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Little Charlie Tucker, The Great Wall of China

by Crystal June 21st, 2011 - No Comments »

The next part of their adventure took them all the way across the world to China, where they would travel to the Great Wall!

Once off the plane, Mrs. Tucker and Mr. Tucker informed Charlie that there was a surprise visitor awaiting his arrival in China!

“Who is going to be waiting in China for me, mom? I don’t know anyone who lives in China,” Charlie said, but then a thought dawned on him.

“What if Ava were back visiting her grandparents in China? No, it couldn’t be,” he thought to himself.

Or could it?

Just as Charlie was leaving the international arrivals area, a voice called out, “Charlie, Charlie!”

As Charlie wasn’t the tallest seven year old, he couldn’t see who was calling his name, until out from the crowd stepped Ava, who was holding her grandma’s hand.

“Ava, you’re in Beijing,” Charlie called out excitedly.

“Hey, Charlie, great to see you in my home country! Your mom and dad mentioned you would be going to China, and I knew I would be there at the same time. I’m so excited, as they have planned to take us both to the Great Wall–surprise!” Ava replied, feeling very excited about her good friend and their upcoming journey.

“Wow, that is great!” Charlie replied.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, This is my Grandma Mak,” Ava said, smiling up at her kind grandma as she introduced her.

“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mak,” Mrs. Tucker said, bowing her head.

“She does not speak that much English,” Ava replied, while her Grandma said something to her in Mandarin, nodded, and smiled.

“She says it is very nice to meet you, too,” Ava continued.

“No worries, nice to meet her as well,” Mr. Tucker said nodding and smiling back at Ava’s grandma as Charlie watched with his big, bright eyes.

Ava then hugged her grandma more than a couple of times, as she said goodbye in Mandarin. She then made sure her grandma knew to meet her at the Airport at 6 p.m. in two days’ time.

And so the adventure to the Great Wall began. Mr. Tucker had given Charlie and Ava a children’s brochure about the Wall to entertain them on their drive, and many laughs erupted from the back seat of the car.

“Dad, it says that the Great Wall is almost 44 million hotdogs long,”* Charlie said in awe.

“That is a lot of hotdogs, isn’t it Ava,” Mr. Tucker responded, while driving their rental car.

“Yes, Mr. Tucker, I could never eat that many hotdogs,” Ava laughed, and Charlie joined in.

“It says here, dad, that the great wall is very high, 15 to almost 25 feet high in places.* That’s like, well, I’m… How tall do you think I am, Ava?” Charlie asked.

I think you are, hmm… maybe three feet,” Ava replied.

“That means the minimum height of the Great Wall of China is three times higher than you, Charlie, and in places, a little over 8 times higher,” Mrs. Tucker said with emphasize.

“Wow, that is a big wall,” Charlie blurted out as Ava nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s a big and very long wall. I have heard my grandma mention that the Great Wall stretches over desserts, mountains, grasslands, and plateaus,” Ava said, feeling amazed at her people’s incredible accomplishment.

“Wow, that is a long wall. Dad, what are ‘plateaus’?” Charlie responded with a puzzled look on his face.

“It’s an area of fairly high, but quite flat ground,” Mr. Tucker responded.

“Ah, I see,” Charlie replied.

After driving for a little over three hours since they had left Beijing, the Tuckers came to Mutianya, where they parked and took the cable car up to the top of the Great Wall.

“Gosh, I can see the wall from here. It’s huge, isn’t it, Ava?” Charlie said, looking at his friend who was kneeling beside him, as she looked out the window of the cable car at the Wall, too.

“Yeah, it’s big and it looks like it goes on forever,” Ava commented, looking at the hills they passed as they went up and up until they came to the Great Wall itself.

Once on the wall, Charlie, Ava, and Mr. and Mrs. Tucker went for a long stroll. At times, Charlie and Ava were not tall enough to look out over the sides of the great wall. As they would have missed the many beautiful views, Charlie’s parents decided to lift both Charlie and Ava up to see the scenery around them, and what beautiful mountains they did see!

