Draw your dream home! Thanks to Stone Soup ’20—21 Intern Emily Fleck for this week’s prompt!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
My School, a short story by Feifei Wan, 9
Feifei Wan, 9, Portland, OR My School Feifei Wan, 9 Even though the pandemic is still here, it doesn’t stop me from going to my school every day. This Sunday, just like any other day, my mom and I decided to ride our bikes. While we were passing by a small pond near the school driveway, we saw a toad! The trick to spot a toad is to make sure the sun is out. It was a warm and sunny day. The toad whom I call Mr. Grogg was just like an old friend waiting for us to visit on the bank. Not far away from the pond, surprisingly, the cherry blossoms had bloomed a lot over the past week. Because the flowers were too beautiful to ignore, we took a lot of pictures. My favorite picture was the one where my mom and I did the photobomb. Even though my mom was in the background, I could still see her big smile. Our next stop was the grass field. There were a bunch of little daisies sparkling in the sun. I wish we could have taken more photos with the beautiful flowers, but I didn’t forget that our original plan was to get some exercise and enjoy the sun. So here we go! Our bike rides, one lap, two laps, three laps…… I felt so happy that spring was here! It was Monday, but not a normal Monday. My school was open for K-2 for the first day of hybrid learning! It was so exciting since we have been studying on a computer for a whole year. Even though I am a 3rd grader, I was so happy for the lower grades that I decided to walk to school during my lunch break. Guess what I saw? A busy school with parents picking up their kids. Teachers were giving directions to the kids to find their parents. Kids were running up to the parents and kept talking. Some people were taking pictures of their kids in front of the entrance to memorize this special day. And there was the bright yellow school bus picking up kids to go home. I felt happy and sad at the same time. I was happy because, finally, the kids were going back to their classrooms to meet friends and teachers. I was sad because I also wanted to be there in a BIG classroom with my backpack on my back. Tuesday was different. We didn’t even go to school because I went to my friend’s backyard to play in a bouncing house. But don’t worry, we caught up on Wednesday. There was no school so we got a good chance to take a window visit. It is so cool that each class has its own entrance. Teachers used chalk art and made cute arrows to guide students to keep their distance while entering the classroom. It was so kind and warm. What impressed me the most was in each classroom there were more desks and chairs than I expected. I thought it might only be a few sets since a lot of kids are still learning online like me, but surprisingly there were more than 10 almost in all the rooms we could see. It looked cool and full of hope. I could imagine myself sitting in the class and doing my math worksheet in the Fall. When we were walking back home, there were just so many plans for school days in my mind, and I wanted to say “Wait for me, my dear school!” Thursday my mom and I didn’t go to school either. We just walked around the neighborhood. It’s like all the even numbered days we don’t walk to school. Tuesday stands for 2 and Thursday stands for 4! So we had to take the school walk no matter what on Friday. It was a beautiful day outside with a few clouds, but mostly a light blue sky. On the sidewalk, I found so many dandelions! My mom told me a saying that if you make a wish and blow your dandelions in one whip, your wish will come true. So I tried my best…whoooooooooosh…all the little feathers flew into the air like little ballerinas dancing in the sky. This was not the only excitement; we met Mr. Grogg and his son in the pond! They were sitting together in the shining bright sun. Wait, was that snow falling? Oh, NO! That was just flower petals blown from cherry blossom trees. Everything is growing in spring. Kids started to come out to play in the school playground. I saw them playing on the basketball court, sliding down from the slides and swinging in the high swings. What a perfect Friday, not to mention my favorite show would be on at night. Yay! Saturday was another perfect day to go on a bike ride. Different from the weekdays, I got to go bike riding with my friends! We first started the ride around the front parking lot of our school. “Click, Click, Clack, Click, Click, Clack…” I could hear my bike chain making sounds while I was pedaling hard. The boys pretended this was a race. They went at a turbo speed to beat us, the girls. But it seemed like we didn’t care at all. While we enjoyed talking about random stuff, we finally crossed the finish line even though it wasn’t a race :). The boys decided to run a few more laps while my friend and I found something more interesting. We went onto the green grass and I watched my friend do a bunch of super gymnastics moves. We even created a cool handstand giggly wiggly dance. Everyone laughed so hard that, basically, all the kids came to join the game. This was the BEST afternoon of all time. Even though it might be a difficult time in the pandemic, if we wear a mask, and keep our distance, it will still feel like how
Flash Contest #30, April 2021: Visit the same place every day for a week and document what you see–our winners and their work
