Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Tale of the Building Block


Illustration by Amelia  Age:  7  Paris, TN
          Emerson the dragonfly flew over the tall grass between the pond and the farmhouse.  This was the best place to catch mosquitoes.  He had already caught two and had them for his midmorning snack.  He came up to the fence at the edge of the tall grass and landed on the top rail.  He wanted to rest a few minutes before he went back to Polliwog Pond to find his friends.
            Looking down at the short grass on the other side of the fence he saw something red and shiny.  He flew down to investigate.  It had a cube shape with raised circles on one side and empty space with lines on the other.  Emerson flew back to Polliwog Pond with the plastic building block (for that is what it was) in his arms.
            As he approached the path to the pond he spied Audra the duck, Hayden the turtle, and Xavier the frog playing a game of tag along the path. 
            “Hey guys,” exclaimed Emerson as he flew up, “look what I found next to the fence at the edge of the tall grass.”
            “What is it?” asked Audra.
            “I don’t know,” said Emerson.  “What do you guys think it is?”
            Hayden took the block from Emerson and said, “I think it’s a pillow.  It looks like it would be just right for my head.” 
Hayden put the block on the ground and lay down next to it with his head on it like a pillow.  “Ouch!” exclaimed Hayden, “that thing is not comfortable at all.”
Then Xavier took the block and said, “I bet this would be great for target practice.”
Xavier put the block on a rock next to the path and backed away.  Then he shot out his tongue and tried to grab the block.  His tongue didn’t stick to it like normal, and the block ended up flying off into the grass next to the path.  “Hey!” he shouted, “where did it go?”
Audra the duck went into the grass and retrieved it.  She said, “I think it would make a marvelous hat.”
Audra put the block on top of her head and tried to walk.  The block slid off her head as soon as she started to move.  She tried again with the same results.  “It won’t stay,” she exclaimed.
Emerson looked at the block lying in the dirt of the path.  “I wonder if it belongs to someone,” he said.  “I took it and didn’t even think that it might be somebody’s.”
His friends looked at him and then at the block.  “Maybe you should take it back,” said Audra.  “I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”
Emerson picked up the block and waved goodbye to his friends.  Over the tall grass he flew until he reached the fence.  Looking around he dropped the block in nearly the same spot where he had found it and flew back to play tag with his friends.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

The Tale of the Great Slip


Illustration by Summer  Age:  8  Paris, TN
          Hayden the turtle was slowly making his way to the bank of Polliwog Pond.  He was thirsty and wanted to get a drink of nice cool water.  It had rained during the night and all the grass on the bank swept across his face making him wet.  He also had trouble walking in the mud that had once been the path to the pond.  As he neared the bank of the pond, he slipped in the mud and tumbled into the water landing on the back of his shell.
            “Help!!!”  Hayden called to anyone who could hear.
            Fortunately Emerson the dragonfly just happened to be flying by.  “Hold on, Hayden,” called Emerson, “I will go for help.”
Illustration by Audra  Age:  2
Mrs. Natalie's Childcare
            Being upside down was not comfortable for Hayden.  His legs were sticking up in the air, and he had to lean his head forward to keep it out of the water.  He tried to stay calm until he felt himself being pulled out into deeper water.  “Hurry, Emerson,” Hayden said to himself as he began to cry.
            Just then he saw Audra the Duck swimming up to him as fast as she could go.  Emerson the dragonfly was flying right behind her.  “Hold on, Hayden,” panted Audra as she touched his shell, “Let me see if I can’t push you toward the shore.”
            Audra put her side along Hayden’s side and began to try to push him toward the shore of the pond.  Hayden still drifted toward deeper water and began to panic.  “Audra, it’s not working!”
            “Emerson,” called Audra, “I can’t do this by myself.  I need help!”
Illustration by Emerson  Age:  4
Mrs. Natalie's Childcare
            Emerson flew down until he was in front of Hayden and tried to push him back while Audra pushed him sideways.  This made Hayden and Audra begin to spin in circles.
            “Emerson, Stop!!”  Audra yelled.  “We need something to pull Hayden out of the water.”
            Emerson nodded and flew away.  Audra managed to stop the spinning, but she could not keep them from continuing to drift into deeper water.  Hayden was now crying hysterically.
            Before long Emerson returned with a long cattail in his legs.  He lowered it to Hayden and told him, “Hold onto this cattail with your teeth.”
Illustration by Talan  Age:  4
Mrs. Natalie's Childcare
            Hayden bit down on the cattail and held on.  Both Emerson and Audra grabbed the cattail and began to drag Hayden toward the shore.  The friends pulled Hayden up onto the bank, but he was still on his back.  Audra went to his side and put her bill under him and lifted.  Emerson joined her, grabbed him with his legs, and lifted.  In a few minutes they managed to get Hayden back on his feet.
            Hayden stood there still shaking from his ordeal.  “Thanks, guys, that was so scary.  I thought I was going to float away and be stuck on my back forever.”
            “You're welcome, Hayden,” said Emerson and Audra together.  “That’s what friends are for.”

