April 15, 2024
Meet My Amazing STEAM Mates!
Pictured below are the talented authors and teachers who help keep Steam Powered Poetry Videos going. KIMBERLY provides book and activity lists, LOUANN creates crafts and projects, and SHEILA hosts Wee Steamers, provides teacher resources, and assists me with promotional planning. Our newest member, ANGIE ISAACS, applies her tech skills to keep our site safe and up-to-date. Cheers to Kim, Louann, Sheila, and Angie! I am deeply grateful for their commitment and contributions of time and talent.
March 15, 2024
Time is ticking!
Today’s a great day to enroll your students in our poetry video contest. With the aid of a poetry prompt, older students create engaging 1-minute STEAM videos for younger peers. All videos of good quality are added to our growing on-line video library. A great mid-term or class project. No entry fee. Cash prizes. Hurry! Only 60 days to the April 30th deadline! See details. Click CONTEST tab or go to https://steampoweredpoetry.com/
February 15, 2024
Share Your Success Story!
Are you a teacher who uses our Wee Steamers material in your early childhood or primary classroom? Tell us about your students’ favorite poems and mini lessons. Are you an upper-grade educator who has enrolled your class in our STEAM Poetry Video Contest? Share the impact the experience has made on your students! We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at steampowetry@gmail.com
January 15, 2024
Thank you, Poet Laureate, David Harrison!
I’m honored to be this week’s featured guest on David Harrison’s blog. (A true gentleman! David was MY featured poet in December.)
David begins…
I have a guest today. I met HEIDI BEE ROEMER more than ten years ago at one of my poetry workshops in Pennsylvania for the Highlights Foundation. We’ve remained in touch and share a belief that poetry can play a key role in the lives of young people as they hone their skills with language. I’ve recently participated in one of Heidi’s projects (with partners) and invited her to tell everyone more about it. Heidi, welcome to the blog. “Heidi Bee is all STEAM-ed Up!”
My heartfelt thanks to David for letting me hijack his blog for a day. I hope you’ll read the article be inspired to participate “full STEAM ahead!” in our Steam Poetry Video Contest for students! https://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/2024/01/15/43043/
January 1, 2024
Happy New Year from the STEAM Team!
Meet the Crew! Author Kimberly Hutmacher writes our Activity pages and Recommended Reading lists for student videos. Art teacher Louann Brown supplies us with clever crafts. And ECE Sheila Kerwin works both in front of the camera (as our Wee Steamers host), AND behind the scenes, writing activities for our little learners, and assisting tremendously with outreach and promotions.
OUR New Year Resolution is to create and feature the best resources any teacher could ask for. Make “Subscribe to Steam Powered Poetry Videos for Pk-8″ YOUR New Year Resolution to receive our monthly posts!
December 15, 2023
Looking for a class project for Poetry Month?
Look no further! Help spark students’ interest in poetry and tech skills by hosting a STEAM Poetry-Video Contest. It’s a great integrated learning experience as older students (jr. high thru college) draw inspiration from STEAM poems to create engaging video shorts for younger peers. All videos of good quality will be added to our growing library of educational videos for pk-8. It’s win-win for all! PLAN & PREPARE FOR POETRY MONTH TODAY!
September 15, 2023
Registration is open!
A new way to experience poetry! A fun way to explore STEAM concepts and hone tech skills! Learn how your students can participate in our annual STEAM poetry video contest. Teachers may offer our classroom contest as an extra credit or midterm project, OR, students may opt to enroll individually. Cash prizes! No entry fee. Click to see details: https://steampoweredpoetry.com/contest/
August 1, 2023
Drumroll, please!
I’m excited to tell you that eight great celebrity poets have partnered with us! These award-winning poets, including, not one, but TWO, poet laureates, have contributed their stellar STEAM poems for inclusion in our 2023-2024 Contest Poetry Packet!
PLEASE WELCOME Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Joan Bransfield Graham, Charles Ghigna, David L. Harrison, Georgia Heard, Kenn Nesbitt, Diana Murray and Jane Yolen, our eSTEAMed poetry partners!
July 1, 2023
Calling All Crafty STEAM Kids!
Are you wondering how to keep your child busy this summer? Join our “Crafty STEAM Kids” summer photo contest! It’s easy. Have your child make one or more STEAM crafts from the list below for a chance to win a free picture book. Here’s how it works:
Select any of the suggested video-and-craft pairings listed below, or choose ANY from the Home Page.
- Watch the video
- Download craft PDF
- Make the craft.
- Take a photo of your child holding the completed craft.
