Transcript

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Let's have some fun 

with things that rhyme

welcome Kids 

it's poetry time!

Hip Hip Hurray!

Welcome everyone to Kids Poetry Club with me, Little Dazzy Donuts. I’m on my way to the Club for our episode. I’m actually really intrigued about what has been happening there. Earlier this week, Queenie called me to ask if she could plant a few seeds in the small back garden at the Club. Well, it’s all overgrown with weeds, blackberry bushes, and long grass, and so I was fine with the idea of Queenie planting a few seeds there. I haven’t actually seen or heard from her since that call, so let’s see how she’s doing.

Before we get to the Club, why don’t we take advantage of my walk to do our 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!

Well, we made it to the Club. Let’s head in and see what’s happening.

SOUND – door.

That’s strange. The lights are off.

SOUND - Click

Hi - is anybody here? Hello? Queenie? Chicken?

No – I’m on my own. Well, I’ll set up for the Club meeting, and I’m sure that someone will come along soon.

SOUND – distant tractor

Hang on … what’s that sound? It’s coming from behind the Club! Surely that’s not Queenie planting a few seeds. Let’s walk around there and see what’s going on.

SOUND – Door, walking.

SOUND – tractor, digging.

Wow! What’s happening here? Everything is getting dug up. There’s a tractor plowing up and down … and somebody’s over there digging with a spade. I’ll go and ask them what’s happening.

Excuse me – I’m Little Dazzy Donuts, and I run the Club here. I was wondering if you know where Queenie is. I’m the one who gave her permission to use this land to plant some seeds?

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

Queenie? Is that you under all of that mud?

Queenie: Yes – it is!!! We’ve been out here a while, and I think there’s now more mud on me than there is on the ground. I’ve heard that mud is good for your complexion, but it’s not looking that way at the moment.

So, if you’re down here with the shovel, who’s up there driving the tractor?

Queenie: Oh, that’s Chicken. It turns out that Chicken knows a lot about farming. Hang on a mo …. Chicken …. Chicken …. Can you turn the tractor off please? Why don’t you climb down and have a tea break? …… Here, Little Dazzy Donuts, let me pour you a nice mug of tea from my pot …… There you go. And would you like a biccie to dunk in it?

Err… um … yes, thank you! So, Queenie … when you called earlier in the week, you ask about planting a few seeds out here. Just how did you get from planting a few seeds to plowing up the entire garden with a tractor?

Queenie: Ummm …. We got there very easily actually. Surprisingly easily. I got talking to Chicken about my few seeds idea, and we concluded “in for a penny, in for a pound”. Or, in our case, why plant a few seeds when you can plan a thousand seeds. It sounded much more fun.

Well, I’m excited to hear all about it. By any chance, would it help you if we used growing vegetables as our topic for the episode?

Queenie: Oh, that would be SO HELPFUL! I’ve never grown vegetables before … and, even though Chicken is an farming expert, I think I need all of the help I can get.

Okay then, let’s spend the episode focused on growing vegetables, and see if we can help you. Perhaps a good place to start is to read a poem. I know, we’ll start with a poem called “Growing Veg”. It’s all about someone who sets out to plant a garden and grow vegetables, but things don’t quite work out as planned. But how do you think this first poem will get here? Listen carefully … here it comes …..

Oh, it arrived by horse and cart. It sounds a little agricultural, and so I can see why Postie Dale chose it for his poem delivery today. Okay, seeing as it’s here, let’s listen to the poem, “Growing Veg”.

I was clearly over-optimistic

about my gardening skills.

I dug up soil and planted seeds

to lower grocery bills.

That all happened some months’ ago,

when I pictured lots of veg,

growing neatly all in rows

that ran from hedge to hedge.

But, after many weeks of waiting,

there's not a carrot to be seen,

nor a cauliflower or cabbage,

or any type of bean!

I must have mixed up all the seeds.

It’s a flaw my garden exposes.

As nothing is coming up vegetables,

and everything’s coming up roses.

Queenie: Ha! I like that, Little Dazzy Donuts! How funny. The poor person was probably expecting to eat all of the vegetables they’d grow, but got a garden full of roses instead. Well, that won’t happen to me as Chicken actually knows a lot about planting a garden, don’t you Chicken?

SOUND - Chicken

Queenie: Like Chicken was just saying, we got thinking about having garden after reading a lovely poem that came in from Isabelle in Canada. It’s called, “It Comes Alive”, and it’s all about how much of what we eat comes from a seed. Here, take a look at her poem.

Thanks, Queenie. Let’s see … oh yes, I can totally see how Isabelle’s poem got you thinking about gardening. Why don’t you drink your tea, and I’ll read out the poem for everyone.

A tree wakes up
It comes alive
And from a branch
Comes a bud

It sprouts
A tiny speck of green
And slowly, slowly,
Grows

A flower forms
It grows, it blossoms
It lives, it wilts
And from the dying flower

Comes a fruit
Someone comes by
They grab it, they bite it
The taste spreads across their tongue

The sweet taste
The tart taste
The fruity taste
The juicy taste

They bite pit
The hard, rocky pit
And drop it to the ground
The seed reaches fertile ground

Winter passes
The seed is sleeping
But one day
Spring arrives

The seed wakes up
It comes alive
And from the seedling
Comes a bud

So, Queenie – what’s your plan for out here. You do have a plan, don’t you?

Queenie: A plan? Do we have a plan? Of course we do. Let me see if it’s here in my pocket. Ahhh – there it is! Check this out.

Let’s see … It says High-level Plan. …. Step 1 – plow up land. Step 2 – plant seeds. Step 3 – pick and eat the vegetables. Gosh, that is high level. I’m not sure there’s a level any higher than that.

