Transcript

QUEENIE: How great to see you here again at the Kids’ Poetry Club podcast. While we wait for Little Dazzy Donuts to start, I wanted to remind you that kidspoetryclub.com contains YouTube videos of illustrated poems and a packet of activities based on this week’s episode. It’s all free. Okay … let the fun begin …

Let's have some fun 

with things that rhyme

welcome Kids 

it's poetry time!

Hip Hip Hurray!

Welcome back to Kids Poetry Club with me, Little Dazzy Donuts, and a massive thanks to Ruby and Sadie who are today’s STARS of the episode for reading out the introduction poem that you just heard. Remember that you can also be a STAR of the episode – just check out kidpoetryclub.com for more details.

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I hope you’re feeling ready for some rhymes and fun today because we're going to spend the next 15 minutes listening to three poems on this week's chosen topic - are you going to guess what the topic is? Plus, we have a new guest popping in, and Queenie promised to drop by the Club to remind us all of the new April competition, and that means we’re guaranteed some fun. So, while I play our intro music, get wriggling around to find a comfortable spot ... I’m so excited! It's time for this week's Kids’ Poetry Club!

Music

Before we play "guess the topic of the week", let's start off with club registration. This is where you get to shout out your name and get a club point for being here. So, on the count of three, shout out your name so that I can hear you through your phone, computer, or radio.

Let the drum roll begin. Here goes …. One. Two. Three! ….. Excellent!

So, by any chance do you remember the topic from last week?  Just in case you don’t, here’s a little clue ….

SOUNDS

Yes, it was MUSIC! So let’s see if you can guess this week’s topic. Listen carefully as I’m going to play you a four sounds all at the same time, and let’s see if you can guess the topic. Here they come ….

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So, did you guess it? I bet you did as this week’s topic is the WEATHER!

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Have you ever noticed how many different types of weather we have … sometimes all on the same day. For example, it can start off foggy, and then sunny, and then … oh, hang on … that’s the Kids’ Poetry Club phone. I better answer that in case it’s an emergency.

Hi. This is Little Dazzy Donuts at Kids’ Poetry Club.

Queenie: Hi Little Dazzy Donuts – it’s Queenie.

Hi Queenie – is everything okay?

Queenie: Oh yes – I just wanted you to know that I’m running late for the Club. I got up this morning, and it was sunny – so I made myself a sandwich and got all dressed for a hike in the sunshine … and now I just opened my door, and it’s pouring down with rain. So, I’m looking for my raincoat and boots. I’ll be there as soon as I find them.

That’s okay, Queenie. I’ll read a poem while we wait for you. When you get here, I want to hear all about the competition announcement you made on Thursday.

Queenie: Okay. See you soon …… Oh, there’s a boot. I found the right boot. Now, where’s the left boot. I can’t hop all the way to the Club. Whoops – I’m still on the phone, aren’t I?! Sorry – I’m going now … and I’ll see you soon!

Interestingly, Queenie’s weather challenges today fit nicely with the topic of our first poem – which is all about somebody facing too many different types of weather all on the same day. So, let’s read that poem while we wait for Queenie. But, how do you think the poem is going to arrive? How do you think a weather poem would get here?

Here is comes ….

It came by wind! I suppose that if clouds can travel by the force of wind, then why not a poem? Admittedly, it does look a little windswept. Still, it’s now safely at the Club, so let’s hear our first poem. It’s called “Outside and In”

It snowed.

It rained.

Then the sun shone bright,

and I went out to play.

But when I got out there,

it started raining again,

so I returned inside and waited

for the showers to end.

I got out my toys

to play on the floor,

when I noticed the sun

was shining once more.

So I put on my coat

and opened the door,

to see massive hailstones

falling, therefore

my day is consisting

of outside and in,

then outside, and inside,

and outside again.

Given the uncertainty,

I just can’t wait to find

what happens when the weather

finally makes up its mind.

That poem definitely sounds like the sort of day that Queenie has been having. Talking of Queenie, I hear her coming into the Club now …

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Queenie: Hi everyone!

Hi Queenie. Welcome back to the Club.

Queenie: Hi Little Dazzy Donuts. It’s so great to be back here at the Club. I haven’t popped in since Thursday’s announcement with Postie Dale. It has been raining so hard that I’ve been hunkered down waiting for it to stop.