- Send the photo, along with your child’s first name and age, to Heidi at mailto:steampoweredpoetry@gmail.com
- Three crafty kids will each win a signed copy of WHAT KINDS OF SEEDS ARE THESE?
- All photos of good quality will be posted on the blog.
(Here are a few sample craft patterns.)
(Click here to view videos and access craft PDF.)
Student Video: A Song for Spring Craft: Four Season Tree
Sudent Video: It’s Chow Time! Craft: What Animals Eat
Student Video: Who’s in a Hurry? Craft: Tortoise & Hare Stick Puppets
Student Video: Let’s Compare: Healthy Analogies Craft: Health Care Workers
Wee Steamers Video: Ten Tiny Mice Craft: Help the Mice Escape
Wee Steamers Video: The Elevator Craft: Up and Down
Wee Steamers Video: Wilbur the Whale Craft: Sail with Wilbur
Wee Steamers Video: Follow That Toad! Craft: A Home for Toad
Wee Steamers Video: Shh, Baby’s Sleeping Craft: Pop Up Birdies
Wee Steamers Video: Crossing Guard Craft: Traffic Signs
This is your child’s chance to win a signed copy of WHAT KINDS OF SEEDS ARE THESE? by Heidi Bee Roemer. For grades 1-4.
“A perfect companion book to WHOSE NEST IS THIS?, Heidi’s spirited text enumerates in riddle-form the many ways different kinds of seeds travel, whether by helicopter or rolling in the wind as a tumbleweed. Fun activities are included at the end to help readers discover the world of seeds up close. Gorgeous illustrations of seeds and plants and children enjoying them leap from the pages.” —Amazon
The more crafts your child makes, and photos you send in, the better your chances of winning!
Subscribe to day! Email photos July 1 – Aug. 30. steampoweredpoetry@gmail.com
Have a craft day every week! 9 weeks, 9 STEAM lessons!
June 15, 2023
What’s New, You Ask?
Our 2023-2024 STEAM Poetry Video Contest for jr. high, high school and college students will reopen in three short months. We can’t wait to share some exciting new features. Stay tuned!
May 15, 2023
2023 Contest Winners!
May 1, 2023
Meet the Judges!
This year our judges are Linda Dryfhout, Barb Scanlan, Sheila kerwin, and Yours Truly! We have already begun the process of determining our winners. Best of luck to all the contestants! Stay tuned.
April 15, 2023
There’s Still Time to Enter!
Teachers: be part of a growing community of educators who support their students’ understanding of STEAM, and spark a love of poetry at the same time. Our annual contest is a new way to experience poetry! A fun way to hone tech skills! Hurry to enroll your class. If you’re a student, you may enroll on your own. Click CONTEST tab for details.
March 4, 2023
Early Childhood Educators Excited To Take STEAM Poems into Their Classrooms!
In addition to peek-a-booing, patty-clapping, ball tossing, rope jumping, and fingerplaying, Sheila Kerwin and I shared 30 STEAM poems from our favorite magazines. Sixty attendees recieved swag-bags filled BABYBUG, LADYBUG, HELLO and HIGH FIVE magazines. Two lucky attendees won copies of my book PEEKITY BOO—WHAT YOU CAN DO! And one enthusiastic teacher said she’s attended three of our presentations. We have a fan, apparently! ;>)
February 15, 2023
Presenting “Exploring STEAM Poems with Infants and Toddlers” at Oakton College
Poetry is a remarkably creative tool for exploring important STEAM concepts. Early childhood educator, Sheila Kerwin, and I will discuss the connection between STEAM concepts and poetry for infants and toddlers by dramatizing a collection of 30+ poems, analyzing their STEAM qualities, and considering practical ways to incorporate these poems into the daily curriculum. For more information, visit https://allevents.in/des%20plaines/2023-infant-toddler-conference/10000462004195987
December 15, 2022
Ho-ho-hope Yule Enroll!
There’s snow competition like it! Join us for STEAM fun! Submit your STEAM poetry videos by April 30, 2023.
December 1, 2022
Holiday Greetings from Wee Steamers!
Sheila Kerwin and I have been busy little elves, producing videos, compiling activities, and creating book lists for young children. Look for more WEE STEAMERS productions in the New Year! Don’t want to miss our monthly mini-lessons for little learners? Subscribe today!
November 1, 2022
Full STEAM ahead!
Hey, Teachers!
It’s a new way to experience poetry. A new way to explore STEAM. Call it what you like: visual poetry, video poetry, reel poetry, digital art, poetry film, or moving poetry— it’s an integrated learning experience! Enroll your class in our 2023 STEAM competition. No entry fee. Cash prizes! Offer ends April 30, 2023.
