Jack and The Beanstalk Tall and Short Stories

  Right Away !

Add “RIGHT” to complete these words and phrases. If you don’t know which direction to take, you can ask !

b___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ away

b___ ___ ___ ___ ___ er

down ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

as ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ as rain

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ eous

b___ ___ ___ ___ ___ est

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ful

f___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ened

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ wing

by ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ s

f___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ful

al __ ___ ___ ___ ___

in the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ away

know the difference between ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ and wrong

just the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ person for the job

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ mind

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ answer

f___ ___ ___ ___ ___

b___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ened

f___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ening

forth; ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers :
bright; right away ; brighter; downright ; as right as rain ; righteous ; brightest ; rightful ; frightened ; right wing ; by rights ; frightful ; alright ; in the right ; right away ; know the difference between right and wrong ; just the right person for the job ; right mind ; right answer ; fright ; brightened ; frightening ; forthright ;

The elf and the owl were feeling down – hearted one day … the weather was bleak and rain was pouring through the roof of their woodland home – they didn’t have any money to fix it. As raindrops splashed on their nose, the pair dreamed of exotic holidays and a luxury home with a rich, warm bed where the two could sit by the fireside, telling hibernation stories. What could they do to earn a million pounds to make their dreams come true ? (and fix the leaky roof of their home, too ?). They looked around for things to sell – but only came up with a bit of bark and a broken bucket from the well. Then suddenly, slipped on a wet piece of moss. As he crashed to the ground landing in the middle of rustling leaves that scattered the floor of the forest with a BIG PLONK ! He came up with a novel idea – these leaves could come in very useful indeed … perhaps they could be used to print forgery bank notes – they had never imagined themselves as thieves or conspiratators before. They set to work using mud from the river bank as ink and pebbles as printing presses. The squirrels were onto to happy to lend a hand (or should I say, paw) and the beavers helped by wafting their tails to get the ink dry. The crows pegged the newly printed oak leaves out on the washing line and the woodpeckers collected them up and put them in piles of one, five and ten pounds. Before long, the entire woodland were rushing to the owl’s tree to see what all the commotion was about … they also wanted to be millionaires, too. Being quite entrepreneurial, they took their leaves to market – where they displayed a big sign ‘GOLDEN OAK LEAVES – TWO A PENNY !’. They traded the leaves for produce on the market – cheese, eggs and milk. Before long, the brown old crunchy leaves, which hadn’t been worth much to anybody, were now virtually worth their weight in gold.

Write ten words that include – oke and – oak. Example – coke and cloak.

Write ten words that include an – ich and another ten with an itch.

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

The Society for Useless air bubbles was holding a competition to see who could come up with the most innovative idea for using useless air bubbles. Over the years, of Scout jumble sales and charity fun days, a great many number of air bubbles had amassed in the club house pantry causing much inconvenience to the tea ladies trying to organise the summer fete. Bubbles burped, bashed and banged together in a real hullaballoo. Bubbles, babbles and bobbles – too many to count. No – one ever really knew where the bubbles originated – perhaps it was the brownies bubble gum chewing and blowing competition, or the cubs blowing washing – up liquid bubbles. The bubbles could have been blown on a North wind from the Arctic – and landed with a smashing crash on the garden fence. There were billions of balloons and fizzy pop bubbles from birthday parties past. Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles bubbled over as corks popped, champagne flowed and celebrations were arranged. There were also bubble balls galore – billiards, soccer, snooker, tennis and squash balls all bouncing around together – a real health and safety hazard. Hats off to bubbles ! Bubbles in the air, bubbles everywhere !

An astronaut suggested the bubbles could be used to fill the craters of the moon. A young cub scout said that he could use one or two in his school sports. Fashionable brownies tried stringing bubbles together to make necklaces and used some as earrings – but the string broke and bubbles burst everywhere. Supermarket stackers tried placing the bubbles in an orderly line – to no avail – it as hopeless and the bubbles spilled out over the floor. A few were fried for breakfast, in bubbling hot fat, some others were boiled along with buttered toast. Some were lost at sea, spinning, swimming and splashing in the ocean waves. Bubbles rained down in storms as thunder roared overhead. A mermaid put some to good use by having a hot, soaking bubble bath (she was last heard singing in the tub “I’m forever blowing bubbles !”).

