Fin Pals ask Norman: How Old Are You?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
There are three ways to tell how old a goldfish is:
Color: most goldfish start out brown. Their color changes to gold, orange, black, or other colors when they are older.
Fins: goldfish fins grow longer and more pointed as they age.
Size: Goldfish grow to about 5 inches long in their first 2-3 years. After that they grow about an inch a year. But, if they are in a small fishbowl, they won’t grow as fast.
Now that you know all that, how old do you think Norman is? How old do you think his human is?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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20 goldfish years? How many is that? Let’s see:
Neeness says “One year in a goldfish’s life is equal to five human years, which means one-fifth of a fish year equals one human year.”
So, if Norman is 20 goldfish year’s old, how old is he in human years? 20 divided by 5 equals 4. Norman is about 4 human years old.
For more about goldfish click over to this article on cuteness.com
Now, Norman has a question for you: Verywellfamily.com says Humans grow about 4 inches a year when they are about 2 to 3 years old. And then, when they are teenagers they grow about 4 inches a year again, for a few years. After that they stop growing taller.
So, how old do you think Norman’s human is?
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #219 Two Scoops of Gratitude!
Gobble Gobble Gobble! That’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow. Maybe you, too? Or maybe you’ve already enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast and will be going in for seconds…or thirds. Regardless of what you’ll eat, where you’ll go, what you’ll do, or whether you’ll celebrate alone or with other, let’s take a moment to reflect on reasons we have to give thanks. (For if you are reading this, then like me, you do have reasons.)
Spotted this rafter of turkeys strutting around our backyard last week. When I said our local B-Ball team “The Gobblers” was warming up, a friend wrote “you mean ‘pre-heating’!” Gobble-gobble!
Poetry Challenge #219
Two Scoops of Thanks
Write a poem of thanks. For? or To whom? is up to you.
The poem must be at least twelve words long—one word beginning with each letter of the word T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G.
Yes, it can be longer.
Yes, you can include words that begin with other letters, too.
Yes it can rhyme. . . No it doesn’t have to.
When you’ve finished, take a moment to polish your poem so you can share it—perhaps later, with pie!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for your support!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Fin Pals ask Norman: What Do You Want to Trade?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Say Kids: In the story, NOT NORMAN, the first thing the main character tries to do is trade Norman for a pup.
If you haven’t read the book in a bit, here’s the read-aloud:
But what you might not know is when they first met, Norman wanted to trade his human too? Yep. What do you think our finny friend Norman would want to trade “Curtis” (his human) for?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #218-Bread & Butter
The smell of Homemade Bread is one of the best smells in the world. Warm bread with butter melted into the nooks and crannies…mmmmmm! Happy National Bread and Butter Day!
If bread and butter doesn’t float your happy boat, it’s also Baklava Day and Hike Day.
Poetry Challenge #218
Gorge Yourself . . . First
This is indeed a day worth celebrating because no matter which of the three Bs you choose —Bread, Butter, or Baklava—you can work it off with the H word—or if anyone says you shouldn’t, tell them to Take a Hike! So, let’s celebrate with a 4-way poem.
Use all of these words (homemade bread, butter, baklava, and hike) in a rhyming poem—either an AABB rhyme scheme or an ABAB rhyme scheme.
Let us feel and see and smell this poem!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Fin Pals ask Norman: Where Do You Live?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Say Kids: Isn’t it funny how humans like fish tricks, such as swimming & doing flips, and fish like human tricks, such as writing & drawing? We are all different and kind of the same, too, aren’t we?
Zariah wants to know where Norman lives. But where is that? I’ll give you a hint: It has sea weed and rocks, just like in Zariah’s drawing.
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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To learn more check out this Goldfish Care Guide by Aqueaon.
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #217-I'll Be True As Long As . . .
Getting forgetful? I am. So I’m keeping this short and sweet in hopes it will help us remember for that’s what today, National Forget Me Not Day (Nov 10th) is all about: Not Forgetting.
The Alpine Forget Me Not is the Alaskan state flower, chosen in 1917 for it’s “true blue” color. That term “true blue” originally comes from the indigo-dyed cloth made in Coventry, England in the Middle Ages, reported not to fade, but rather to keep its “true” color no matter how many times it was washed. And from that beginning, the term came to mean people who are “always the same and like themselves”—true blue.
Poetry Challenge #217
I’ll be True as Long as You . . .
Go back, back, far as you can remember to one true-blue friend from your past. Or that someone to whom you have been a true-blue friend. Using a truly blue pen, pencil, or crayon, write that person’s name vertically down the center of a paper.
Write an acrostic poem about that true-blue person, a true-blue moment, or qualities that make them true-blue. As you write, fill in the lines on either side of the letters, so when the poem is finished, that person’s name with remain steadfastly in the middle.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Fin Pals ask Norman: How Can You Draw?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Say Kids: Zechariah drew a fun picture, and asked some good questions didn’t he?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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Noah Z. Jones draws all the art for NOT NORMAN and NORMAN ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH and do you know how? On the computer! To learn more about Noah and how he created Norman, click over to Norman T. Goldfish’s interview with Noah: “About that Sweatband.”
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #216-Hold the Pickles
Sandwiches are easy take-along foods and can be customized to any person’s liking. Dress them up with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions. Add condiments like mayo, mustard, pesto. Use your favorite cheese: cheddar, American, Swiss, provolone, muenster. And bread: white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, sub roll. And just before you take that first bite, raise your sandwich high and cheer: “Here’s to the Earl of Sandwich!” because legend has it, we have John Montagu, 4th of Earl Sandwich to thank for the name because Montagu, known to be a rake and gambler, in 1762 once spent 24 hours at a gaming table and all he ate the whole time was meat stuff held in place with slices of bread to keep his fingers and the cards clean. Happy National Sandwich Day (Nov 3)!
Poetry Challenge #216
Hold the Pickles
Today, write a take-along poem. Each stanza will be 3 lines long.
The first and third are the bread and should be 8 words/syllables long.
The middle line is the filling and should be 5 words/syllables.
If you center your poem, it should look like a sandwich!
Make it a picnic and write 3 or more stanzas!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Hungry for more? Watch the short comedy by Daniel Inglese & Joe Coen
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 1990+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
