Buttons & Figs

Encore: Once again...Nonsense appeared to be on a collision course with reason...presenting Buttons & Figs and the Oyster Actors on the Air in The War of the Fools. It was on this day, April 1st, in which weird happenings began to happen. Reporters began to report reportable events, reportable strange happenings, reportable odd sightings - a meat shower, a weird alphabet song, odd creatures sailing in a sieve making demands...what if it were all true?! Featuring voices from the pod-o-sphere, including The Past & The Curious, Composer Dad, and What If World. Tune in to Buttons & Figs to find out what the reporters are reporting this April Fool’s day. btw...does anyone have any stilton cheese?! Take care out there.

On this episode we sail in a sieve to the land of Edward Gorey, with author Lori Mortensen to show us the way. Ms. Mortensen just released a biography of Gorey titled, "Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey." On this episode you'll get to hear about Gorey's life, his style and his love of anagrams! Join Buttons & Figs listeners as they come up with silly names using the letters of their names, just like Edward Gorey did. You'll also get to hear how Lori Mortensen does research for her biographies, along with some great advice for how YOU can write a biography too. Now go write! www.buttonsandfigs.com

Time to play Mighty Great Adjectives! We'll read 4 wacky sentences and YOU have to see if you can count how many adjectives modify the noun in question. Are you ready to play Mighty Great Adjectives?! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Most Wednesdays this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

Time to play - Get That Spoon Out of Your Mouth! - "But mom, you said you would give me $2 for CHEWING the DOORS!" Can you identify the Spoonerism?! If so, see if you can get all 5 spoonerisms to win only the pride you'll feel for being able to PLAY WITH WORDS! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Most Wednesdays this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

Hold your tongue, because we've got our ducks in a row to sail our sieve to the land of idioms with Ms. LaBrie's class of 3rd graders at Madison Simis Elementary School in Phoenix, Az. These kids were inspired by the book, "The Cat's Pajamas" by Wallace Edwards. These kids had a lot to draw on as they grabbed the tiger by the tail to play with both the figurative and literal meanings of idiom they selected. Not to blow their horns, but they now know idioms are a piece of cake! Face the Music and GO PLAY! --www.buttonsandfigs.com

What sound does an angry bird make?! Well, your answer is onomatopoeia! Onomatopoeia words are created when you imitate sounds. See if you can come up with onomatopoeia answers for this WWW challenge! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

Buttons & Figs was invited to Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona for their Bring on the Birds event! It was organized by the Maricopa County Audubon Society. Kids attending the event were able to visit a magnificent bald eagle, a menacing turkey vulture and learn about other birds brought to the bookstore by Liberty Wildlife Rescue. Because nature fills us with wonder, poet David Chorlton and Buttons & Figs kids shared their poems at the event...and we were even able to capture a few just for you...here are some nature loving friends who stopped by the bookstore proving that Poetry IS for the Birds…

Do you know the poem that inspired the podcast that Pam built? This chain tale will lead you to the answer! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

Sail in a sieve to the land of Alphabet Nonsense with Edward Lear's Nonsense Alphabet! On this episode you'll learn a bit about Edward Lear and you'll hear Buttons & Figs kids share nonsense letter poems of their own, inspired by Lear. The kids also tell you how they wrote their poems, so you can write them too. And, if you need a little help remembering the letters of the English alphabet, then we got you covered with A BETTER Alphabet song than the one everyone seems to like so much! Jonathon Roberts from Composer Dad podcast and I teamed up with some Buttons & Figs kids to write what we think is a WAY better tune...but you can decide. Be sure to check out "His Shoes Were Far Too Tight" a collection of Edward Lear poems, illustrated by Calef Brown. Now go play with letters...no words...no letters...no words....just go play. buttonsandfigs.com

Is it a PALINDROME or not?! Listen to 5 words or phrases and YOU decide - PALINDROME or not?! Read forward and backward each and every day. Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

WHAT is the Conclusion?! Play the OTHER game show everyone is talking about - ARE YOU SILLY?! Test your logic, tickle your brain, with 3 Silly Syllogisms! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this spring, join us for this wordplay thing. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW companion pieces to help you play our way! Now, GO PLAY!