“POP !” goes the weasil – how many words can you think of that include the letters we, wea or wee ?

recipe
Marshmallow Bubbles
Ingredients
1 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups water, divided
4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup and 3/4-cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil. While boiling, attach a candy thermometer to the pot so that the tip is immersed in the liquid, but not touching the bottom of the pot. Watch the temperature carefully until it reaches the hard ball stage – when the thermometer reads 250 to 260 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C). While the sugar mixture is heating, place the remaining water in a metal bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Place the bowl over simmering water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture becomes liquid. Keep this gelatin mixture warm until the sugar comes to the proper temperature. As soon as the sugar mixture reaches the hard-ball stage and you remove it from heat, carefully whisk in the gelatin mixture. Meanwhile, use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites into soft peaks (You can tell that eggs have reached the soft-peak stage when you take a spoon, dip it in and out of the egg mixture, and a peak is formed that is soft enough to quickly bend over.). Once the peaks have formed, set the electric mixer to medium-speed and slowly pour the sugar mixture into the bowl of whipped egg whites. When pouring the sugar mixture into the mixing bowl, never let the stream of liquid grow larger than a pencil’s width. Once all of the sugar has been incorporated into the egg whites, add the vanilla extract and continue mixing at a medium-speed until the mixture cannot become any fluffier. Add any additional colorings or flavorings at this time. Line a flat surface with waxed paper and sprinkle it with a generous coating of sugar. Use a large pastry bag with at least a 1/2-inch opening or tip. Carefully spoon the sticky marshmallow fluff into the bag and twist the top closed. Pipe the body of the chick shape first by making a thick line on the paper. Hold the bag at a 45-degree angle to the surface so that the piping will stand tall. When the body is long enough, pipe backwards on top of the body, and then make a little head. Quickly pull the bag away to form the beak. If the marshmallow is not holding its shape very well, let the fluff cool a little bit. This will allow the gelatin to begin to set and the mixture will thicken. Place little candies onto the marshmallow chick’s head to make eyes (if you like) and sprinkle colored sugar over the chick’s body. To coat the marshmallow chicks completely, let them set for 30 minutes before buttering your hands (for easier handling) and rolling them in bowls full of colored sugar. Let the marshmallow chicks rest for approximately 4 hours to allow them time to fully set. Homemade marshmallow chicks look adorable in everyone’s Easter egg basket and they make an attractive centerpiece for any festive table!

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

Many months ago, the creeper was just a tiny seed, buried deep in the soil, dropped accidentally by a bird flying overhead. After months of rain and sunshine, slowly a shoot sprang from the soil and meandered it’s way along the grass. The creeper’s creepy crawly route took the creeper to new pastures. It grew and grew gradually up the fence and over the weeks that passed, the long and winding creeper twisted and turned around a tree trunk. Leaves shot out from the stem, until the creeper was green and leafy. But someone must have dropped a bucketful of fertiliser because the creeper did not stop growing. The creeper engulfed the farmyard gate and firmly buried it’s roots deep into the hedgerow. No amount of pruning, it seemed, could stop the creeper growing. It covered everything in it’s path … a parked car (once red) soon looked leafy green – so much that the windscreen wipers no longer worked anymore and the wheels did not turn. The creeper crossed the road and snaked up and over a bridge where it drank up gallons of canal water before carrying on it’s way. Before long, the creeper looked more like a tree – in autumn it’s leaves became golden brown, but as soon as spring appeared again, the creeper continued to grow. It headed towards the town, where the creeper collected rubbish left by the townsfolk … and rocks … and left over newspapers. Jeepers ! The creeper became a leaper !!!

