English Listening Practice - Learn English Listening Comprehension

first snowfall today is November 26th it snowed all day today the snow is beautiful the snow finally stopped my sister and I are excited my mom doesn't like the snow my mom has to shovel the driveway my sister and I get to play I put on my hat and mittens my mom puts on my scarf my mom zippers my jacket my sister puts on her hat and mittens my mom puts on her scarf my mom zippers her jacket my sister and I go outside we begin to make a snowman my mom starts to shovel the snow my sister and I make snow angels my sister and I throw snowballs it starts to snow again we go inside for hot chocolate Jessica's first day of school today is Jessica's first day of kindergarten Jessica and her parents walked to school Jessica's mom walks with her to her classroom Jessica meets her teacher his name is mr. Parker the school bell rings at 8:45 a.m. Jessica hugs and kisses her mom goodbye Jessica's mom says I love you at 9:00 a.m. jessica stands for the national anthem mr. Parker calls out children's names each child yells back here mr. Parker teaches them about letters mr. Parker teaches them about numbers at 10:15 a.m. the students have recess recess is fun the students get to play and eat at 10:30 a.m. the students go to gym class at 11:15 a.m. the students return to mr. Parker's classroom mr. Parker tells the students to sit on the carpet mr. Parker reads the students a story mr. Parker teaches the students a song the lunch bell rings Jessica's first day of school is over my flower garden my name is Anne I love flowers I have a flower garden my garden is in front of my house my neighbor has a garden too my garden has different types of flowers I have roses in my garden I have tulips in my garden I have petunias in my garden my garden has different colors I plant red flowers I plant orange flowers I plant blue flowers I plant purple flowers I take care of my garden I water my garden every day I kill the weeds in my garden I kill insects that eat my flowers I love my beautiful garden going camping the brightfamily went camping on the weekend the bright family went to silent Lake the bright family left on Friday they camped for three days the bright family brought a big tent they brought a lot of food they brought insect repellent the bright family had a campfire on Friday they roasted marshmallows they sang campfire songs on Saturday they went canoeing on saturday they went fishing on Saturday they went swimming they went hiking on Sunday the bright family saw many birds they saw Blue Jays they saw hummingbirds the bright family saw many animals they saw a raccoon they saw a squirrel but they didn't see a bear the bright family had a fun vacation my house I live in a house my house is small my house has two bedrooms my mom and dad sleep in one bedroom my sister and I share the other bedroom my house has a kitchen my mom and dad cooked dinner there every night my house has a living room my family watches television there every night my house has a big bathroom my house has a lot of closets my house has a basement my dad has a workshop in the basement my dad makes wood furniture my house does not have a second floor my house has a garage my house has a big backyard my backyard has a maple tree my backyard has a swimming pool my backyard has a vegetable garden my family likes our house my first pet my name is Sarah I am 14 years old I have a pet cat my cat's name is Milo my cat is black and white Milo's paws are white Milo's body is black she is very cute Milo's fur is very soft Milo was a very small kitten Milo is a very big cat Milo cannot have kittens she is fixed Milo likes to eat Milo likes to play outside Milo likes to hunt for birds Milo likes to hunt for mice she likes her ears scratched Milo likes to sit in my laughs Milo likes to sleep on my bed Milo is a good pet Jennifer the firefighter Jennifer Smith is a firefighter she is one of the first female firefighters Jennifer works hard every day Jennifer exercises every day she lifts weights she wants her muscles to be very strong she saves people's lives every day she is very strong Jennifer is married her husband is a schoolteacher Jennifer's husband is proud of her Jennifer is a mother she has two daughters Jennifer's daughters are proud of her - Jennifer is happy being a firefighter Jennifer is happy being a wife Jennifer is happy being a mother big game Mark's favorite sport is hockey he is 15 years old mark practices three times a week practices are two hours long mark plays one game a week mark is a good hockey player he plays on Friday nights Friday night hockey games are popular Mark's family watches him play Mark's friends watch him play too there are always many fans tonight is the big game coaches are coming to watch mark play mark wants to play in the National Hockey League mark wants to make a lot of money it is very hard to play in the NHL Mark's parents want him to go to college they want him to have an education they want mark to be successful they want mark to be happy the Easter egg hunt Samantha is going to an Easter egg hunt Tracy is going to an Easter egg hunt the Easter egg hunt is at Sydney's house it is going to be fun Sydney's mom hid chocolate eggs Sydney's mom hid chocolate bunnies everybody is here everybody has an Easter basket the Easter egg hunt can start everybody must close their eyes one two three go Samantha finds an easter egg the Easter Egg is behind a table she puts it in her basket Tracy finds a chocolate Easter Bunny it's under the couch Tracy puts it in her basket Sydney finds a chocolate Easter Bunny - it's in front of the television she puts it in her basket everybody finds lots of chocolate everybody shares their chocolate Samantha Tracy and Sydney love East stir stir Joe's first car Joe is 18 years old Joe works at McDonald's Joe saves all his money Joe has $2,500 in the bank he wants to buy a sports car Joe starts to look for a new car Joe looks in the newspaper Joe looks in magazines Joe finds a car he likes Joe goes to see the car with his dad he really likes it Joe doesn't have enough money Joe's dad tells him to keep saving his money Joe wants this car a lot Joe asks his dad to help him Joe and his dad make a deal Joe's dad will lend him the money Joe must work hard he must pay the money back to his dad Joe is very happy Joe owns his first car summer vacation today is the last day of school it is summer vacation grace is very excited this summer will be fun grace is going to visit her grandparents they have a cottage the cottage is on Lake Erie it is a lot of fun grace is going to swim she is going to play board games she is going to talk with her grandparents grace is going to have fun grace is going to a summer camp she will sleep in a cabin she will make lots of new friends grace will learn campfire songs camp will be fun grace is going to Cape Cod with her parents we are going for two weeks we are going to drive Grace will see the ocean Cape Cod will be beautiful summer vacation is fun cleaning up leaves the leaves are changing colors I see red maple leaves I see orange maple leaves I see yellow maple leaves the leaves are beautiful it is starting to get cold the wind is strong winter is coming the leaves fall off the trees on Saturday we will clean them up the whole family helps my dad gets the rake my mom gets the garbage bags my brother and I help too we gather leaves with our hands we make a big pile my brother and I jump in the leaves we make a big mess our parents don't mind our parents fill our coats with leaves we look really big everyone laughs playtime is over back to work Susan's wedding day Susan is getting married her fiance's name is Michael they are in love they are getting married today Susan wakes up early she is getting her hair done Susan is having her makeup done - Susan looks beautiful she puts on her white wedding dress she puts on her veil Susan needs something blue her garter is blue Susan needs something old her grandmother's ring is old Susan needs something borrowed she is wearing her mother's jewelry Susan needs something new her shoes and dress are new Susan needs a penny for her shoe it will bring her good luck Susan is ready to get married Remembrance Day my grandfather fought in World War two my grandmother was a nurse in World War two today is November 11th today is Remembrance Day today we celebrate soldiers everyone wears a poppy poppies are red flowers poppies remind me of my grandparents poppies remind me of their sacrifice at 11 a.m. there are two minutes of silence people remember their friends and family hit will recite the poem in Flanders field it is a sad poem it helps us remember today we wish for peace in the world Halloween night ween is fun my mom buys candy my mom buys potato chips my mom buys chocolate bars it is for the trick-or-treaters my mom buys me a costume it is a ghost costume I am going to be scary my sister is going to dress up as a princess she will have a wand she will have a crown she will look beautiful my dad buys a pumpkin it is going to be a jack-o'-lantern we draw a face on the pumpkin we carve the face with a knife our jack-o'-lantern looks funny we go trick-or-treating we knock on the neighbor's door we say trick-or-treat our neighbors give us candy we say thanks we go to many houses we go home our parents check our candy it's safe we eat lots of candy we don't feel very good we go to bed Christmas Eve Ben and Melissa are getting ready for Christmas Ben and Melissa's house has lots of lights on the roof the lights are many colors inside they listen to Christmas music Ben and Melissa drink eggnog eggnog tastes good Ben and Melissa hang stockings on the fireplace they string popcorn Ben and Melissa put the popcorn string on the Christmas tree they put Christmas lights on the tree they put tinsel on the tree Ben and Melissa put ornaments on the tree they put a star on top of the tree they get ready for Santa Claus they leave milk and cookies for Santa then opens one present Melissa opens one present they go to sleep Ben and Melissa wake up early they run downstairs there are a lot of presents under our tree they wake up their mom and dad Ben and Melissa open their presents they love our presence everyone cleans up the wrapping paper it is time for breakfast Thanksgiving we are having Thanksgiving at our house my whole family is coming my parents bought a turkey it weighs 30 pounds it takes a long time to cook my mom wakes up early to cook the turkey I clean the house with my dad the house smells good we help mom in the kitchen I peel potatoes and carrots my dad makes pumpkin pies my mom cooks squash I help my mom make stuffing I mix the bread and spices we make good stuffing it goes inside the turkey we put on nice clothes I set the table my dad carves the turkey my mom makes the gravy our relatives arrive we say thank you for all we have we eat and eat it is a good Thanksgiving learning how to drive amy is 16 years old she lives in a small town amy is learning how to drive Amy's dad is giving her lessons Amy's dad's name is Howard had three lessons a me and her dad argued during the lessons Amy's mom is giving her driving lessons amy's mom's name is Jane Jane has given a me a lesson Jane has decided to stop giving Amy lessons Jane and Amy argued during the lessons to amy's parents call a driving school Amy is going to get lessons from a professional the classes cost $300 for ten lessons the lessons are very good Amy learns how to drive Amy gets her license housework there is always housework to do when you live in a house you have to wash the windows so that you can see outside the floors and the carpets need to be vacuumed the floors also need to be washed and some of them need to be waxed the furniture has to be polished the bathroom has to be kept clean after you have a bath you need to clean out the bathtub laundry needs to be done regularly or you will run out of clothes to wear the clothes go into the washing machine and then they have to be dried in the dryer sometimes we hang the clothes out on the line to be dried some of the clothes need to be ironed you have to buy groceries and put them away meals need to be made you can't let the dishes pile up in the kitchen the dishes have to be washed and the counters need to be wiped the stove needs to be cleaned and sometimes the refrigerator and the cupboards need to be cleaned out you can dust the furniture and sweep up the dirt you can make the beds the beds have to be changed too they need to have clean sheets put on them there are just so many things to do household chores take up a lot of time working outside today I was working outside it was a sunny day and I was very hot I wore a hat on my head i watered all the plants i weeded the flowerbeds i cut back all of the plans that were growing too big i gave some of the plants plant food i cut the lawn i raked the lawn i filled up the birdbath with water I swept the sidewalks and the pass I took out the garbage I filled the car up with gas I washed the car I hung out the clothes on the clothesline I washed down the lawn furniture I washed all of the windows on the house from the outside I was so tired so I had a glass of lemonade I talked to my neighbor and I helped her trim a tree I planted some bulbs and then I went into the house I was exhausted daily schedule I wake up every morning at 7 o clock I take a shower I eat my breakfast I usually have toast or cereal I brush my teeth I put on my clothes I catch the school bus I ride to school in my class we have math and English before recess at recess time the girls skip or walk around and talk the boys play in the playground or play baseball after recess we have physical education and geography we eat lunch and then we play outside when the bell rings we line up to go back into the classroom after lunch we have history and science at recess we play ball again some of the girls play ball too in the winter we build snowmen if it is too cold we stay indoors and talk to each other after recess we have music and health we get out of school at 3:30 I sometimes walk home with my friends or I take the bus I have a snack and change my clothes when I get home if it is raining I watch television if it is nice outside I play with my friends I have supper at 5:30 on some nights I help my mother to do the dishes after supper I do my homework I wash my face and hands and brush my teeth I change into my pajamas I go to bed at 9 o'clock meals breakfast is very rushed at our house my brothers and sisters and I have toast or cereal we also have orange juice on weekends my mother makes bacon and eggs for us my father just has a cup of coffee for breakfast my mother packs a lunch for all of us we usually have a sandwich a piece of fruit and a drink of juice or milk my favorite sandwiches are egg salad tuna roast beef and ham my brother always wants peanut butter and jam sandwiches my mother sometimes packs a treat for us today we had cookies with our lunch at suppertime the family sits around the table and talks about what they did all day my mother makes good suppers we sometimes have spaghetti my mother makes a roast of beef with potatoes and vegetables quite often she makes many different dishes out of chicken she makes soups or stews she also makes casseroles my brothers and sisters and I have milk with our dinner my parents sometimes have wine with their dinner sometimes we have salad before our dinner I set the table for my mother I put all the forks the knives and spoons I also put out glasses and fill them full of milk or water for dessert we sometimes have ice cream cake or pie my mother says that it is better to have fruit because it is better for you tonight I ate a peach for dessert my favorite fruits are apples peaches plums and bananas after supper my mother always has a cup of tea with sugar and cream in it after dinner I help my mother with the dishes usually she washes the dishes and I will dry them seasons there are four seasons winter is the cold season it snows in the winter the winds blow and ice forms on the water we play hockey on the ice we play in the snow after winter is the spring that is when it begins to get warmer trees get buds on them flowers start to bloom it rains a lot in the spring spring is followed by the summer it can get very hot in the summertime the Sun shines brightly we go swimming in the summer we spend a lot of time outdoors many people go on vacations in the summer we get a summer vacation from school summer is followed by the fall or autumn the leaves on the trees change colors they change from green to red orange and brown the leaves fall off the trees the weather gets cooler the days get shorter we go back to school in the fall then winter comes again the seasons follow one after each other whether you can watch the weatherman on TV to find out what the weather will be like it might be a nice clear day with no clouds in the sky the Sun might be shining it could be a cloudy day sometimes cloudy days are just dull on some cloudy days it begins to