Hey, Students!
Explore creative ways to extend a STEAM poem by designing a one-minute video reflecting its concepts. Through your participation, you are supporting children’s learning by linking the wonderful worlds of poetry and STEAM. Be a part of this unique challenge. Register on your own or through your classroom teacher. We look forward to your STEAM poetry video!
August 15, 2022
Take a Look!
Enroll your students in our annual STEAM poetry-video contest! What better way to spark your students’ interest in poetry, while helping them hone their media skills? Click for details! https://steampoweredpoetry.com/contest/
August 1, 2022
Thank you, Angie!
A heartfelt THANK YOU to my new web designer, Angie Isaacs! She has upgraded our blog and made our STEAM contest registration pages easier-than-ever to navigate! I am profoundly grateful for Angie’s professionalism and attention to detail. If you’re looking for a beautiful, efficient and affordable website or blog that you’ll love, contact Angie! angie.isaacs@gmail.com
July 1, 2022
Extended Deadline for the 2022-2023 School Year!
To accommodate various school schedules, we’re trying something new— an extended registration and submission time period. We hope this will make participating in our contest even easier! Winners will be announced on May 5, 2023.
June 1, 2022
Welcome Sheila Kerwin!
Please welcome our new STEAM team member! Shelia Kerwin, children’s poet and former Early Childhood college professor at Oakton Community College, is also the host of Wee Steamers, our new STEAM series for tiny tots.
We’re launching our new series with Sheila’s poem, “Five Fishies,” first published in HIGHLIGHTS HELLO. (Used with permission of the publisher.) Invite your little learners to sing along with Sheila, count to five, and learn about places fish call home! To ensure you don’t miss our once-a-month posts, subscribe to today! https://steampoweredpoetry.com/subscribe/
May 25, 2022
I’m pleased to announce that we’re launching an exciting new learning series for tots and toddlers. Stay tuned for deets!
May 10, 2022
I’m tickled to tell you that….
Stay tuned!
May 5, 2022
It’s such a joy to work with these amazingly talented authors and poets who support and are part of the STEAM Powered Poetry Video team. Thank you for your friendship, encouragement, and support, and for volunteering to be our judges this year!
May 1, 2022
STEAM CONTEST UPDATE: While the video submissions we received this year did not meet the standards for cash prizes, the STEAM judges and I are pleased to award each participating student with a copy of POETRY PLACE. It features the poems and musings of 12 award-winning poets.
Participating teachers will receive GREAT MORNING! POEMS FOR LEADERS TO READ ALOUD from the Poetry Friday Anthology series created by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. We wish to thank the teachers and contestants for their time, effort, and participation!
March 15, 2022
Submission deadline extended to April 29, 2022
Teachers from California to New York have already registered their students in our STEAM Powered Poetry Video Contest—and there’s plenty of room for YOU! Students in grades 6 through college will read a variety of STEAM poems and create one-minute videos. A fun, integrated learning opportunity! Time is ticking, so register your class today! (Older students may register on their own.)
January 15, 2022
Registration for our STEAM Poetry Video Contest 2022 is open!
Dear Friends,
For 25 years I have tried (optimistically, enthusiastically, and in some instances, unsuccessfully) to set up poetry programs for children in unusual venues. A roller rink: “Read and Roll with a Real Author!” A fitness-recreation center: “Wild About Sports Poetry!” I even attempted to start “Smarty Pants,” a blog featuring young children recite their favorite poems! Happily, I’ve had better luck at park districts, arboretums, farmer’s markets, and of course, libraries, schools and home school groups.
I encourage aspiring adult poets, too! As an Instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature (1998-2008) and with my own “ABC ‘s of Poetry” workshops, I’ve mentored writers in the U.S. and Canada. Many former students credit me for their poetry publishing successes. I am passionate about poetry! I have published nearly 500 children’s poems in various magazines and anthologies, along with several picture books and poetry collections.
These days I’m promoting STEAM poetry online by offering our annual STEAM Powered Poetry Video Contest. In a nutshell, upper grade students create STEAM poetry videos for younger students.
If you vote “YES!” for kids, STEAM, poetry and integrated learning, please share our contest information with educators, principals, library media specialists and home school parents. If you yourself work with students in jr, high, high school or college, I invite you to enroll your class today! It’s an exciting learning opportunity for students and a win-win-win for all! Registration for 2022 is open now.
Full STEAM ahead!
