“Mom! I can’t be a pumpkin AGAIN!” I protested on that crisp Friday afternoon. I couldn’t bear the thought of parading down my street in the same costume I had worn for the last two years – and my big sister the two years before that! Ugh.
I had to admit, it hadn’t been such a bad costume once-upon-a-time. But now the felt stem hat was droopy and wrinkled, and the orange fabric hung sack-like around my hips. No amount of plumping would prevent the feather pillows from clumping around my mid-section, making it hard to carry my goodie bag, and harder still to carry my head high.
Mom studied the whining gourd with pleading eyes standing there in her kitchen. At first she looked slightly annoyed, but then a smile crept its way to her lips. “Well, honey, I don’t know what else we can come up with on short notice, but I think I have to agree. That costume makes you look like a potbellied squash for certain.”
“You could make that dragonfly costume we saw in the McCalls pattern book!” I suggested hopefully.
“I don’t think so, punkin’,” she said, smiling at her own humor. “That one is too complicated for me to tackle at this point. I’m not the seamstress my mom was. Of course, she wasn’t teaching full-time while mothering three children either.” Mom dove for my one-year-old brother at that moment, just as he reached for the cord of the antique lamp standing in the corner of the living room.
“No,” she said to me after redirecting Steffen to his Tonka truck, “I think you will have to see what you can do with the big box in the garage. Maybe you can go as a robot or a giant grocery bag or something.”
I shuffled down the hall to my bedroom and plopped my padded bottom on the floor. What could I do? I didn’t relish the idea of stumbling around inside of a big box. I wouldn’t be able to see what was going on. I wanted to participate fully in the Halloween experience, something I couldn’t do if I couldn’t run away from the neighborhood boys after beaning them with the acorns from Mrs. Anderson’s oak.
I needed a good costume. Fast.
This is the beginning of a Halloween story loosely based on my childhood memories. How do you think it should end?
This week you may choose between two writing options.
Either
1. Write the rest of this story as you think it should happen
OR
2. Write your own story about a memorable Halloween experience of your own.
Remember to leave out the boring parts and focus on the details in the most exciting part of the story. You may publish your story as a comment on my blog or post it on your own blog.
Challenge – Help your reader get into your story by including dialogue (people talking). Important rules: Use quotation marks to show what your characters are saying. Start a new paragraph each time someone new is talking.
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11 comments:
Dear Mme Powell
Once I was a ghost for Halloween
and it went over my head and so I
could see where I was going the wind blew and the leaves swished in my costume I was so annoyed!and I was getting colder so I had to go back to my to put on a sweatshit
and my costume did not fit!So that Halloween I could not where my costum Shannonsw21
I was at a HALLOWEEN party at church, when one of my friends took part of my costume.
I got it back. I put my costume away then I took
his hippie hat and ran away. He didn’t get it until the party was over and then I had to give it to him.
J.P. J8
Halloween,one night on Halloween kylan & cade where trick or treating in frends naberhood we whent out at about 6:00 we get home at about 7:30 i do this every halloween then we go to his house and when were trick or treating we go to this house whith this percon and we saiy trick or tret and then he sais do you like my scare crow ? then we saiy yes and out of the chair he bobs up and sais BOO!!!!! and then people usuly sreem and get frecket out. Then we go bake home and drade are loot.And have contest like hou can eat the most hot timollys last year i won one hole box! And then we go home and dream of next year! cadduff sw8
So this Halloween I intended to be a gangster so at the party I walked in most of my friends were there. Davis was the first to knock my over size rock star glasses. Soon it was carter to knock my Detroit baseball hat off. then it was my fault I ruined my bling bling. I was running from Ben [I took his calculator] so I soon ran into the wall and there I saw my precious bling in air and Crack! @#$%^&*() NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO so after that I ate Doritos and a rice cripies bar and I slept over at a friends house and then woke had a bowl of cereal and went to his tackle football game but they lost and I had fun. The End
Kevin sw4
Then I said, “I need a better attitude, I can ask my dad to help!” So I asked my dad for help.