Happy Sorta Not New Anymore Year from us to YOU! This is just a short episode to say, we have more wordplay heading your way! In the meantime, be sure to listen to past episodes, there are all sorts of different ones, with all sorts of different kind of wordplay fun. And, since it's Lewis Carroll's birthday, I have a little song I've been working on called, "Portmanteaus Are Useful!" Stay tuned for more wordplay fun in 2020...too bad it's not 2021 yet, it rhymes better. Now, go play!

Sail with us this holiday to the Velma Teague Library in Glendale Arizona where we share holiday play inspired by the classic Christmas poem, "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Moore. But of course we don't just read the poem, we play! Listen in as these Buttons & Figs kids come up with their own reindeer names, and using the poem as inspiration, they set sail to write their own original stories. We hope you'll head to the library this holiday and read The Night Before Christmas so sugar plums will dance and sing in your imagination. May poetry and play come your way this holiday. Till we meet again in 2020, happy new year from Buttons & Figs.

Play the game show everyone is talking about - Synonym Spice! Play 4 rounds of Synonym Spice and see if you can pick which word is NOT a synonym. Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this fall, join us for a wordplay ball. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW activities.

Sail with Brainstorming Bella and her Fabulous Friends as they steer our sieve to the land of alliteration. Bella, a Buttons & Figs fan, begged and beguiled her classmates at the West End Montessori school in Richmond, Virginia into hosting this episode of alliterative fun. You'll get to hear them define alliteration, play with alliteration and challenge you to write your own alliteration too. If you'd like to send in your own perfect poem, call 623-282-4080 and leave your little lighthearted lines. No go play. www.buttonsandfigs.com

On this episode we're sailing our sieve to the land of Nonsense with Calef Brown's latest book, "Up Versus Down: Poems, Painting and Serious Nonsense." Calef's nonsense verse shook up our minds, inspiring us to gather wacky words and play. Buttons & Figs kids show you how we played with word associations in order to write nonsense verse of our own - we hope you'll give it a try at home. Calef has great advice if you'd like to write too, be sure to listen to his whole interview. Read all Calef Brown's books aloud (13 to be exact!)for a super, earlicious treat (not to mention reading 13 books would be a nifty little feat.) www.buttonsandfigs.com

How am I supposed to remember our wordplay this week?! Perhaps this Mnemonic Tonic will help....{gulp}! Listen and learn a mnemonic to help you remember the order of the planets...it's one I learned in 5th grade from Mr. Barnett! Then, make up your own. Each Wednesday this fall, join us for a wordplay ball. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW activities.

Cow and Crow think their names should rhyme, which gets them all confused about how to pronounce words ending in O.W.! Listen in on a phone conversation between Cow and Crow and see if you can figure out what they are talking about! Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this fall, join us for a wordplay ball. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW activities.

We're going to play with a Bombostic Acrostic Poem! - Listen for the first letter of each line of this acrostic poem and see if you can figure out what phase it spells! (Hint: It's a phrase you hear on just about every episode of Buttons & Figs!) Each Wacky Wordplay Wednesday (WWW)episode will feature a wordplay game you can play - with your family, friends, classmates or on your own. Each Wednesday this fall, join us for a wordplay ball. WWW episodes are brought to you by Buttons & Figs, a podcast for kids about playing with words. Visit www.buttonsandfigs.com to find WWW activities - now go play!

Sail in a sieve to the land of Audubon Poetry Play with poet laureate David Chorlton and his bird Maxi. On this episode David shares his poetry and inspires kids to write poetry in order to better understand their relationship with nature. The Buttons & Figs kids use acrostic poetry play to explore how they feel about the nature and birds and if families want to learn more, we share information about the Maricopa Audubon Society and Audubon.org. If you would like to have some acrostic poetry fun, visit ButtonsandFigs.com and download the free activity sheet that goes with this episode. Beware of the kingdom of the claw...Kakawwwww!