Pancake Percussion

 

Today, I have been inspired by the current focus of our Year 3 literacy lessons. The children heard the poem "The Sound Collector" by Roger McGough and are using it to help them write their own poetry. We have been looking at adjectives and adverbs to enhance the children's ideas after going on a sound walk around the school.

With this in mind, I deliberately made sure I listened to the sounds in the kitchen as I made pancakes for my family this evening. As a result, I have created my very own pancake poem, inspired by the Sound collector and the wonderful young poets I work with!!

                                      Pancake Percussion

The gentle creaking of the long fridge door,

The large glugging of the pouring milk into the waiting jug

The powdery flour landing in the bowl with an important thud,

The speckled egg cracking sharply on the coffee mug.

The wild whipping of the coily whisk

The slopping of the churning mix

The waves of excited laughter from my girls

As the oven timer ticks

The twisting of the slippery oil lid, 

The heavy clanging of the silvery steel frying pan,

The soft sizzling as the oil warms quickly,

The sudden humming of the extractor fan

The great glooping of the mixture,

The crackling of the warm gas flame,

The quick clanking of the china plates

The loud shouting of my name!

The squeaky cutlery draw opening fast,

The sharp clump of the pancake on the plate,

The fast scrabbling of impatient feet

The deep growling of hungry stomachs that cannot wait!

Copyright C Maskell 2025