Postcard Prompt

So, since it’s a day ahead of the start of Teachers Write, I am going to give “Postcard” a try.

First, this is my home, sitting at my dining room table.

  • White walls, more white walls
  • White ceiling
  • White tile floor
  • Green and breathing philodendron and bamboo plants
  • Rumbling in waves from the refrigerator motor
  • Humming A/C unit
  • Savory black beans with cumin bubbling in the crock pot
  • Darting swordtail tropical fish here for a summer visit
  • Smooth glass table for writing
  • Uncomfortable lumpy chair that bids me take too many breaks

Inside summer work station. #cy365 #t365project #jjaproject

A post shared by Denise Krebs (@mrsdkrebs) on

Second, on one of my many breaks, I drove to the supermarket.

  • White cars, lots of white cars
  • Pink brick sidewalks
  • Skyscraper skyline
  • English spelling variations
  • Sitting in traffic, green lights come and go with no progress
  • Horns honking
  • Splashes of green
  • Cranes and construction
  • Warm sun on the dash
  • Beige buildings

Finally, here is Lulu’s, the supermarket I don’t go to very often.

  • Wandering back and forth
  • High signs with small print
  • Long grocery list
  • Unfamiliar store
  • Where’s the sour cream?
  • Where’s Keith?
  • I’m not used to shopping by myself.
  • Bottles clanking
  • Carts making rhythm as they bump over the ridges on the tile floor
  • “Maybe. We. Found. Love. Right. Where. We are.”
  • No lines. Thank, God.
  • I need a Bounty bar.

OK, but those were not one word OR short phrases in each line! I hate to be limited, Madelyn!

Yes, I know! Those are more the length of a letter or a U.S.A. Today article, not a postcard.

So, I’m going to try again because my guess is it’s harder to get the impression of the setting with only 10 words or short phrases. Plus, I want to use this with my students, and my examples aren’t going to be as helpful to my fifth grade English language learners.

Room 111

  • Laughter
  • Smiles
  • Arabic
  • English
  • Sweaty
  • Quenching
  • Scritch scratch
  • Click
  • Scraping
  • Colorful work
  • Sincere students

Yeah, I’m not sure that works so much, but I’m practicing.

On a side note: I found a nice blog post with words to describe senses of smell, sound, taste and touch.