Heidi & the STEAM Team
December 15, 2021
LOOKING AHEAD…
Plan for April Poetry Month 2022!
Library Media Specialists, Technology Instructors, English and Elementary Education Professors, we cordially invite you to host a STEAM video contest in your junior high, high school or college classroom. With an offer of cash prizes, our contest is designed to promote poetry, spark creativity and enhance technology skills, as older students create STEAM videos for younger students–truly a win-win situation!
How does the contest work?
Participating instructors receive our Poetry Packet which contains 20 to 30 kid-friendly STEAM poems and contest guidelines. Each poem is a mini-STEAM lesson. Students choose a poem and create an engaging 1-minute video geared for grade school students using a format of their choosing: film, photography, clip art, live actors, etc. Instructors collect and submit the video links to STEAM Powered Poetry. Judges make their selections, notify the instructor, and award the cash prizes. ALL high-quality videos will be posted on the STEAM Powered Poetry vlog. There is no entry fee.
How does the contest motivate students?
Friendly competition, teamwork, and the opportunity to be creative and self-expressive will motivate some students. Others may be incentivized by the chance to win cash prizes–up to $100. Additionally, library media specials may offer this contest as a great Makerspace project for junior high school students, while professors and educators may opt to offer the contest as extra credit, or, incorporate it into the curriculum for grade points.
3 Reasons to host a STEAM Powered Poetry Contest
- Your students will read a variety of kid-friendly, educational poems in a variety of poetry forms.
- Your students will hone their media-making and technology skills.
- The videos created by your students will not only help instill a love of poetry in grade school children, but give them mini-lessons in science, technology, engineering, art and math–videos they can watch at school or from home.
REGISTRATION BEGINS JANUARY 15, 2022
Schedule your classroom contest today! Easy registration form! Go to HOME page and click CONTEST tab. Questions? Email Heidi at steampoweredpoetry.com
July, 2021
We’re delighted to introduce you to our newest STEAM team member, illustrator and author, LOUANN BROWN! Since childhood, Louann has loved to draw and write. She found her perfect place in the world teaching Art Education in an elementary school. Never one to sit still, Louann volunteers at her local library reading to children, designing crafts, and organizing fundraisers to buy books. Click the CRAFT tab to find “Lou’s Doodles” featuring STEAM crafts, snacks and coloring pages.
April 26, 2021
Congratulations to our 2021 Contest Winners!
April 15, 2021
CHEERS! to the terrific teachers who hosted our STEAM poetry-video contest during this most unusual school year. Thank you, Joe and Elizabeth! We couldn’t have done it without YOU and your creative filmmakers!
Winners will be announced Monday, April 26, 2021.
March 15, 2021
Our STEAM Poetry Video Contest submission deadline is April 15, 2021.
Winners will be posted on April 26, 2021.
STAY TUNED!
May 15, 2020
Congratulations to our Video Contest Winners!
Videos have been viewed! Score sheets have been filled! Numbers have been tallied! The STEAM judges and I are pleased to report that the winners for the 2020 S.T.E.A.M. Powered Poetry Videos Contest have been selected. Drum roll, please!
First Place Winner: Garrett L. for “Superlative Critters”
Second Place Winner: Hannah N. for “All Washed Up”
Third Place Winner: Mason L. for “Heads and Tails”
Honorable Mentions: Taylor T., Lana R., Gianna K. & Rahul J.
Not only are our student-created videos fun for kids to watch, they also provide parents and teachers with a smooth segue to teach STEAM/STEM lessons and to spark discussions at home or in the classroom. Videos posted monthly. Subscribe today!
May 1, 2020
Contest News Update!
Kimberly Hutmacher and I are delighted to introduce our esteemed judges for the 2020 Steam Powered Video Contest: Leslie Goodman, Linda Dryfhout and Sheila Kerwin.
Our contestants this year are 7th and 8th graders from Meadowbrook School. Judges will announce the winners by May 15, 2020. First, second and third cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25 will be awarded. All videos of good quality will be posted on steampoweredpoetry.com. Don’t miss any of our student-created STEAM/STEM videos. Subscribe today!
Calling all teachers and educators! Are you interested in hosting a STEAM video contest for your college students this fall? Contact us for details! We’d love to hear from you! steampoweredpoetry@gmail.com
April 15, 2020
COMING SOON:
New student created STEM videos!
Stay tuned!
March 20, 2020
Woof! Woof! With an offer of cash prizes, the STEAM Powered Poetry Video Contest is a paw-some opportunity as high school & college students choose POEMS from our poetry packet & create STEAM/STEM VIDEOS for grade school kids! Students can un-LEASH their creativity… and em-BARK on a fun new learning experience!
