Sarah's Summer, part 6

Episode 6

We're ending our Sarah's World summer series with "Sarah looks out the window" this week. For links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts.

Sarah looks out the window
Now Sarah observed...

“Birdie loves how soft our yarn has made her nest.”
“I think so,” replied Margaret, “because she stays in it a lot.”

The girls brought some berries inside from the bush after they ate breakfast this morning. When Birdie came over for some, the cousins were surprised to find out why she had been sitting in her nest so much -- they saw three pale blue eggs with brown freckles!

“Birdie!” the girls exclaimed, “you’re going to have chicks!”

The girls noticed that Birdie was the one always sitting on the eggs. “Look how nice Loudee is,” Sarah said. “He’s bringing some food for Birdie, so she doesn’t have to leave her nest.” Birdie did leave the nest sometimes, but it was never for very long.
Margaret pointed up toward the sky, “Look... while Birdie is sitting on the nest, Loudee is always nearby on a higher branch. Sometimes I see him on the garage roof.”

Sarah added, “He looks like he’s keeping guard.” He was keeping guard, and he would make brave sounds from his high perch to scare off anyone that came by.

One day the girls saw one of the neighborhood cats come into their yard. Right away Loudee made some noisy calls, but the cat paid no attention. Sarah thought they should go out and chase the cat away to protect Birdie and her eggs. But before they could get up, they saw Loudee fly down toward the cat and hit his tail! The cat jumped, not knowing what had happened. Here came Loudee again, and this time the cat scampered off!

The girls could not believe their eyes. “Did you see that?!” they blurted out. “Loudee must be the bravest bird in the whole world to be able to chase a cat away!”

The next day, Sarah and Margaret were outside when the same cat jumped up onto the fence. At the sight of it, they remembered brave Loudee and hurriedly chased the cat away. Loudee, who had started making those warning sounds, saw what they had done. He flew down to the berry bush where the girls were standing, flapped his wings, and gave a “hew, hew” to thank the girls for helping protect his family. The girls knew they hadn’t been as brave as Loudee. After all, it was just a silly little cat to them. But they were glad Loudee saw them do it.

Ever since Loudee and Birdie had finished the nest, they no longer woke the girls with their loud chirping and whistling. They did still chirp and whistle, but now it sounded more like soft music. The girls were very glad for the change.

But this day ...

they woke up to an entirely new sound. Going over to the window bright and early, they saw three baby mockingbirds, chirping as loud as they could. “The babies are here!” Margaret said. “But, where are Birdie and Loudee?”

Just then, Loudee came with some food for the hungry chicks and Birdie followed right behind. As the girls watched, the mother and father birds were kept busy finding food for the babies.

Sarah remarked, “Most baby animals are cute, but baby birds sure are ugly! Their eyes bulge out and they don’t have any feathers.”

Her cousin added, “And for babies, their skin looks old and shriveled. Did we look that ugly when we were first born?”

“I hope not!” Sarah cried.

Mom had come into the room as the girls were talking about the baby birds. Putting her arms around them as they watched what was happening outside, she told the girls that all babies are beautiful to their mothers.

Sarah, looking up at her mother, asked: “Even when they look like that?”

Her mother kissed her on the forehead and said, “Yes, even when they look like that.”

One thing the girls had been wondering about was why Loudee and Birdie would fly to the ground whenever the yard was being mowed. They weren’t the only birds that would do that.

“Why aren’t they afraid of the lawnmower?” asked Margaret.

“I don’t know. But all those birds seem excited to get on the grass after it’s been cut,” Sarah said.

Today the girls were going to find out why the birds were so excited about lawn-mowing day. The mower was so loud it was hard to hear the babies chirping for food. But soon Birdie came from the lawn with something for her babies.

“It’s a grasshopper!” the girls cried. Again and again, Birdie and Loudee would come with some kind of bug to feed to the babies.

Then Sarah figured it out! “The lawn mower makes the bugs come out of hiding in the grass and the birds are able get them!” She looked at Margaret and asked, “Do you think all the bugs taste the same? Or do grasshoppers taste better than the squirmy ones?”

“I think they probably all taste like bugs!” Margaret responded as she turned up her nose.

Between the bugs in the yard and the berries on the bush, there was plenty of food for Loudee, Birdie, and the three babies. And the babies grew fast.

The neighborhood cat must have been able to hear the babies, because he tried a few times to get into the yard. But with Loudee and the girls keeping watch, Birdie and her babies were kept safe.

