Spring
Writing Fun
By Sandy Fleming
This would be a great
Spring story, but the author ran out of ideas after
the first few sentences! Finish this story, please! We're
all interested
in
seeing what happens next. Once you are done, you can e-mail your
ending to
kids@busyparentsonline.com. Please include the child's first
name so we can
acknowledge our young authors. The best endings we receive will
be published
in a future edition of Busy Gradeschoolers for everyone to enjoy.
We'll be
looking for good sentences, good spelling, and creative ideas.
It's ok for a
parent to type a dictated story ending for a young child. Please
send your
story by June 1, 2004.
The Colors of Spring
It was springtime in Riverside,
and everyone was glad that the sun was
shining and flowers were starting to grow. Gardeners were excitedly
showing
off their prized daffodils, tulips, and crocuses because the
colors seemed
especially vibrant that year. Somehow, the reds seemed to be
redder, the
blues more bluish, and the greens more vivid. The people of Riverside
just
chalked it up to the exceptionally warm and sunny weather they
had enjoyed
during the last few weeks and sat back to enjoy nature's display
of color.
No one ever suspected that this was only the beginning of a very
unusual
season for their little town.
Perhaps the first person
to notice the other changes was Mrs. Watson as she
hung her laundry to dry on one fine day in May. Mrs. Watson was
known
throughout the town for her sparkling laundry and was rightfully
proud of
the bright colors and brilliant whites she always hung on the
line. No
dingy, gray clothing for her family, she'd always say. However,
as Mrs.
Watson hung her laundry on this day, she was appalled to find
that all of
her brilliantly colored clothing had faded to a sickly gray.
She immediately
called her best friend and neighbor to lament her laundry troubles,
never
dreaming that everywhere around their little town, families were
finding
colors draining from every outfit they owned. And the color loss
didn't stop
there. Television pictures suddenly turned black and white, toys
faded to a
neutral color, painted walls began to fade, and even pictures
in books and
magazines lost their brilliant hues. All the while, the flowers
in the
gardens continued to brighten.
Frightened and worried
townspeople began to gather in small knots as they
noticed the monochromatic world around them. Groups began to
converge on the
local police station to report the missing colors. Authorities
were stumped
however, and could not begin to think of where the colors might
have gone.
And outside, the flowers became more and more brilliant.
Now, you finish the story!
Sandy Fleming
is an educator, author and workshop facilitator. She resides
in southern Michigan with her husband and three daughters.
Sandy leads workshops for daycare providers and parents
in the region, tutors students, volunteers for Girl Scouts
and her church, and teaches online classes for adults and
children. She loves to make new friends, so please drop
her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com
