I bought a tube of toothpaste
and squeezed it from the top.
I was getting lots of toothpaste out,
till people yelled for me to stop!
“You should squeeze it from the bottom,
then roll the tube up neatly.
That way you won’t waste toothpaste
’cause you’ll use it all completely!”
Teacher’s note: Use this poem to ask students how they avoid wasting toothpaste and other products around the home, and why it’s a good idea to avoid wastage of any kind.
We’re celebrating pasta
all around the world,
spaghetti and linguine
are being swirled and twirled.
Ravioli’s all the rage!
Rigatoni’s lots of fun!
I think my gnocchi rocks!
Some penne anyone?
Macaroni and fusilli,
canelloni, fettuccine,
tagliatelle, vermicelli,
agnolini, tortellini —
Let’s celebrate them all,
every kind of pasta!
There’s nothing like a pasta
to fill your tummy faster.
In response to Celebrations prompt.
He’s big and fat and noisy,
He buzzes ’round my head.
I know he carries lots of germs,
That’s why I want him DEAD!
He crawls across the windowpane —
He’s absolutely rude! —
Then squats and rubs his grubby legs,
On top of all my food.
I tried to swat that blowie
With a paper nicely rolled,
But — tinkle, crash — I missed
And smashed mum’s wedding bowl.
Next I got a schoolbook,
And whacked him hard with that,
The monstrous fly went down
With a great big juicy SPLAT!
The moral of my story
Is that education’s great,
Not only does it make you smart,
It keeps flies off your plate.
What’s that bird
doing on my head?
Why doesn’t it
fly away instead?
It’s not fair
being a statue,
because I know
what birds like to do!
James’ poem was inspired by the image below which was taken in Venice
Imagine living here
with all those stairs to climb,
and every room you enter
takes you back in time.
Everywhere you wander,
every corner you explore,
could there be a ghost or two
behind a secret door?
Teacher’s note: Martindale Hall, Mintaro, South Australia, famously appeared in the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock. Completed in 1880 with 32 rooms, and once the home of the Mortlock family, this Georgian mansion is now open to the public six days a week.
I went to Devon
in a dream,
and there I ate
scones, jam and cream.
I put the cream on,
then the jam,
and someone said,
“That’s wrong, young man!
The jam goes first,
the cream is next.”
I was getting
very vexed.
So what do you do?
Which comes first?
The jam? The cream —
or reversed?
Everyone asks me
the same old question,
and it interferes
with my digestion.
How do I look
down in the mud?
The dam’s so cold
I can’t chew my cud.
So if you ask me
how I am now,
I’m a very grubby
hungry cow.
In the mountains,
above the snow,
I found a castle
from long ago.
Forbidding walls
rise to the sky;
gloomy forests
meet the eye.
I wonder whom
I’ll meet inside —
which king will be
my ghostly guide?
Teacher’s note: Wartburg (pronounced Vartburg) Castle sits on 410-metrte precipice above the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. Dating from 1067, it is associated with Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, Martin Luther, and a legendary minstrels’ contest.
Silent silo,
commerce fails,
no more trains,
rusting rails.
Rain and wind
sweep platforms clean,
railway ghosts
go unseen.
Teacher’s note: South Australia’s Burra railway station was a busy stop on the main line to Broken Hill and Perth.Passenger services ceased in December 1986, and the last grain trains operated in 1999. Volunteers have lovingly restored the station buildings.
How can flowers grow a beard,
And do they need to shave?
It seems a very funny way
For flowers to behave.
Do they use a razor,
Or will some clippers do?
I think bearded irises
Are rather weird, don’t you?
Australian Children’s Poetry 