rain or snow some days are rainy you need a raincoat umbrella and boots on a rainy day rain makes the flowers and grass grow the weather forecast might say that it will be windy you could have a gentle breeze it might be very gusty so that the wind pushes you it is dangerous if the wind is very strong a hurricane or tornado is very dangerous once in a while the weatherman says there will be hail hail stones are hard cold pellets of ice that fall from the sky sometimes the weatherman will say that there will be snow flurries sometimes there is just a light dusting of snow sometimes there is a blizzard or a snow storm it can be dangerous driving through a blizzard if there is a lot of snow the streets have to be plowed you need a hat coat mittens and boots on a very cold day sometimes the weather forecast is wrong the weatherman might say that it will be a sunny day but then the clouds come in and it rains that is not good if you are planning a picnic I prefer sunny days that are warm but not too hot I like to feel a gentle breeze to cool me down house a house is divided into different rooms in my house there is a living room there is a couch two chairs a coffee table and a television set in the living room in the kitchen there is a stove and a refrigerator there is also a sink and a dishwasher in the kitchen there is a kitchen table and chairs we most of our meals at the kitchen table we have a dining room there is a dining table and chairs in there there is a washroom or bathroom there is a toilet sink and bathtub in the bathroom there is also a shower in the bathroom we have three bedrooms the bedrooms are upstairs my brother's room my room and my parents room all have beds in them we also have dressers in our rooms there are closets in all of the bedrooms we keep our clothes in the closets there is a basement in our house we store things in the basement there is a laundry room in the basement there is a washing machine and a dryer in the laundry room this is where we wash and dry our clothes there is a garage attached to the house we keep the car in the garage you drive up the driveway and into the garage we also have a front yard and a back yard there is a vegetable garden in the back yard there are some flowers and a tree planted in the front yard school there are different types of schools there is an elementary school the children at the elementary school are young there is a playground for them to play in the classrooms are bright and airy there are blackboards in the classrooms the children sit in desks to do their work there is a parking lot for the teachers to park in there is a cafeteria for the students to get food the principal has an office nobody wants to go to the principal's office it usually means that you are in trouble if you have to go to the principal's office when you finish elementary school you go to high school most of the students in high school are teenagers there is a parking lot outside the high school there is also a football field outside the students go to classes in different classrooms they move from classroom to classroom for each subject there is a cafeteria where they can get their lunches or eat the lunches that they have brought from home there is a gymnasium where students have physical education dances are also held in the gymnasium some students go on to university from high school students at the university are older some of the students are even senior citizens people come from all over the world to attend the university there are lots of different things at the University there is a theater where plays and concerts are held there is a bookstore where students can buy their textbooks there is a physical education building that has a swimming pool in it the parking lot at the university is very big they call the land that the university is on a campus some of the students live on campus in residence subjects there are many subjects that you can take at school my favorite subject is music I like to sing and to play the clarinet I also like art I am quite good at drawing and painting history is a good subject I like learning about the past geography is very interesting we look at many maps in geography we learn where there are deserts and mountains I know the names of all the continents in all the oceans mathematics is my least favorite subject I'm not very good with numbers I am good at addition and subtraction but I'm not good at division and multiplication in my school we learn to speak French we learn French because Canada has French and English speaking citizens English literature is a good subject I enjoy reading books I also like to write compositions and poetry science is my brother's favorite subject he is interested in plants and he likes to do experiments we also take drama at my school I like to act I got the lead role in the school play international students we have many international students at my school some of the students come from England they speak English but they have an accent that is different from a Canadian accent many students are from Japan they are learning our language and our customs we have students from Germany Italy China Korea and Iran we try to make those students feel welcome here the students like to see what is here they go sightseeing they visit all the places that the tourists like to go to Niagara Falls and Toronto are interesting places to visit the students practice their English by talking to Canadians when they first get here we show them around they do many exercises to learn the language they listen to English songs they read story books that are written in English they listen to English language tapes the best way to learn the language is to talk to other people it is good to ask questions in English Canadians try to be helpful to international students some of the international students live with host families the host families have the students living in their homes it is a good way for the host families and the students to make friends many of the international students stay in contact with their friends in host families even after they have gone back to their homelands the international students learn a lot from their host families because they eat Canadian foods and they learn what it is like to live in a Canadian household interests and hobbies it is very rewarding to have different interests and hobbies some people like to play computer games other people spend a lot of time watching television there are people who would rather watch movies some people prefer more physical things they would rather play a sport like baseball hockey or basketball some people do exercises at a gym or they just go for walks there are many ways to exercise they can ride a bicycle or lift weights there are people who like to collect things they can collect all kinds of different things you can collect stamps coins dolls postcards movies rocks or posters some people even collect bugs or leaves some people are lucky enough to be able to travel you can travel to a nearby place or you can travel far away to a different country there are people who like to listen to music people have different tastes in music some people like rock music rap classical music or folk music there are many different types of music some people would rather play music than listen to it you can play an instrument or you can sing many people learn to play the guitar or the piano some people join bands or orchestras there are people who like to read books there are a lot of different hobbies it depends on what you consider to be fun you can have more than one hobby or interest it is good to be interested in a lot of different things movies I go to the movies almost every week sometimes I rent movies from the video store my favorite films are action films I like to watch car chases I like it when the bad guy has a shootout with the good guys I like the good guys to win I also like science fiction movies I like things that take place in the future I like movies that have aliens from different planets in them some of the science fiction movies can be silly and unbelievable I don't like those ones my mother likes dramas she has a lot of favorite actors and actresses she sometimes watches sad movies that make her cry she also likes comedies she laughs out loud if a comedy is very funny my father likes horror movies he likes movies with monsters in them he also likes thrillers I have watched some thrillers that keep you tense and on the edge of your seat sometimes I have to shut my eyes if the movie gets too scary my brother likes animated films in animated films there are no actors just cartoon characters my brother goes to the movies on Saturday afternoons with his friends he goes to the matinee he gets popcorn candy and pop he usually comes back with a stomachache because he eats so much sometimes my father watches documentaries documentaries are about real things you can learn a lot from watching a documentary i watch documentaries with him sometimes but I would rather see a good action film flowers there are hundreds of different types of flowers most people like roses roses grow on bushes and they smell beautiful you have to be careful that you don't prick your finger on a rose thorn roses come in many colors there are red pink yellow and white roses in the spring tulips are in bloom in Ottawa there are many tulips some people go there just to see all the tulips in the spring forget-me-nots are also spring flowers they are tiny and blue lilies of the valley look like white bells where I live many of the trees have blossoms on them in the springtime the apple and cherry trees look particularly beautiful when they are in blossom we have a Blossom Festival in my town my neighbors like to plant geraniums petunias and marigolds in the summer some people plant sunflowers sunflowers grow very tall they have bright yellow petals all of those flowers grow best in the sunshine if your garden is shady you have to plant different things hostas grow well in a shady garden chrysanthemums are fall flowers chrysanthemums come in many colors also there are purple yellow and white chrysanthemums flowers are good to give as gifts women like to receive a dozen roses on Valentine's Day carnations also make a nice gift they have a very sweet smell many people give away lilies for Easter poinsettias are very festive at Christmastime if someone goes to a dance they often give their partner a flower to wear sometimes a girl will get an orchid from her date if you go to a wedding you will probably see a lot of flowers there flowers help to make places beautiful the shopping mall there are many different stores in the shopping mall there are ladieswear stores they sell dresses blouses and many kinds of clothes for women in the menswear stores there are suits ties shirts and slacks there are also clothing stores that appeal just to teenagers some clothing stores only sell children's clothes there is even a store that sells bathing suits and cover-ups for the beach or pool there are lingerie stores that sell ladies underwear and nightwear there are hardware stores that sell tools there are shoe stores you buy shoes and boots in a shoe store there are book stores you can buy a book on almost any topic at the book store there are stores that sell compact discs those stores also have tapes and videos there are sports stores that sell special shoes and clothes for sports they also sell sports equipment and t-shirts and hats with the logo of your favorite teams there are gift stores that sell all kinds of things that someone might want for their house there are kitchen stores where you can buy utensils and pots and pans those kinds of stores also sell aprons and napkins and anything you might need for your kitchen there is a movie theater at the mall there is a jewelry store that has a lot of gold and silver jewelry there is a hairdresser in the mall sometimes I go in there to get my hair cut there are fast-food places in the mall you can get a quick lunch like a hamburger or some french fries there are also fancier restaurants in the mall you can sit down for a nice meal there is a furniture store in the mall you can buy a new sofa or bed at the furniture store the our bulk food stores at a bulk food store all the foods are in bins you take as much as you want and pay for it at the counter there is even a telephone store and an electronics store at the mall my brother's favorite store is the toy store he could spend hours in there there are also department stores at the mall department stores sell all kinds of things they sell perfume clothes shoes kitchen utensils or just about anything you might need you can get almost anything you want at the shopping mall travel it is fun to take a trip to a faraway place my brother just went to Italy and France he got on a plane at Toronto Airport he took a flight to France he stayed there for a couple of days he visited the Eiffel Tower he was in Paris he said that he enjoyed the food in France he then traveled to Italy he saw many towns and villages in Italy he went to Rome and visited many of the tourist attractions in Venice he saw the canals he tried to speak Italian but he is not too good at it he said that the people were very helpful they tried to understand him he bought souvenirs for us when he was in Italy he ate Italian food he said that pizza in Italy is quite different from the pizza we eat here in Canada he saw many streets that were made of cobblestones he saw many old buildings a lot of people in Italy travel around on scooters he stayed at a very nice hotel in Italy he was sorry when it was time to come home my brother likes to travel he likes to fly in airplanes the airlines lost his luggage once he was not too pleased about that next year he would like to travel to England the farm my uncle is a farmer he lives on a farm he has many different types of animals in the barn there are horses and cows the cows swish the Flies away from themselves with their tails it sounds very loud if a cow says Moo when you are standing there the cows eat the grass from my uncle's field he gets milk from the cows I put a saddle on one of the horses and went for a ride there are pigs in the Pigpen he has goats he says that the goats will eat just about anything he has a chicken coop with chickens in it the chickens lay eggs have you ever seen baby chicks they are very cute my uncle collects the eggs every morning there is a rooster too the rooster crows when the Sun comes up my uncle also has a goose the goose makes a honking noise I don't think that the goose likes me it nips me when I go near it many cats live in my uncle's barn they are stray cats but he lets them stay there because they keep the mice away my uncle feeds the cats my uncle says that he would like to get some sheep for his farm you can get wool from sheep there are a lot of animals on my uncle's farm transportation every family that I know has at least one car some families have two or even three cars most people get their license to drive when they are 16 in my house we just have one car if my father takes the car to work my mother will take the bus I ride in a school bus to school my sister works in another town she gets on the train to go to work the train station is not far from my house the train tracks run right by my house my grandfather from Ireland comes to visit us he came over by boat he had to cross the ocean we went to Florida last year we flew on a plane the plane flew right through the clouds my friend's brother drives a motorcycle he wears a helmet I rode on his motorcycle once I had to sit on the back and hold on tight I ride my bicycle when the weather is nice I also have a scooter that I used to travel around I took a helicopter ride once the helicopters propellers were going around when I got on I went straight up in the air I enjoyed the ride I would like to learn how to fly a plane or a helicopter I like flying through the air holidays in Canada we have many different days that we celebrate on the first day of January there is New Year's Day that is when we ring in the New Year and say goodbye to the old year in February there is Valentine's Day that is the day when you tell your girlfriend or boyfriend that you love them you can buy them flowers or candy or take them out to dinner in March there is st. Patrick's Day everyone pretends that they are Irish on st. Patrick's Day they all wear green Easter comes in the spring Easter is a religious holiday some people celebrate by going to church some people think that the Easter Bunny comes and leaves chocolate eggs for them in May there is Victoria Day we celebrate this day in honor of England's Queen Victoria there are fireworks on Victoria Day July the first is Canada Day in September there is Labor Day this is the day that we honor the working man or woman in October there is Thanksgiving we give thanks for all the things that we are fortunate enough to have we usually have a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day on the last day of October there