9 years and below
A new hobby
Having a hobby is an important part in a human’s life. Hobbies can give us happiness, satisfaction and calmness to our mind.
I have many hobbies such as gardening, reading books, watching birds and making crafts. I make crafts by watching ‘YouTube’. I have made many things during my free time. These days I have made paper crafts such as trees, flowers and vehicles. It improves my ability, creativity and capability.
My father and mother help me and guide me to complete a craft in a proper manner. I would like to invent a product myself. I think this knowledge will help me to invent a new product and my new hobby helps to improve my creativity.
Yusuf-ul-Haq (9 years)
Matale Int. School
10 – 12 years
The best TV show I enjoyed
There are many television shows in the world and each of us has our favourite show. The best TV show I enjoyed was ‘Man vs. Wild’. It goes on the Discovery channel and is shown many times every day. There is a person called Bear Grylls and he goes to various places in the world such as to volcanoes, islands, waterfalls, icelands such as Antarctica, mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, deserts such as Sahara, forests and many more. He shows us how to survive if we get lost in such places. He shows us how to make a fire, a shelter to sleep in the night, how to avoid other animals living in the surroundings, how to find food and water and many other things. He tells what type of animals live in such places and more amazing facts about the places.
I consider this show the best TV show I have enjoyed as I gain a lot of astonishing information about many fantastic places by watching this show. I would also love to go on such adventurous journeys. I feel very cheered and delighted when I am watching this show.
Thinuli Kuruppuarachchi (11 years)
Methodist College, Colombo 3
13 – 15 years
It’s good to be bilingual
To be bilingual, is to be able to communicate fluently in two languages: your mother-tongue and your second language. Most people in today’s world choose to learn English as their second language, as this language is regarded as an international language.
Language is a medium of communication. The more languages you know, the more people you are able to interact with. The more people you interact with, the more you socialize, and this helps you to develop empathy and an appreciation for differences. Most Sri Lankans know both Sinhala and English. By knowing Sinhala, they’re able to communicate with the common-people, villagers and townspeople alike. Also, they’re able to understand historical and cultural documents. Moreover, folklore is not as meaningful when translated, so to understand this well, one must know its original language.
Likewise, a person who cannot understand English will also face problems. For one thing, as with folklore, international documents and IT terms, when translated in Sinhala, are difficult for the public to grasp. Secondly, in the global community, everybody knows at least a little English, so knowing the language will enable you to communicate with people from the world over. And when you can communicate directly with people from different backgrounds, you begin to understand their lives, their everyday challenges, their cultures; you begin to appreciate the many differences in this world; you broaden your knowledge and deepen your opinions.
Being bilingual allows you to, as Kipling once wrote, “Walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch.” And so – ‘it’s good to be bilingual.’
Ifadha Deen (15 years)
Leeds Int. School, Galle
