Storytime with Teacher Jean

Teacher Jean has given her class an interesting project.

Each child will bring to class a surprise object. The surprise objects must be hidden away in their school bags until they have to present it to the class. To present it, each child will tell the story of how he or she found the surprise object and what it means.

The stories will be heard in Storytime, a special time when the class is quiet and listening. At the end of the story there will be discussion and comments.

This is the first story.

The Stone

It was Monday.

The children sat quietly at their desks. Clasped in each little hand was a hidden object. Teacher Jean said it had to be a surprise. She said no one should know what the other had brought.

"What do you have in your hand, Leah?" asked Teacher Jean.

Leah opened her hand and held it out. On the palm of her hand was a small, white stone. It was smooth and round, and as pretty as a jewel.

"That is so pretty, Leah," said her teacher with a smile.

"The rest of you can put away your surprise and Leah will tell us the story of how she found the little white stone."

The children hid their surprise objects in their school bags.

Leah stood up so everyone could see her and began to tell her story.

"My sister, Kim, and I were walking along the beach. We wanted to gather shells and small stones for our fish tank. We walked and walked, but we could find nothing. It was strange, because there were always lots of shells and stones on that beach. The shells and stones always made that beach so pretty."

"We turned to go back to where Mummy was sitting," said Leah. "The tide was coming in and a big wave rushed past us. Kim and I waited as the wave washed back out. Right in front of us was this white stone. The sea gave us just one stone. I picked it up and we ran, laughing. We were so happy to find it."

Some easy questions for you

1. What do you do when you go to the beach?

2. What was Leah's surprise?

3. Where did the white stone come from?

4. Have you ever found anything on the beach?

5. Who is Kim?

Start a collection of shells and stones. Label them to show where you found them.