is Halloween the children dress up in costumes and go from door to door collecting candies Remembrance Day is in November people wear red poppies and they remember all the people that die for their country Christmas comes in December Christmas is also a religious holiday but many children believe that Santa Claus arrives on Christmas Eve in a sleigh pulled by reindeer they believe that Santa Claus fills up their stockings with toys and goodies he gets in and out of people's houses through their chimneys we don't get off work or school for all these days but many of them are holidays from work and school diseases there are many diseases some diseases are very deadly and some are not so serious most people catch a cold sometimes a cold makes you cough and sneeze colds can be passed on from person to person some people get the flu with the flu you get chills and a fever fever is a high temperature if you have the flu you will feel very bad you have to stay home in bed there are diseases that children get the mumps make you have lumps in your neck chicken pox and measles leave you with red itchy dots on your skin older people sometimes get arthritis their bones get stiff and sore there are people who get heart disease in many cases a healthy lifestyle can prevent heart disease cancer can attack different parts of the body many smokers get lung cancer some diseases are treated with pills or medicine other diseases need to be treated in the hospital sometimes doctors need to give you tests to find out what kind of disease you have the doctor might have to do a blood test or an x-ray to find out what is wrong with you most diseases can be cured by a doctor jobs there are many different jobs that you can choose from you can be a doctor or a nurse you could work in a hospital or doctor's office you might be a firefighter and put out fires a policeman enforces the law an actor plays roles on stage or in the movies you could drive a taxi or be the pilot of an airplane what kinds of things do you like to do you might want to be a sales clerk in a store maybe you are good at a sport you could be a baseball player or a hockey player being a dentist is a good job a dentist fixes teeth if you are good at arguing you might want to be a lawyer do you like to fix people's hair you could be a hairdresser or a barber if you are good with your hands you might want to be a carpenter or a mechanic if you like to travel you could be a stewardess or a travel agent you could be a teacher or a photographer are you artistic or creative you might want to be an artist or a writer you could work on construction and build houses you could look after animals and be a veterinarian if you like to cook you could be a cook or a chef there are so many places to work and so many jobs to do maybe you could fix computers or work in a library you could wash windows or be the captain of a ship there is no limit to what you can be my body on the top of my head I have hair below my hair is my face I have two eyes I have eyebrows and eyelashes below my eyes I have a nose my mouth is below my nose I have lips if I open my lips you will see my teeth and my tongue below my mouth is my chin on the sides of my head I have two ears my cheeks are on either side of my nose my neck holds up my head my neck attaches my head to my chest on either side of my chest are my shoulders my arms hang down from my shoulders I have wrists on my arms my hands are attached to my wrists my fingers are part of my hands I have ten fingers and ten fingernails my back is at the back of me further down there is my waist if I wear a belt I put it on my waist my hips are below my waist my legs come down from my hips my legs are made up of my thighs my knees and my calves my knees can bend my ankles are below my legs my feet are attached to my ankles my toes are part of my feet I have ten toes and ten toenails I am me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes clothing I change my clothes a lot if I am going somewhere fancy I wear a dress I wear stockings on my legs and I wear a pair of nice shoes if I am going to play sports I wear sweatshirt and jeans if I am going to the beach I wear a bathing suit or a bikini my brother wears swimming trunks to the beach at work I wear a skirt and a blouse underneath my clothes I wear underwear a lady wears a bra and panties as underwear a man wears boxer or jockey shorts as underwear today I am wearing a blouse and a pair of jeans over my underwear I have socks and shoes on my feet in the summer I often wear sandals on my feet in the summer the tops that I wear are usually sleeveless I usually wear shorts in the summer sometimes I wear a sweater or a jacket if the weather is cool I wear a cap or a hat on my head I wear a belt to hold up my jeans or my slacks women sometimes wear a dress or a skirt men wear a pair of slacks and a shirt some men wear a suit and a shirt and tie if it is very cold outside I wear winter coat if it is cold I like to wear gloves or mittens on my hands sometimes I wrap a scarf around my neck to keep warm I wear to con my head in cold weather I wear boots on my feet in the winter if it is raining I wear a raincoat the way that I dress depends a lot on the weather colors red is a vibrant color roses are sometimes red blood is red white is the color of snow clouds are very often white blue is the color of the sky and the ocean black isn't really a color at all tar is black a crow is black green is the color of grass it is also the color of leaves on the trees in the summer Brown is the color of dirt many people have brown hair yellow is a bright color most people use yellow when they draw a picture of the Sun orange is an easy color to remember that is because an orange is orange pink is the color that we dress baby girls in we dress baby boys in blue purple is the color of some violets the Canadian flag is red and white what color is your flag wild animals some animals are wild they don't live in homes or cages they live in jungles or on plains the lion is the king of the beasts he is very mighty he roars loudly the giraffe has a long neck he eats leaves from the tallest trees the elephant is very large he has a trunk and two tusks a tiger has stripes some bears are black and some are brown there are even white bears called polar bears a kangaroo lives in Australia that is the only place that you would find a kangaroo except in a zoo it might be frightening to run into a wolf or a fox monkeys run and play in the trees in Canada we don't see lions tigers giraffes or monkeys running wild there are squirrels in my backyard sometimes I see a raccoon or a chipmunk in Northern Ontario you might see a moose or a bear I have seen a deer in the forest there are many wild animals you can see wild animals if you go to the zoo once there are 12 months in the year January is the first month of the year it is usually cold in January February is the second month of the year it is still winter when February comes they say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb that means that it is still usually cold and sometimes stormy when March begins by the time that March ends the weather is starting to get a little better April is the rainy month April showers bring May flowers many of the spring flowers bloom in May the weather can be quite mild in May June is usually a nice warm month many people get married in June July can be hot people have vacations in July it is a month to do summer things it is still summer in August but the summer is winding down August is the time to have last-minute vacations in September we go back to school the autumn winds begin to blow October really feels like autumn October is Halloween time November is when we really start to feel the chill December is the Christmas month most people do a lot of Christmas shopping in December they spend quite a bit of time getting ready for Christmas all of the months are different which month were you born in days of the week there are seven days of the week Sunday is a day of rest for some people but many people still have to work quite a few people go to church on a Sunday on Monday morning we go back to school after the weekend many people say they don't like Monday because it is the beginning of the workweek Tuesday is a school day and a working day I don't think that there is anything special about a Tuesday Wednesday is the middle of the workweek on Thursday many of the stores and malls stay open later it gives you a chance to run some errands on a Thursday night on Friday you feel like the workweek is nearly over some people say thank goodness it is Friday they look forward to the weekend on Saturday many people can sleep in late people get errands done on Saturday you see a lot of people in the grocery store on a Saturday most children look forward to Saturday so that they can play with their friends then Sunday comes again the weeks turn into months and the months turn into years time goes by quite quickly describing things some things are different shapes they can be described by their shape a circle is round a compact disc is a circle a square has four equal sides a rectangle is similar but two of the sides are longer a triangle has only three sides have you ever seen anyone play a triangle in an orchestra the word triangle can stand for an instrument or a shape an oval is rounded but it is not round an egg is an oval shape the floor is flat if something is smooth it has no bumps or lumps silk is smooth some things are rough sandpaper is rough if something is dull it is not sharp or pointed at knife will not cut bread because the blade is not sharp if something is pointed it has a sharp end a sharp pencil has a pointed end a pencil that has been used a lot and hasn't been sharpened has a dull end some things are soft a teddy bear is soft it feels good to touch some things are hard a rock is hard soft can also represent a noise level if you have a soft voice it is not very loud if someone tells you to speak softly they want you to speak quietly loud is the word used to describe noises that hurt your ears a big truck will make a loud noise sometimes your mother will tell you that your music is too loud fruit some fruit grows on trees apples grow on trees you can get red yellow or green apples some apples are green until they ripen then they turn red peaches grow on trees peaches have a fuzzy skin cherries grow on trees you can climb a ladder and pick cherries from the tree cherries and peaches have pits inside them the pits are not edible pears also grow on trees lemons grow on trees they are very sour have you ever picked strawberries strawberries do not grow on trees you have to bend down to pick strawberries have you ever tried strawberry shortcake it is very good grapes grow on vines people use grapes to make wine there are many types of berries there are blackberries blueberries raspberries and cranberries just to name a few some fruits are more exotic there are mangoes and papayas they don't grow in Canada bananas and oranges don't grow in a Canadian climate either but we are able to buy them here some fruits have to be peeled and some can be eaten as they are it is always a good idea to wash fruit before you eat it the farmers spray the crops with pesticides to kill bugs so it is good to wash that off bugs many people are afraid of bugs some bugs do bad things like eating crops or clothes some bugs such as termites even eat wood other bugs can be good spiders catch flies flies are not good because they carry germs insects get caught in the web that the spider builds ants get into homes and eat food bees are good because honey comes from bees it is not good if you get stung by a bee a caterpillar turns into a butterfly butterflies can be very beautiful you can find grasshoppers outside on a sunny day grasshoppers hopped through the grass crickets make a noise by rubbing their legs together dragonflies usually live near water they have large colorful wings ladybugs are red with little black dots there are many types of beetles nobody wants to have cockroaches in their house centipedes have many legs fleas get onto your pets and bite them they make your dog or cat itchy mosquitoes can make you itchy when they bite you have you ever had a mosquito bite the kitchen the kitchen is where we make and eat our meals there is a stove in the kitchen inside the stove there is an oven where you bake things you can put a cake into the oven to bake on top of the stove our burners the burners get hot you put pots or pans on the burners the refrigerator is where we store the food that needs to be kept cold we keep milk eggs cheese and vegetables in the refrigerator at the top of the refrigerator is the freezer the freezer keeps things frozen we have frozen vegetables ice cream and ice cubes in the freezer we have a toaster in the kitchen you put the bread in the toaster and it turns into toast we have an electric kettle we boil water to make tea in the kettle there is a double sink in the kitchen that is where we wash the dishes we turn on the hot tap and put some dish detergent into the sink to wash the dishes sometimes we put the dishes into the dishwasher and the dishwasher washes the dishes there are other things in the kitchen there are utensils like knives forks and spoons there are tea towels and dish cloths there are oven mitts and pot holders to take hot things out of the oven there are pots to cook and boil things in there are pans to fry things we have dishes that we eat from we have plates for our dinner and balls that we can put our soup in we drink from cups or coffee mugs or glasses we keep our juice in a pitcher or a jug there is a timer that you can set when you are cooking the timer buzzes when the food is ready we also have a microwave oven in the kitchen if we are in a hurry we cook our food in the microwave vegetables vegetables are very good for you they say that you should have three servings of vegetables every day I like green peas peas come in pods I also like snow peas you eat the pods on the snow peas I like corn when it is on the cob carrots are good to eat raw beans are good for you there are many different types of beans there are string beans kidney beans baked beans and lots of other types of beans some people don't like green vegetables like broccoli and brussel sprouts I like broccoli and brussel sprouts you can make a salad and put lots of different vegetables into the salad in my salads I like lettuce tomatoes celery cucumber radishes cauliflower and spring onions I try to have a salad with dressing on it every day my dad likes root vegetables like beets and parsnips my brother will only eat potatoes he likes his potatoes baked my mother likes to buy her vegetables at the market she says they are fresher there my mother buys a lot of onions she puts onions in almost all the meals that she cooks some children won't eat their vegetables I didn't like some vegetables at first but I have become used to them I like having vegetables with my meals pets there are many different animals that you can have for pets the most common pets are cats and dogs I think the second most common pets are birds and fish you can hug a cat or a dog you can play with a cat or a dog but it is difficult to play with a bird or a fish some birds are very smart and they can be taught to do things parrots are very clever some of them even talk birds usually stay in bird cages fish have to stay in the water in a tank or a fishbowl some people have gerbils or guinea pigs as pets there are even people who have ferrets as pets I have a friend who has a lizard for a pet she has to buy live crickets for her lizard to eat another friend of mine has a pet snake I don't think I would like to have a pet snake there are different types of dogs some dogs are very big and some are small a Labrador Retriever is a big dog a poodle is usually a small dog although there are some large poodles some dogs are noisy and they bark a lot other dogs are quiet and obedient I once had a dog it was a cocker spaniel I used to take it for walks there are different types of cats too my favourite type of cat is a Siamese cat Siamese cats have blue eyes my mother had a Persian cat it was very furry my mother said that it used to shed fur all over the house pets are a lot of fun but they are a lot of work to to be a good pet owner you have to be very responsible parties these can be a lot of fun people get invited to parties you can have a party because it is a special occasion or just because you want to have a party sometimes people wear paper hats at parties these are called party hats some people decorate with streamers and balloons at some parties there is a cake sometimes there are just snacks and drinks at some parties people play games there are also parties where people just stand around and talk people wear different things to parties you can go to some parties in casual clothes at other parties you need to be dressed up in good clothes there are other parties where you are supposed to wear a costume there are many