So, how did the special announcement go on Thursday?

Queenie: Well, the big headline is that I still haven’t found the chicken! I did find two eggs, and so made myself a nice omelet. It was sooooo yummy with grated cheddar cheese and mushrooms and tuna and banana. Oooooohhhhhhh, I do love tuna and banana!!!!!!!  Oh, I’m sorry – I got lost there for a moment. What was your question?

I was wondering how it went on Thursday.

Queenie: Oh yes! It went sooooo well! Postie Dale arrived on a sheep, and I read out the announcement about the April competition. If anyone missed it, the new competition is on the topic of SPRING!  Everyone at the Club is invited to send in their Spring poems and drawings by the end of April. Which reminds me, Postie Dale knew a fantastic rhyme about how many days are in each month of the year.

Well, I guess it makes sense that mail carriers for the Poetry Postal Service would know a few things about poems.

Queenie: By the way, when I opened up the Club on Thursday, the marching band was still in here! I tried to let them all out …. But I’m not sure that everyone left. As I drove away on my motorbike, I could have sworn that I heard a trombone playing inside the Club. So, if you see a stray trombone player anywhere, could you show them where the door is. Those trombone players are great at marching – but they all seem to march in different directions, and never in the direction of the door!

Ha! Yes – I can definitely do that. By the way, today’s topic is the weather. By any chance did you bring a poem with you about the weather?

Queenie: Oh, don’t get me started on the weather. I’ve had it up to here with the weather. Actually, I’ve had it higher than that. Let me get a chair so I can stand on it and be even higher ….

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Queenie: There we are …. So I’ve had it up to here with the weather. Already this week, it has rained and snowed, and then it was foggy, and windy too. I really want to go on a hike – but, every time I make a sandwich for my backpack, I find the weather has changed and I have to change my clothes! I’ve been in an out of my raincoat all week!

That sounds frustrating!

Queenie: It is! But I was really helped by a great poem that encouraged me to just head out regardless of the weather. Here, let me find it in my pocket. It was one of the poems sent in for the gray competition, and I liked it so much that I’ve been carrying it around.

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Queenie: Here it is. It was sent in by Roger and Nancy. Gosh, those are two such nice names. Their poem went:

We have to say

Without delay

We’re going out to play

Even though the day is gray!

Queenie: I like that soooooo much! There I was this morning, looking out at the rain, and that poem encouraged me to just dive out into the weather regardless. Even so, I would like to know what the weather is going to do. I don’t know whether to set off in a t-shirt and shorts, or in a sweater with my raincoat and boots.

It sounds like what we need is a weather forecast. Why don’t we call up the local meteorologist, Sammy Showers, to hear today’s forecast. I tell you what, let’s do that as soon as we’ve heard the next poem. By any chance do you have another poem there in your pocket.

Queenie: Yes, I do! Here it is!!!!!

Wonderful.

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I love this poem. It’s perfect for the topic today, and is all about one of the types of weather you experienced earlier this week – fog … and about how fog impacts a frog in a pond. It’s called Foggy Froggy ….

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“Foggy Froggy”

"It’s foggy," said the froggy

sat on his pad.

The fog thick around him,

visibility bad.

He can't see the water,

he can't see a fly,

he can't see the bank,

and he can't see the sky.

When the sun's shining

he sees all the pond.

But, when foggy this morning,

he sees nothing beyond

the end of his lily,

so he sits there to wait

for the fog to all lift

and the sun to create

a warm day of sunshine

for frogs to all play.

Nothing dampens frog's life

like a thick foggy day.

Queenie: Oooohhh …. I like that one. It sounds like the poor frog isn’t a fan of fog. It must be boring not being able to see beyond the end of his lily. Perhaps the frog would like to know when the fog will finally lift – that’s the sort of information in a weather forecast. Talking of weather forecasts, can we call up Sammy Showers now?

Of course we can, Queenie. Let’s call her up and hear today’s weather forecast for Kids’ Poetry Club.

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Sammy: Hi, this is Sammy Showers: want to know if the weather will be bright or gray? Call Sammy Showers night or day…….. Well, actually … I only take calls in the day now – I don’t do the nights any more.

