Figures, Figure Eights, and Figurative Language

No, my daughter did not consume a ton of figs this morning for breakfast; however, she does love prunes and usually eats 5-6 during a meal! Instead, it was catching a glance at my very 30 week pregnant figure this morning in the glass door as I let our dog outside that made me think about shapes and circles and cycles. Although I'm grateful that we don't have a full-length mirror in our house, I am glad that the reflection of my baby bump this morning stimulated me to reflect on my daughter Ayla and my soon-to-be-born baby.

Only 20 months have passed since Ayla was born, but I wonder how well my memories will come back to me when I have a newborn in my arms. Cycling around the figure eight with my toddler and newborn, I wonder if I will do it all better the second time around. As I watch my daughter run, dance, and read, I get excited thinking about observing our second child grow and develop. In particular, I'm looking forward to participating in our child's language development. Ayla is learning several new words each day, and I love teaching her not just words, but meaning, sentence structure, relationships, and more.

Figurative language is something I always considered to be at a school-age level, but now I find myself using figurative language to teach my daughter the English language.

We laugh over "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" and stomp to "The cat sat on the mat with a very fat rat." We listen for trees that groan and she giggles when my stomach growls. We color a sun like a ball of fire. We eat ice-cream cones as tall as towers. Snow crunches under our boots. Bubble wrap pops in our hands.

I've never had so much fun with figurative language! When she settles down to take a nap and I escape into my writing chair, I continue on with the course of figurative language. It adds depth and style and color to my writing.

Some of my favorite figurative language pieces paint more than just a pretty image, they evoke a sense of depth and emotion in them:


From "The Way Back Home" in When the Wild Comes Leaping Up (by Beth Powning)

1. "the wasp raised its wings; they quivered, translucent as age-ambered parchment"
   
2. "toad-soft floury skin"
   
3. "a rock covered with a shawl of green moss... it was dense and soft, unspringy, like the matted hair of an ancient pony"

From Teaching a Stone to Talk (by Annie Dillard)

1. "the ants with their leaves look like a wide fleet of sailing dinghies"

From In the Country of Grass by (Terry Tempest Williams)

1. "traveling for a naturalist, into unfamiliar territory is like turning a kaleidoscope ninety degrees"
   
2. "zebras...become animated heat waves"

What are some of your favorite pieces of figurative language? How does figurative language shape your writing and your communication with children?