different kinds of parties there are Christmas parties birthday parties going-away parties and parties for no reason at all I have been to parties for people who are retiring or for people who have just had a new baby there are hundreds of reasons for having a party at some parties you take a gift if it is a birthday party then you take a gift and a birthday card to the person who is having the birthday sometimes people will ask you to bring food or drinks to the party all parties are different it is nice to be invited to parties grocery shopping what do you see when you go to the grocery store the aisles are filled with food there are also refrigerators and freezers filled with food there are sometimes things in bins in the middle of the aisles there are different departments in the grocery store there is the bakery in the bakery there are sweet things such as cakes pies cookies and tarts there are also things that you would eat with your dinner like bread and buns there are other things in the bakery Department like bagels and biscuits the Baker works in the bakery there is the canned goods section this is where you might find sauces and soups vegetables and fruits also come in cans there is the section for dairy products here you would find milk and cream the dairy section would also have cheese and butter yogurt is also found in the dairy section in the meat department there is beef and pork poultry is also found in the meat department poultry is chicken duck and goose there are also cold cuts in the meat department cold cuts are the meats that are sliced up for sandwiches some examples of cold cuts are ham and Bologna the butcher works in the meat department the police department is full of fruits and vegetables clerks spray water on the fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh there is a section in the grocery store for personal hygiene this is where you would find shampoo and toothpaste soap and skin products would also be in this section there is even a section for your pets you can buy cat food and dog food there are toys for cats and dogs Oh differences are you tall or short are you big or small people come in many different shapes and sizes some people were size small clothes other people we're size medium clothes there are people who wear large size clothes some people even wear extra-large clothes some people are thin some people are fat some people are in between there are people with short hair other people have long hair some people have no hair at all no two people are exactly alike some people have long legs I have short legs I don't walk as fast as a person with long legs I am NOT a tall person in fact I am quite short my feet are a size 7 my mother has size 5 feet my father has size 12 feet we are all different sizes it is not a bad thing it is a good thing that we are all unique the restaurant when you go to a restaurant you might see a sign that says please wait to be seated a host or hostess will ask you how many people are in your party then they will want to know if you want to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section the host or hostess will take you to your seat you might sit at a table or at a booth the host or hostess will give you a menu to look at sometimes there are different menus for different meals there can be a breakfast menu a lunch menu and a dinner menu sometimes there is also a wine list and a dessert menu the food and the prices of a food are listed on the menu on your table there will be cutlery cutlery is the knives forks and spoons there will also be a napkin you are supposed to put your napkin on your lap when you eat your waiter or waitress will take your order you might want an appetizer before your meal some people want a salad or soup before their meal after your meal you might have a dessert or tea or coffee when it is time to go you will pay your bill and leave a tip for the waiter or waitress traffic traffic moves along on the streets and highways there are rules that drivers must follow to make the traffic flow smoothly you must wear a seatbelt the seatbelt helps to keep you safe you must stop and all stop signs you must also stop at a red light a green light means go and a yellow light means to be careful if you see a sign that says school crossing you have to be careful because you are near a school and children might be crossing the street some places are crosswalks those are places where people cross the street people who are walking have the right-of-way if you hear a siren behind you you must pull over an emergency vehicle like a police car or an ambulance might need to get somewhere fast when a school bus puts on its flashing signals you have to stop you can't go past the school bus because children may be crossing the street from the bus you should always obey the speed limit it is not good to drive too fast people should never drink and drive driving is a serious business you have to obey all the rules to be a good driver music if you were in an orchestra what would you play would you play a tuba a trumpet or a saxophone perhaps you would prefer a stringed instrument like a violin or a cello maybe you would enjoy percussion more you could play the kettle drum there are instruments that have keyboards a piano and an organ have keyboards there are instruments that have strings on them a guitar banjo & mandolin have strings on them there are instruments that you blow into a flute of French horn and a harmonica are all instruments that you blow into there are instruments that you hit with a stick a drum and a cymbal are two things that you would hit with a stick if you are in an orchestra you have to watch the conductor he will lead you through the piece of music you might just want to be in a band for fun you could join a rock band or a dance band some people learn to read music music notes are written on a staff each note represents a sound there are whole notes half notes quarter notes and eighth notes each one of these is held for a different number of beats it is good to learn about music you have to learn your scales and learn about sharps and flats if you want to learn how to play an instrument it is best to take music lessons who what where and why these are important words they're all words that begin questions who is about a person who is the girl with the blue dress on who stole my watch who will come with me to the game who is driving us to the party what is about a thing what is that big thing on the sidewalk what should I do when I get to your house what kind of clothes should I wear to the party what shall I buy you for your birthday where is about a place where are you going for your vacation where did I leave my glasses where did my brother go where on earth is Timmins why is the word that asks for an explanation why did you take the last piece of pie why is the world round why should I give you any money why did the chicken cross the street they say that you should answer all of these questions if you are writing a good story you have to give the who what where and why to write a good story which direction which direction should I go in should I go up if I go up I will head toward the sky I can go up the stairs should I go down I can go down the stairs to the basement I can climb down into a hole should I go left or right I am right-handed so I know which way right is should I go backwards I would be going away from the things that I am facing now if I went backwards if I went backwards from the thing that I am facing I would go away from it should I go forward I will just go straight ahead if I go forward if I am facing something and I go forward then I will go toward the thing that I am facing maybe I should go sideways but which side left or right it sounds very complicated but it is not directions are very easy to follow if you just stop and think about them the office some people work in an office there are special tools that people in an office need to do their work there is a computer in the office there is a telephone most of the time the secretary answers the telephone the secretary sits at a desk the Secretary has pens and pencils on the desk the secretary writes on a notepad some other things that you would find in an office would include the following a stapler to staple pages together a photocopier to copy pages a pencil sharpener to sharpen pencils a water cooler where the employees could get a drink of water a hole punch to make holes in sheets of paper and liquid paper which is used to blank out errors on a page some offices have many employees in them all of the employees have their own desks other offices just have one person at a desk in some offices there is a secretary or a receptionist and then there is the boss in another room there are often many important papers in an office important papers can be called documents you might have to sign a document or fill out a form in an office some offices have bookshelves filled with books the books are filled with information that the people in the office need you will have to visit an office sometime maybe it will be a doctor's office or a lawyer's office there are many different types of offices money I keep my money in the bank I have saved up my money I saved all my pennies in a jar a penny is only worth one cent I have nickels a nickel is worth five cents a dime is worth ten cents a quarter is worth 25 cents a quarter is a quarter of a dollar for quarters make up a dollar a dollar is worth 100 cents I saved up all of my dollars our dollars used to be paper but now they are coins we call our dollars loonies it's a funny name we also have two dollar coins we call those two knees we have five dollar bills and ten dollar bills if you are lucky you will have 20 dollar bills 50 dollar bills and even hundred dollar bills our bills in Canada are different colors that makes them easy to recognize if you go somewhere to spend them it is wise to save your money if you save enough you can have hundreds or thousands of dollars manners it is good to be polite people like you more when you are polite always say please and thank you if you ask for some milk you should say please may I have a glass of milk when someone gives you the milk you should respond with thank you it is not difficult to be polite you should not push or shove people you should cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze you should address people properly if you are trying to get someone's attention you would say excuse me you wouldn't say hey you there are table manners that is where you eat properly and politely at the dinner table you don't shove food into your mouth you don't reach over other people's plates you don't talk with your mouth full all of these things are common sense being polite is mostly thinking about how you would like to be treated you wouldn't want people to be impolite to you it is not polite to point at people it is not polite to burp out loud it is not polite to you someone else's things without asking first being polite just comes naturally if you have been brought up in a home where everyone was polite the two sexes there are two sexes or genders there is the male gender and there is the female gender males and females are different both physically and mentally humans are both male and female and animals are both male and female if you have a dog it is either a girl dog or a boy dog boys grow up to be men men grow hair on their faces that are usually more muscular than women men dress differently than women men are males males are masculine girls grow up to be women only women can have babies women are females females are feminine another word for women is ladies it is good that we have males and females your father is a male your grandfather brother and uncle are males your mother is a female your grandmother sister and aunt are female all cells me I am special nobody in the world is exactly like I am they might have the same hair color and eyes that I do but they are not exactly like me I am the only person in the world who thinks my thoughts no two people in the world are exactly alike it is good to be your own person it is good to be creative and be natural people have to follow the laws and the rules people should always be kind to others I try to follow all the rules I am kind to others I am a lot like many other people yet I am different I am like my friend Jane but she has red hair and I have dark hair she has a loud voice and I have a soft voice she likes to eat vegetables and I do not Jane and I are the same height we both like movies and we are both afraid of spiders we wear the same size shoes and we both have the same favorite color we are best friends but sometimes we disagree about things we are alike in many ways and different in many ways if we were all exactly the same the world would be a very boring place I am myself and I am glad that I am special you are special to use your own special talents and take the time to meet other people the world is made up of a lot of different people and that's what makes life exciting my cat I got my cat when she was just a tiny kitten I named her puff because her fur is soft and fluffy she has white fur but her tail paws and ears are black she has a little pink nose and yellow eyes she says meow whenever she wants a bowl of milk I feed her cat food and treats she washes her face with her paw when she is finished eating my whole family loves her and we can tell that she loves us she loves to curl up in our laps she purrs whenever we pet her she is very playful we sometimes roll off a piece of paper and throw it to her she loves to chase the paper and hit it with her paws she also chases bugs last night she chased a spider but she was afraid to touch it at night she curls up in my bed with me she likes to be warm I have given her a blanket of her own but when I put her on it her tail twitches her tail twitches whenever she's upset or angry I know she doesn't want to be on her blanket she wants to be in my bed I let her into my bed and she falls asleep purring loudly music my family is very musical my father plays the guitar he plays in a band the band plays country music my mother is a singer in the band she also plays the piano I took the flute in music class at school I play the flute in the school band I also sing in the school choir I have a low voice my sister has a high voice she is a soprano at home I like to practice the drums but my mother says that it's too loud sometimes I play so loudly that I break a drumstick I practice whenever she goes out I would like to be in a rock band some of my friends and I are thinking of starting our own rock band my sister is a very good piano player she has won many awards at music festivals she likes to play classical music but sometimes I get her to play rock music with me she is also a very good singer I like to sing with her we sing in harmony I listen to music all the time on the radio I know a lot of songs I can sing along with most of the songs that come on the radio i memorize the lyrics of the songs my sister and I sometimes get together and sing our favorite songs maybe someday we will start our own rock band and I will be the drummer spring it rains a lot in the spring the trees are full of buds and the flowers are starting to bloom my favorite spring flowers are tulips and daffodils the birds come back from the south I can always tell that spring is here when I see my first Robin of the season the Robins pull worms from the wet ground when it isn't raining my friends and I go outside and toss a ball around we look forward to the summer but we are glad to get outside after the long winter the air smells so fresh in the spring my mother always tells me not to track mud into the house it's very muddy in our yard in the springtime I wipe my muddy feet before I go into the house there are a lot of puddles in my yard I sometimes splash in the puddles and I get wet and cold so I have to go into the house I like it when the snow has melted the rain has stopped and the Sun comes out on sunny days I always get together with my friends on those days we either ride our bikes or play ball my parents like to go for walks on spring evenings they also like to clean up the yard in the spring everyone seems to be outside the spring time brings people out of their houses the birthday party yesterday I went to a birthday party my friend Jane had her 10th birthday her house was decorated with balloons and streamers her mother had baked a big birthday cake the cake had happy 10th birthday Jane written on it there were 10 candles on the cake Jane blew out the candles and made a wish I wonder what she wished for your wish won't come true if you tell anyone what it was we sang happy birthday to you at the party we played some games I won one of the games so I got a prize we also swam in Jane swimming pool Jane opened her gifts her gifts were wrapped in bright paper and bows she got lots of nice gifts she got some compact discs some clothes and some computer games Jane thanked everyone we ate a lot of