Listener Art

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. We’re nearing the end of another day. I’ve had such fun today reading more poems that have come in for the Summer competition on the topic of Home. It was so nice to hear from kids around the world, and to learn more about what Home means to them in many different countries. We only have a few days left of the competition, and so I’m excited to see what poems arrive between now and July 30th.  Right now, I’m heading into the Club. It’s evening-time, and Queenie and Chicken are planning a special night. They had a wonderful idea to camp in the garden behind the Club, and they invited me along. It sounds such fun, and so I have my overnight bag with me with my pajamas, toothbrush, and towel. This should be quite the experience.

Well, I’m almost at the Club, and so why don’t we take advantage of this time 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, I’ve arrived at the Club. Let’s head around the back and see what Queenie and Chicken are up to.

SOUND (Gate)

Hi Queenie … Hi Chicken.

Queenie: Oh, hi Little Dazzy Donuts. You’re timing is perfect. We were just about to put the tents up. We have one for you, and one for us. We thought that we’d camp over there, between the lettuce patch and Chicken’s house. It seems a nice flat spot, plus it gives us a good view of the hedgehog feeding station so that we can watch for the hedgehog from inside of our tents.

That all sounds great to me, Queenie. So, do you need any help with the tents?

Queenie: I don’t think so. I found two old tents in the storage cupboard inside of the Club. I’m not sure how old they are, but it looks like they haven’t been used for a long time. Still, a tent is a tent is a tent.

It is?

Queenie: Oh yes, I’m sure it is. I did some research on how to put a tent up. I don’t just dive into things like this all willy-nilly, you know. Ooohhhh…. Isn’t that a wonderful term. Willy-Nilly! Anyway, I’m not a willy-nilly tent putter upper.

Well, you really know all of camping jargon, Queenie. I’ll grant you that.

Queenie: Okay, let’s start with you tent, Little Dazzy Donuts. My research said that step 1 is to get the tent out of the bag.

SOUND

Queenie: Step 1 – check. Now, step 2 is to throw the tent in the air. Okay then … here goes.

SOUND (thud)

Queenie: That’s interesting. Nothing happened. How strange. Ummm … let’s try our tent and see if that one works. So, step 1 is get it out of the bag …. Check …. and step 2 is to throw the tent into the air … like so …

SOUND (thud)

Queenie: Little Dazzy Donuts, it appears that both of our tents are broken.

Actually, Queenie, I don’t think they are … I suspect that you researched how to put up what’s called a pop-up tent, which is a tent that automatically puts itself up. Whereas what you have here is two old ridge tents. Sadly, these are going to require that we put them up.

Queenie: Ah – well, I suppose that explains these poles and ropes in the tent bags. Oh, look, there are some instructions here too. That’s just what we need. Okay, so let’s find the poles for the front and the back … I bet it’s these shorter ones here. Then, these other poles fit together to form the long pole that runs across the top of the tent. You know what – this is just like a jigsaw puzzle. We have all of the pieces, and so just need to put them together in the right order.

I tell you what … while you do that for the two tents, why don’t I read you a poem? I brought along three poems on the topic of camping. Let me dig them out of my night bag … here they are. Oh, there’s one called “Two Tents”. How perfect! I’ll read that one while you two put up our tents for the night:

We all went camping,

as a group of good friends.

It seemed a great way

for the Summer to end.

We found a nice spot

where we couldn’t be seen,

and made a camp fire

for our big pot of beans.

The upset all started

when pitching our tents.

Ours was all tiny,

and yours was immense.

Whereas ours was the size

of two sleeping bags,

yours had a two bedrooms,

a washroom, and flags.

Ours was all grassy,

and soon filled with bugs,

whereas yours had nice cushions,

and some comfortable rugs.

We hung a small lamp

with its pitiful light,

while a generator powered

your tent all the night.

Eventually, I screamed,

but, in my defense,

the passions ran high

when us friends got too tense.

Queenie: Ha! Too tense! Oh, you do like your puns, Little Dazzy Donuts.

So, how are you getting on with the tents?

Queenie: Well, we just need to tighten the guy lines. I’ll do these ones at the front of the tent … Chicken, can you tighten those at the back? Perfect, that will help keep the tent upright if it gets windy tonight. Okay, now let’s put in these ground sheets. It says here in the instructions that these plastic sheets provide a handy barrier to stop our sleeping bags from getting damp. So, all of our stuff sits on these plastic sheets and not actually on the ground. My gosh, this all makes so much sense.

Great – so where are the sleeping bags?

Queenie: Ummm …. Well, here’s mine … and Chicken has hers in her house. Where’s yours, Little Dazzy Donuts?

I actually don’t have one. I didn’t know I needed to bring one with me – I just have my pajamas, toothbrush, and towel.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: YIPPEE!!! Chicken says that she has a spare that you can borrow. It may be a little small for you – but it’s just for one night … and I bet it will keep your legs nice and warm. So, let’s put all of these sleeping bags into the tents so they’re on top of the ground sheets. This is all looking so amazing, and the timing is perfect too as the sun is just going down. That means that it’s time for our fire.

Great! Let me start building that here in Chicken’s fire pit.

Queenie: Here’s all of the dead wood that we collected on our hike last week. We’ve sorted it into three piles … so, the first pile is all of the twigs and kindling … the second is thin branches … and the third pile is the thicker branches and logs.

That’s so handy – thank you! I’ll put the kindling on first, to get the fire started, and then build it up with the thin branches. I’ll put the logs on once the fire is well and truly underway. Now, what were you thinking of cooking on the fire?

