I Have to Pay for It

Twelve-year-old Brendan had me in stitches when I first read this From the Brain paragraph. Moms and kids everywhere can relate, I’m sure.

Breaking my mom’s things is a terrible habit I have that causes me lots of trouble. One Thanksgiving day when the radiant sun was shining bright, I wondered, wouldn’t it be cool if I could use my mom’s camera to take close up pictures of water? I dunked the camera under water and snapped a picture. After I pulled it out, I realized two things. First, it wasn’t waterproof. Also, it was broken! My mom didn’t smile. Unfortunately later that day, I knocked over one of my mom’s china dishes. It made a mess. In my twelve years on this earth, I have made numerous messes. Itching for action, I had a football that I wanted to throw. I cleaned up the shattered light fixture later. I also placed a glass bottle of soda in the freezer. My mom found it a few weeks later cracked right down the middle with frozen soda everywhere. Because I have to pay for every tragic event, breaking things is an awful habit that I clearly need to break.

Pleasurable Passion

Here is a great example of a From the Brain paragraph from thirteen-year-old Margaret. She’s a natural at tight, focused paragraphs. This unrevised paragraph is from Margaret’s free-write journal.

I dance. I do many types of dancing: ballet, jazz, tap, and modern. My favorite type is probably ballet or modern. Two years ago, I bought my pointe shoes and have gone through about seven pairs since. I have gone through so many of them because I have very high arches which bend the shank of the shoe, the bottom of the shoe, extremely fast. The fastest time I have gone through a single pair is two weeks! Thankfully, jazz, modern, and tap are less expensive, otherwise my mom would probably not let me dance as much as I do now, or I would have to be a millionaire! Dance is a large part of my life, and I enjoy every moment of it.

Skyward!

Here is a delightful From the Brain paragraph from Brendan, age 12. From the Brain assignments teach students to write tight, focused paragraphs. With such a skill, students master the building block of all essays and reports.

I am a small country boy who once had a dream I was Captain America. Lying in my bed, I was awoken by a radiant ball of light. In a couple of seconds, it entered my body. Suddenly I felt my muscles bulging everywhere. I admired my new strength. I hopped out of bed, took a step, and ZIP! I flashed across my room. Super speed and super strength, not too shabby, I wondered to myself. Assuming I could fly, I jumped out the window. I plummeted towards the ground. A couple of yards away, I shot skywards. From that day on, I pledged to fight evil and protect civilians forever. I was Captain America!