Hi Sammy – it’s Little Dazzy Donuts. I’m here with Queenie at Kids’ Poetry Club. We were wondering what the weather forecast is for today.

Queenie: Yeah – is it going to make up its mind? We’ve had four types of weather in the last hour, and I want to go on a hike.

Sammy: Hi Little Dazzy Donuts. Hi Queenie. It’s so nice to hear your voices. With the internet and new-fangled apps and things, everybody gets their weather forecasts from other places these days, and so hardly anybody calls me anymore. So, I’ve been sitting here, watching the phone, and hoping someone would call to ask me about the weather.

Gosh, that sounds tough. Are you coping okay?

Sammy: Well, everything used to be high pressure …. Really high pressure! I’d run around saying “the pressure’s high, the pressure’s high” … but now it’s light and variable, and, as much as I hate to say it …. it’s all low pressure now.

Queenie (whispering): Do you think she’s talking about the weather?

Sammy: With this pressure change, things have been a little overcast and gloomy. Dare I say it – they’ve been dark and stormy.

Queenie (whispering): I still don’t know if she’s talking about herself or the weather!

Sammy: Mind you – there’s good visibility out there, and I have to believe that a period of calm is on its way. You know, the fog will clear eventually. There’s a warm front out there somewhere, just you wait and see.

Queenie: I’m sorry, Sammy … we’re calling for the weather forecast. Do you know if it’s going to rain more today or will it stay sunny? I want to go on a hike.

Sammy: As they say, Queenie, it never rains but it pours ….. it never rains but it pours.  Sigh! Oh well, I better get off the phone line now. You never know, someone else might be trying to call me. You never know – they might. Please call again soon.

Queenie: Sammy?....... Sammy? …….. Sammy? …… she’s gone. Did you understand any of that, Little Dazzy Donuts?

You know what, Queenie - I’m not sure I did. Oh my, we’ve reached the final poem of the episode.

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Queenie, Why don’t you go look out of the window and see what the weather’s doing while I read the final poem. While you’re looking, can you see if the poem’s arriving yet by the Poetry Postal Service?

Queenie: I can see something coming through the rain …. But I can’t quite see what it is …..

How do you think our final poem will get here? …. Here it comes …

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It came by dolphin! Well, I guess that, with all the rain out there today, dolphin delivery fits perfectly. The weather may be better suited to dolphins than it is suited to Queenies. Well, here’s our final poem – it’s called “Made For Ducks”:

The sun didn’t come out today,

and the sky was filled with clouds of gray

that held on loosely to their rain

before dumping it down again,

and again,

until rivers ran where there once were roads

and canoes were paddled where cars once drove.

Those wanting sun were out of luck

for today was mostly just made for ducks.

Queenie: Oh my, Little Dazzy Donuts. That totally describes what it’s like out there today. It’s so wet that it really does seem perfect for ducks. Ducks AND dolphins. Oh well, even though it’s raining, I’m going to still do my hike. I don’t mind getting wet – just so long as my sandwich is dry in my backpack. I’ll head off now – toodle pip, Little Dazzy Donuts. See you soon!

Well, that was our final poem for this episode.

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Don’t forget that there are lots of ways to join in with the club. If you go to kidspoetryclub.com, you’ll see a wonderful drawing by our Club illustrator, Dot Cherch. You can also see the PodSnack video for the episode and download the episode’s PodPack of activities. They’re all free. Plus there’s information on how to send your poems and drawings into the club, including your entries for the Spring competition. There’s also information on how you can be the STAR of the episode who reads out our introduction poem. You’ll find everything you need at kidspoetryclub.com.

It has been so lovely to spend time with you! Thank you for joining me, Queenie, and Sammy Showers.  I hope you enjoyed yourself, and hope you’ll be back for more next time the Club meets. Join us again next week when we’ll have a new topic and more fun.

You know what …. As soon as we’ve finished here at the Club, I’m going to pop around to see Sammy Showers. I bet she’d enjoy some company for an hour or two while she waits for her next caller. But, first, let's finish with our short goodbye poem:

We've had some fun 

with things that rhymed

goodbye Kids 

until next time!

This is Little Dazzy Donuts saying .... keep rhyming!!!

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