food at Jane's party we had hotdogs I put mustard and ketchup on my hot dog then we ate cake and ice cream we had popped a drink I think I had too much cake and ice cream I was very full by the time the party was over we thank Jane and her mother before we all went home it was a very good party everyone had a good time I hope Jane had a happy 10th birthday my classroom my classroom is a large room it's full of brightly colored pictures my teacher hangs pictures up all over the walls there are blackboards at the front of the room my teacher always has writing all over the blackboards sometimes the chalk squeaks when she writes on the blackboard we cover our ears when that happens our classroom is full of desks there are a lot of students in our class our desks are full of books notebooks and pens I try to keep my desk neat but I have a lot of things in there my ruler and pencils are always falling out of my desk at the back of the room is a bookcase full of books we can sign those books out and take them home to read I have read a lot of the books I like mysteries and biographies so I have taken many of those home there are also tables at the back of the room that's where we do our artwork we spread out big sheets of paper and use paints or crayons to make pictures sometimes we cut things out of magazines with scissors and we glue pictures to the paper I like art class after school my friends and I often erase the blackboards for the teacher then we take the erasers outside and clap them together to get the chalk dust out of them my friends and I walk home together and talk about what we did in school and what we're going to do after supper vacation my family and I went on vacation to Lake Huron the water is beautiful and blue there and the sand is nice and white the week that we were there was very hot the Sun was hot but the water was still very cold I went swimming and tried to catch little fish in my hands I was careful not to get sunburned we stayed at a hotel that had a pool and a game room I played pinball and video games sometimes I like to swim in the hotel pool but I like the beach better I would lie on a big beach towel and get warm then I would jump in the water and cool off sometimes I would just lie on the sand and watch the waves roll up on shore I found some seashells and saw a crab walking on the sand at first I was a bit lonely because I didn't know anyone there it wasn't long before I met some other kids my age we built sandcastles together and swam in the lake the other kids were from different towns so we told each other stories about our schools and friends we found that we had a lot in common even though we were from different places our families got together and went to restaurants together we played volleyball on the beach and we sat around a campfire at night and sang songs at the campfire we would roast marshmallows on a stick I always burn my marshmallows that is ok I like them that way mostly we just swam in the lake until we were very tired I was sorry when our vacation was over I had a good time at Lake Huron I met some very good friends there we still write to each other maybe we'll see each other next summer my house I live in a two-story house the bottom of the house is painted white the upper part of the house is made of red brick the chimney is also made of red brick if you go through the front door and turn right you'll see the living room the living room is very large and comfortable there are easy chairs a coffee table and a sofa in there I like to sit in there and relax next to the living room is the dining room there are a dining table and chairs in there we use this room whenever we have visitors over for dinner beside the dining room is the kitchen the kitchen has a stove and a refrigerator in it there's also a kitchen table with some benches added most of the time we eat in the kitchen upstairs there are three bedrooms my parents bedroom is very big they have a large queen sized bed in there and there are two closets for their clothes my room is smaller my room is painted pink and I have ruffled curtains on the windows from my bedroom window you can see the front yard there's a pine tree in the front yard my brother's bedroom is painted blue he has blinds on the windows he has a bunk bed in his room if he has a friend stay over one of them can sleep on the top bunk and the other can sleep on the bottom bunk you can see the backyard from his bedroom window there are rose bushes and a picnic table in the backyard there is also a white fence that has a gate in it in the basement there is a recreation room this is where we watch television and have friends over to visit the laundry room is also in the basement there's a washing machine and a dryer in there beside our house is a garage we keep the car in the garage whenever the weather is bad our house is just the right size for our family friends are always welcome at our house my family my grandparents are coming to visit us from Calgary Alberta my father is very happy because they are his parents and he's glad that he will see them we don't see them very often because Calgary is a long way from Toronto my grandparents have two sons my father and my uncle bill uncle bill is married to my aunt Susan they have a daughter who is my cousin my cousin is a lot older than I so we do not have a lot in common they also have a son who is the same age as me he is my favorite cousin because we both like the same television shows and the same games I have two brothers and one sister my brothers are both younger than I they are twins so they have the same birthday my sister is one year older than I people say that my sister and I look alike we both have blonde hair and blue eyes my mother's parents live near us they are my grandmother and grandfather who visit us often my mother does not have any brothers or sisters she is an only child I like it when all my family is together I don't have a lot of cousins like some people do but I have fun with my relatives my uncle will often take my cousin and me to the movies I like to take my grandparents for walks so they can see my school and they can meet my friends my parents talk to my brothers and my sister and I a lot we are a very close-knit family people who have close families are very lucky winter once the fall is over and the snowflakes start to fall I get very excited I can hardly wait for the ground to be covered with a blanket of white snow I put on my mittens my scarf my hat coat and winter boots and I run out into the fluffy snow I have to be careful not to slip on the ice it can get very icy and cold in the winter the first thing that I do is to build a snowman I sometimes build a snow fort to my friends and I have a good snowball fight we laugh a lot and our cheeks and noses get very red when we get too cold we go into the house and have a cup of hot chocolate my father fills the backyard with water that freezes and turns into an ice rink when the ice is hard enough my friends and I get our skates and we go out on the ice to play hockey all of my friends own hockey sticks I am usually the goalie and I have to keep the puck from going into the net my sister and her friends don't really like to play hockey they would rather just skate around on the ice I took skating lessons so I don't usually fall down my little brother is just learning to skate so he falls down a lot my father has to shovel the snow off the paths and the driveway in the winter I help him shoveling snow is hard work when my dad and I finished shoveling the driveway we go into the house and warm our hands and feet in front of the fireplace there is probably nothing more beautiful than fresh fallen snow on the trees in the morning when the Sun shines on the snow it glistens I like to leave my footprints in the snow winter can be very beautiful and exciting autumn some people call autumn the fall you can call it either one autumn is the time when the leaves change color they change from green to beautiful shades of gold orange and red it looks like an artist has come along and painted all the trees the air starts to get a little colder in the autumn we begin to wear jackets or sweaters we go back to school in the autumn the teachers sometimes gets us to make leaf collections we collect different types of leaves and make a display of them autumn is the time when old friends get back together and talk about what they did on their summer vacations Halloween comes in the autumn we dress up in costumes some of them are scary and some of them are funny we go from door to door and say Trick or Treat and people give us candies we wear masks on our faces and we have a lot of fun the autumn winds start to blow the wind blows the leaves right off the trees until the trees have bare branches my friends and I have a lot of fun outside before the winter leaves us shivering we play football and soccer at school after school we ride our bikes through the piles of dry leaves the leaves go flying through the air as we drive through them my parents rake the leaves up and put them in a big pile I like to jump in the big piles of leaves but then my parents just have to rake them up again the skies get a little cloudier in the autumn and we know that soon there will be snow so we enjoy the brisk autumn weather while we can summer yah-hoo school is over we are free for the summer my friends and I run out on the last day of school into the bright summer Sun we sing a song about no more pencils and no more books we can hardly wait to do all the summer things that we like to do we go swimming we play baseball we ride our bikes and we go to the beach we go on vacations or some of us go to summer camp it is just nice to run barefoot through the grass or lie on your back and look up at the clouds summer days are lazy days we don't have to do schoolwork we listen to the buzzing of the bees we watch the birds as they fly from tree to tree we go down to the pond and toss rocks into the water we eat ice cream and we have barbecues some of my friends parents have boats so we go for rides in their boats some of my friends go to their cottages they have cottages on legs some of my friends even have summer jobs my best friend works at a supermarket my father pays me to do jobs for him I cut the grass take out the garbage and wash the car I like to be outside in the sunshine on Sundays my mother will pack a picnic lunch and we go down to the park sometimes we play baseball there is also a tennis court at the park I'm a very good tennis player my sister just likes to swing on the swings and slide down the slide we eat our sandwiches and watch out for the ants that always seem to be a picnics after we have our lunch my sister and I run off to play with the other children my dad has a nap and my mother reads her book my skin gets brown from the Sun in the summer summer is my favorite season I like the sounds smells and feelings that come with the Summer Sun summer is a lot of fun I wish summer could go on forever the doctor I didn't feel very well last week I had a sore throat and a fever my mother took me to see the doctor when we got there the nurse took my name and said that the doctor would be with me soon the doctor was a very nice man in a white jacket I had seen the doctor before when I had my tonsils out at the hospital the doctor took a light and looked in my ears he put a stick on my tongue and he Shawn his light into my mouth he looked at my throat he said that my throat was a bit swollen and red he felt my neck and said my glands were swollen he took my temperature and said that it was quite high he listened to my heart and he made me cough he asked me some questions he said he might have to do some tests he sent me to get some blood taken out of my arm I was scared but it didn't really hurt the doctor gave me some pills and told me to take one in the morning and one at night he told me to drink lots of fluids he told me to get plenty of sleep I did exactly what the doctor told me to do it wasn't very long before I was feeling well again I think that I might like to be a doctor when I grow up I would like to make people feel better the dentist my friend's father is a dentist he has an office near my house I went to see him on Thursday his nurse told me to sit in a very big chair she tied a bib under my chin the dentist came in he examined my teeth with some shiny silver tools he looked at my front teeth and my back teeth he told me that the back teeth were called molars he told me to open wide he had a little mirror that he used to look at my teeth he said that I had good strong teeth he told me that I didn't have any cavities I told him that I didn't eat a lot of candies and that I always brush my teeth after every meal he said that was very good he asked me if i flossed my teeth and I said yes I used dental floss every day he told me that my teeth were healthy because I took very good care of them he left and told me to keep up the good work the dental hygienist came in and she said that she would clean my teeth for me she scraped my teeth with a sharp tool and then she put some polish on my teeth and began to clean them when she was done she told me to spit into a bowl and then I rinsed my mouth out with water I looked into a mirror and saw that my teeth were very shiny and white if I take care of my teeth I'll have them forever I would like to keep my teeth healthy and white I'd like to smile the school play we are putting on a play at school some of the students are actors in the play some people are building the sets some people will sew costumes and some people will be makeup artists the teacher is the director of the play the play will be held on a big stage in the gymnasium the curtains will open the lights will go on and the play will begin it will be very exciting all of our families will come to see the play they will clap when the play is over my friend is very good at cutting wood and building things he's helping to build the set my other friend Michael is an artist so he is painting the set so that it looks like a forest my friend Marie likes to put makeup on people so she is a makeup artist she will put makeup on me so that I will look like an old woman some of the mothers help to sew the costumes the play is called Hansel and Gretel I will play the part of the witch the boy who plays Hansel has to wear shorts and a shirt I wear a witch's hat and a black dress I also carry a broom some of the people in my class will be dressed like trees and flowers this is a musical play and the trees and flowers will sing to Hansel and Gretel as they walk through the forest I can hardly wait for opening night I want my family and friends to see me acting on stage I hope they will like the play we have all learned our lines and worked very hard at making this play a success emotions do you ever think about your emotions what kinds of things make you sad I get sad when I get a bad mark in school or when someone that I like moves away I sometimes see sad movies that make me cry I don't like to be sad I don't like to have a frown on my face I like to be happy I'm happy most of the time parties make me happy being with my friends makes me happy lots of things make me happy if someone tells me a joke I laugh I enjoy laughing funny movies make me laugh I think that people look the best when they smile what kinds of things make you mad I get mad when my brother breaks one of my toys I try not to show it when I get mad my parents get mad at me if I come home light I don't think anger is a good emotion it is best to stay calm and talk things over emotions come from inside you but they show on your face people can tell when you're mad or sad or happy I prefer to look happy sometimes I even smile when I'm feeling sad and the smile makes me feel a little better my first job I just got a job at the grocery store this is my first job I will receive a paycheck every two weeks I wear a uniform the uniform has the name of the grocery store on it I have many jobs at the grocery store I have to collect all the carts from the parking lot and bring them back into the store I have to put all the produce out for the people to see I will be putting out the vegetables there are carrots lettuce cabbages cucumbers and beans to put out this morning I also have to put the fruit out on the stand so that it looks nice the oranges roll away when I put them out so I have to be careful I put out the apples bananas and grapes I stack boxes up so that people can buy cereal and cookies I have to be careful or the boxes will fall there are cans of things which also need to be placed on the shelves the lie yesterday I told a lie I don't feel very good about it I was bouncing a ball in the kitchen and the ball bounced up and broke a cup it was one of my mother's best cups so I was afraid that she would be mad I put the broken cup back on the table and I didn't tell anyone that I had broken it that night my mother asked who had broken the cup my brother said not me my sister said I didn't do it I said I didn't break the cup but