Octopus

I love to go fishing, but I am used to fishing in the lakes and rivers of Indiana – not the salt waters of Puget Sound. I figured it couldn’t be that much different though, so I took a fishing pole, some hooks and some worms down to the pier. I baited my hook and tossed the line in the water.

I waited and waited. Nothing. Wasn’t I supposed to catch a halibut or something?

I waited some more. Nothing. In Indiana I would have had at least a nibble by now.

And just as my mind began to drift away like the Washington State Ferry hauling cars across the sound, my pole lurched forward, and my line tightened.

I tugged and reeled and tugged some more. Whatever was on the end of my line was fighting hard to stay in the water.

When the beast finally surfaced, I could not believe my eyes. I was expecting a fish with fins and gills, not an OCTOPUS with eight arms! Toto, I believe we are not in Indiana anymore.

Not only had I caught an OCTOPUS, but I also found my MUSE! After releasing my new friend back to the cool waters of Puget Sound, I went back to my writer’s studio to research my MUSE. Here is what I found:

The octopus I had caught was a young Giant Pacific Octopus. This species is native to the Puget Sound and are the largest Octopi in the world. They grow up to 33 pounds with an arm span of up to 14 feet.

Octopi are the smartest invertebrate known to man. They have the intelligence of a house cat, and they are known for using problem solving skills. In captivity, octopi have learned how to open jars.

Octopi have superior defense skills. They can squeeze their soft bodies through seemingly impossible cracks. They can change their skin color to match their environment, and they can shoot a cloud of dark ink to confuse a predator. WOW!

The smaller an octopus species is, the more poisonous it is (usually). The most poisonous octopus is the Blue Ringed Octopus. This little guy has enough poison to kill a human being, and they only get four inches long.

Octopi usually eat mollusks and crustaceans, but they have been known to eat each other, too. The Giant Pacific Octopus will sometimes snag a shark for lunch. Now, that’s something to write home about.

And please do not call an octopus’ arms, legs. Spiders have eight legs, octopi have eight arms. And these arms are lined with two rows of suction cups each. They are used for holding onto things and tasting things. Yes, I said tasting.

By the way - Octopi, Octopodes, and Octopuses are all acceptable ways of describing more than one octopus.

With this new knowledge what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF a giant octopus lived under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Oops, this legend already exists, but we could embellish it (wink).    

WHAT IF your character woke up one morning and his/her arms and legs had turned into those of an octopus?

WHAT IF your character built a robotic octopus submarine? What would he/she go hunting for underwater?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is “invertebrate”. Here is the definition: of or pertaining to creatures without a backbone.

Cheese

I was walking down the street, minding my own business when my senses were overtaken by a scrumptious scent – HOT MELTED CHEESE!

Following my nose, I found myself inside a pizzeria. I purchased two slices of extra cheese pizza and sprinkled even more parmesan on top.

I had just found another MUSE! CHEESE! CHEESE! And more CHEESE!

After savoring every last morsel of my pizza, I ran home to my writer’s studio and quickly began my research. Here is what I found.

Milk can be separated into two parts: curds and whey. The easiest way to see this up close is to look at cottage cheese. The lumps are curds. The liquid is whey.

There are three common agents used to make milk “curdle”. These are vinegar, lemon juice, and rennet. Rennet is an enzyme derived from plants or animals.

True cheeses are made from only milk curds. These curds are pressed together into balls, blocks, or wheels. Sometimes they are eaten immediately or sometimes they are aged or cured.

There are hundreds of types of cheeses and they can be made by different animal milks. Most are made from cow, sheep and goat milk. Some cheese is made from horse milk (not sure how I feel about that).

The stinkiest cheese is Limburger Cheese. The bacterium used to ferment Limburger cheese is the same bacterium found on human skin, which causes body odor. YUCK! Luckily, aged Limburger cheese does not taste as bad as it smells.

Blue cheeses get the blue/green color from added mold. This mold continues to grow in veins as the cheese ages. One of the most famous blue cheeses is the Italian Gorgonzola. (I love that name!)

Cheese is made differently all over the world. Many cheeses are named after the region where they were first created. Limburger, Gorgonzola, and Stilton are examples of this. If the cheese was not made in that region then it really does not deserve the name.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF the spider in “Little Miss Muffet” only wanted some curds and whey for herself and chased Miss Muffet around until she finally got some.

WHAT IF your little brother used his toe jam to make a new type of Limburger cheese.

WHAT IF you had a magic finger and whatever you touched turned to cheese?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the day is “bacterium”. Here is the definition: bacterium is the singular form of bacteria. Bacteria are one-celled organisms, spherical, spiral, or rod shaped and appearing singly or in chains. They are in the kingdom Monera. Various species are involved in fermentation, putrefaction, infectious diseases, and nitrogen fixation. (Wow, lots more big words for you to look up.)

Sunflowers

Sunflowers have been my MUSE since childhood. And I think I know why…

The first time I planted a sunflower seed, I watched the plant grow to over twelve feet tall. And the blossom was the size of a steering wheel. This was a true GIANT, and I was hooked. I have planted at least one sunflower every year since.

Not only is the sunflower’s size fascinating, they are also beautiful. Their colors range from the deepest oranges to the palest yellows. Some grow only two feet tall, while others truly reach for the sky.

Here are some more AMUSING facts!

Sunflowers are native to North America.

The tallest sunflower was grown in the Netherlands. It reached over 25 feet tall.

One sunflower plant can provide over 2,000 seeds. These seeds are used for snacking, birdseed, and sunflower oil production.

The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas and the national flower of Russia. Russia produces the most sunflowers in the world.