Our April Flash Contest was based on our weekly creativity prompt #147 written by Stone Soup ’20–21 Intern Sage Millen. Her prompt, which asked participants to visit the same spot every day for a week and record what they saw—whether through art, photography, or writing—generated a wide array of fabulous submissions, from daily photographic representation of a lounging house cat to ultra-scientific observation notes reminiscent of natural science journals. Thank you to all who submitted their stunning work, and thanks again to Sage for providing us with the prompt! In particular, we congratulate our Honorable Mentions and our Winners, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Observing My Backyard” by Rishan Chakraborty, 11 (Portland, OR) “The Island” by Madeline Cleveland, 11 (Belleville, WI) “The Tales of Freeman Gardens” by Claire Liotta, 12 (Glen Ridge, NJ) “Dolly’s Home” by Elizabeth Sabaev, 10 (Forest Hills, NY) “Over the Ditch” by Daniel Shorten, 10 (Mallow, Ireland) Honorable Mentions “My Backyard” by Reena Bao, 11 (Bedford, MA) “My Description Paragraphs for Six Days” by Diya Chakrabarti, (Portland, OR) “Times of the Day in My Room” by Chelsea Liang, 11 (San Jose, CA) “Our Playground” by Tang Li, 8 (Palmetto Bay, FL) “Magnolia Bliss” by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 11 (Newark, OH) “Interesting” by Ava Shorten, 11 (Mallow, Ireland) Selected for the Stone Soup COVID-19 Blog “My School” by Feifei Wan, 9 (Portland, OR) Selected for the Stone Soup Blog “Spring in Central Park” by Lila Laton (New York, NY) Rishan Chakraborty, 11 (Portland, OR) Observing My Backyard Rishan Chakraborty, 11 4:00 p.m. 4/5/2021 On the second floor of the southeastern part of my house, my work room provides a spectacular view of our backyard. Right outside my window, which faces east, a noble fir with peculiar blue-green needles is located. When I was little, I thought that a Christmas tree with needles the same color would look amazing. However, I realize now that cutting the tree down would be a shame. All of the trees rock in the wind, but the noble fir is steadfast. When it does move, it moves gently, and sometimes it almost seems like it is breathing. 4:00 p.m. 4/6/2021 On the opposite side of the noble fir, a large, shaggy curly willow resides. When I was younger, my brother and I would grab one of the many dangling branches and run, pretending we were swinging from vines like Tarzan. Earlier, the branches were bare and speckled with tiny curly leaves. Now, there are hundreds of leaves on the tree, and the shape of its branches gives it the appearance of possessing bright green hair. 4:00 p.m. 4/7/2021 In our backyard, we have an old, tattered play structure. As a young child, it was one of my favorite places to hang out. Imagination would turn it into a spaceship, a boat, an airplane, and even a temple. In the summer, we would invite neighborhood kids to play with water guns, and the play structure could be used as a fort offering a vantage point, or somewhere to escape if you were under attack. Now, the slides are dirty, the swings rickety, the tarp missing one half, but I still cherish the fond memories associated with it. 4:00 p.m. 4/8/2021 A bird comes along, its purpose undefined. Very likely it came looking for food. The question remains unanswered. I did some research and discovered that it was probably an American Robin, which is known to search for insects on the ground, hopping around in the process. I have keenly observed birds in my backyard too, such as a hummingbird, which flits around looking for its food. Spring is here, and as the days grow longer, more and more birds will start showing up, almost as if they are making the backyard come alive. 4:00 p.m. 4/9/2021 In the very middle of my backyard, a solitary maple sits, deserted on an island of dirt. A few flowers nearby don’t provide much company. The maple tree once had a bird feeder, and would be visited by birds all day, but since the feeder was taken down, it has been left alone. It sits on an island of dirt, surrounded by a sea of grass, almost like a stranded castaway. A coconut also used to be on the same island, before it was taken and cracked open with a rock by two 6-year-olds. Now, the maple is left to itself. 4:00 pm 4/10/2021 In my backyard, a noble fir with interesting blue-green needles sways, as though breathing. In my backyard, a willow tree swings in the wind, branches swishing through the air. In my backyard, a damaged play structure creaks, enduring everything thrown at it through the years. In my backyard, a bird appears, although not the first one to visit. In my backyard, a maple mourns and wishes for company. In my backyard, memories stay alive. Madeline Cleveland, 11 (Belleville, WI) The Island Madeline Cleveland, 11 Day one: A buttery golden carp jumps a few feet from my boat as I sink my paddle into the water’s still surface. I hear a scraping sound as my kayak runs aground on a gravely beach. I have reached my destination. I carefully walk onto the muddy shore. A few moments later, I am in tall swaying dry grass. I sit down on the bank to write this. Another graceful fish splashes, breaking the quiet. Carp are common in this lake, but each is beautiful and unique. Kind of like people that way, each and every one is special. I walk back to my kayak and paddle to shore. Day two: I sit on the shore in the same spot I did yesterday. I’m starting to realize why the fish love this place so much. This island is untamed. On one side, there is a gravely cove, perfect for parking kayaks. On the other, there is a sandy beach. And, on the south tip, where I sit, is a serene area with moss carpeting the lake floor. The carp are especially fond of these shallows.