Teaching Tips for These Stories

Hi, my name is Natalie Wade.  I have a master's degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Child and Family Studies from the University of Tennessee at Martin.  My specialty is early childhood literacy.  I am introducing these stories to you as a way for you as teachers and parents to develop auditory listening skills for children.  I am purposefully only including one picture with these stories because I want them read aloud.  I want children to make the pictures for these stories in their brains.

Here are some teaching tips for both preschool children and early elementary children.

1.  Read the story aloud to children who cannot yet read.

2.  Let them draw a picture about the story once you are finished.  Please send me these pictures if you like.  I would like to use a different child's drawing on each story each week.

3.  For children who can read, let them read the story and draw their own illustrations.  Again, I would love to use different children's illustrations for each post.

To submit drawings:
1.  Scan it into your computer and send it as an attachment to natawade38@gmail.com or
2.  Take a digital photo, load it onto your computer, and send it as an attachment to natawade38@gmail.com  or
3.  Take a picture of it with your phone and send it as an attachment to natawade38@gmail.com or
4.  Just simply mail the drawings to:
     Natalie Wade
     105 Old Union Rd.
      Paris, TN 38242
      attn:  Polliwog Pond

Please include the child's first name, age, hometown (opt), and which story the child is illustrating.  When mailing drawings please be sure to include an email address for correspondence.  As I receive drawings I will be changing out the drawing for stories each week or so.  I will email you to let you know when your child's drawing will be featured.  Sometimes I will feature more than one illustration per story.  I will let you know where in the story your child's drawing will appear.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as my granddaughter (who is my children's story editor) has enjoyed these stories.

From time to time I may include a story that is not set in Polliwog Pond, but most of these stories will involve Xavier the frog, Audra the duck, Emerson the dragonfly, and Hayden the turtle.  Enjoy!!!!

The Tale of the Stolen Fly


Illustration by Oliver  Age:  4  Paris, TN


           The early morning sun peeked through the cattails around Polliwog Pond.  Xavier the frog stretched his legs as he woke from a good night's sleep.  On a rock a few feet away, Xavier spied the biggest, juiciest fly he had ever seen.           
             “I’m hungry,” he said to himself and prepared to dart his tongue out to catch the big, juicy fly.
            Suddenly, Emerson the dragonfly came out of nowhere and scooped up the fly in his arms.
            “Hey!!”  Xavier called out.  “That’s my breakfast!!” but Emerson the dragonfly just flew away.
            Xavier sat on his rock and frowned an enormous frown.  While he was busy frowning, Audra the duck swam up to him.
            “Good morning, Xavier,” said Audra. 
            Xavier looked up at her with big sad eyes and said, “Emerson just stole my breakfast.  I thought he was my friend, but he took my fly and then he flew away!”
            “I’m sorry,” said Audra.  “Maybe he didn’t mean to take your fly.”
            “Maybe,” said Xavier his frown growing deeper.
            “Hey, let’s go find Emerson and see if we can’t get your fly back,” suggested Audra.
            The two friends set out through the tall grass surrounding Pollywog Pond in search of Emerson the dragonfly.  Before long they came across Hayden the turtle asleep in his shell.
            “Excuse me, Hayden,” said Audra as she tapped on his shell. 
            Hayden slowly peeped his head out and yawned a great big yawn.  “Hey Audra,” said Hayden sleepily.  Then he started to speak to Xavier and stopped when he saw Xavier’s frown.
            “Have you seen Emerson this morning?” Audra asked.
Illustration by Logan  Age:  3  Paris, TN
            “I think I heard him fly by a few minutes ago,” said Hayden.  “Maybe if you hurry you can catch him.”
            As Hayden pulled his head back into his shell the two friends set out again.  Before long they heard a soft buzzing noise.  Emerson landed on a cattail right above Xavier’s head.
            “Good morning, Audra,” said Emerson.  Then he looked down and saw a very angry Xavier.    
            “What’s wrong with Xavier?” Emerson asked Audra.
            “Xavier thinks you stole his fly that he was going to have for breakfast,” Audra replied.
            “You mean this fly that I have in my hands?” said Emerson as he showed the fly to the friends.
              “My fly!” shouted Xavier.  “Give it back!
              “Here Xavier, I didn’t mean to take away your breakfast.”
               Xavier’s frown began to disappear as he shot out his tongue and took the fly.  He smiled and said, “Thanks, Emerson.  You’re the best!”
               For the rest of the morning the three friends played hide-and-seek among the cattails along the shore of Pollywog Pond.