March 15, 2020
The local newspaper did a nice write up about me and Kimberly Hutmacher, my partner in rhyme, (not “poet-in crime,” a misquote) and our on-going STEAM video contest!
March 7, 2020
What a fun day! In addition to peek-a-booing, patty-clapping, ball tossing, rope jumping, and fingerplaying, we shared many poems from our favorite kiddy magazines. Attendees were also treated to a raffle, a great MAG-SWAG-BAG and a video message from Highlights editor, Christine French Cully on the importance of reading to children.
“Incorporating Poetry into Infant and Toddler Classrooms”
Oakton Community College
February 20, 2020
(Photo circa 2016 , Western Washington University.)
February 5, 2020
Here’s a fun and creative CONTEST opportunity for upper grade students! Contestants create brief videos that combine text, images, and design to communicate about STEM/STEAM topics in a way that engages grade school kids. Cash prizes. Join the STEAM Team today!
February 1, 2020
2nd Annual STEAM Video Contest begins Mar. 1, 2020!
STEAM Powered Poetry Videos for Pk-8 offers older students the opportunity to create STEAM videos for younger students. This would be a great class project leading up to National Poetry Month. We would love to work with your group!
To enroll, contact Heidi at steampoweredpoetry@gmail.com
November 3, 2019
Yesterday Patty Toht and I served as Greeters at SCBWI-IL’s Prairie Writers and Illustrator’s Day. So fun! Thanks to ALL the volunteers, editors, authors, agents and art illustrators who made PWID 2019 a success!
October 15, 2019
My first sale was in 1997 to a R.A.D.A.R., a Sunday School paper for kids. Small beginnings! I still have a ways to go, but I’m enjoying my journey as a writer!
September 30, 2019
Cheers to my critique group, going on three years now! They’re all former students, graduates of my ABC’s of Writing Poetry for Children Course. They’ve been published in Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Hello, High Five and Highlights magazines, with more publications in the works.
October 2, 2019
I’m excited to be a 2019 Cybils Award Round 2 Judge for the Elementary and Juvenile Nonfiction category!
September 3, 2019
Today is JACK PRELUTSKY’S BIRTHDAY! Here are some Illinois fans sharing a moment with the former Children’s Poetry Laureate. Happy birthday, Jack!
Patricia Toht, Michelle Schaub, Jack Prelutsky, Linda Dryhout, and Heidi Bee Roemer
August 25, 2019
BOOK GIVE-AWAYS! Starting September 1, 2019, STEAM Powered Poetry will celebrate YOU, our readers, and with monthly Book Giveaways! This month we’ll offer WHOSE NEST IS THIS?; WHAT KINDS OF SEEDS ARE THESE? and PAWS, CLAWS, HANDS AND FEET .
For your chance win, use the Rafflecopter box on the home page to enter. You can receive extra entries by tweeting the link once per day. (U.S. entries only, please.) We appreciate all of the support you’ve given our vlog, and we hope it will serve as a valuable and helpful resource in your homes and classrooms through this year.
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Win a signed copy! -
Win a signed copy! -
Win a signed copy!
July 15, 2019
Planning a children’s party? Got kids who are bored? My S.T.E.A.M. partner, Kimberly Hutmacher, is the author of 30 children’s books. Her book, PICTURE BOOK PARTIES features 25 fun ideas! From party invitations to the suggested books, games, activities, and themed party snacks, this book makes it easy to plan a fun literacy event in your home, library or school.
https://bit.ly/2La0brF
June 8, 2019
At my last school visit, I asked the preschool students to tell me about their favorite books—then this magical moment happened!
May 22, 2019
My new book Peekity Boo What YOU Can Do! is available now! This charming bedtime story is geared for wigglers, droolers, pint-size poopers, toddlers, crawlers, chewers–and all readers ages 1 to 101. The reviews have been wonderful! Click below to read the review and to order your copy now!
Kirkus Review–and to order your copy: https://t.co/HnMwG8yWVc
April 13, 2019
Sheila Kerwin, Early Ed. Teacher and Consultant, and I, both self-proclaimed Poetry Ambassadors, presented “Bringing Poetry into the Early Childhood Classroom” at the Niles-Mains District Library. We shared fingerplays, action rhymes, sing-alongs, parodies and mask poems with teachers to share with their wee students. Each attendee received kiddie mag sway: complimentary copies of HELLO, HIGH FIVE, BABYBUG and LADYBUG. What a fun poetry-filled day!