 Under “Grow”th Spelling Game

Add “grow” to complete the words…

under __ __ __ __th

__ __ __ __ ing pains

__ __ __ __ up

fully __ __ __ __ n

__ __ __ __ ling

__ __ __ __ n

__ __ __ __ er

__ __ __ __ ing point

__ __ __ __ l

__ __ __ __ on

__ __ __ __ n out of

__ __ __ __ together

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

Answers :
undergrowth
growing pains
grow up
fully grown
growling
grown
grower
growing point
growl
grow on
grown out of
grow together

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

The lucky lepricaun wasn’t always so lucky. In fact, he started life as a very ordinairy, chap, with just about as much luck as a rhinocerous born with no horn … or a baby duck that couldn’t quack. If a car was passing on the road as the lepricaun was walking on the pavement, he always got splashed – if there was a puddle, he invariably trod in it. Everything the unlucky lepricaun touched, broke. He was so unlucky that if a hole ever appeared in his pocket, invariably, his last penny fell through. When he wrote a letter to his aunt, he missed the post … the shops were always closed by the time the unlucky lepricaun got there … if he bought a new shirt, he accidentally picked up the wrong size and before long, one of the buttons had fallen off. No wonder the unlucky lepricaun needed some luck … he wished on a star … but got run over by a truck.

By sharp comparison, the four – leaf clover was so lucky that the next time the lepricaun looked in his purse, a fifty – pound note miraculously appeared. Every lottery ticket was a winner, if you had the four – leaf clover in your pocket, you won crosswords … and finished first in every race you ever entered, if you had the lucky four – leaf clover tucked inside your training shoes. The four – leaf clover was so lucky that you never lost anything … and if you did you always found it again. Things never burnt in the oven and when you walked down the street, diamonds shone from the bottom of your feet. The four – leaf clover was so lucky that everything grew in the garden where it was planted … without ever raining or the sun shining. The four – leaf clover was so lucky that you never had to look for a car parking spot … nor ever got a parking ticket. The lucky four – leaf clover was so lucky that nothing ever broke in the house where the four – leaf clover grew. And everything that the four – leaf clover touched turned to gold – flowers, grass, cars and rocks – all gold !

The unlucky lepricaun heard tales of the four – leaf from the dwarves and from the gnomes … he thought that perhaps a lucky four – leaf clover was just what he needed but didn’t know where to start to look … he looked in the classifieds in the newspaper, but only found a book. Still no luck. He spent hours and hours, looking under the flowers in the wood, he thought he found one by the side of a park bench … but when he looked a little closer, he only found a pile of mud. Soon it started to rain, so the unlucky lepricaun took a short break, before he could resume his search again. The worms and slugs came to help … they pointed to a mushroom and said the lepricaun should look there … to find a lucky four – leaf clover … or better still, find a pair. At the end of the rainbow, at last the lepricaun’s search and bad luck were over, when he found a four – leaf in a pile of clover. The lucky lepricaun jumped up and down in glee … he wanted to see what good luck it would bring – a pot of gold or a diamond ring ? He even found a penny by his feet, as he was playing cricket outside on the street. When he found his four – leaf clover in a thicket, he dashed to the shops to buy a lottery ticket … soon he had won a million pounds … at last his luck seemed to be turning around.

 How many other “four” dimensional words or phrases can you think of ? Example – four corners of the globe.

  How many words or phrases can you think of that include the word “fore” ? Example – forefront.

 Write ten sentences that include the word “four” and another ten that include “fore”.

 Leap In The Dark

How many other words can you think of that include the letters L – E – P (in any order) ? Example – slept.  