I was lying my mother said that we would all be punished if someone didn't tell the truth and say who broke the cup I still did not tell her that I had broken it she gave us one more chance and she said she wasn't mad about the cup she just wanted us to be honest I still didn't say anything my brother sister and I all got sent to our rooms we had to stay in our rooms all morning my brother said it wasn't fair I felt very bad because my brother and sister were being punished because of me I went to my mother and told her that I had broken the cup she said that she was not upset about the broken cup she knew that it was an accident she was disappointed in me because I hadn't come forward and told the truth she said that she wouldn't have punished me if I had been honest with her I told my brother and sister that I was sorry I felt bad because they were punished because I was dishonest I told my mother that I was sorry that I had lied to her I told her that I had learned a lesson honesty is the best policy it is better to tell the truth it is not a good feeling when people don't trust you I have learned that lying just hurts people sometimes it is hard to be honest but it is the best way to be hobbies a lot of people have hobbies hobbies are interesting things that people like to do in their spare time my father has a hobby he has a Model Railroad set that he put together a tiny electric train runs through make-believe villages and travels through tunnels and over mountains my father also enjoys sailing he has a real sailboat that he takes us out on he is teaching me how to sail I like to collect things I collect comic books stamps and coins I trade comic books with some of my friends and sometimes I buy comic books at stores some of the very old comic books are worth a lot of money I have stamps from all over the world whenever any of my friends get a letter from a faraway place they saved the stamps for me I have stamps from England Japan Australia and even Russia I use a magnifying glass to look at the stamps and I keep them in a special album I don't have too many coins yet but I have a very old dime from Canada and I have a coin with a hole in it from Africa my mother used to collect dolls when she was a little girl the dolls were costumes from different countries my friend John's hobby is painting he does oil painting he has even sold some of his paintings he is a good artist my friend Linda sews she has made clothes for herself and some of her friends maybe Linda will be a fashion designer when she gets older sometimes people's hobbies lead them into their careers Christmas in December Christmas comes we get a holiday from school and our parents get a few days off from work our family gets ready for Christmas by decorating the house we decorate inside and Airds on the outside of the house we put up lights that twinkle and glow we have a wooden Santa Claus and a reindeer set that my father puts up on the roof inside we put up a Christmas tree some years we have a real tree real pine trees smell nice but you have to be careful that they don't dry out and start a fire this year we have an artificial tree we hang tinsel and ornaments on the tree we also hang strands of light on the tree and put a star at the top everyone thinks that the tree is beautiful when we turn on the lights we place gifts under the tree there is a gift from me under the tree it is wrapped in red paper and it has a big green bow on it red and green are the Christmas colors on Christmas Eve my brother and sister and I will hang our stockings near the fireplace Santa Claus comes down the chimney and fills our stockings full of toys and goodies on Christmas morning it is exciting to see what Santa has left for you my mother will make a big turkey dinner for us on Christmas Day we have lots of vegetables and good tasting foods to go with the turkey we will have dessert too some of my family like Christmas pudding but I will just have ice cream last year some carolers came to the door it was snowing outside they stood in the snow and sang Christmas carols to us my father gave them some money and my mother gave them some hot chocolate to warm them up they had lovely voices and they sang some of my favorite carols we also collect food gifts and money for some of the people in town who cannot afford to have Christmas my family is collecting things for a poor family who live near here we had fun deciding which toys to buy for the children in that family it was a good feeling to share with people who do not have as much as you do my parents have always taught us that christmas is a time for giving not receiving I think there the garden the garden is very interesting I sometimes go outside and I watch all the things that go on in the garden it smells wonderful in the flower garden there are red white pink and yellow roses that have a sweet smell i watch the bees as they take pollen from the roses there are tiny bugs that live on the rose bushes my mother tries to get rid of the little bugs but it is difficult to get rid of them she is glad to see the red ladybugs who eat the little bugs the birds like the sunflowers they like to eat sunflower seeds there is a birdbath in the garden the blackbirds and swallows go in there to take a drink or have a bath I sometimes see a Robin or a blue jay in there - in the dirt there are little holes where the ants go in and out the ants are hard workers i watch them as they work together as a team to bring food to their nests there are snails in the garden too they carry their homes on their backs they move slowly and leave a silvery trail as they go they eat the leaves from my mother's plants my mother also has vegetables growing in her garden she grows green peas we like to pick those and eat the peas raw right out of their pods she grows lettuce and tomatoes - we have so many tomatoes that we always give some to our neighbors my mother sends us outside to pick lettuce and tomatoes whenever we have a salad my favorite vegetables are carrots their tops grow above the earth but the carrots are below the dirt when you pick them you have to pull the carrots out from under the soil weeds also grow in the garden after a good rainfall it seems that the weeds just spring up I pull the weeds out by their roots so they won't grow back weeds choke the good plants so we don't want them in our garden gardening is a good hobby you get fresh air sunshine and exercise you even get beautiful colorful flowers and nice fresh food the pet store on Saturday my parents took us to the pet store they had everything that you would need if you had a pet they had dog food collars and leashes for dogs they had treats to give your dog and brushes to brush your dog for cats they had food toys and litter boxes for birds they had seed and cages there was a section for fish they had fish in big tanks and little bowls in the big tanks there were colorful fish swimming around the girl who worked there said that they were tropical fish there were goldfish in the smaller fish bowls I saw the girl get a goldfish out with a little net she sold it to a boy who said he had another goldfish at home there was a very large cage with a parrot in it I walked up to the cage and the parrot said hello I was surprised that the parrot could talk it could say a few things it said I love you pretty bird and bye-bye I told my mother that I would like a parrot but she said that parrots need a lot of care and attention at the back of the store there were some puppies they seemed glad to see me I stuck my hand into the cage and one of them licked my hand they were very lively they were running around and chasing their own tails in the next cage there were two kittens one of them was playing with a toy and the other one was asleep the kittens were very small the one that was sleeping was curled up into a ball I couldn't even see her face I didn't want to leave the pet store I was wishing that I could take all of the animals home me my first day of school I remember my first day of school I was excited but I was afraid I held my mother's hand as we walked to the school when we got near the school I wouldn't let her hold my hand anymore I didn't want to look like a baby we got to the school the school looked very big and frightening there were children outside on the playground they all looked very big I looked at them and some of them looked at me I felt very small my mother and I went into the school and found the kindergarten room there were children in there most of them were the same size as me my mother spoke to the kindergarten teacher the teacher was very nice she said my name and she introduced me to some of the other children I already knew some of the children because they lived near me I began to play with some of the things that were in the classroom there were toy trucks coloring books and even a dollhouse I soon forgot to be scared and I began to play with the other children I didn't even notice that my mother had left the room in school we sang songs played some games and listened as the teacher read us a story I had a lot of fun on my first day of school I even drew a picture of my teacher I took the picture home and my mother put it on the refrigerator I like school it is a good place to meet new friends and learn all about the world transportation people move from place to place there are lots of ways you can move around from one place to another sometimes you can just move your feet and walk walking is good for you some places are too far to walk to you might have to ride a bicycle or ride on a skateboard some places are too far away to ride your bicycle too you might have to drive in a car or a van or even a truck my father has a car my uncle has a van I have never been in a big truck trucks are usually used to carry big loads from one city to another I would like to be a truck driver I would travel all over and sit high up in the cab I have been in a taxicab once my mother and I took a taxi to the hospital there was a special meter in the taxi when we finished our taxi ride the driver looked at the meter to find out how much money we owed him I once rode a horse i sat in the saddle and held on tight to the reins the horse ran very fast it was a bumpy ride and I was afraid that I would fall off the horse not too many people around here use horses for transportation they used to use horses for transportation in the old days if you want to travel very far away you have to go on a train a plane or a boat if you are in a hurry it is best to take a plane planes fly through the air very fast trains go along the tracks sometimes I can hear the train whistle from my house boats take a long time to cross the ocean great big boats that cross the oceans are old ships if you like to take it easy and look out at the water then ships are a good way to travel they say that the world is a lot smaller now because of transportation people can travel to all parts of the world quickly and easily the world is not really smaller but it has become easy to get to faraway places television do you watch television my mother says that I watch too much television i watch cartoons on Saturday mornings cartoons make me laugh my brother and I each have our favorite cartoons we have trouble deciding which cartoons we will watch on Saturday afternoons we like to watch sports my brother really likes to watch baseball but usually my mother tells us to go out and play on a Saturday afternoon on weeknights we have our own favorite shows I like shows about outer space and monsters my brother likes comedies he likes to laugh my mother likes shows about real-life situations she likes to watch the news she says that the news is important she watches the news and whether to find out what is going on in the world sometimes she watches real-life shows about doctors or policemen my father doesn't watch television he says that he would rather read a good book or the newspaper my dad gets all his news from the newspaper my favorite thing is to sit in front of the television with a bag of popcorn and a bottle of Pop I sit there and change the channels with the remote control I change channels and watch a few different shows at once my mother won't let me watch too much television she doesn't want me to get lazy television is good if you don't spend too much time watching it you can learn a lot from television if you watch the educational channels I learned about dinosaurs and rainforests last week just from watching television my country I live in Canada it is a very large country that is made up of ten provinces and 3 territories most of the provinces and territories are quite unique for example in Saskatchewan the land is flat and it is not surrounded by water they grow wheat in Saskatchewan British Columbia has mountains I have never been to British Columbia but I hear that it is very beautiful Nova Scotia is on the Atlantic Ocean so there are many fishermen out there the people in the provinces are even different from each other in Quebec many of the people speak French in the maritime provinces the people like to play their own kind of music they play fiddles and accordions and many of them dance very well Nunavut is in the north so life is quite different there the people who live in the new territory of Nunavut are very close to wildlife they do a lot of hunting and fishing it can get very cold up in the Arctic where none of it is I live in Ontario even within Ontario life can be quite different the capital of Ontario is Toronto Toronto is a very busy city with lots of apartments offices and shops Toronto is an exciting place and it has a lot to offer there are theaters and restaurants to suit every taste the culture in Toronto is very diverse if you drive a few miles north of Toronto you will find places that are tranquil and peaceful many people leave Toronto on the weekends and drive to their cottages where they find rest and relaxation Canada is made up of many different cultures people of many different ethnic background live in harmony in Canada that is why I like Canada in Canada we celebrate our differences food what kinds of food do you like to eat I am lucky because in Canada there are many foods to choose from I like to eat hot dogs hamburgers and steak these are all meat products I also like cheese ice cream and yogurt these are all dairy products I like vegetables my favorite vegetables are broccoli cabbage carrots and peas I eat a lot of fruit I eat whichever fruit is in season in strawberry season I eat a lot of strawberries in peach season I eat many peaches sometimes my mother will make a peach pie many different crops grow in Canada we have many orchards and farms fresh fruit and vegetables are plentiful in Canada meat and fish are also plentiful here in Canada we have a lot of different foods to choose from in my city there are a lot of Italian restaurants my favorite food at the Italian restaurant is pizza my parents would rather have spaghetti or lasagna there are Greek restaurants Mexican restaurants and Chinese restaurants in fact there are restaurants from most cultures I can go around from restaurant to restaurant and pretend that I am travelling the world and trying all the different foods from around the world sometimes I eat things that aren't good for me I eat potato chips and candies these foods aren't part of a nutritious diet but they are fun to eat the zoo class took a trip to the Toronto Zoo I had a wonderful time there my favorite animals were the Lions they look very powerful and strong they say that the lion is the king of the forest and I think that title suits him the monkeys were funny they were looking at us just as much as we looked at them they were swinging from branches and doing tricks to impress us there was a baby monkey that was clinging to its mother's back it was very cute the Tigers were pacing back and forth they seemed Restless the stripes on a tiger are very beautiful we watched the tall giraffes as they nibbled leaves off the tallest trees we spoke to a colourful parrot that spoke back to us we saw exotic animals that we had never seen before some of them were very strange there were different types of bears there there were black bears I saw a black bear once when I was camping up north we saw polar bears polar bears are white they like the cold we even saw panda bears one of my friends bought a toy panda bear from the gift shop because she thought that the pandas were so cute we saw slithery snakes some of the snakes had very bright skins most of the girls were afraid of the snakes the zookeeper was looking after the snakes and one of them hissed at him he has to be very careful when he works with the snakes the last thing that we saw at the zoo was the elephant he was enormous he looked at us then he raised his trunk and made a loud sound it made us jump the museum the museum was very interesting there were so many things in the museum that I would need more time to really see everything there were clothes from the past I don't know how people wore some of those things they