A Day with Dad

Becky Brown’s parents are divorced. Becky spends every other weekend with her father, Mike. One Saturday, Becky and Mike decide to go to a beach, and there they get a surprise. Their former neighbors, the Simpsons, are unpacking the next car. What a coincidence! Everyone waves hello and decides to spend the day together. Mr. Simpson finds a spot for them on the crowded beach. During the day some people in the crowd sunbathe to get a tan. Other people swim and play in the water. Still others listen to the radio pr pick up shells. Becky covers Mike with sand. The Simpson’s son, Jimmy, builds a sand castle. Mrs. Simpson gets a sunburn. When everyone gets hungry, Mike puts on s chef’s hat and cooks hot dogs and hamburgers. Kites and birds fly over the picnic. The families eat and eat. Finally everyone cleans up, packs the cars, and says goodbye. Becky hugs Mike and falls asleep on the way home.

Activity A  Adding details to the paragraph

Activity B  Becky is an adult now. She remembers a favorite trip to the beach when she was a child. Write her story.

This is the story I wrote:

My parents are divorced. When I was a child, I spent every other weekend with my father, Mike. One Saturday, we wanted to go outdoors to spend our time because it was a sunny and beautiful day. As soon as we decided to go to the beach, we started to pack our stuff we need: swimming suit, hats, sunglasses and beach ball. I jumped excitedly into Dad’s old red car and got ready for the journey. After one hour, I saw the sea shining in front of me. I changed my clothes quickly then ran toward the beach.

Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name so Dad and I turned around. To our surprise, it was our former neighbors, the Simpsons! They were unpacking the next car. It was a really long time we didn’t see each other but they didn’t change a lot. After a little chat, we decided to spend the day together. Mr. Simpson found a spot for us on the crowded beach. On the beach,   some people were playing beach volleyball; other people were swimming or sunbathing. The Simpson’s son, Jimmy, was building a sand castle. And what was I doing? I was playing sand with my dad. He lay down and was covered with sand. Of course, I did it. It was so much fun playing on the beach.

It was around 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Everyone was so starving that could eat like a horse. Dad was good at cooking, so he put on a chef’s hat and prepared the barbeque as lunch for us. After few minutes, Dad placed the dishes on the table. There were beef, hamburgers and hotdogs…  Hmm…I still remember that smell. On the sea, the people on the boat were fishing. Kites and birds flew over the picnic. What a leisurely day!

The sky turned orange and the fascinating sunset attracted our eyes. It was time to go home. Everyone cleaned up, packed the cars, but the children, include me still didn’t want to go home. After all, it was a great day. Our parents kept rushing us to get on the cars. Finally, we gave up and got on the cars with disappointment. On the way home, I was too tired to do anything but sleeping. I hugged my dad and fell asleep on the car. When we got home, the sky was already dark. I was sleepy and exhausted but I wouldn’t forget that wonderful day with my dad.