“This is a magnificent structure, isn’t it, dear? Mrs. Tucker observed, extending her arm expansively as she glanced over at her husband.

“Yes, it is hard to fathom how many people and how much time was spent constructing it,” he replied.

“How many people, dad, do you think worked on building this Great Wall,” Charlie asked.

“I think it has been estimated anywhere from 800,000 to almost 3 million people have worked on this wall, Charlie, but no one is certain of the exact number,”* Mr. Tucker replied.

“My grandma said there were soldiers, workers, and even local people who helped to construct the wall. It took a long, long time to build,” Ava added.

The rest of the day was filled with more interesting questions, and everyone learned from their trip to the Great Wall of China.

“Here we go, down, down, and we’re stopping,” Ava said, as she pretended to shrink in her seat as the cable car came to a quick halt.

Everyone laughed as they exited the cable car onto the walkway.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

* Evans, Thammy. 2006. Great Wall of China: Beijing and Northern China. Bucks, UK: Bradt Travel Guides.

For more interesting facts about the great wall of china, check out this link!

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Little Charlie Tucker- The truth shall set you free!

by Crystal May 11th, 2011 - No Comments »

It was an unusual day at Seaview Elementary School. It was a day that everyone would remember. The sun was out, but there were a few clouds dotting the sky as they moved slowly by. The wind was subtle, and the new grass blew gently.

Charlie and his young friends were out in the playground recalling a television show.

Charlie had watched a new, popular cartoon a few nights back and was sharing it with the others, laughing and waving his arms in the air, “Did you see the penguin ski down the mountain on his head, and then the squirrel bounce up? It was so funny!”

“Yeah and when they were at the bottom of the mountain a giant snowball came rolling down and went right through them, and they were laughing. Oh, oh, and then the penguin waddled away, and the squirrel imitated him,” Ava said giggling.

“I didn’t see that episode, but it sounds like it was really funny,” Emilia replied.

“I saw it, but I didn’t think it was that funny,” George said.

“Why not?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, ah well, umm,” George said.

“You must’ve watched a different episode because this was funny, really funny,” Ava insisted.

“Tell me how the episode started, so I can make sure I watch the right one,” Emilia said, looking at George.

“Oh, ah me, no, why not get Charlie or Ava to fill you in?” George said with hesitation.

“No, go for it, George,” Ava responded.

“Well, I, I didn’t actually watch it,” George said, hanging his head.

“Why didn’t you just say that?” Charlie asked, turning his palms up and shrugging.

“You lied, George. Why couldn’t you just say you hadn’t watched it,” Ava asked, feeling hurt.

“I, I wanted to participate and have you think I watched the episode you did. I shouldn’t have lied,” George said, feeling bad for not being truthful.

“Telling the truth is very important, or else we won’t know when you are honest or when you are not, George,” Emilia cautioned.

“How can we trust you to be honest?” Charlie asked, feeling hurt and mad that his friend had chosen to lie.

“I don’t know. I can promise to tell you the truth,” George said.

“But, how do we know your word has any worth now?” Charlie responded.

“You don’t know for sure, but I am willing to earn your trust back,” George offered.

“How do you do that?” Ava asked.

“I prove what I am saying is the truth, and I work at it, all of the time,” George vowed.

“I will trust you again, but I won’t forget what you have done today. Everyone makes mistakes,” Emilia said.

“I have just learned a very important lesson; lying is not worth the pain it will cause those you really care about. I’m really sorry,” George apologized.

Just then, the recess bell went, and everyone tramped back in, but no one forgot how important telling the truth was to maintaining healthy and happy friendships. George learned the very important lesson that lying does have grave consequences, and he was thankful that his friends gave him a second chance.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan


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Little Charlie Tucker, Sportsmanship

by Crystal April 22nd, 2011 - No Comments »

What a great day for the Seagate Soccer team to have their first spring soccer tournament!