A sunflower’s blossom will follow the sun as it travels across the sky. This is called heliotropism.

 With that new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

What if Jack planted a magic sunflower seed instead of a magic bean?

What if we found crop circles in Russia’s sunflower fields?

What if little elves built a city in your sunflower garden?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is "Heliotropism". Here is the definition: The growth of plants or plant parts (especially flowers) in response to the stimulus of sunlight, so that they turn to face the sun.

Cyclones

I was walking down a country road when I heard thunder. I turned around and saw huge grey clouds billowing in the distance. As I looked closer I could see what looked like an upside down witch’s hat reaching toward the ground.

“Tornado,” I yelled.

Within seconds, the twister had caught up with me. Without a moment to spare, I leapt into a ditch, and as I felt my body lifting from the ground… I woke up!

It was just a dream!

Although I was still shaken, I realized I had found another MUSE. Tornados! I wondered if L. Frank Baum had dreamed of a tornado before writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

I jumped out of bed and rushed over to my desk. I began researching my newest MUSE. Here is what I found.

Tornados are sometimes referred to as “twisters” or “cyclones”. They are violent, dangerous, rotating columns of air that reach down to the ground from a thunderstorm cloud.

They are formed when cool dry air from the Rockies collides with warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. This happens in the plains area between the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains. This area is also known as Tornado Alley.

The deadliest tornado in U.S history happened on March 18, 1925. This tornado ripped through, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. It killed nearly 700 people.

While meteorologists can predict when weather conditions are prime for tornados to occur, they cannot actually predict when or where a tornado will form. But after a tornado has struck, scientists collect data to see how they will rate it. They use the Fujita Scale. F-0 (the mildest and least destructive) to F-5 (the fiercest and most destructive)

An F-5 tornado can grow up to 2 miles wide and spin winds over 300 miles per hour. This is enough force to throw cars like bullets and sweep houses off their foundations.

So, what do you do if you are ever in the path of a tornado? The best place is underground. If you have no basement or cellar, then go to the center-most room of your house away from windows. In most houses this would be a center bathroom. If your house is more than one story, make sure to go downstairs.

If you are outside and cannot seek shelter, find a ditch and lie flat on the ground with your hands covering your head. Do not stay inside a car.

With that new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

What if a tornado was a gigantic cotton candy machine?

What if you were sucked up by a tornado and transported to a new land like Dorothy and Toto?

What if you had a super power to create tornados on command or stop them on command?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is “meteorology”. Here is the definition: the study of the Earth’s atmosphere, especially of weather forming processes and weather forecasting.

Creative Writing Activities: African Violets

I went to the grocery store for some hot chocolate. I walked through the front doors and looked to my left. There it was – a MUSE – just sitting there innocently on a shelf in the floral department.

I walked over and grabbed it. I gazed at its dainty purple flowers and velvety leaves. It was the most beautiful African Violet I had ever seen.

Forgetting all about my hot cocoa, I purchased the potted gem and went home to my writer’s studio. I wanted to use this muse for a new story, but first, I needed to learn all about it.

Here is what I discovered:

Over 20 million African Violets are sold in the United States of America. This makes them one of the most popular houseplants in the world.

The African Violet is native to Tanzania, a small East African country. The wild variety was found by a German colonialist is the late 19^th century. He sent some seeds home to Europe where they were propagated.

African Violets were introduced to American households in the 1920’s, and we have been in love with them ever since. There are even societies and clubs dedicated to these charming plants.

But the most interesting fact is how they are propagated today. Most other plants are grown by seeds, roots, or bulbs. The African Violet is started from a “mother leaf”.

You simply cut a leaf (diagonally) from the “mother plant” and stick it into some soil. If you keep it watered, you should have a baby African violet plant within six weeks. From there, you should do some more research on how to grow successful plants, especially if you want yours to bloom.

So, with that new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if’s” will help you get started.

What if you found a new plant species that held magical powers?

What if you planted a “mother leaf” but something else grew instead – a monster that eats only African Violets?

What if people could plant their toenails (Eww) to grow a clone of themselves?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “what if” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa (I forgot mine at the grocery store), a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Prof. Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is “propagate”. Here is the definition: To cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.

You made it! Grab a cup of hot cocoa and sit down.

Welcome to my blog!

This is a place for all those trying to find the MUSE - especially teachers looking for ways to motivate their students to find JOY in writing.

My philosophy is this: The muse hides within knowledge and wonderment. Take this knowledge and wonderment and create something new with it – something that it has never been. I suggest a story!

Before E.B White, an ordinary grey spider had never been best friends with a pig. Before L. Frank Baum we had never heard of the Wicked Witch of the West, let alone her troop of winged monkeys.

Monkeys, spiders, witches and pigs – Oh my! The muse was found in each one of these topics. The knowledge and wonderment behind these topics fueled the imagination for the story. And we are still reading them today.

We can and will do the same thing!

Each week, I will provide what I call an “Imagination Chronicle”. Here I will uncover strange and extraordinary facts about people, places, things, and ideas. Maybe you will find the muse for yourself in some of these Imagination Chronicles. But I really hope you share this knowledge with a child.

Encourage children to express themselves through the written word. Tell them to imagine words like a box of crayons. The possibilities are limitless. Yes, LIMITLESS!

And remember to let them wear their writer’s hats. They can wear their editor’s hats later – preferably on a different day. Writing and editing are two completely different ballgames. And we do not want to confuse a child, or they may not want to write.

Well, I’m off to the moon for now. I’ll be back shortly. Until then, look for the muse, and let me know what you find.

With Imagination,
Prof. Watermelon