Within a few days, the three babies were starting to look more like birds. Their feathers were coming in and the nest was beginning to look crowded. Since they were starting to move about, they were now bumping into each other. The girls would laugh at their funny antics in the nest. The babies also kept up their noisy morning routine of asking for food.

After a week...

the babies were big enough to get out of the nest and hop about the tree. They no longer woke the girls with their loud chirping for food every morning. So Sarah and Margaret would get up early themselves and go straight to the window to watch them test their wings and fly from one branch to another.

It was clear to the girls that the babies weren’t babies anymore and would soon be leaving to live on their own. One morning, they saw Loudee and Birdie perched together with their three young ones gathered around the nest one last time, and after singing a happy song the three young birds took to the sky.

Sarah and Margaret were waving goodbye to them from the window, thrilled for the three babies they had seen grow up.

“What are Loudee and Birdie going to do now?” asked Margaret.

“Since their babies are gone, they’ll probably fly to new places,” Sarah said.

As the girls were talking, Loudee and Birdie came to the window. Margaret gave a chirp and a whistle and Sarah said, “Be sure to come back to see us, and we’ll take care of the nest for you if you need to use it again.”

The birds responded with “hew, hew,” then whistled a pretty song for the girls and flew away.

“This was an exciting way start to our summer!” Sarah said. The girls stayed looking out the window, remembering and laughing over the fun they had had with their friends, Loudee and Birdie.

This finishes our taste of Sarah's World ... if you'd like to read more about Sarah and her friends, please look for our stories on Amazon using the links in the right side bar. And for links to the other parts of this series here on the blog, look to the right under "Sarah's World" posts.

Thank you for reading what noeandcindy.write !

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

Sarah's Summer part 5

Episode 5

We're continuing our Sarah's World summer series, beginning "Sarah looks out the window" this week. For links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts.

Sarah looks out the window
Margaret

    Sarah’s cousin Margaret came to spend all summer with her. The two girls were up late the first night she got there, laughing and having so much fun they didn’t think they would wake up early the next morning.

    Something did wake them, though, and it was very early. There was a sound coming from outside.

     
    The cousins opened their eyes, looked at each other and asked, “What is that?”

    Going over to the window, they saw a very noisy bird in the tree next to Sarah’s window.

    “What’s that bird doing?” asked Margaret.

    Sarah didn’t know, but said, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen it.”

    So they stayed at the window watching.

    The bird was chirping and singing, then it flew away. “I guess it saw us,” said Sarah.

    “So it probably won't come back,” Margaret replied.

    “I’m still sleepy. Let’s get back in bed,” Sarah mumbled as she yawned.

    But just as the girls were getting comfortable back in bed, the bird returned, making as much noise as before. The cousins looked at each other and exclaimed, “Not again!”

    They went back to the window and there it was. This time they looked more carefully and noticed it seemed to be looking and chirping at something. When they turned that direction, they saw another of the same kind of bird.

    “I think they’re talking to each other,” Sarah said.

    “It looks like they’re really excited about something,” Margaret added.

    The girls sat in their pajamas a few minutes, watching the birds talk to each other. Then the one on the ground flew to the tree, with a twig in its mouth.

    Both birds began flying around, bringing twigs and things back to the tree. Sarah and Margaret turned to each other and cheered, “They’re building a nest!”

    The two birds stopped, and for a moment, the birds outside were looking at the girls inside and the girls inside were looking at the birds outside. Then the birds began to chirp at the girls.

    Sarah said, “It’s okay, you two. You can build your home there.”

    Margaret began to whistle and make chirping noises and said, “Look, we can make sounds just like you.” The birds looked at each other, then the bigger one flew to the window ledge.

    “You see,” said Sarah, “we’re your friends.” The birds looked carefully at the girls’ smiling faces and knew they would be good neighbors.

    Always chirping, the birds flew back and forth gathering more things for their nest. The girls also saw the birds eating some berries growing on one of the bushes in the yard.

    Now they felt hungry and went to get some toast for breakfast. While they were eating, Sarah suggested, “We can go pick some more berries out in the yard and see if the birds will eat them.” Margaret thought that was a good idea.

    After filling a little basket, they went back inside to the window and were surprised to see how much the birds had gotten done on their nest since they first started early that morning. The cousins called to the birds and put a few berries on the ledge. First only the bigger bird came, but soon both were at the window eating berries.

