Sylvan Beach in La Porte, TX, always a treat in the warmer months, can be equally awesome in the winter. The waves crash with a little more violence and froth, the seashells are as abundant as ever, the clean public restrooms are still open, and the birds are a heck of a lot bolder than they are when there are more people around. The other day, the kids and I literally had a pelican fly right up to us. I warned the kids “don’t touch it! It’s a wild animal,” and it was so close that it was actually necessary to say that. Liam held up his fingers in a square and said “CLICK!” but by the time I went back to the car for a camera, the blue guy who’d nearly landed on our feet was gone. We saw a yellow one by the bait shop later, though, and I did get a picture of him. Anyhow, the entire purpose of this article is actually to give the kids a bit of the limelight. I invited Liam (currently a second grader) to write an article on his winter beach experience, and this is what he wrote:
We had a great time at the beach. We collected shells and saw two pelicans. It was cold and windy. We also saw baby seagulls. The ocean was trying to catch me, but it couldn’t. My feet stayed dry. The end.
Oona can only write her name without a reference, so she is going to dictate a story:
We collected shells. We picked purple shells, and shells that are cool, and big shells, and clear shells, and it was a windy day. I found, what is it called again? A sea bean. I saw pelicans. And we had a wonderful time. And we went to the beach to also play in the sand. At the water, the sand was cold and wet. We had a nice time there, and I want to go again with Nana. I hope we can go with Dadu, also. We are going to do is making crafts out of the shells, like necklaces, and like paper and shells art, and coloring the shells on the paper with the shells. We hope we have a nice time there again next time we go to the beach with Aunt Elisa. I love the beach because it has the shells that I want to see. The end.
OH, THE GRAMMAR! Oh, to be five again and not to specially care about grammar! As you probably already surmised, I edited both for spelling, but not for grammar or syntax. They are totally authentic. In any case, Happy New Year, everybody!
See you at the beach- E.G.D.