The Bravest Tiger in the City

Natalie and I have been learning about the basics of composition in school this week. We've learned how stories need characters, details, a problem and solution, a beginning, middle and end, etc. Today, Natalie's job was to write her own story, using all the skills she has learned. I suspected she would be overwhelmed at first, so we planned everything out first (story mapping) before she actually started writing. I thought I'd share her story with you, but you should be aware that she is currently obsessed with tigers.

*Tigea is pronounced TYE-gee-uh and a "dogamel" is a cross between a dog and a camel.

The Bravest Tiger in the City
by Natalie, age 8

One morning, Tigea was sleeping in her house in Tiger City. Everyone had gone to the cheese stand the day before. Tigea woke up to the sound of people yelling, "Where's our cheese???" She looked out her window, opened her bedroom door, rushed down the hall to the front door and opened it. Tigea yelled, "What is all the noise about??" One of the tigers told her to ride her dogamel to the Evil Lizard's castle to get the cheese back from the Evil Lizard.

Tigea ran to the dogamel's barn to get it. Wearing green harem pants, she rode her dogamel, Emily, into the desert until she couldn't see the city anymore. She passed a pyramid, a sphinx, an oasis (where she stopped to get something to eat and drink, plus food and water for the road), and the underground ruins. She finally got to the Evil Lizard's castle.

Tigea sneaked into the castle. She sneaked past the Evil Lizard in his lab and crept quietly to the room where the cheese was hidden. She opened the door, filled her sack with the cheese and crept quietly out of the castle.

Tigea rode back to Tiger City. The next morning she returned the cheese to the people. They said, "Thank you Tigea!"

The End

I Miss Shopping For These

I love homeschooling Natalie, but the biggest thing I feel I'm missing out on is shopping for school supplies. I love school supplies...all those notebooks and pencils and crayons and glue sticks...all new and unspoiled. It's not that we don't need them as homeschoolers - it's just that the curriculum we use (The Calvert School) happens to include all of your school supplies as part of the package. Trust me, it is a thrilling day when that giant box of stuff arrives!

Do you miss anything about the back-to-school time of year?