Real World. This is a great opportunity to work for Almost Real World. My family and Gracie are blessed to have this wonderful life.

I’m looking forward to going to people’s houses and getting to know them better as I’m doing my job being an upholsterer. I’m thinking of maybe opening a business in about four or five years after this job. I’m thinking of helping people I know and new people too, this is a great way to learn more about people and their tastes. This will help me when I start my business.

by
Abby

Introducing Abby

2009-03-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

robyn glaser photography

Introducing Abby. Abby is the latest addition to Writing from the Rooftops.

She is participating in Almost Real World at middle school, it’s something fun they’re doing in class and Abby will be keeping you updated {and writing about herself in the third person, like she's doing right now!} by posting her journal entries telling you all about this almost real world, and a little bit about her own world too!!

She will also share her creative writing that she does at home for fun.

So come back soon to check it out!!

Quotes I (Olivia!) love from the amazing book Star Girl

2008-12-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Quotes I (Olivia!) love from the amazing book Stargirl (I’m reading it right now...)

“So she would stop and point out that the front door of the house we were passing was blue. And that the last time we had passed it, someone who lived in that house painted the front door a different color several times a year.”

“And the last remaining space between our lips was gone and I was falling headlong into her eyes, right there on Palo Verde after dinner. And I can tell you, that was no saint kissing me.”

More to come...

*O*
(Olivia)

The Adventures of Super Brick and ? #3

2008-11-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

When we last saw our hero Super Brick he was in a dark alley stuck in wet cement listening to the dark laugh from someone or something on the roof top above. The someone or something jumped down from the roof and walked into the light so Super Brick could see it. It was a tall man with black hair, and a black cape with a picture of a big hammer on the back. The tall man also carried a sledge hammer and called himself “The Sledge Hammer” but for short let’s just call him The Sleg. So The Sleg was getting ready to whack Super Brick with his sledge hammer… Let’s go to one of the other super heroes Jonny Cinderblock. Jonny Cinderblock was one of Super Bricks pals. He was on top of the tallest building in the city looking for people in trouble or crime. He looked to his left, he saw nothing. He looked to his right, there he saw Super Brick, in an alley stuck in wet cement. Jonny Cinderblock thought “Oh no I must go help Super Brick.” So he swooped down into the alley where Super Brick was and pulled him out of the wet cement and put him on the same rooftop that he was on before. He said to Super Brick “Are you ok?” Super Brick replied “Yes thanks to you, thank you.”

To be continued...

By, Olivia

The Adventures of Super Brick #2

2008-11-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Now that Super Brick had riches from the people of the city of Keensvile he had a mansion. So Super Brick was hanging out at his mansion. He was enjoying himself in his solid gold hot tub, when he thought he heard something. He did hear something; it was the screams of children. He jumped out of his hot tub without drying off and flew to their rescue. He had to fly a long way before he could find them. He was so distracted by all the thoughts racing through his mind that he landed on someone’s car windshield, by accident. He was so mad about the windshield that he said words he thought he would never have to say #*#*$$#*!!! After he was done with the foul language he went to find the little children. He flew away from the car and found the children in the next alley. He went to save the children when he stepped in wet cement, his one weakness. He was stuck there unable to save the poor children. He heard a dark laugh coming from the rooftop above him. It sounded like this, “Ha ha ha Super Brick I’ve got you now!”

To be continued…

Super Brick ☺

2008-11-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

Austin came up with idea but did not want it so he gave it to me☺!

Once upon a time there was a boy named Bob. Bob was in the junk yard looking for something to play with. Bob found a brick. He thought of a funny joke, he could put the brick in a tree, and it could fall out and land on someone’s head. So he did just that.

At a bank next to the tree there was a robbery in process. The robbers name was Albert; he had just escaped from Alcatraz upon a floating piece of drift wood. Albert the robber ran under the tree and the brick fell out on to the robbers head. The police rushed to the concussioned robber and took him back to Alcatraz.

Everybody was so happy. The people of the city of Keensville gave the brick riches and named him caption of the police station!! If you are wondering what Super Brick’s powers are and how he got them well I will tell you. Super Brick was made in a factory like any other brick. When he was on the conveyer belt he fell into a bat of radioactive toxic waste. He began to come to life he could talk, and he could fly! He swore that he would pretend to be a regular brick in till he was needed. That is how Super Brick got his powers.

The End

By, Olivia

writing from the rooftops

ok, maybe not my best

dark 'n stormy

are you kidding me?

moving for words

summer reading

[not-so cringe worthy] summer reading – the things we carry

and we're back

raquel's first words on writing from the rooftops!!!

today in the garden

And August drifts closer to September—

Pyper’s version of Cinderella’s life story

sixwords :: some of our favorites

Once upon a yellow brick road--

we have six words for you

Pink Princess the winter........... ending

pink princess four times the loooooooooooooove

Disneyland the haiku continued

another double fun dose lalala

BEFORE DISNEYLAND

SMOOTHING DAYS

Just in Time

pink princess - double the action!!

Pink Princess the drama ensues

The one you love

..but..i hate haiku

Pink Princess: the sadness sets in...

*O* and C: a conversation in 5 haiku

The Saga of Pink Princess Continues...

So much depends upon...

SURPRISE

10 Reasons why I Think Vocab Words are Horrible (a Hypercritical Hyperbole)

Books

Finally! The Return of Super Brick!!

Introducing Peyton

and the story of pink princess begins.....

Pink Princess story series coming soon!

*O* A Party?

introducing almost real world abby!

Introducing Abby

Quotes I (Olivia!) love from the amazing book Star Girl

The Adventures of Super Brick and ? #3

The Adventures of Super Brick #2

Super Brick ☺

O and C: a conversation in 5 haiku

O A Party?