    Sarah whispered, “Let’s see if they’ll eat from our hands!” They put some berries in their hands and held them out. The birds slowly made their way over, and sure enough, started eating right out of their hands!

    Sarah and Margaret smiled a big smile at each other. They wanted to scream with excitement, but they didn’t want to frighten the birds. So they just held their breath and watched. When the birds had enough to eat, they went back to work on their nest.

    The girls laughed merrily about the birds eating from their hands. They ran and excitedly told Sarah’s mother all about what had been happening. Now she wanted to see the birds too, and the three of them watched together wide-eyed as the birds kept working hard.

    Finally, Mom said it was time she got busy like the birds and prepare lunch, so the girls went to help. And the two cousins spent the rest of that day riding their bicycles and drawing on the sidewalk with chalk.

The next time ...

they got to look in on their birds, it was time for bed. The birds had stopped working on their nest for the night too, and the girls couldn’t see them because the tree was so dark.

    “I think they must be tired after doing all that work,” Margaret said.

    “Maybe they’re so tired they won’t wake up as early tomorrow,” Sarah thought hopefully.

    But Sarah’s hope did not come true. The cousins were awakened once again very early by the sound of the busy birds.

    “My father sometimes says he has to work as hard as a dog. I think he should start saying he has to work as hard as a bird!” Sarah declared as the girls rolled out of bed.

    “That’s true. My dog just sleeps all day,” Margaret added.

    Mom came to their room that morning to give the girls a book with pictures of birds. So they were soon wide-awake, looking through it to find what kind of birds these were, building a home outside their window.

    They soon found a match. “They’re mockingbirds,” the girls said together. The two birds turned to look at Sarah and Margaret, as if to ask: “Did you call us?” The girls giggled and the birds went back to work.

    Margaret thought out loud, “We need to give them names.”

    “That’s a good idea!” Sarah replied. “The big one is the loudest. We can call him Loudee,” she laughed and added, “I think he’s the boy -- boys are always making so much noise!”

    “That means the other one is the girl,” said Margaret. “Let’s pick a pretty name for her, something short likeLoudee. Short names are the cutest ... I know, let’s call her Birdie.” The girls thought these were just the right names for their little friends.

    Later that day, they noticed that Loudee and Birdie were not bringing twigs anymore, but were finding soft things like grass and leaves now. Sarah had an idea and went to get some leftover yarn from her mom. They placed a bit on the ledge and called, “Loudee, would you like to use this to make the nest nice and soft?”

    When Loudee and Birdie saw the soft white pieces of yarn, they chirped and danced with excitement. They flew over to get it, and began lining their nest. Birdie then came back to the window, and looking at the girls, she let out a soft sound: “hew, hew.”

    The girls made the same sound back to Birdie. She flapped her wings and went back to work on the nest. Sarah turned to her cousin, “I think she was thanking us for the yarn.”

    Margaret replied, “She’s going to have the softest nest to sit in. That will be better than having to sit all night on a cold, hard limb.”

    Sarah said, “I wonder if this means they’re almost finished.”

    Loudie and Birdie were finished, and even though the girls were kept busy with Mom and Dad for the next couple of days, they always started and ended their day by saying “Good morning” and “Goodnight” to the birds. Margaret would be sure to give a whistle and a chirp. Both birds seemed to enjoy seeing and hearing from the girls. They always gave a happy ‘hew’ and a chirp.

Come back next week for more ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

Sarah's Summer part 4

Episode 4

We're continuing our Sarah's World summer series, finishing up "Sarah and Pcee" this week. For links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts.

Sarah and Pcee
A whole week went by ...

and Pcee was still sleeping in her special shell. Sarah missed holding her and watching her eat. A few days later, though, something different started happening. Pcee’s shell wasn’t green anymore. It was turning clear, and Sarah got excited. She was hoping she would soon see her friend again.

    Then Pcee started trying to get out of her shell, just like a baby chick breaks out of its egg. When she did come out of her shell, Sarah could not believe her eyes! It didn’t even look like Pcee at all.
    She called for her mother to come. “Look, Mom, Pcee has changed! She doesn't look like a caterpillar anymore. She’s a butterfly! I always thought Pcee was pretty, but now she is beautiful. I can’t keep her in this aquarium any more. She needs to be outside so she can fly.”

Sarah took the top off the aquarium, and right away Pcee flew out and began flittering around the room. Then she went to the window and opened it. “You need to fly out the window, Pcee, so you can see how pretty things are outside. I think you’ll like the flowers all around the house.”

