Official Kids Mag

Special to Official Kids Mag Eight homeschooled students in Arkansas have won prizes for poems they entered in a contest called "Yum's the Word" (Because Words Are Delish!). Divided by grade levels (1-5 and 6-12), the contest was the first project of Arkansas' recently appointed poet laureate, Suzanne Underwood Rhodes of Fayetteville. Winners were announced on September 1. "I'm impressed with the poetic skill of these young people – their creative word magic, originality, and the ability to transform everyday experiences into extraordinary ones," Mrs. Rhodes said. "Contestants had the option to choose among three topics: "My favorite quiet place in Arkansas," "Something special about my grandmother or grandfather" and "My favorite family feast." Cash awards and certificates were given for the first, second and third-place winners, and the two students who won honorable mentions received certificates. At Governor Hutchinson's invitation, the first-place winners in the lower and upper grades and their families went to Little Rock on September 8 to meet him in the Capitol for a photo shoot, to read their poems to him and visit with him in his office. The judges, Stephanie Sugioka of Norfolk, Virginia, and Rita Quillen, of Gate City, Virginia, are both distinguished, widely published poets and retired professors. Emma Wright, 13, of Hot Springs, won first place for her poem "Friday Night Dinner." She said she chose the topic because "Friday night dinner is a really big tradition in my family during the summer. All the kids do the cooking – three in my family and three cousins." She explained that her cousins and their parents spend the summers with them every year. "My grandfather heads everything, and we always use Cooks Illustrated. It's like a test kitchen. We read the recipe, go shopping to buy the ingredients, then we study the science behind the recipe and make it. It's all very elaborate." She said that writing her poem was fun, "like finding different words to put in different places and juggling them around." She said she laughed for two whole minutes when she came up with "precious tomes of culinary expertise." Elinor ("Ellie") Johnson, 9, of Arkadelphia choose the topic "Something Special about My Grandfather" for her poem "Sugar, Soda and Summer," which won first place in the lower grade division. "I loved writing the poem," she said. "I liked that it was about my grandpa and other things I like. I tried to use more creativity writing the poem, especially choosing words." When she received word that she'd won first place, she "was really happy and excited! I was also really surprised because I didn't think I'd win." Gov. Hutchinson invited each girl to sit behind his desk. Emma thought that was "a very cool" experience and said the Yum's Homeschooled kids win prizes for tasty words in poetry contest word! the 30 • NoVeMBer 2022 • www.officialKidsMag.com

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