“Can you help me dad?”
“Sure, I can help with your costume. Let’s see what we’ve got. So…. you want to be a fairy?” he asked.
“Yep, I want to be a fairy! But, mom doesn’t have time. ”
“Well, we have a bunch of clothes down stairs, and a cardboard box?”
“Hey, I found a sparkling blouse and a gold belt! We could cut out some wings from the box in the garage! I could use my ballet shoes and tights!”
“ I was so prod that night!” Thomas j 21
"Mom it's to small", I said. My mother and I looked at the pumpkin Halloween costume it was so ugley. My brother was laughing so hard. He's such a pain. There were only 2 weeks before Haloween and I still had no costume. I went to bed thinking what my Halloween cotume should be.
The next day we went to every Halloween store we could think of.
We did not find a costume.
We were on the internet for hours. When we found a costme that I liked we bought it.
It fit but it was itchy. So we bought a shirt. It was perfect. I had nothing to worry about now. THE END.
PATRICIA Sw#13
Every Halloween the whole family comes over to have soup and go “trick-or-treating”. My cousins come over, my neighbors come over, my Grandparents come over and my aunts and uncles come over. The ladies away stay and hand out candy, while the boys always take the kids trick-or-treating. I love it when we all go trick-or-treating because we get lots and lots of candy. We go down Vandervork AV and down Hollywood rd but this time we got to go trick-or-treating a little on Interlachen! The little people go home early but we stay out late! Maybe that is why Halloween is so much fun!
Cristiana SW12
So, I decided to ask my dad if I could be something different then a cardboard box.
He said “sure, pumpkin”.
I thought to myself, “Why does everyone keep calling me “pumpkin?”.
I went to my mom and she said “yes”.
"I want to be a witch!” I cried.
My mom said ’’O.K’, pumpkin”.
Grace SW#17
The story continues -
So I looked out the window I could not think of any thing . I start to draw a little girl, it did not look very nice so I scribble it out. It reminded me of some thing!
Then my mom called me saying, “ Honey come on down were going to the grocery store!”
“Ok” I yell. In the car I think what might be at the grocery store that I might need for my costume.
My mom asked me, “Honey have you thought of what your costume is going to be?”
“Yes, except its going to be a surprise.” When we got out of the car, we walked right into the grocery store. I asked my Mom what we were going to buy there?
She said, “Oh just something for dinner.”
I said, “Can we buy some coffee grains?”
“Sure”, says my mom. After I grocery shopped, we went home. My dad was home.
I asked him, “Dad do you have any old shirts?”.
My dad said, “Yes. What do you need them for?”
“My costume” I said. At the end of the day, I put my coffee grain and my dads shirt on my nightstand table. The next day was Halloween. I got dressed up as a bum! I put olive oil on my cheeks, then I padded some coffee grain on them. Then I put on my dads old shirt and a pair of ripped up pants. I found an old, tall black dusty hat in the attic. I put it on. Then I put on some old raggedy shoes and set off as a bum!
My mom and dad said “Wow!”
Estee sw#25
I always go trick or treating with a really good friend and we always have a good time and we always get alot of candy. One nice neighbor take our picture every year.
Garrett sw #23
Dear Ms.Powell
That frigid night, I was a ladybug in kindergarten. I went to my nextdoor neighbors (Pat and Bruce) and I went to their doorbell to ring it. When I reached the doorbell I fell on my bunper ( I think you know what that is.) And I started to cry. Ofcourse my dad was there so he helped me up.
I went back to my house nextdoor, and I said "I never want to go trick-or-treating ever again!" I was such a stuburn kid and back then and I use to be a crybaby. Maybe I still am. Who knows?
Then I was willing to go back outside and go trick-or-treating but I skipped Pat and Bruce's house.
THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maria J4 #5
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