  Pcee flew to the window and landed on the ledge. Sarah said, “Go ahead, Pcee, go outside. You’ll like it.” Instead of flying out the window, though, she turned around to look at Sarah and flew over to her. As she held out her hand, Pcee landed on it, fluttering her wings.

This was Pcee’s way of saying, “Thank you, you’ve been so good to me.” Then she flew out the window to go see all the pretty flowers Sarah had talked about.

Following her to the window, Sarah looked out and said, “Bye, Pcee, we’ll see each other when I go outside to play!”

And whenever Sarah did go outside, Pcee would come to see her. The two of them would play and have lots of fun among the flowers where they first met.

Come back next week for more ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

Sarah's Summer part 3

Episode 3

We're continuing our Sarah's World summer series with another "Sarah and Pcee" chapter. For links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts.

Sarah and Pcee

The next morning ...

Sarah found that Pcee had eaten all the leaves and was growing. She went back to the bush where she had found her and picked more leaves. When she dropped them in, Pcee started eating. “You are really hungry for being so small,” Sarah said. She watched her eat one leaf after another till she stopped and was still.

     “So, are you finally full and need to take a nap?” Sarah asked. But Pcee was not going to take a nap. Before Sarah’s eyes, Pcee seemed to walk right out of her skin, leaving behind her old skin. Then she crawled to the nearest leaf and started eating again!

     Sarah ran to get her mother, and pulling her by the hand, she told her what had happened. “See her old skin right there?” she asked. They sat watching together as Pcee continued to eat and eat and eat.

     “All she does is eat,” said Sarah. “I thought she was eating so much she was going to pop, and then she walked out of her skin. So I guess Pcee did pop -- she popped right out of her skin!” 
     Now that Pcee was bigger, Sarah wanted to know what it would feel like to have her crawl around on her hand, so she picked her and the leaf she was on up. It did feel funny to have Pcee’s little feet moving all over her hand. Sarah giggled, because her little feet tickled as she moved. She thought she could even hear Pcee chewing! Then she said “You might be a boy, because only boys could eat this much!” That made Sarah laugh and laugh.

     Over the next two days, Pcee did not stop eating, and she also walked out of her skin again. She really liked crawling onto Sarah’s hand and eating the leaves as she held them. Sometimes when she was holding her, Pcee would stop eating just to look up at Sarah. She would pet her and Pcee liked that a lot.

Sarah was very happy with her new friend, and every night before she got ready for bed, she would tap on the aquarium and say, “Goodnight, Pcee.”

Two days had gone by ...

and Pcee was very big now and had walked out of her skin once again. Sarah picked her up to give her another leaf, but this time she didn’t want to eat. So she just petted her and said, “It took a long time for you to get full.” Now Pcee looked like she wanted to rest, so Sarah put her back in her home.

     The bridge stick was in the middle of the aquarium, and right away Pcee crawled up on it. When she got about halfway, she moved to the bottom side of the stick and hung upside down! Then she curled up so her body looked like the letter J. Sarah was watching her and said, “That’s a funny way to go to sleep, Pcee. It doesn’t look very comfortable.” But since Pcee was going to sleep, Sarah thought she would take a nap too.

When she woke up from her nap, Sarah thought Pcee would probably be awake too, but she wasn’t. She was still hanging upside down in the shape of a J. That night when it was time for Sarah to go to bed, she was surprised to see that Pcee was still sleeping.

     “It looks like you are going to sleep as much as you ate!” Sarah said. So at night she did not tap on the aquarium to say goodnight, because she didn’t want to wake Pcee up.

     In the morning Sarah went over to see if Pcee was awake, but she still wasn't. Something did start happening, though. It looked like Pcee was coming out of her skin again. This time her new skin was a different color. She was a bright green!

     Sarah said, “Pcee, you have such pretty new skin.” But it wasn’t just new skin. It became like a shell for her to keep sleeping in. Sarah told her, “Pcee, you really are going to sleep as much as you ate. And now you have your own special bed." 

Come back next week for more ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

Sarah's Summer

Episode 2

Noe and I wrote a children's book a couple of years ago that is special to both of us and are delighted to share it with you. The story is not fantasy-based, rather it highlights the fun that children can have in their own world of imagination and adventure.

So for the next few weeks, we'll be posting a chapter or two for you to share with your kids ... you are invited to come into the second installment of Sarah's World. We hope you enjoy it!

