Story Writing: Christopher

After the first attempt, I told Christopher his story needed to be a liitttttle longer than a paragraph! He chose one of my favorite pictures from the file, and must have been thinking about it all day, because he finally sat down at the last minute and wrote this:

Once upon a time, there was a man who loved to paint. Every day he painted and painted. Everyone loved his work.

One day he met a woman. He paused for a second. His heart was pounding hard. He said, "Do you want to get dinner some time?" She said yes. They went out lots of times, then got married.

60 years later his wife got sick. He tried to make her better. One day she gave him a necklace then she died. He was very sad. For months he didn't paint. Nothing made him happy.

One day, a man came to his house. He knocked on the door. He answered it. The man gave him a cat - a pretty cat. He thanked the man, took the cat in, set it down and looked at it and said "Why would he give me a cat?"

The cat looked up at him. The eyes of it made him see her in it. He could see his wife in the cat.

That made him happier than ever. Then a few days later he started to paint again. More pictures than ever.

Then he got old. In time, some of his family had to take cared of him. Then he was dying, but he was happy. He was going. Then it happened: it was dark for a minute, then light started to appear. Then he saw his wife, and they lived happily ever after.

The end.

A Boy, a Frog and...an Alligator?

Mercer Mayer they ain't.

One of our school-at-home activities involves me picking two pictures from my picture file at random, and the kids have all day to choose one picture and write a story to go with it. (Yes, fellow Mt. Vernon Education students: I still have the picture file we were assigned to create our sophomore year!)

Today Sheridan and Christopher both chose this picture:

Christopher's story:

There was a boy called Mo. 

He always said Mo.

One day he was walking down a road then he heard a croak and another and another.

He looked around and found a frog and looked at it.

The frog ate him.

The end.

Points for brevity?? We'll work on fleshing his stories out a bit...

Sheridan's version:

One day, a little boy went to a swamp for a camping trip. There at the swamp the boy ran over to look for frogs so they could have frog legs for supper. After a while the boy caught a frog.

The frog was a magic frog and the frog knew what the boy wanted to do with him. The boy went down the side of the swamp to the deeper end to catch more frogs. 

Then the magic frog got an idea. He turned himself into a giant alligator and ate the boy in two giant bites.

***

I'm sensing a theme, are you?

Christopher's Day

Last up, Christopher! Not too many pictures because, you know - 12yo boy. We picked up a hitchhiker at the bottom of the hill and took him to his destination first. Don't worry, I've picked him up before, and he has promised he is not an ax murderer. We had breakfast at Plateau Espresso, then grabbed donut holes at the donut shop, because - 12yo boy.

Christopher had money from bat houses burning a hole in his pocket, so we stopped first at the bank to ask about savings accounts for minors. We didn't have his SS card with us, so we couldn't get one on the spot, but he agreed to save some money to start an account later. The fact that I told him I would match anything he put into savings may have had some inflluence.

Walmart for school supplies and to spend the rest of it!

Some very "Christopher" choices!

He asked to go to the Tularosa Basin Historical Museum next, so we checked out some of the cool items from the area.

There was still some time left before lunch, so I told him I had an idea - but I wouldn't tell him what it was. I took us to a large empty parking lot, and told him to trade seats with me. I had to tel him three times before he decided I was serious!

That is a very nervous smile! Knowing that he needs lots of practice with new things, we have been talking about driving safety for a couple years. Today he learned how to adjust his seat and mirrors, and how the gas and brake felt, then I let him actually start it, back it up, and re-park it. Not exactly Indy racing, but a first step - and probably better than him learnng it all in one fell swoop from one of his friends when he's 16! (Hypothetically speaking - but, thanks Krista!)

He was ready to trade back again, and we went to Pizza Hut for lunch, then hit a few thrift shops and a movie (Hotel Transylvania 3). He now has a new pic-up line: "Your delicous neck wrappings are in a nice coffin. Would you like to see my parts?" I told him I will give him a dollar if he says that to a particular girl on the first day of school. Hey, it worked for Drac!

Some quiet time at home before I went to pick up the littles, then his choice of spaghetti and meatballs for supper, followed by sleeping in the camper.

The next two days are MY special days - which means we aren't going anywhere, nobody is coming over, and I am getting this camper, yard and house CLEAN. Not terribly exciting, I know, but it will make this Mom happy!

Christopher's Day

Christopher asked to be the last to get his special day with me, and it was nice to spend the last full day of my vacation with him. After six years at a school where all the kids of every grade hang out together, everyone goes to everyone's houses (including the staff), middle school is a big change, and as my worrier he  had more than a little anxiety about it! Fortunately I have awesome friends who totally get that anxiety, and after a quick breakfast, we were able to meet one at his new school and get a private tour of all his classes, meeting most of his teachers. Thanks again M!!! (And, as expected, he is absolutely loving middle school now.)

Not too many pictures, because:11-year-old boy. 'Nuff said.

From the school we went to get his hair cut - he wanted long, I wanted out of his eyes, so we settled on a Zac-Efron-sort-of style that requires a bit of gel and combing (I give that a week). From there we had just enough time to make the early showing of the latest Spiderman movie. Not exactly quality talking time, but the littles aren't quite ready to sit through movies at the theatre, so this was a rare treat. He often doesn't get to see things until they are on DVD, so it was nice for him to know what everyone else is talking about!

Then back to the mall for Chinese, his choice, where I was able to snap a picture, finally.

Sort of.

Then school supply shopping - dang this is getting expensive! Especially when you have to add multiple pairs of shoes. Which are now in my size. Yeesh.

He wanted to try Alamo Jump like the other kids, and I was able to get a few more shots in.

I had to be sneaky, though!

He had fun, but as I suspected, there weren't many kids his age, so we didn't stay too long. If you are local, btw, Alamo Jump is a great deal - $5 for kids, adults are free, and you can come back the same day with a hand stamp. They have several events and classes at no extra charge!

While the day was a bit rushed at times, we had fun. I am very proud of how grown-up and independent he has become, while still considerate and caring and the peace-maker (except among his siblings - oy vey!) I am really enjoying watching the process of him turning into an amazing adult some day!