"The voices of our children speak to us in many ways. This collection of poetry was created by the students of Washington school for their enjoyment, as a learning experience and for your pleasure. Many of our students and staff were reluctant to become involved in this project. However, as the process evolved, both the students and staff became more and more enthusiastic about what was happening in the classrooms. Students started cranking out a variety of material that showed both insight and a creative thinking side that many had not displayed in the past. Staff became more excited to see the enjoyment the students had in producing, as well as sharing their writing. This has been an outstanding project for our whole school community and we recommend it to others as a positive teaching aid for writing and self discovery. One teacher said," I didn't think my class (students) would be able to participate in this project, but they proved me wrong. This has been a great experience for us. My students really surprised me! I will incorporate this poetry unit in my class next year." We hope you will enjoy reading and pondering the thoughts of our children." ~~~PRINCIPAL DUSANEK~~~ WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL "For we children, the most beautiful thoughts are already poetic. We are magical, fresh, exciting and wise enough to know that we can change the whole world by just being ourselves. Our feelings are special. We are tender and we carry our own colors, each different with different shades. The poems that follow are written by children and selected by children as winners of an ongoing poetry competition. These poems are intended to introduce the wonders of poetry to the new generation." ~~~ANYA AND AMAN CHARLES ~~~ CHILDREN'S POETRY EDITORS, 1ST WORLD LIBRARY.