Once Upon A Time...

As part of our homeschooling, Cody and Carson have been doing a study of Cinderella. This has more educational opportunities than you might think. The study includes botany (the study of the pumpkin), math (telling time, measuring feet), social studies (how a princess acts), etc. By far my favorite activity came today. For the language arts portion of the study the girls had to write their own version of the story. There was a prewriting page to help them gather their thoughts and keep them on track. Carson, of course, had to dictate hers to me. Here is her rendering for your enjoyment:

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a girl named Cinderella. She was a maid and she lived in a faraway house on the beach in Mexico.

Her step-mother and step-sisters were always nice. They bought her what she wanted. They let her go hunting and get a starfish and they let her pick leaves and flowers. They bought her pumpkins. They ate pumpkins and they bought her scissors. They let her ride on a horse, go to a restaurant, and go fishing. They let her go to the ball and sharpen her own pencils.

Cinderella asked if she could go to the ball and if she could go see her fairy godmother. Her fairy godmother waved her wand and said the magic words:

"Poopy Locky Wo Poo Pea Soup Dee!"

She gave Cinderella a dress and a carriage made from a pumpkin. It was pulled by a horse and a horse was driving and there was a pig that made it go.

There was a storm and the pig ran away. The storm went away and a big pencil came. Cinderella was outside and she got smooshed by the big pencil.

The End

This story is the opposite of the traditional Cinderella. In every way. It cracks me up that it is so sunny and wonderful up until Cinderella is smooshed by a giant, runaway pencil. Carson is too short to use our pencil sharpener, and apparently this is an issue for her. She considers it a privilege to get to sharpen her own pencil. She may grow up to be a science-fiction writer.