Cultivate good habits

All of us have good habits and bad habits. We must try to cultivate good habits and drop our bad habits.Good habits please people and those who have good habits have lots of friends.Some of the good habits we can cultivate are behaving properly at home and in society, respecting elders and avoiding drugs, liquor and cigarettes.

If we have bad habits we will lose friends and many other things in life. Some of the bad habits are being rude to people, destroying public property, not respecting teachers and elders, behaving in an unruly manner, being a nuisance to people and taking drugs, liquor and cigarettes.

Lung cancer, bronchitis and heart diseases are common among those who smoke. We must know the bad outcome of liquor and cigarettes and avoid them. Bad habits lead to many problems.
Good habits are very important and we must always try to cultivate them.
Here's a lovely little poem on this...
Sow a thought,
Reap an action,
Sow an action,
Reap a habit,
Sow a habit,
Reap a reputation,
Sow a reputation,
Reap a character,
Sow a character,
Reap a destiny!

Upeka Gunasinghe Fernando,
Grade 8D, Samudradevi Balika Vidyalaya,Nugegoda.
 

Why we need to put book covers

Books play a major role in a child's life. When we start schooling, there are lots of textbooks and exercise books to take to class.

When I first saw my new books, I wanted to keep them just the way they looked all the time. In order to do so, we must put new covers on the books.

My mother always says that I must keep my books neat and nice. When books are tattered and dirty, the teachers don't like it; they scold the children for not maintaining their books properly.

My mother always checks my books and if the covers are torn, she puts new covers as well as cellophane covers over them for extra protection. Books are the main source of information. Without them we cannot learn.

To be a knowledgeable person, we must read a lot and learn well. The new school term started on September 3. All my new books were ready. My books looked very nice and smelt fresh too as they were new. My mother and I put the paper covers as well as the cellophane covers.

Covers protect the books. I have lots of story books too and I have also put covers for them.

Randhula Gajadheera,
Willsden College International.
 

My leisure gives me pleasure

What is leisure? It is the time that you spend freely without doing any hard work. During leisure you must do something that you like and enjoy and also helps to keep you relaxed. Everyone enjoys leisure and has a favourite leisure activity such as art, music, watching television, gardening or even playing.

I also have a leisure activity that I prefer above every other thing. It is art. At school too, for aesthetics I did art. I used pastels, water colours, pencils and even pens to colour my drawings. My favourite medium is sketching or shading with a pencil. I first learned to draw human figures.

Sometimes when I am involved in drawing a picture, I can't hear what's happening in my surroundings, because I only concentrate on my art. I like to do nature drawing the most. I prefer drawing village backgrounds than the city.

When I am drawing I don't feel the time passing. When I am very stressed, drawing helps me to wind down. Art is like a meditation to me because one only needs to concentrate on the art and draw silently.

I send some of my drawings, for art competitions, and sometimes, I win certificates and medals too. Initially I learnt art from my father, but as I grew up, I started going to an art class every Saturday to improve my drawing and colouring skills.

Sometimes I draw portraits of famous people around the world like William Shakespeare. I have heard about world famous artists like Pablo Piccaso and Leonardo Da Vinci.

Once I drew a portrait of the famous Mona Lisa, which was drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci. Portraits are also one of my favourite modes of drawing. I always get the help of my parents and teachers to create drawings. I think art will be my favourite leisure activity forever.

K.R. Sandun Nirodha Kodagoda,
Grade 6D,Badulla Madya Maha Vidyalaya.
 

Thinking of our world

Looking around
I wonder,
Will life get any better?
For those who are suffering,
While we live
In joy and utter comfort.

I see ghostly figures,
Small and tall,
Sunken eyes and
Dark skin glistening in the hot sun.
Rib cages showing
Some with swollen stomachs.
Children's tiny hands
Stretching out to accept our coins.
Little pieces of cloth,
Small tins, bottles
And a few scraps of food
Make their 'home sweet home.'
 
At the other end of the world
Where buildings stand tall and high,
Where people are walking busily on the streets.
Children playing happily in parks,
Parents are preparing special meals
And booking holidays.
While throwing food and wasting water
While some do not have a morsel.
 
What is this world,
This cruel place,
Where some people have to suffer?
What is this world,
This cruel place
Will life get any better?

Ravini Abeywickrama,
Stafford International School.
 

Loving Mother Taxila

 
I still remember the day
That I first stepped into your shade
Ever since then my life has been built
In the shade and love of Taxila
 
Teachers feed us,
Knowledge with care
They show the right path
And are remembered forever
 
We build friendships
Unblemished in your love.
We protect your name through the years
Like you guide and protect us
 
Loving Mother Taxila you are the Sun
In your shade, we are the buds
Your advice given with love
Is really a blessing, forever to us.

Chathuri Anuradha Withanage,
Grade 10 - A, Taxila Central College,Horana.
 

My dear brother

You are smart,
And I draw you as art,
You are kind,
And I love your mind.
You are frank,
It provides you a rank,
You are so gentle,
Which makes me comfortable
You gave me loads of advice,
now I am on the road of life
More smart and wise.

Fathima Radiyya Lafir,
Grade - 9, Al-Manar International School.
 

Bird watching - My hobby

A hobby is important and helps to spend one's leisure time fruitfully. People all around the world spend their leisure indulging in various hobbies, such as collecting stamps, collecting sea shells, reading story books, gardening and bird watching I spend my leisure watching birds.

Birds are a wonderful gift from Mother Nature. There are different kinds of birds such as parrots, mynahs, peacocks, sparrows, pigeons and hens. They are in various colours, shapes and various sizes.

Birds like the nightingale can sing in a lovely voice, while parrots and mynahs can be trained to talk. Peacocks can dance rhythmically.

There is a small garden behind my house. Many birds come there. I enjoy watching them. I feed them with grains and fruits. I collect feathers of various birds that they leave in my garden. My sister and brother help me in collecting feathers.

My father buys me many books about different birds. I gather a lot of knowledge about birds from those books. During the last holiday I went to the Kumana Bird Sanctuary with my family. I gathered much information about migrant and exotic birds there. I also took some pictures of several birds.

Bird watching is an interesting leisure time activity and a very knowledgeable hobby too.

Fathima Bushra Uwais,
Grade 8B,Ramanathan Hindu Ladies' College, Colombo 4.
 

My favourite game

My favourite game is badminton. It is a very good game. We need a shuttlecock, a net and two or four rackets to play badminton.I play badminton with my father, mother and two sisters in the evening. I can play well.I wish to be a good badminton player in the future.

Chamodi Alwis,
Grade 6D,C.W.W. Kannangara MMV,Matugama.