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

Sam the squirrel was most perplexed. He’d spent all winter looking for his lost acorn and still hadn’t found it yet. Maybe, he’d dropped it accidentally upon the forest floor … but one thing was for sure – now that Spring had come incidentally – he’d have to hunt considerably more. He remembered that he’d dug a hole – but had completely forgotten the location – should he ask the mole ? First he started his search by looking upstairs. He checked in the chimney pot – the lost acorn wasn’t anywhere. In the bathroom, the squirrel looked underneath the mat, next to the toothpaste, and even by the side of the taps. But no acorn. Not even one. During his sleepy hibernation, he’d forgotten where his acorn had gone. On his trail, he slid down the bannister rail and landed on the coats. Perhaps his acorn had been stolen, by one of the naughty goats. Beneath his hat (he first checked that), in all of his pockets, too. But the acorn was nowhere to be seen and he didn’t have a clue what to do. It wasn’t in the kitchen – he checked inside each of the cupboards and next to the pots and pans. Perhaps the squirrel had discarded it and accidentally put it in the bin. … He sat and had a think – could it be in the sink ? In the bedrooms, the squirrel searched inside the wardrobes, on top of the shelves and under the bed. By the time he had turned over the the shoes, he was actually standing on his head. Next, he looked in the garden, looking for acrons some more, he used his bushy tail to sweep the floor. He didn’t have much look at all … so he went to look in the hall. All he found was a flowerpot. There was no acorn there either. Not much use when he had not got a lot. One time he did find a peanut … but it was empty inside. He must have been eaten by a hungry bird. The squirrel spent so long walking up and down the woods, that eventually he was tired. The squirrel asked his friend the snail, to see if he knew where his acorn was put … Together they looked all around the cabbage patch … but only found two slugs, not his nut. The squirrel knew the rabbit had a particular liking for tasty cashews. But the rabbit couldn’t find it either (he was scared if he came out of his burrow he’d end up in a stew). He asked the magpie to help him too – the magpie was a thief and could have stolen it. Perhaps he was the crook who took the squirrel’s nut. The magpie was most helpful – and came up with a new idea – some left over seeds were in the garden weeds – he crowed as over the garden he flew. The owl coo – coo – ed too “Look in the farmer’s shoe !” with a twitwooo, giving the woodland detectives another clue. Because the squirrel was short – sighted, the owl lent him his spectacles. He still couldn’t see very well and fell in a well. Along came a hen, pecking again. He said the squirrel should look in the farmyard shed. The squirrel followed the pig’s muddy footprints, looking for his acorn, with no luck. In fact, the squirrel was so busy looking, he slipped and got stuck in the muck. A caterpillar crawled around, he said the wood was a better place for a nut to be found. Not a farmyard full of sheep … where only the kittens came to sleep. The squirel asked a bird, who answered with a “Cheep !”. Meanwhile, the squirrel dreamed of nuts – nut crackers, nut on toast and nut biscuit snacks. He really was so nuts about nuts that having no nuts made him nuts. Since it had begun to rain, the squirrel had even less hope of a discovery. Finally, the squirrel sat down beneath a large oak tree … he was quite hungry and still hadn’t had any tea. That’s when he realised where his acorn had been, growing unseen all winter in the woodland green.

“A” Activity

How many words can you think of that start in “A” ?

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

The star that fell to the ground was so magic that as soon as it hit the ground, it bounced back up again … and around and around. It bounced so high that it flew over the Moon and it was long before it reached Pluto, soon. It circled Saturn and bounced off Mars, the magic star was unlike any other star. The star that fell to the ground was so magic that it shone all day and shone all night. There was no other star that shone so bright. So magic, in fact, that nothing could switch out it’s lights. The magic star kept shining bright. The magic star was so magic that it shone in the morning and shone until twilight. The magic star was so magic that it made everything on the ground twinkle too … from the lights on the cars, to the elephants in the zoo. Soon everything was as bright as the sun … and nothing stopped the sparkling until the sparkling was all done. The magic star that fell to the ground, lit up everything – so it seemed like it was crowned. There were diamonds and emeralds, sapphires and rubies – so much dazzling that you could see the star from outer space. The magic star was so magic that it beat all the other stars in the magic star race. The magic star that fell to the ground, rolled over the hill and splashed into a river – the magic star was so very magic, it made everything quiver and the planets shiver. The star that fell to the ground soon began to shimmer, it sparkled so much that it made everyone glimmer. The magic star was the star most bold. Soon everything was shimmering like gold – even the rainbows started to unfold. The magic star that fell to the ground, tumbled so much that soon the flowers in the garden dazzled everyone … the dazzling was so bright, it shone like the Sun. The magic star that fell to the ground, was as light as a feather … and the minute it fell, it rose up again … it didn’t matter that it fell down a drain. Or that it almost got washed away in the tumbling down, starry rain. The magic star was soon bright again. No one knew what made the star fall – if, indeed, they cared at all. The magic star that fell to the ground, must have weighed an extra pound. Although, it fell from the top of a mound – it fell with only the softest sound. They loved to see the fireworks bright – shining in the sky and lighting up the night.

 Shiny Words Spelling Game

If you add the sun to some words they shine like star.
Add – TION to these letters to make a new word

AC + TION = ACTION
INSPEC + TION = INSPECTION

How many other things can you think of that fall to the ground ?

