Story Time

Story Time - Language Arts Activity Book

This week in English our theme is "In The Garden" - here we are looking at the things that grow in a garden, when and how they do. This links nicely with what we were doing last week in science "The Seasons", and follows on also with what we have learned about 'Spring' - that the weather gets warmer and new things begin to grow.

Most of us in Cairo don't have a garden of our own and so don't really experience living 'close to nature' - but even here there is usually one close to us somewhere, whether it be in the club or a shared garden, or a view of one from our homes. In other climates where rain is plentiful then so are the green areas - many children thus spend a lot of their time very close to nature and can watch things grow and develop. With our dry climate we can't experience the same, so at school we do try to help them learn about the things that other children take for granted. Growing up with a garden and nature surrounding us I know just how interesting and important it is to understand nature, its habits and its growth.

This next story we can relate well to here - as even without a garden of her own the girl in the story knows that a flower garden would make her mother happy and how positive an effect flowers and their colors can have on everyone.

“Flower Garden”
This is a sweet tale of a young girl who wants to give a present to her mother for her birthday. She decides to make a flower garden as the present. However their home is in an apartment and they don’t have a garden – so she makes a window box garden. This is the flower pot box that is put on the window ledge.
The detail of how she does this shows us just how much thought and effort goes into this birthday present. First she goes with her father to the supermarket and buys the flowers. Then she carries the flowers to the bus stop and they ride the bus home.
Once off the bus she then carries the flowers all the way upstairs to their apartment (many floors up). At home she gets the empty window box and begins to plant the flowers in it. Once she has finished her father fixes it securely on their window ledge. From the street the window box is a beautiful splash of color for everyone to see and enjoy. Then she waits for her mother to come home and they have a cake and give her this beautiful present. It makes her mother very happy.

The story shows us the thought and effort that this girl has made to make her mother happy. Also throughout the story the sight of the flowers makes all the people she meets smile as they are so pretty and colorful.

It's a wonderful feeling making someone smile - be they people you love or even strangers.

READ, READ, WRITE, WRITE - Practice, Practice
This term we are concerntrating now on our students' reading and writing - and already they are showing some great results. However, its the practice and more practice that really makes the difference: tracing and writing the letters without dots and knowing the letter sounds. Together we are laying the basic foundations for their reading and writing skills and these need to be strong to last life-long.

We encourage our students to do the best that they can - so don't forget the homework - it reinforces what they learn and betters their abilities and skills....