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WHChaikujunior -  Magrath, Alberta, Canada

WOOL SOCKS
Middle School Grade 7 January Kukai
Magrath, Alberta, Canada
Teacher, DeVar Dahl

I have two 7th grade Social Studies classes with a large Japan unit. I have introduced haiku. We had a kukai (haiku selection contest), and the assigned "kigo" (seasonal) words were wool socks. I also invited other teachers and teaching assistants to submit haiku. These are some the entries. These are among their first attempts at writing haiku.

In the voting process the students were asked to pick a 1st 2nd and 3rd place haiku. Each first place vote counted 3 points, 2nd place vote counted 2 points and 3rd place vote counted 1 point.

The students have submitted their haiku to Ms. Visnja McMaster for the Children's Haiku Festival contest in Croatia.

~ Mr. DeVar Dahl

Which 3 "wool socks" poems would you pick as your favorites? Why? (You can find out which poems were the class favorites -- the winners at listed at the bottom of the page).

#1
wool socks
keep you hot
in the winter night

Conner Barnett

#2
wool socks
kids slide on icy ground
cold winter breeze

Samyra Alston

#3
on the cold snow ground
copying my every move
my wool socks

Jade Blumel

#4
winter breeze
how to keep warm?
wool socks

Katy Tollestrup

#5
night time breeze
footsteps in the snow
warm wool socks

Kyle Stringham

#6
wool socks
hug my feet
in the winter's night

Steve Scott

#7
wooly socks
keep you warm
even in the chilly storm

Denton Henry

#8
old patient hands
knit the warm, scratchy wool socks
for long cold nights

Jeanette Gruninger

#9
moths
wool socks
how long will they stay?

Elise Wilde

#10
warm and cozy
all night by the fire
my winter woolies

Tyanne Tidmarsh

#11
feet itch
but warm in the snow
hiding in wool socks

Jeremy Charlesworth

#12
burr it's cold
but not for me
I've got my wool socks

Bobby Yerxa-Gemmell

#13
Stampede!
rush to pan gold
wet wool socks

Mr. Harker

#14
women knitting
wool socks for men
they mourn and suffer

Celestina Alston

#15
gray woolen socks,red-topped
crusty with ice from sticking out the top
of my skates

Ms Dever

#16
wool socks
freezing sheep
lamb chops tonight

Kennedy Russell

#17
warm wool socks
hugging my feet
cold winter's day

Natalie Wolsey

#18
wool socks
an itchy feeling comes
over warm feet

Reagan Rasmussen

#19
grandmother
knitting
my new wool socks

Wade Bullock

#20
in the bitter night
frozen toes, grannie knits wool socks
cozy toes

Natalie Boyes

#21
our sheep are bleating
my last Christmas present
wool socks

Tycy Riggin

#22
icy floor
dead wood creaks under
the weight of wool socks

Ms Hamilton

#23
snowflakes fall
wool socks warm my feet
as I fall asleep

Corinne Jensen

#24
kids in the snow
and everywhere they go
they have wool socks

Daniel Atwood

#25
wool socks
below my knees
in my shoes
and on my feet

Britney Bennett

#26 (third place)
wool socks
make foot itchy and slip
car accident

John Gruninger

#27
itchy foot
dancing crazily
wool socks

Bethany Dahl

#28
Christmas morning
I went to open the presents
got some wool socks

Tara Schumers

#29
thick gray wool socks
cover little toes
during winter hours

Parker Dahl

#30
wool socks
below my knees
lets me do what I please

Jimmy Stringham

#31
on my feet
toasty warm
wool socks

Elizabeth Blumell

#32
wool socks are smelly
they make you shake alot
put them in the wash

Kristen Atwood

#33
wool socks air out
on a summer day
with the bird's song

Nathaniel Lowry

#34
winter morning
new wool socks
lost

Josh Prince

#35
the kitten bats
the wool socks hanging
on the line

Karisa Bingley (*3rd prize: The Association of Croatian Haiku Poets
6th Children's Haiku Festival, Zagreb  2003)

#36
wrinkled hands, swift fingers
wool socks
to warm tiny active feet

Ms Tanner

#37
rummaging through
my drawer
where are my wool socks?

Courtnee Karren

#38 (2nd place)
the girls turn green
the boys wonder why
stinky wool socks

Russell Bennett

#39
warm feet
sheep are cold
wool socks

Ashylla Chipman

#40
upon my toes
Jack Frost snaps
time for wool socks

Bailee Jensen

#41  (1st place)
must make wool socks
no sheep in sight
here kitty

Rob Murray

#42
stinky locker
open the door
old wool socks

Chase Helgeson

#43
my wool socks
keep my feet warm
in the cold

Josh Mistaken Chief

#44
sheep on strike
very cold feet
no wool socks

Nick Haynes

#45
snow drifts
the bare skin just above
my wool socks

Mr. Dahl

#46
wool socks dry by the
burning fire
while the wet dog
shivers by the old
oak tree

Josh Hoek

#47
wool socks
stink up the room
where's the Lysol?

Gregg Karren

#48
clicking pens
looking down at my feet
a line of wool socks

Annie Brewerton

#49
unhappy sheep shiver
as I look
at my new wool socks

Robert Clifton

#50
art room accident
the colorful paint is dripping
on my wool socks

Travis Sommerfeldt

#51
wool socks are holey
wool socks are the ones
Rufus chews on

Trinda Sheridan

 

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The winners of the wool socks kukai :

1st place #41

must make wool socks
no sheep in sight
here kitty

Rob Murray

In the winning haiku, the idea of shearing a cat to make wool socks was so outrageous that it won by a huge margin. [DD]

2nd Place #38

the girls turn green
the boys wonder why
stinky wool socks

Russell Bennett

3rd Place #26

wool socks
make foot itchy and slip
car accident

John Gruninger

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What is a "kukai"?

A kukai is a group process of making a selection of haiku at a haiku meeting. In Japan, many people join haiku clubs where they enjoy learning about, writing and sharing their haiku together. The clubs may be very large, with thousands of members, or very small, with only a few members. Many haiku clubs publish their own haiku magazines. Members may have contests to select which haiku they like best. Traditionally, the members write their haiku on slips of paper, but they do not sign their names. The slips are numbered, and passed around the room. The members select the numbers of the haiku which they like the most. When everyone is done reading and making selections, they count up how many votes each poem received. Those whose poems received votes stand up to read their poems. The haiku may later be published in their magazine.

What does "kigo" mean?

Kigo means a word or words which are used in a haiku to indicate in which season the poem is being written in. Traditionally, in Japan, there are 5 seasons: New Year, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

For which season "wool socks" would be a kigo?

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