The 2011 Kids Count for Earthday Haiku Contest

2011-02-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

To See 2010 Haiku Contest Results

The 2011 Kids Count for Earthday Haiku Contest
in association with The Haiku Society of America; With Words, (UK); Sketchbook Haiku Journal (USA); and Planetpals (Worldwide) in partnership with the planet to bring the Earthday Haiku Contest.

The contest is designed to combine the love of Earth with the sheer simple fun of writing Japanese haiku in English!

We call it the The 2011 "Kids Count for Earthday" Haiku Contest because we want you to help all of us to learn how to keep the planet clean and healthy!

Kids will only need to count approximately 5-7-5 or use some combination of short, long, short syllables, to create their Earthday haiku.

The 5,7,5 count isn't mandatory but the rhythm of short, long, short is important. Also make sure that your haiku is a complete thought, using articles wherever necessary for a smooth flow.

Suggestions and links for writing haiku are listed further below (after the Haiku Society of America, Planet Pals, With Words, and Sketchbook logos).

Enjoy the challenge of writing modern haiku!

The contest is open to individual students 7-20 years old.

Best of luck!
Judith, Karina, and Alan, and an'ya (judges)

Contest Rules

Starting Date: February 22nd, 2011
Ending Date: Earthday-April 22nd, 2011

Announcements:
Winners will be announced by May 22, 2011

Theme:
The contest theme is "What Earthday means to you".

Who Can Enter:
Children and young people aged from 7 years old right up to 20 years from the USA, UK and English Speaking Countries (including Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii; as well as Japan; Africa; India; Pakistan; Bangladesh; China; Middle East; and Australia; New Zealand and all other countries). If English is not your first language please do add an English language version of your haiku entry as well.

***ONLY ONE ENTRY PER STUDENT!

Age Groups:

7-9 years old
10 -12 yrs old

13-15 yrs old

16-18 yrs old
19-20 yrs old

Winners:
There will be winners for each category and entries based age appropriately.

Submissions:
All entries must be postmarked no later than April 22, 2011 and include the students name and address or school name and address. (*NOTE: winners private information will not be distributed to any 3rd parties - all information is for internal purposes only )

Entries must be e-mailed to:
kidscount4earthday@gmail.com

PRIZES: Haiku Society of America 1 Year membership

JUDGES: The Haiku Society of America represented by an'ya, Judith Gorgone of Planetpals (Worldwide); Karina Klesko of Sketchbook, Journal for Eastern and Western Short Forms; and Alan Summers of With Words (UK)

SPONSORS:
Haiku Society of America
Planetpals.com
With Words UK
Sketchbook Haiku Journal

To be notified of results:
Email Sign Up kidscount4earthday@gmail.com and say "Let me know!" in the subject line.

Learn more about Haiku and Earthday:
We suggest you check out the following links to learn more about haiku and Earthday. There are some handy tips to teach haiku to your students:

Learn more about Earth and Earthday?
Learn with Planetpals.com

Learn more about Haiku. What is Haiku?
Learn with WithWords.org.uk

Teaching Haiku Website
Word Dance

To See 2010 Haiku Contest Results

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Alan's Tips On a Simple Way of Writing Haiku
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* Think of a haiku as two parts, one line and two lines, doesn't matter which order.

* Use a subtle clue to suggest the season. Sometimes the season clue can be obvious and even point to a specific day like Earthday.

* So remember to indicate the time of year with a seasonal clue, and that's your one line finished.

* Next is the two line part otherwise known as the 'phrase'.

* I prefer to write about something I've personally experienced, as it's also a great reminder, even years later, of what happened!

* Have a go yourself, it's easy, but remember to make the language sound natural, whether you attempt 5/7/5 or a free verse haiku of less than seventeen syllables.

summer wind
a sparrow re-rights itself
at the peanut cage

haiku by Alan Summers
art by Dru Marland
Poem published:
Wing Beats: British Birds in Haiku (Snapshot Press 2008)

Winning Entries will be published in Sketchbook, a Journal for Eastern and Western Short Forms.

Good luck! ;-)
Judith, Karina, Alan, an'ya
PlanetPals, Sketchbook, With Words, and HSA

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The Results of the Earth Day Children's Haiku Competition

2010-07-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

The results are in!

Judges commentary

An excellent turn out of haiku!

Our main criteria was good writing which captured the haiku spirit. Not all the entries were necessarily 5-7-5, and as this was only a guideline, you will find the occasional exception.

A big thank you to all who entered, we enjoyed over 250 entries from various countries.

7-9 Years Old Group

1^st Prize

a big green turtle
resting on the hot black sand
the blue ocean waves

Isabella Wikoff
Petaluma, California, USA

Highly Commended

Winter is frosty

Squirrels sleep in the warm tree

They sleep and they snore

Anh Nhat Nguyen

American International School
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

On the day ''earth day''
we help the environment
and turn off the lights.

Molly Francis Megan

Sai kung, New territories, Hong Kong

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10-12 Years Old Group

1^st Prize

Earthday -

a little student spells first time

the word recycling

Alisia Rusu

Elena Rareş School, Botoşani, Romania

Highly Commended

Running in the snow,

Making a snowman with friends,

Until the day ends.

Ben Sekerel

Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy

West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Winter is here now

Cold like a frozen snow balI

Sipping hot cocoa

Jeffrey Alo

Carver Elementary School

Stanton, California U.S.A.

spider on my board

crawling up a white mountain

can it reach the top?

Raheem Abdullah

Barrow Hill School, London U.K.

If you could hold Earth,

Like a bird’s delicate egg,

You would not drop it

Bella Griscom

Pine Point School, Stonington, Connecticut, USA

people fill the earth, step by step

together, we can change the world

Zoey Ramsay

USA

We come together
With our trash bags and supplies
And pick up our homes

Helen Wingate

Sacred Heart Academy in Winchester, Virginia, USA

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13-15 Years Old Group

1^st Prize

Earthday -

drawing just forget-me-not

on each poster

Otilia Camilar

Elena Rareş School, Botoşani, Romania

Highly Commended

The ocean is blue

The whales are calling for you

I respect their sound.

Matthew Feingold

Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy

West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

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16 -18 Years Old Group

1^st Prize

Spring morning

the naughty cat back home

countless scratches

不良猫無数の傷負い朝帰り

Furyou neko musuu no kizu oi asa gaeri

Miyamoto Maki

Akita Meitokukan High School

Akita-city, Akita, Japan

Highly Commended

Snowflakes landing on kites

Turning them to rainbow slop

Windy winters day.

Claire Wiebe

Adelaide, South Australia

stars hidden by clouds
tinged with copper-hued street light
glowing far below

Rebecca Rehberger
Luther Preparatory School

Watertown, Wisconsin, USA

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19 - 20 Years Old Group

1^st Prize

The owner off

fireflies glowing on

the paddy field

蛍舞う主の去りし田の上で

Hotaru mau aruji no sarishi ta no ue de

Yamahata Nanoha

Akita Meitokukan High School

Akita-city, Akita, Japan

Highly Commended

Verdure

trembling in the cool

over the sunshade

木々の青揺れる涼しさ日傘越し

Kigi no ao yureru suzushisa higasa goshi

Takahashi Natsumi

Akita Meitokukan High School

Akita-city, Akita, Japan

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Again, we would like to thank everyone who entered this competition.