Queenie: Whoops! That’s the wrong plan. Hang on … Chicken, do you have the blueprint for the garden?

SOUND

Queenie: Great! Can you roll it out over there so that Little Dazzy Donuts can inspect it? Here. Use these rocks to weight it down at the corners so it doesn’t roll back up again.

SOUND

Gosh, this is definitely more like it. Wow! What detail. It even has symbols all over it. Let’s make sure that I understand what the different symbols mean. Let’s start with that red circle. What does that symbol mean?

Queenie: Oh, that’s a tomato. Anywhere you see a red circle, that’s where we’re planting tomatoes.

Perfect. And what about the green circle?

Queenie: Ummm … oh, that’s lettuce. So, you can see that we’re planting lettuces here … and here … and here too.

Great – now, what about the large brown circles?

Queenie: Large brown circles? Oh my gosh – what are those? Let’s see. Large … brown … circles. Oh, I don’t know. What are those chicken?

SOUND

Queenie: Ah – silly me. Chicken says those are rings from the bottom of his tea mug! She kept putting her mug all over the plan when she was drinking tea earlier.

Okay, well I see that you’re planting around 10 rows of seeds.

Queenie: Yes, Chicken says those rows should run North-South. Ummm … which way is North do you think? Ummm … I suppose we could figure it out from the North Star. Now, where is that? Gosh I don’t see any stars. Is the North Star even out right now?

Not in the middle of the day, Queenie.

Queenie: Wow! So, do people only know which way is North at nighttime? That’s such a silly system. Oh well, we’ll figure that part out later. As you see from the plan, we’re going to plant carrots, lettuces, tomatoes, and cabbages – but not all at the same time as we don’t want them all ripening together. There’s o nly so much veg that we can eat in a week. Okay, well, I need to go figure out which way North is and plant some seeds. Little Dazzy Donuts, can you read a poem while I do that? Here, there’s one in my pocket.

Wonderful. I can definitely do that. Oh, I like this one … and it’s perfect for the topic of growing veg. This second poem is called, “Fun with Veg” … Okay, Queenie, you start planting seeds, and I’ll read the poem.

Bean and be seen.
Iceberg in a wedge
There’s always mushroom
when you have fun with veg!

Relish a radish.
Go have a leek.
A carrot a day
is a whole bunch a week!

Devour a cauli.
Go hug a spud.
Ravage a cabbage.
Lettuce be loved.

Go out with a sprout.

Get lost in a maize.

Stay up-beet.

Join the kale craze.

Why not grow veg,

in a garden or plot?

I’ve no more to say.

I guess that’s shallot.

Queenie: Wow! I love that poem – it has almost as much fun in it as we’re having out here gardening today. Go out with a sprout. Relish a radish. How funny!

So, Queenie, how’s it going with your seed planting?

Queenie: Ummm …. Well, I’ve figured out where North is … and I’ve planted all of my carrot seeds … and now I’m worried.

What about?

Queenie: Well, I’m worried that I may have planted the carrot seeds upside down. I didn’t look at the seeds when I planted them – I just put them in the ground and covered them up. Now I’m thinking – there must be a right way up. There is on cardboard boxes … it says on them “this way up” … and everything has a right way up, doesn’t it. So, why not seeds? If I’ve done it wrong, then the green tops will grow down … oh no, and the carrots will grow up out of the ground.

I think you’re fine, Queenie. You can plant your seeds any way up, and the carrot will grow down. I promise you. So, now they’re planted, what happens next?

Queenie: Next? Well, next is where we experience the wonders of having a friend like Chicken! You see, chickens are really helpful in gardens … they help keep pests down by eating them, and they control weeds by eating them too. Then, Chicken tells me that all of that eating produces a third benefit for the garden – but I haven’t yet figured out what that is.

Don’t worry, Queenie – you’ll find out soon enough. Well, this all sounds really exciting. With all of the seeds you’ve planted, you’re going to have a lot of really yummy vegetables in the coming weeks and months. That should nicely balance out your diet of tuna and banana – I’ve always been a little worried that that you eat way too much of those.

Queenie: I know! Chicken has been encouraging me to eat more vegetables – and I think she’s right. And the idea of growing my own is really exciting. It’s important to eat vegetables, isn’t it Little Dazzy Donuts?

Yes, it is Queenie … and that’s actually the topic for our final poem for today. It’s called “My Non-Vegetable Diet”, and it’s all about what happens when somebody doesn’t eat vegetables. But how do you think this final poem will arrive? How do you think the Poetry Postal Service will deliver our final poem. Listen carefully. Here it comes ….

Oh, it came by Land Rover. I suppose you see those a lot around farms, and so I can totally see what Postie Dale was thinking. Oh well, now it’s here, let’s listen to our final poem, “My Non-Vegetable Diet” ..

I didn’t eat vegetables just for one day,

then another, and then a whole year.

No broccoli, carrots, not even a pea.

Meat and bread were the only foods for me.

Until I woke up one morning and couldn’t see right.

Strange things had happened to me all through the night.

So, they called for the doctor, who came right away,

He prodded and poked me before turning to say,

“You must just eat vegetables for the rest of the year.

and do so while grinning from ear to ear.

If you don’t, expect consequences to be really rough,

as your head will come loose and your legs will drop off.”

Ever since then, I’ve eaten my peas,

carrots, broccoli and cauliflower cheese.

I’ll only let vegetables pass through my lips,

as I want both my legs attached to my hips.

Well, sadly, that was our final poem for this episode.

SOUND

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 and also 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 Chicken. 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.

As always, 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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