look like they would be uncomfortable I like to wear my jeans there were things from Wars there were bullets and cannons and even uniforms from the soldiers I don't think that war is a good thing but it is good to remember the past and honor the people who died for your country there was an old fire truck at the museum this fire truck was pulled by a horse there were some very old photographs of the firemen putting out fires there were rooms in the museum that were set up like an old house there were antique irons and sewing machines the women used to clean the clothes with a washboard there were no modern appliances back then I'm glad that we have electricity and modern appliances the things that we have make life so much easier there were mummies from Egypt at the Museum I was fascinated by those there were artifacts from the Indians there were arrowheads and cradles that the babies slept in I tried my best to see everything but it was almost impossible the museum is a good place to learn about your past I tried to imagine my grandparents using some of the things that were on display at the Museum the police my mother always told me that if I was lost I could go up to a policeman and that he would help me to find my way home I never did get lost but I always remembered what my mother told me about the police I think policemen look very nice in their uniforms I see police officers drive by in their police cars in my town we even have police officers on bicycles policemen and police women have a job that can sometimes be dangerous they have to catch people who break the law sometimes they have to chase people or try to calm people down to be a police officer you need a lot of training it's important to be able to deal with people effectively a police officer came to our school he had a police dog with him the officer showed us how the dog could track down criminals the dog was very smart he could even find things that were hidden criminals sometimes hide things that they don't want the police to find the policeman told us that he and his dog were partners his dog lives at his house with the policeman and his family sometimes I see police cars on the side of the road the police stop people who are speeding or are not wearing their seatbelts the police officers warn people or give out tickets sometimes they even have to arrest people police officers are just doing their job when they arrest people some people need to be arrested and put in jail to make it safer for the rest of us pretending I'd like to pretend I like to make up things that aren't real I use my imagination I was pretending that I was in a time machine I set the date for a prehistoric time I turned on the time machine and it buzzed inward and spud madly when it stops spinning I opened the door and stepped out into a very thick jungle I listened carefully to the sounds of the jungle I could hear strange animal noises and the leaves were rustling I wasn't sure if I'd gone back in time or just landed in a jungle somewhere in the 21st century it didn't take me long to realize that I had indeed gone back in time a very strange bird-like creature with a large beak flew overhead I had never seen anything like it in my life I took a few steps out into the long grass and ferns I didn't want to go too far away from my time machine I heard a noise over on my right side there was a man who looked quite different from me he was dressed in an animal skin and he carried a big stick I didn't want him to see me so I hid behind a tree he didn't speak any language that I could understand he grunted at someone who must have been in the distance then I felt the earth shake beneath my feet I heard giant thumps on the ground as the floor of the jungle shook the man and the animal skin began to run I saw why he was running a giant dinosaur appeared above the tops of the trees it was bigger than anything I had ever seen my heart began to pound in my chest it was coming toward me I ran toward my time machine and jumped in I set the dial for the 21st century the machine word and buzzed my time machine landed in the 21st century I got away just in time a baby my aunt just had a baby girl we went to the hospital to visit my aunt and to see the new baby my aunt was feeling fine although she was just a bit tired she walked with us to a big window that had lots of babies behind it she pointed to a crib with a baby in it the baby was wrapped in a pink blanket we all said how pretty the baby looked I couldn't believe how tiny the baby was she was asleep so we couldn't see her eyes when the baby went home we went to visit her we heard the baby she was crying my aunt said the baby was hungry my aunt had a baby bottle full of warm milk she fed the baby with it the baby was happy after that my aunt patted the baby on the back until the baby burped and then the baby fell asleep I held the baby I looked at her tiny fingers and tiny toes I was very careful with her she opened her eyes and looked at me I spoke to the baby but I knew that she could not understand me babies have to learn to walk and talk my aunt changed the baby babies wear diapers so they need to be changed often the baby has a lot of toys but she is still too young to play with them my aunt says that it won't be long before the baby is crawling and trying to talk babies are cute I have seen pictures of myself when I was a baby and it's hard to believe that I was once that small a wedding the church bells are ringing I am inside the church waiting for my cousin to walk down the aisle today is her wedding day she is a bride the organist is playing a song on the organ we all stand up and watch my cousin walk down the aisle she is armed and armed with her father she is dressed in a long white dress and a veil she looks so beautiful she looks like a princess the man who she is going to marry its standing at the front of the church he is the groom he looks nice too he is wearing a suit and he has a flower in his lapel the minister says words to the couple which will make them man and wife the bride and groom smile at each other but they seem to be a little bit nervous they give each other gold rings to wear to symbolize that they are married they kiss each other and walk out of the church as the organist plays joyous music some of the people in the church cried at the wedding but not because they were sad everyone in the church is very happy for the couple a photographer takes pictures of the happy couple we wish them well and look forward to the reception where we will have dinner and we will dance and have a good time until it is very late the bride will throw her bouquet of flowers and it is said whoever catches the bouquet will be the next bride the next day the bride and groom will leave for their honeymoon my cousin and her husband are going to Mexico for their honeymoon dad my dad is the man whom I respect the most in my life he works very hard to make the money that supports us my mother has a job too and she also works very hard my dad is the principal of a high school he works at the school all day and often has to go to meetings at night he deals with parents students and staff there was always something that he has to deal with he has a lot on his mind it doesn't matter how much work my dad has to do he always has time for my brothers my sister and me if I go to him with a problem he will sit down and discuss it with me he doesn't yell he is always very logical and he tries to think of the best way to deal with things my dad is a very patient man once I spilled some ink on papers that he was working on I thought he would be mad but he didn't get angry he said it was ok he takes time out to do things with us he has taken my brothers fishing he takes me to the arena to skate and he helps my sister to write her essays and assignments he always makes us laugh and he makes us feel like we are very special to him he is a very good father and on Father's Day I always buy him a car that tells him just how much he means to me I think it is important to have good parents I hope that when I have children I will be a good parent like my parents are to me parents give children the foundation they need to live good lives my mother my mother does so many things she has a job at a dress store she cooks our meals she cleans the house she feeds the pets and she still finds time to spend with us my mother is always busy but she says that her favorite time is time that she spends with us my mother works from Monday to Friday when she comes home from work she makes something for supper we usually do the dishes so that she won't have to do them after supper she helps us with our homework or she sits down to watch television some nights she goes shopping and she takes whoever wants to go with her mothers are a little bit of everything my mother is like a teacher when she helps us with our homework she is like a nurse when she looks after us all when were ill she is like a cook when she makes meals for us she says that cleaning the house is released favorite thing she says that the house gets dirty again right after you clean it she gets my father my brothers sister and me to help her with the cleaning my mother washes all our clothes and sometimes she irons them if they need it my mother says that there are not enough hours in a day we try to help my mother as much as we can there is a lot of work involved in keeping a home neat and organized most of my friends Mother's work mothers are the people who you go to when you need to be comforted mothers are the people who could make you feel better I'm glad that I have the mother that I have my mother is caring and funny she is fun to be around a surprise last Friday my dad came home from work and said that he had a surprise for us we tried to guess what the surprise might be my brother guests that we were going out for dinner my dad said no my other brother asked if my father had tickets to a hockey game my dad said no my sister asked if we were going on a trip my dad said no my mother knew what the surprise was so she just stood and smiled at us I guess that we might be getting a swimming pool my dad said nope we were getting very frustrated tried to guess what the surprise might be my brother asked how big the surprise was my dad said that the surprise was quite small we were not sure what the surprise could be well we all liked it I asked yes my dad replied every one of you will love this surprise we heard a noise it was a crying noise your surprise wants to see you my dad said he opened the door to the bedroom and a tiny puppy came running out we were all very excited our surprise was a puppy it was a little baby spaniel the puppy loved all of us she ran around and licked all of our faces we had always wanted a dog we take turns feeding the puppy and taking her out for walks she is growing quickly and will soon be an adult dog we all agree that the puppy was the nicest surprise my dad could have given us rhyming words sometimes my friends and I play a game it's something we made up so it doesn't have a name we like to take words that rhyme we put them together line by line do you get the picture now we're playing the game and this is how I might say I like to drive a car I really don't like to go very far if I decide to take a walk I'd go with a friend so that we could talk do you see that these lines rhyme play the game if you have the time we could talk about school or even playing do you know what I am saying rhyming words is easy to do it's fun for me it can be fun for you just join in and say something or make it into a song that you can sing there are so many words that rhyme with others like smile and mile and mothers and brothers I could spend all day just making up these things I could let my imagination fly on wings up to the clouds and back to my mind there are so many rhymes that I can find there are some words that are hard to find rhymes for I don't use those words anymore I'd like to choose words that are easy to rhyme like cat and bat or lime and time so give it a try I know you'll have fun I'll say goodbye my rhyming is done homework sometimes my teacher gives us homework I don't mind doing my homework except when the weather is really nice and all my friends are outside on those nights I'd rather be outside with them so I try to get my homework done quickly tonight I have some English homework we have been reading a book we have to read a chapter of the book and answer the questions at the end of the chapter it is an interesting book so the homework for this is quite easy my math homework is not so easy I have to do some addition and subtraction I don't mind that but there are some problems that need to be solved the problems involve addition subtraction and multiplication I am not too good with numbers I need to work harder on my math I just finished a project for history I had to make a map of Canada with diagrams showing the roots of all the Explorers it was an interesting project because I have been to some of the places that the Explorers went to I don't have any science homework at school we are growing bean plants we go in every day and see how the plants have grown we write down all the changes that occur in the plant every day the only other homework that I have is geography I have a map of Canada and I have to write the names of all the provinces and their capitals on it it won't take me long to do that because I know all the provinces when my homework is all done I will go outside and play ball with my friends until it's time to come in I am a good student I get good marks because I like school by favorite subjects our physical education English and history math is my least favorite subject but I'm trying to improve my marks in that opposites some things are opposites of each other the opposite of black is white the opposite of happy is sad if I am at the opposite side of the room from you it means that I am at the other side of the room that you are on the opposite of up is down and the opposite of left is right do you know what the opposite of Jung would be old is the opposite of Jung what is the opposite of dirty clean is the opposite of dirty big is the opposite of small man is the opposite of woman boy is the opposite of girl sometimes people think the opposite things than other people someone might be wrong and someone might be right the opposite of mother is father see if you can think of some opposites it is cold in the winter and it is hot in the summer my father is very tall and my brother is very short a rock is hard but a pillow is soft an ocean is deep but a puddle is shallow I might tell the truth but I might tell a lie all of these things are opposites the morning is bright but the night is dark a feather is light but an elephant is heavy sugar is sweet but a lemon is sour a jet plane is fast but a turtle is slow I can go out in the day or I can go out at night I might love to swim or I might hate to swim it is interesting to see how many opposites you can think up I could say hello but I think it's time to say goodbye the smart paperboy in my town there is a paperboy who just got an award for his actions this boy delivered the local newspaper every morning one of the people to whom he delivered the paper was an elderly man this man lived alone the paperboy had often spoken to the man so he knew that the man lived alone the paperboy always left the newspaper in the man's mailbox one morning the boy noticed that the man had not picked up his newspaper or his mail from the day before the boy felt that something was not right all day at school the boy had a feeling that something might be wrong with the man after school the boy went back to the man's house to see if he had taken his mail and newspapers the newspapers and Mail were still in the mailbox the boy knocked on the man's door he could hear a faint voice but could not hear what the person was saying he tried to open the door but it was locked the boy knew that something wasn't right so he went home and called the police station he explained to the police that the man lived alone he gave the address of the man's house to the police the police knocked on the door and they also heard the faint voice the police got into the house and found the man lying at the bottom of the stairs the man had fallen and broken his hip the man had not been able to get up he had been afraid that nobody would find him he was very grateful to the paperboy for caring enough to get the police the boy got an award the man said the boy was a hero the police said that the boy was an example of a very good citizen the paperboy and the man are very good friends the man will never forget what the paperboy did for him Niagara Falls I live in Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a famous place a lot of tourists visit here every year most of the tourists come to see the waterfalls the waterfalls are very beautiful and powerful at night they shine lights on the Falls that make them even more dramatic tourists line up against the railings to watch the water