Monday, October 1, 2007

Week 4 Saturdays!

Though I’d love to sleep in on a Saturday morning, I rarely do. Instead, I am up at the crack of dawn. I grind a batch of coffee beans and savor the aroma as my hot cup of joe brews. Then I sip its dark richness while cupping my hands around the warm ceramic mug and giggling over Baby Blues and Pearls Before Swine.

Most days we eat healthy food for breakfast, but years ago my husband and I decided to indulge our inner children once a week. Thus started a tradition of “Saturday cereal”, a time to occasionally enjoy sugary Frosted Flakes and Lucky Charms, our old favorites. One bowl of either is about all I can handle these days, I’ve become so used to Grape Nuts or a toasted English muffin.

Then, I race back upstairs to rouse the rest of my sleepy family. Elsa, my dog, does her best to assist me. She licks the faces of the girls and fans them with her fuzzy tail. Often, however, she is won over by the enemy and plops down next to them on their beds, giving them one more snuggly reason to stay put rather than get up like their mother is asking!

If it is a sunny day and the kids don’t have too much going on, we’ll sometimes take a bike ride. My legs pump furiously as I try to catch up to my speedy children. I tease Britta that she is only faster than I because of her lightweight new bike. It’s probably not true, but it’s better than admitting that I am getting old and slow! Our spinning tires glide over gentle hills and rumble over wooden trail bridges. Dogs bark, but thankfully, don’t chase us. The sunshine pushes its way through the green canopy, plopping polka-dotted patterns on the pavement.

Sweaty and panting we return home. Spoonfuls of mint chocolate chip ice cream slide easily down my throat. I put my feet up on the hammock and sigh. Elsa flops down next to me on the grass. The squirrels chatter at her from the safety of a branch high above us. My neighbor’s mower hums in the distance. It is reminding me that I have things to do too. But I choose to ignore it for another glorious minute or two. Saturday is special, after all.

Saturdays are special days. What do you like to do on a Saturday morning? Tell about your Saturday activities using descriptive words and phrases that include your senses. (Don’t forget to capitalize Saturday! Days of the week need capital letters in English.)

Challenge: Try including some alliteration in your writing. (That's when you use the same starting sound on several words in a sentence...like I did right there! Can you find the alliterative sentence in my story?)

Students:

  • Please write your answer in complete sentences using correct capitalization and punctuation.
  • You may find it easier to write your ideas in a Word document and then paste them into a comment on this blog.
  • Be sure to include your first name ONLY and your homeroom number (e.g. J17) before publishing your comment.

Comments must be posted no later than 8:00 A.M. Monday, October 8, to receive full credit.