It was a warm day out, but there still was a slight breeze with a smell of fresh cut grass in the air. There were newly placed lines on the field, too.

Everyone was excited for the soccer season to be finally underway, and you could see people taking in deep breaths of the fresh, crisp air as they shed their jackets.

Mr. and Mrs. Tucker could be seen socializing on the sidelines with the other parents as Charlie and his friends warmed up out on the grassy field with its shiny diamonds of dew glinting in the sun.

“Hey guys, let’s pass the balls while we run down the field,” George yelled over to Charlie, Emilia, Ava, and tiny Benny,” who all in return nodded and started running side-by-side, kicking balls back and forth.

“I love this sport,” Ava said while running and skipping a couple of times.

“That was a great pass,” Charlie remarked, as George swiftly kicked the black-and-white soccer ball to him.

“Ready, Emilia, here it comes,” Charlie said, as he kicked the ball towards her, but he had kicked it a little too hard, and it went past her to Ava.

“Sorry, Em,” Charlie said, apologizing for his high-energy kick.

“No problem, Charlie. You must have eaten oatmeal this morning,” Emilia said laughing.

“Thanks for the long kick my way,” Ava said, while laughing with Emilia.

“No problem, I actually did have oatmeal today,” Charlie remarked while chuckling.

They were now halfway down the field, and it was tiny Benny’s turn to receive a ball.

“Here it comes, Benny, and when you’ve gotten it, let’s try and get Emilia the ball again,” Ava said.

Tiny Benny swiftly took the ball passed by Ava, and bunted it back to Emilia, raising his fist in the air at his achievement.

“Nice one,” everyone said to him, as Emilia had received the ball with ease.

Emilia then stopped at the end of the field with everyone else, “We are about to start our game and we want to win today as a team. If we work as a team and share the ball and keep this positive energy up, we are sure to succeed.” She then called over the other players on their team.

Everyone gathered around her and put their hands in a circle, “Go Sea Gaters go, chomp, chomp, chomp,” they all said while lifting their hands into the air and closing them numerous times as if they were alligators. They all then dispersed to their field positions.

Then the whistle blew, and the game began.

George received the ball against his opponent at the centre line and then passed it to Charlie, and the sidelines started to cheer. Charlie passed the ball up to Emilia who was running as fast as she could, anticipating Charlie’s high-energy kick. She dodged a player on the other team and saw tiny Benny by the goalie and net. She then received Charlie’s ball and faked a pass to tiny Benny. She then passed the ball instead to Ava who was on her left, and then Ava passed the ball to tiny Benny as the crowd cheered in anticipation.

“I’ve got it,” tiny Benny yelled out and he swiftly kicked the ball into the open spot in the net.

Everyone on the Sea Gaters team cheered and high fived while moving to their field starting positions again.

As the day wore on, the other team did score a couple of points, but it was the Sea Gaters who managed to work together to make the tie-breaking point. The final score was a close 3-2 for the Sea Gaters. Their teamwork and constant, positive self-talk had made the difference.

As their game ended, everyone on both of the teams shook hands and thanked each other for coming out.

Charlie who was in the line remarked to one of the other players on the opposing team, “You made some amazing passes, and we were really lucky to win today. I think we all will really look forward to playing with you this coming season.”

And so it was, soccer not only gave little Charlie Tucker and his friends a way to become fit, but it also taught them to work as a team, practice good sportsmanship, and share responsibility out on the field.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

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Little Charlie Tucker- Fun Finger Painting

by Crystal April 20th, 2011 - No Comments »

Ava had invited everyone over for an afternoon of finger painting, and each person was to bring a parent. Mrs. Tucker had received the invitation some weeks prior, and within the invitation, there was a special request to wear white clothes.

“Hmm, Charlie don’t forget to throw on your white painters’ overalls. I’ve got my white clothes on that I don’t mind getting paint on,” Mrs. Tucker said, as her son ran by her on his way up to his room.