Sarah and Pcee

The next day ...

     Sarah was in her backyard picking flowers for her mother. Seeing a very pretty one growing by the fence, she went over to look at it. As she was walking that way, Sarah noticed something moving on a leaf. She jumped back in surprise and then saw it was a colorful caterpillar! It was moving slowly, but then it caught sight of Sarah and stopped. The caterpillar raised itself up and looked at her and she looked at it. She thought it was so pretty, she held out her hand and the caterpillar crawled onto it.

     
     Sarah carried it inside the house into her room, looking for a good place to keep it. Since there was no water in her aquarium, she put it in there.

     Now, Sarah really wanted the caterpillar to feel as if it was still out in the yard, so she brought dirt and leaves in for the aquarium. Her mother, seeing her coming in and out of the house many times, asked what she was doing.

     "I'm making a home for my caterpillar." Mom wanted to see what she was talking about, so Sarah took her to her room.

     "See, I'm putting dirt and things in the aquarium so the caterpillar can make a home." Mom told her when an aquarium is used like that, it is called a terrarium. But for Sarah, it was much easier to say it was an aquarium with dirt.

     After she had gathered enough dirt, leaves and twigs, Sarah started to arrange everything so it would look pretty and be a pleasant home for her caterpillar. She found a good sturdy stick that looked like a bridge and thought her new friend would have fun climbing it. Now it was time to see what it would think of its new home.

     The caterpillar did like it, but Sarah still thought something was missing. Then her eyes got bright and she rushed outside. In the yard, she found some things she liked, then ran back to her room. Opening the lid to the aquarium, she placed several shiny rocks inside and said, "Now it's perfect! My caterpillar has a pretty new home!"

     Sarah was excited to show her mother, so she called her to come see how it looked. When Mom saw it, she told Sarah it was the best caterpillar home she had ever seen and that the caterpillar would love living there.

     Later that day, Sarah was looking at this squirmy little thing and decided she should give it a name. She thought, "I could call you Shawn or Gus ... but maybe you're a girl, so your name should be Mary or Irene. I think you must be a girl, because you're so pretty." As she put her face closer to the aquarium, she said, But I need to find the best name for a pretty caterpillar like you."

     Sarah kept saying to it, "What can I call you, my pretty caterpillar?" She sat looking at it and then came up with a great idea: "I know! I can call you P.C. for Pretty Caterpillar." After saying P.C. a few times out loud, she started saying Pcee, which was the same thing, but faster.

     "That sounds like a perfect name for a pretty caterpillar like you!" she said. And before she went to bed that night, she tapped on the aquarium and said, "Good night, Pcee."

Come back next week for more! And for links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts. ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy

Make this a summer to remember for your kids!

New blog series

Noe and I thought it would be nice to do something for the kids this summer. We wrote a children's book a couple of years ago that is special to both of us and decided to share it with you. The story is not fantasy-based, rather it highlights the fun that children can have in their own world of imagination and adventure.

So for the next few weeks, we'll be posting a chapter or two for you to share with your kids ... and now, here we go:

Welcome to Sarah’s World
    At the dinner table, Sarah and her mother and father were talking over the day’s activities. “Sarah, how was school today?” her father asked.
    “It was fun! The teacher had us do some games about things we learned this year. She said with school letting out this week for the summer, there was no sense in giving us homework. Besides, they have already started collecting our school books. Some kids said theirs were still at home—did you know if they lose their books, they have to pay for them?”

    “Are all your books turned in?” Mom asked.

    “Yes, although I wish I could have kept our reading book. It had a lot of good stories, and we didn’t get to finish all of them.”

    “Well,” said her father, “I’m glad you took good care of your books. It shows your mother and me that you’re just as responsible at school as you are here at home. And I tell you what, since you saved me some money by not losing your school books, instead of you helping Mom clear the table, I’ll do that and you can ride your bike for a bit. Then you and I will go get some ice cream from the grocery store for dessert.”

    Sarah smiled. “Thanks, Dad!” she said, and she was out the door and on her bike in a flash. Mom and Dad heard her saying as she was getting her bike, “Boy, am I glad I’m responsible!”

    School was something Sarah really enjoyed, and the teachers could always count on her to cheerfully take part in all activities. On the last day of school before the kids arrived, their teacher had written some math problems on the chalkboards. She divided the class into two groups to play a fast skills game. There were enough problems for everyone on each team to do one equation, and no one could leave the board till they got the correct answer. Whichever side could finish all the problems first would win!