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

Discussion starter :

In a nutshell – what can fit in a nutshell ? A small hazelnut or walnut, perhaps … or a ping pong ball. A gobstopper or a small pearl … an eyeball or a string of beads. A two pence piece or a small ball of string. In a nutshell – most tiny things can fit in a nutshell … like peas in a pod. In a nutshell, there may be all kinds of bits and pieces.

Put the Nut In a Nutshell Spelling Activity

Can you put the nut into these words to make a new word. Example – pea + _ _ _ = peanut

COCO + _ _ _ =

_ _ _ + SHELL =

_ _ _ + CRACKER =

_ _ _ + MEG =

_ _ _ + RITION =

_ _ _ + RIENT =

_ _ _ + RITIOUS =

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

Answers : coconut ; nutshell ; nutcracker ; nutmeg ; nutrition ; nutrient ; nutritious

Lucy the Sugar Steeler longed to be loose and fancy – free. She had been stuck at home on the dandelion all spring getting dirty and dry with exhaust fumes and choking on house dust. Greenfly collected underneath her leaves, coated with pollen, sprinkled from last year’s yellow flowers. The buzzing bees had left footprints in honey dew all over her sticky stem. Suffice to say, the place was a real mess. As the summer sun heated up, the dirt on Lucy the Sugar Steeler’s Wellington boots dried up. She longed for an April shower to freshen up and wash down or perhaps a trip to the park to paddle in the cool waters of the pool besides the lillies.

As a light breeze blew across the mid – afternoon air, Lucy the Sugar Steeler felt an irritating twitch in her antenna – her nose sniffed and her sprigs wafted in the wind. Just when she thought her leaves had rattled and shook all they could, there it was – an almighty sneeze !”ATISHOO !”, she exclaimed. So almighty it loosened her petals and dislodged Lucy fom her anchorage on Last autumn’s dandelion. She set off in a gale force hurricane at a rate of knots – speeding towards a tree. The draft wafted Lucy left, luckily in a North Westerly direction – never to be seen near a dandelion again. Lucy’s flight path curved over the top of a ridge where she rested on the back of a baby lamb – who carried Lucy to the barbed wire fence at the edge of the field. Here, she got stuck on the spikes and no amount of shivering and shuddering, tweaking and twisting seemed to be effective in tugging her from her secure grip.

Like many rocket orbits, the trip held many dangers – sandy stones, spiders’ webs, river rapids and crocodiles – all quite fearsome for frightened and fragile sugar steelers on a rocky rollercoaster ride around the riverside. Before long, she tired of her trek and settled down in a flower bed – wriggling down into a worm – hole and wrapping herself up in warm grass cuttings blanket. She germinated well in the sun and rain so shortly, Lucy the Sugar Steeler had started a family – offsprings of offshoots to whom she recounted tales of her happy days as a hippy globetrotter hitchhiking around the riverside.

recipe
Raspberry Fizz
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. raspberry juice
3 scoops raspberry sherbet
1/2 c. sparkling water
blender (You’ll need help from your adult assistant.)
serving glasses
measuring cups
ice-cream scoop

Pour all the ingredients into the blender. Cover the blender and blend until the mixture is very smooth. Pour your raspberry fizz into glasses and enjoy !
© Jacqueline Richards 2005

The boring old stone was having a boring old day – sat on the side of the road, minding his own business, dreaming of exciting times perhaps as a pebble on a Bahamas beach or a football on a famous pitch. Suddenly, he felt something hit his backside – it was the boot of a boy kicking up his bottom. The boring old stone flew through the air, skimming the leaves of the trees into the path of a passing truck. He bounced from his windscreen and skidded over the pavement, landing in a garden. Fortunately, the dead leaves and soft soil cushioned his fall and the boring old stone rolled into the flowerbeds amidst a pile of conkers and acorns, dropped from the trees. ‘My what fun !’, he thought to himself as they bounced around together like snooker balls. The first was a game of marbles … which the boring old stone won … followed by bingo … won by one of the more experienced acorns who had been playing acorn bingo for years. Some bricks and big boulders arrived in the garden, looking for trouble and playing loud rock ‘n’ roll music. The tiny acorns shook with fright but the scarecrow came with some of his friends, the crows and fightened the bricks and boulders away.

Activity – Write ten sentences including the word “bore” and “boar”.

© Jacqueline Richards 2005