as it tumbles into the Niagara River there are other things in my Agra Falls that the tourists like to visit there are a lot of gift shops and museums there are many hotels that the tourists can stay at tourism is very important to Niagara Falls many people work in the tourism industry there are many jobs in the tourism industry you can take a special bus and tour Niagara Falls you can ride in a horse-drawn carriage and niagara-on-the-lake or you can take a balloon ride over the Falls from the American side you can even ride in a helicopter over the Falls Niagara Falls is very busy in the summer time summer is the time when most tourists visit here sometimes the tourists think it's raining near the Falls but it is only the mist the rises from the mighty waterfalls there are many legends and stories connected to Niagara Falls there is a special legend called the Maid of the Mist there are stories about the Daredevils who thought that they were more powerful than the Falls some of them went over the falls in barrels and others walked on tightropes over the Falls both of those things are very dangerous I stay behind the railings when I look at the Falls I know just how powerful the Falls are it is interesting to discover all the stories that there are about Niagara Falls the library one of my favorite places is the library I go there to get books for school and I go there to get books for pleasure I often read mysteries for fun in this summer I read lots of mysteries I like to sit outside and read in the winter I have to read books for school I go to the library to find out things for my projects I often use the dictionary and the Atlas some of my friends go with me and we sit at the tables and do our homework we can't make a lot of noise in the library people have to be quiet when they're in a library when I first went to the library I was confused about how to find books the librarian showed me how to use the computer to find books now I am able to do all my research myself I have read some very interesting books I have learned a lot from library books I always bring the books back on time so I don't get a fine I am collecting books at home people often give me books for gifts soon I will have my own library reading is a good hobby everyone in my family likes to read the library has other things besides books there are videos at the library there are also compact discs at the library I have a library card so I can get books videos or compact discs whenever I want to my mother sometimes goes to the library to look at the magazines she gets some good recipes from the magazines my father looks for books on how to build things he is building some bookshelves for me at the moment he found the instructions in a book my little brother reads children's books he likes books about trains I have liked books ever since I was very small my mother says that reading is a good habit to get into when I grow up I have been thinking about what I like to be when I grow up there are so many choices I could be a principal like my father I could be a teacher I like animals maybe I should be a veterinarian my cat just went to the veterinarian to get her shots I don't think my cat was too happy to be there I could be a farmer and grow vegetables maybe I could be a doctor and cure people if I was good enough I could be a famous sports person or a singer I could be an actor on television or in the movies maybe I would like to be a policeman or a fireman I could rescue people I can play the piano maybe I should be a musician I could be a lawyer I sometimes watch shows about lawyers defending people lawyers have to be able to speak well I could be a carpenter and work with wood or I could be a welder and work with metal there are just so many jobs I could work in a restaurant I could cook food or I could serve food I could be an airline pilot or the captain of a ship I could be a repairman or an artist the world is full of jobs some of the jobs require a lot of Education some require a little bit of training and some require a lot of training it's all up to me I can be whatever I want to be favorite colors my very favorite color is purple there are not a lot of things that are purple some grapes are purple sometimes the sky looks purple my second favorite color is blue some things are blue the sky is blue and water is blue many people have blue eyes Green is a very common color in nature trees are green in the summer some trees are green all year long grass is green sometimes water looks green many people have green eyes many vegetables are green broccoli cabbage beans lettuce peas and cucumbers are all green green vegetables are very good for you yellow is a bright color the Sun looks yellow bananas are yellow some people have yellow hair daffodils and dandelions are yellow white is a common color especially in the winter snow is white clouds are white polar bears some dogs and some cats are white there are white flowers that grow some flowers are red roses can be red blood is red sometimes the sky is red at night or in the morning artists use all these colors to make beautiful paintings nature used all these colors to make the beautiful earth we are fortunate to be surrounded by beauty we should do our part to make sure that nature stays beautiful and clean making friends I used to be very shy I would not go up to someone that I did not know and say hello I was afraid that people would not want to talk to me I have changed I have become less shy I have learned that making friends is easy to do all you have to do is say hello most people will respond to a smile and a friendly hello people will begin to talk to you about little things in their lives you will soon realize that you have something in common with that person whenever I start talking to a new person I find that there is some interest that we share maybe we know some of the same people or we went to the same school often we find that we like the same music or the same movies it is easy to have a conversation with someone once you find a topic that you can both relate to the most important part in making friends is to listen to what the other person says if you take an interest in them they are sure to take an interest in you I have learned many things from meeting people I have had many fascinating conversations and I have made a lot of good friends one day a girl came up to me and said that she was lost she couldn't find her way to her English class I said that I was going to that class too I told her to come with me we began talking and we became very good friends that was a few years ago she is still one of my best friends just think if she hadn't been lost we might never have become friends getting old my grandfather is getting old when I was younger my grandfather would carry me on his shoulders and we would go for a walk now my grandfather cannot put me on his shoulders he has a hard time walking and he uses a cane my grandfather used to have lots of hair now he is bald his skin doesn't look like it used to it is more wrinkled my grandfather takes more naps than he used to he goes to the doctor's and takes pills for his heart I love my grandfather very much I don't like the fact that he is getting older but my mother says that growing older is just a fact of life she says that we will all get older sometimes my grandfather forgets things my mother says to be patient I am patient I try to help my grandfather as much as I can I sometimes go for walks with him I help him to walk when he has trouble I cheer him up if I think he might be sad I get things for him and I even read to him at night he used to read to me when I was little now his eyesight is bad and he can't see very well my grandfather tells me stories about when he was a boy the world was a very different place then he tells me his stories are interesting sometimes I wish we could trade places for a day so that I would know what it felt like to be old my grandfather doesn't complain he jokes about his old bones I spend a lot of time with my grandfather I hope that he is around for a long time time time is something you should never waste once an hour is gone it is gone forever you should make the most of every minute time is a funny thing some days go by so slowly those are the days that you do things that aren't fun when you are having fun time just flies by time is made up of different units seconds turn into minutes minutes turn into hours hours turn into days days turn into weeks weeks turn into months and months turn into years we measure our lives by time we are very concerned with time even little children are very conscious of time little children often want to appear older so if you ask a three-year-old how old he is he will often say three and a half many of our sayings are based on time give me a minute hold on a second I'm running out of time time's up I just want an hour of your time all of these are common things that we say and they're all based on time we are a society that lives by the clock we almost all wear watches and we glance at our watches a lot time is something that we can't see but it is a big factor in our lives how many times a day do you look at a watch or a clock I bet you'd be surprised at just how many times you do Amy amy was a girl who came into our classroom she had many things wrong with her amy was in a wheelchair and she couldn't talk she couldn't make her hands and feet do what she wanted them to do we wondered why Amy would even be in our class because she really couldn't do much of anything Amy had a teaching assistant who had to stay with her all the time one day the teaching assistant got called away I had to look after Amy I was afraid to look after her I really didn't know what to do I sat beside Amy and I smiled at her she smiled back at me I never realized before she had such a nice smile Amy made a noise it seemed like she wanted a crayon that was lying beside her I put the crayon into her hand she had trouble holding it but eventually she got the crayon into her hand well enough so that she could make marks on the paper that was on the tray in front of her Amy spent a long time making marks on the paper she tried so hard to create whatever it was that she was drawing she worked for a long time I just watched her and I gave her a lot of credit for not giving up when she obviously had so many problems when she was finally done she picked up the paper with great difficulty with a look of pride on her face she handed me the picture it was for me I was very touched that she spent all that time drawing something for me I thanked Amy and smiled at her I told her I loved the picture I still have that picture although I'm not sure what it is a picture of I learned a lot from Amy that day I saw a brave girl who wouldn't give up whenever I think my problems are too big to handle I think of Amy and I remember her smile memories somebody once asked me what the most valuable things that I owned were I thought about that for a long time then I realized that most of the things that I had could be replaced what I would not be able to replace were the photographs that I had of my friends and family photographs are memories that are captured on film some of the photographs are of people who are no longer with us I would hate to lose them memories are precious they are all we have sometimes to link us to days gone by I remember the good times I try to relive them in my mind sometimes I remember the sad times some of the sad memories are painful but they are all a part of my life and I don't want to lose any of my memories people come into our lives and people leave our lives but most people leave a memory for us I have lots of memories and when I look at my photographs the memories come flooding back into my brain I remember what people were like when they were younger I remember vacations that I took I remember days that seemed ordinary at the time but you never get to relive even the ordinary days memories are so precious cherish your memories and keep them in a place close to your heart roommate wanted spacious two bedroom apartment with kitchen facilities on the bus route to Brock University looking for quiet female roommate must be a nonsmoker available from September 1 $300 a month Hydra was included call barb after five nine oh five one one one one one one one for sale ten-speed men's bike for sale excellent condition $100 or best offer call Fred 905 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 apartment for rent three bedroom apartment in the downtown area four hundred and fifty dollars a month within walking distance to stores and bus route utilities not included call 905 one one one one one one one please leave a message on the machine and I will get back to you roommate wanted responsible quiet roommate wanted to share 2-bedroom apartment some furniture included first and last month's rent required $300 a month utilities included call before six nine oh five one one one one one one one for George Help Wanted friendly reliable person wanted to work part-time hours at shoe store no experience necessary we will train you please leave resume at friendly feet shoe store 34 Main Street Niagara Falls for sale textbooks for sale included our second-year English and American history texts excellent condition for complete list of texts call Marie at 905 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 anytime after 5:00 upper half of duplex for rent within walking distance to Brock University two bedrooms and balcony laundry facilities in basement very spacious and clean hydro not included references required $700 per month call 905 1 1 1 1 1 11 and ask for mr. bridges from places to live I live in a house my house is in a town my uncle lives in an apartment building his apartment building is in a busy city my cousin lives in a dormitory in a school he shares his room with a classmate my uncle lives out in the country he lives on a farm the police caught a criminal now the criminal lives in prison when I go to summer camp I live in a tent when my parents go on vacation they live in a motel or a hotel a motel only has one or two floors a hotel usually has many floors my aunt and uncle live in a trailer they like to move around from place to place my friends live in a cottage by a lake my grandfather lives in a retirement home many people who are about the same age as he lived there I would like to live in a palace I think you have to be a king or a queen or a prince or a princess to live in a palace bathroom there is a bathtub in my bathroom on the wall over the bathtub there is a showerhead we have a shower curtain hanging on the rod over the bathtub if you want to take a shower we close the curtain there is soap and shampoo in the bathroom the soap is used for washing yourself and the shampoo is used to wash your hair towels are hanging on the racks there are washcloths or face cloths to wash yourself with the sink has hot and cold taps there is a plug for the drain when you pull the plug the water runs out of the sink there is a toilet in the bathroom when you flush the toilet the water swooshes out of it there is toilet tissue hanging beside the toilet we keep other things in the bathroom too there is a medicine cabinet which holds painkillers toothpaste and makeup my mother likes to wear a lot of makeup on her face there is also hairspray and gel there are brushes and combs for our hair there are toothbrushes and dental floss for our teeth we only have one bathroom so we line up to use it it is good to have more than one bathroom in a house the bedroom my bed is nice and soft I have a pretty bedspread on my bed I have sheets and a blanket on my bed also I use to feather pillows my pillows have pillowcases on them my dresser has a mirror on it I have a lamp on top of my dresser I also have some picture frames with pictures of my friends and family on top of my dresser there is an alarm clock beside my bed so that I can wake up on time in the morning I keep many clothes in my dresser drawers the drawers are nice and deep my closet is large it is a walk-in closet I have my clothes hanging in my closet all of the clothes are hung on hangers my shoes are all lined up on the floor of my closet there are shelves at the top of my closet I keep games up there there is a rug on my bedroom floor my bedroom window looks out over the backyard there are curtains on my bedroom window my bedroom is very cozy at night I turn off the lamp and get under the covers I set my alarm clock for seven o'clock I lay my head on the pillow and I fall asleep

Channel: Daily English Conversation

Views: 4,232,411

Rating: 4.7231112 out of 5

Keywords: learn english by listening, english listening lessons, learning english listening, listening comprehension, english listening practice, english listening, listening english, practice listening english, listen english conversation, listening english practice, learn english via listening

Id: qYb0LCqqJbU

Length: 191min 12sec (11472 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 21 2016