Queenie: Well, we have a nice vegetable soup that we can warm up. Chicken and I made it earlier using some of the vegetables from the garden. Look.

Oh my – that is an unusual color.

Queenie: It is, isn’t it. Unfortunately, the only vegetables we had that were ready to pick were some radishes, and so this is less of a vegetable soup, and more of a radish soup. Still, radishes ARE vegetables, and so it’s both a radish soup and a vegetables soup.

You know what, Queenie – I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard of radish soup before.

Queenie: ummm … I wonder why? I bet everyone will be making it once word gets out that Chicken and I have started making it. We can be quite the trend setters you know.

So, what do you have in addition to radish soup?

Queenie: Oh, don’t worry, Little Dazzy Donuts. Radish soup is just for starters. It’s not the main meal.

Well, that’s a relief. What is the main meal?

Queenie: It’s marshmallows. We’re going to toast them over the fire until they’re nice and crisp.

And then you make s’mores?

Queenie: More what?

No … you use the marshmallows to make s’mores?

Queenie: More marshmallows? Yes, we have more marshmallows. Don’t worry – we have hundreds of marshmallows. Okay, so now the fire is going, let’s put the pot on so the radish soup can warm up. This could take a few minutes, Little Dazzy Donuts. Perhaps this is a good time for you to read your second poem.

You’re right – it is, Queenie … and I think that this second poem is perfect as it’s all about cooking on a camp fire. Here’s let me read it to you now. It’s called “Our Campfire Meal”:

I built up some kindling

to start on my fire,
adding twigs, then some branches
so the flames would grow higher.

I peeled all my spuds

and opened up cans,

then on went my pots,
and on went my pans.

By the time we were done,

the potatoes were roasted,

the stew had been cooked,

the marshmallows been toasted.

Then, we ate round the fire,

and sang all our songs,

'til the sun had gone down,

our energy gone.

So, we retired to our tents.

We'd done all we could,

and I slept like a log

the day we burnt all that wood.

Queenie: Oh, I do like that poem, Little Dazzy Donuts. It sounds a lot like us today. I bet we’re going to sleep well after all of these marshmallows. We’ll all sleep like logs, just you wait and see.

Well, it’s quite dark now. It must be almost time to get into our tents for the night.

Queenie: Oh my gosh – we almost forgot. We need to put the food into the hedgehog food station. We can’t have the poor hedgehog arriving after we go to bed only to find that the food station is empty. That would be such a disappointment for them. Chicken – would you be okay to put the food out while I pack away all of our soup bowls?

SOUND (Chicken)

Wonderful. Well, I think we’re all ready to get into our tents. It’s getting a bit chilly now that the sun has gone down, so how about we climb into our sleeping bags, have a cup of hot chocolate, and watch out of our tent doors to see if the hedgehog arrives for their food?

Queenie: YIPPEE!!!! I love hot chocolate. I even have a few spare marshmallows to put on top if anyone wants a few….. Oh my, this sleeping bag feels so cozy! There’s just something so wonderful about being in a sleeping bag outside. How’s your tent and sleeping bag, Little Dazzy Donuts?

Well, the tent is perfect, Queenie – the sleeping bag is a little small, but like you said, it will keep my legs nice and warm tonight. I tell you what … while we drink our hot chocolate and look out for the hedgehog, why don’t I read you our final poem? It’s about someone sleeping in a tent, and so it fits perfectly. Here, it’s called “My Morning Kiss”:

Last night, in the dark,

I got into my tent,

and, for sure,

I was the only one there.

I slid into my bag,

zipped it up tight,

and, fell asleep

quite unaware

there was anyone else

inside of my tent,

curled up,

in my deck chair.

It was therefore a shock

when I woke the next day,

with a morning kiss

from a black bear!

Queenie: Oh my gosh … I definitely don’t want to be woken up by a kiss from a bear. I love bears, of course … but I think I much prefer waking up gently to the sound of the birds singing in the trees.

Well, Queenie – any sign of the hedgehog yet?

Queenie: Not yet. It looks like they’ll come after we’ve gone to sleep – which is totally fine, of course. So, let’s zip up our tents, and snuggle down with the light off. Chicken, can you do the zipper for us … and I’ll turn off the flashlight.

SOUND (zipper)

I’ll zip up my tent too, Queenie.

SOUND (zipper)

Well, before we fall asleep, I’ll remind everyone 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 how to enter your poetry and art into the Summer competition on the topic of Home. 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!!!

Okay then, I guess it’s time for us to fall asleep.

Queenie: It is! Goodnight everyone. Oh hang on … is that you outside of our tent, Little Dazzy Donuts? … I think I hear footsteps.

No, it isn’t. I’m in my sleeping bag here in the dark.

Queenie: Well, that’s strange.

SOUND (tapping on the tent)

Queenie: Oh, wait a mo … is that you tapping on our tent, Little Dazzy Donuts?

It’s still a no, I’m afraid Queenie. I’m definitely here in my sleeping bag.

Queenie: Well, I’ll unzip the tent and find out what’s going on.

SOUND (Zipper)

Queenie: Oh hello …. How wonderful to see you. How are you doing tonight? …… Sure, let me just ask Little Dazzy Donuts.

Queenie: Little Dazzy Donuts… Hedgehog is here, and was wondering if we’d like to sit by the fire for a while. There are still a few embers there. What a lovely invitation. Gosh that sounds such fun! Come join us….. So, hedgehog, tell me all about yourself.

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