He then paused on the staircase, leaning into the railing and looking down at his mom, “I am soooo excited, mom. I just can’t wait to get messy,” Charlie said, with a big smile on his face as he started up the staircase again.

“That’s great you are so happy, my little man. I’ll be waiting for you at the front door,” Mrs. Tucker replied, smiling to herself, as she went to get her shoes on.

As it happened, Ava and her family didn’t live too far away from the Tuckers, so both Charlie and his mom walked to their home.

Charlie knocked on the door, and Ava opened it, “Please come in. Hi, I’m Ava, and this is my mom,” she said.

“Nice to meet you, Ava’s mom,” Charlie said.

“You can call me Becca. You please go ahead with Ava and join your friends. Your mom and I will be right in. It’s very nice to meet you as well. Ava has told me a lot about you,” she replied with a smile.

“I’m so glad you could make it, Charlie,” Ava said, bringing him into the rec room where all of their friends were.

“Okay, Charlie is here, so we can now begin painting, but first Charlie has to choose a saying for his shirt. Here’s what we have come up with,” said Ava, passing him the shreds of scrap paper with sayings on them.

Charlie began to read through the sayings his friends had created. “Let’s see. I’m not tall enough, so please let me have three scoops of ice cream,” or, “I love playing with trains and well, more trains. Want some popcorn?” or, “Can I take the fish out of the bowl to play with it, just for a minute,” he finished reading them aloud.

“Would you mind if I made up my own saying?” little Charlie questioned.

“Not at all–that’s what I did,” George responded.

“How about, ‘It is never too late to have fun. Let’s get dirty in the mud. I love mud between my toes,’” Charlie said grinning.

“Sounds good to me. I think we have some mud outside in my backyard,” Ava replied, with a cheeky look on her face.

Just as everyone was about to head outside, Ava’s mom came into the rec room with Mrs. Tucker, “How is everyone doing?” she questioned.

“Great, mom, thanks. Charlie just made the best quote, and we were going to test it out,” Ava said, trying to hold back her smile.

Mrs. Tucker had Charlie repeat his quote, deciding that maybe they should stick to finger paints for the time being.

And so, the afternoon was filled with a lot of laughter. Each friend of Ava’s, along with a parent, left with a finger-painted shirt with a unique saying on it!

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

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Little Charlie Tucker, Reusable Utensil Sets

by Crystal April 1st, 2011 - No Comments »

Things were changing at Seaview Elementary School, and Charlie and his young friends thought it was great.  Everyone felt so excited to be contributing to the new green movement that was happening all around them.

Since the new sustainability program launched, Charlie and his friends could now look forward to an orchard with juicy apples and delicious plums. The schoolyard would also boast raspberries, blueberries, and a vegetable garden in the coming year.

During recess, everyone gathered around Charlie. “Check out my new fork set,” he said, showing his school friends his new re-usable utensils set.

“Wow, that’s so neat.  Where’d you get them?” George asked, looking at the small carrying case that came with the set.

“Now, you won’t have to use any of the plastic forks that we have in the cafeteria,” Emilia responded, while also admiring the small, yet durable utensil set.

“My mom got them at the Think Green store,” little Charlie replied.

“Hah, hey, want to see my utensils everyone?” Ava asked.

“Of course, we’d love to,” tiny Benny replied while everyone’s attention was now on her.

Then out of her small backpack, she pulled a small utensil kit, except there was no fork or spoon, but there was a set of beautiful chopsticks!  “What do you think?’ she asked.

“Oh wow, those are so nice, Ava, and I love the way they are the colour of a rainbow.  I don’t know how to use them, but could you teach me?” Emilia responded.

“I think we’d all like to know how to use chopsticks,” Charlie confessed.

“I’d love to show you how,” Ava replied.

Then she took everyone through a lesson on how to hold a pair of chopsticks.  Now in order for everyone to try at the same time, everyone had to find a couple of small sticks out in the schoolyard.

“This is really challenging, Ava,” tiny Benny said, as he struggled with the sticks, trying to pick up the raw carrot intended for his lunch.