    The class became pretty noisy as the race started, each side cheering their teammate at the board, but they could not help work the problem. If a student had to give up trying, they could sit down, but the teacher would add another problem to their side. Sarah’s team wanted her to go last, so that if there were any extra ones to do,she would be the one to work them, since everyone thought she was the best at math.

    Eon, a very happy boy that everyone liked, was not very good at math and had to give up on his problem. He was on Sarah’s side, and they began getting behind until the other group hit a tough equation to work out too. Now Mike was able to make up for Eon’s lost time, and that made the sides even again, only Sarah’s side had an extra problem to do.

    The teacher was smiling with pride as her pupils were flying through the math problems. She had made the last one very hard, knowing which two students the class would choose to work it. As Sarah and her good friend Lucy reached the boards, both sides were cheering them on. The two girls were busy working out the equation, and did not look at each other.

    Then Sarah heard Lucy say, “I’m done!” Sarah’s arms dropped to her side until she heard the teacher say, “No, that’s not the right answer.”

    Now Sarah’s team began urging her to hurry as she turned to the board again! She finished the hard problem, but didn’t say anything yet, because she wanted to start on that extra one, which she was able to do quickly. She then cried out, “I’m finished!”

    Everyone cheered, it had been such a fun game! The teacher told the class how proud she was of them all, and someone teased, “Even Eon?” Everyone laughed at that, including Eon, because he had such a good sense of humor. And the teacher added, “Yes, even Eon.”

    At lunch in the cafeteria, Sarah, Lucy and others were talking about how much they enjoyed the race. Lucy said, “It was a good thing Mike came after Eon, otherwise I don’t think you would have been able to catch us.” Everyone thought Mike was the smartest boy in the class.

    There was a nice end of school party, with cupcakes and chocolate milk some of the mothers had brought. Before you knew it, the last bell was ringing and everyone was saying goodbye to each other and to their nice teacher. Sarah and Lucy got with their friends Abby and Pam, and they all walked home together, like they had so many times that year.

    “I can’t believe this was the last day of school,” Pam said.

    “No more homework!” Lucy cried.

    Abby added, “I have to go visit my grandmother for two weeks. It’s kind of fun, but where she lives there aren’t any kids our age. She and I have fun together, going shopping and watching movies and stuff, but I’m always glad to get back here for the rest of the summer.”

    “My cousin Margaret will be coming to spend most of the summer with me,” Sarah chimed in, “and we always have lots of fun. What about you, Pam?”

    “Our family always goes to spend a month at my uncle’s farm. There are plenty of animals, like chickens and cows, and they have a nice pond we can go swimming in.”

    “Does a rooster wake you up in the morning?” Sarah asked. The girls laughed, but Sarah really wanted to know, so she asked again. Pam said, “I know it sounds funny, but the rooster really does wake you up with its crowing.”

    “And then you go right back to sleep, right?” joked Abby.

    Lucy said she and her brother were going to summer camp again this year, which they always liked. This year they would be doing some art crafts, hiking and learning to play ping-pong.

    One by one, they came to each girl’s house and everyone gave each other a big hug and said they’d see one another again soon. “Have a happy summer!” they all sang out.

    At dinner that night, Mom asked Sarah about her last day of school. She excitedly told her parents the story of the math race and about all the plans her friends have for the summer.

    “We’re very proud of you, Sarah, for doing so well in school. And it sure sounds like your friends will have a good time doing all those things,” Mom said, adding that she always liked summer when she was young because she had time to read a lot of books. Dad mentioned how he enjoyed playing baseball during summer.

    To this, Sarah said, “I heard some boys talking about what they were going to be doing for the summer, and all they could talk about was playing some new video games.”

    “You don’t like playing video games, Sarah?” asked her dad.

    “I have played one or two, but I don’t think it’s that much fun. All you do is sit there and move your fingers, watching the screen. I would much rather be outside riding my bike, or just out discovering new things. Or if I am going to be inside, I would rather read a book or draw.”

    “That’s my girl,” Dad said with a smile. “Maybe we can play some baseball this year... I’ll show you how to throw a curveball.”

    Later in bed that night, Sarah thought, with a big smile on her face, “School is over and now we’re on vacation—I know tomorrow morning is going to be the start of a great summer!”

Come back next week for more! And for links to the other parts of this series, look to the right sidebar under Sarah's World posts. ~

copyright © 2012 by NoeandCindy