“I wasn’t perfect at the very beginning either, and I’m not now either.  I have been practicing pretty much once a day since mom and dad bought me my own set when I was five.  You just have to be patient and persistent with chopsticks,” she added.

“Well, I would love to get a set of re-usable utensils and chopsticks to have in my backpack too,” tiny Benny said.

“Thank you for sharing your different types of utensils,” Emilia replied.

“Let’s play a game of hide-and-go-seek.  How about you and Ava being ‘it’, and Benny, George, and I will go hide?” Charlie suggested.

“Sounds great, but why don’t we just have one person as the seeker to start?  That way, there will be four people hiding,” Emilia responded.

“Sounds good to me,” tiny Benny replied.

“K, I’ll be “it” first, then.  I’ll count to twenty and then I am going to come and find you all.  One, two, three…” Ava said, as she counted to twenty, and so another wonderful day went by.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

To find a list of the top ten Reusable Utensil Sets, click here!

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Little Charlie Tucker, A New Kid on the Block

by Crystal April 1st, 2011 - No Comments »

The sun was shining through little Charlie’s bedroom window, as if to softly wake him up from a restful and glorious sleep. Little Charlie Tucker felt today would be a wonderful day. Who really knew what today would hold, but something in him felt today would be special.

“Good morning, mom,” little Charlie said, while sliding into the kitchen.

“Boy, you are chipper today,” she replied with a smile. Continuing, she queried, “Did you have a good sleep, my little man?”

“Yes, I sure did, mom. I dreamt I could fly, and that Big Red could as well. He was barking happily and he was even able to roll over in the air. It was amazing,” he said, while pulling himself up onto the kitchen stool.

“Wow, sounds amazing,” she replied.

After a hardy breakfast with homemade yogourt and some fresh farm eggs they had purchased down the road, Charlie, his mom, and Big Red walked to Seaview Elementary School.

“Have a great day, sweetie,” Mrs. Tucker said, while giving Charlie his little backpack that she had carried for him, and taking Big Red’s lead from Charlie.

“Have a great day, mom, and you, too, Red, my puppy,” little Charlie said, giving his mom a hug and then patting Red on his shiny head. “Goodbye ‘til after school,” he said softly, giving Red one final pat.

Once in class, there seemed to be a buzz around the room, and whispers broke the usual calm morning feeling that Mrs. Baker’s class typically had. Something was going on, and that something was Ava.

“There’s a new girl in our grade. Her name’s Ava,” tiny Benny whispered to Charlie.

“I hear she isn’t from Canada, and that she may not speak English very well,” George said, his eyes widening.

“I bet she is really nice, and that she can tell us things we never knew before,” Charlie said with excitement, moving onto the edge of his seat.

All of a sudden, the class fell silent and in came Ava Fernando.

“Class, this is Ava. Ava is new to our school, and I hope you will all give her the warmest welcome,” Mrs. Baker said, motioning for Ava to take a seat by Emilia.

Mrs. Baker continued, “Why don’t we all share an interesting fact about ourselves so Ava can get to know each of you a little better.”

Attention focused on first one student and then another, as each one shared something of interest.

“I am the tiniest kid in our class, and I can fit into the smallest play tunnel outside that no one else can fit into,” tiny Benny shared.

“I can hold my breath under water for almost a minute without coming up for air. I love having tea parties under water with my friends,” Emilia contributed.

“I live on a farm with a goat, a dog, and some apple trees,” Charlie disclosed.

Then it was Ava’s turn. “I love bugs and insects. Where I came from, we have many beautiful insects, and some you have to really look hard to find,” she divulged.

“Wow, insects, you are going to love our class compost with all of our earthworms, Ava,” George replied.

“We would love to show you our new compost during recess, Ava,” said Charlie enthusiastically.

“That would be great, thanks,” she replied.

And so, they all had a new friend with wonderful new things to share. Charlie and his classmates welcomed Ava into their school, making her feel appreciated and special.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

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