Edition No.6 Sunday, May 17, 2020 Share your artwork with us on Facebook @thetimesIE and on Twitter @SunTimesIreland using #thechildrenstimes Colour this page Home school help and support for primary school children 2 INTRODUCTION LETERS 3 Princess Annie Brennan’s wish came true with POEMS SENT TO THE CHILDREN'S TIMES the help of Make-A-Wish We love receiving your letters, drawings and photos by email every week, as well POETRY as those you share online. This week we recieved so many amazing poems, we had Get lost in legends to print them. Please keep sending your experiences, drawings, poems and letters to [email protected] PAGE SOUNDS IN MY GAREN THE FAMILY TRE COVID-19 BY ELEN O’LEARY BY EMILY WRIXON BY AINE QUIG PAT MOORE The creaking of the swing The Family Tree goes on for ever, Covid-19 is here and you might Make-A-Wish helps as I rock gently on it. every single day, no matter the weather. see the nurses in all The buzzing of the bees We don’t know where it starts, their new gear so there, dreams come true as they collect nectar from the owers. we don’t know where it ends. however, is no need to fear. The blow of the wind As the past becomes history, Make-A-Wish Ireland grants the wishes of rushing through the trees. life ahead is a mystery. Life will go on. I know you sick children living with life-threatening It’s beyond our control, will probably read this poem conditions such as cancer, cystic fi brosis The scatter of leaves as so just follow your soul. and yawn, but I promise and various heart conditions. Since 1992, the wind comes through calling: Decisions we’ll have to make, you will get to see your Make-A-Wish has helped more than 2,600 “Make way, make way for the wind!” some very hard to take. grandparents again, and I know brave children across the country, including you are probably 181 last year alone. A wish being granted is The beautiful song of the birds, We are a family of love and laughter, truly magical for a child, providing respite calling and singing to each other across the world, for ever after. asking yourself when? from their normal routines of hospital stays, From fables to on a bright spring day. I don’t know when I’ll see you again, doctor’s appointments and treatments. but whenever that is…I can’t wait until then! Soon, I feel you, but for now A wish can be anything from wanting fairy stories, a The cry of a baby, here’s what you can do a disco-themed bedroom to meeting a the chatter of children Emily Wrixon, 5th class, Co Dublin …wash your hands and favourite footballer, or being a fi refi ghter spectacular saga playing in the sunshine. stay safe, everyone. for a day. Many of these children are The meowing and purring of my cat immunocompromised, however, so they can fi re children’s Aine Quigg, 6th class, Co Mayo are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. as he stretches out in the garden, That, combined with travel restrictions and imaginations with the heat of the sun TOGETHER BUT APART streaming down on him. social distancing requirements, means many GETTY IMAGES BY SOPHIE DANG HAND planned wishes have had to be postponed. With no government funding, Make-A- The utter of a butter y’s wings My life was fun but now Covid’s here, HANG OUT Wish overwhelmingly relies on the kindness Legends of castles, dragons, pixies, elves, monsters and fi re up their children’s imaginations. With their larger-than- ying gently around the garden. I sense the danger lurking near. BY NICK BRABAZON of the Irish public. With the cancellation of magic fi rst begin to captivate us as young children. Ours is life characters and sense of scale, big, bold sagas also appeal The mowing of the lawns It is hard living in quarantine, so many fundraising events this year, the a nation of storytellers, and we naturally warm to historical to our children’s sense of adventure and love of spectacle. as the mower starts and turns: Covid-19 is really mean. I like to relax at home, foundation has turned to online fundraising tales of heroes and heroines, villains and rogues. From Far from being frivolous, stories such as those collated the barking of dogs as they play, Outside and in my bedroom. and virtual challenges. Once the risk of Cú Chulainn’s epic adventures in The Táin to Jack and the by the Brothers Grimm were fi rst invented to steer children I can read or write a poem Covid-19 has been mitigated, these funds run and tumble. It can kill our family, Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood, the treasure trove of onto the right path and to highlight the unpredictability of At least it has not gotten me. about reworks that go boom, will enable Make-A-Wish to grant postponed engrossing stories we hear throughout childhood is endless. the world in which they were written – a world that exists to The roar of cars fading away and cars that go vroom wishes as soon as possible. Folklore and myths are the building blocks of our this day, as we see from the daily news. I’m telling you now, when this ends, There are lots of ways to get involved, into the distance We’ll have a party with our friends. civilisation. As well as entertaining and thrilling us, they That’s why we have based this week’s edition on the Nick Brabazon, age 15, Co Dublin from making a donation to setting up an serve a deeper function. Enduring stories such as Aesop’s theme of legends, castles and myths. If you like, you can Hammering, sawing and drilling, online fundraiser, or participating in the Fables help children to understand simple concepts of use the theme as a springboard to tell your children some of as my Dad makes different inventions! Together but apart we stand, charity’s upcoming Virtual Mini Marathon. morality, fairness, charity and kindness. your own favourite stories, whether they are Irish folk tales As Covid travels across the land. We’ve all shared a sense of uncertainty over Many of our myths and legends have been handed down or simple family sagas from a bygone era. And nally, Nobody deserves this fate, the past couple of months, but hundreds through word of mouth over centuries. Passing them on While we await the gradual easing of travel restrictions, the scratching of my pen Let’s stop it now before it’s too late. WE WIL SON of seriously ill children in Ireland face through the generations is a wonderful way for families to spinning yarns around the table as a family is the perfect uncertainty every day of their lives. And yet, as it glides around the paper bond, while parents improve their storytelling abilities and way to spend a few hours. Sophie Dang Hand, 6th class they still dream about being a regular child, Catching my thoughts and ideas, BE TOGETHER even for a day. and turning them into poetry! BY KELY-MAY COGAN FLYN Annie Brennan from Co Kilkenny was living with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Ellen O’Leary, age 9, Co Clare No school until September, when Make-A-Wish granted her wish to things are going wrong. become a princess for a day. Annie enjoyed Awaken your inner storyteller with a folk tale ME IN LOCKDOWN Holidays and trips are cancelled. a pampering session and put on a princess BY KATE O’HARE Hey! What’s going on? dress and jewels before being brought Fadó, fadó…we Irish are world-renowned for our The Legend of Tír na nÓg, The Salmon of Knowledge, I am doing home schooling and I know some people are having a bad time, by limousine to a huge party with all her ability to spin a good yarn. This oral tradition, The Children of Lir and Cú Chulainn are integrated hey, it’s not too bad. friends. After party games, taking photos spanning generations, has left a wonderful legacy into creative writing, drama, history and geography. I MET AN EXPLORER but I for one am doing just ne! But, not meeting my friends and dancing, she sat down to a scrumptious of myths, legends and folklore. Furthermore, the At home, why not awaken your inner seanchaí BY APOLINE JAHIER-ROUSILON or hugging my cousins, meal and a beautiful cake fi t for royalty. birthplaces of characters from some of these ancient (storyteller) and regale your family with one of these I’ll tell you what lockdown is like for me, it makes me feel so sad! Annie had endured di cult treatment stories can be seen dotted around our landscape, epic tales, or like the bards of old, create your own I met an explorer with long curly hair. the good part is spending time with family! that resulted in the loss of her hair, but she We have a good routine, story of valiant warriors, courageous princesses, He tripped over a rock like going for a walk with my mum. is now in remission – with a full head of fierce battles and noble kings and queens. I get to wear my PJs while doing my work, beautiful hair – and she hasn’t had to go to his bag ew in the air. Out fell: We hit the beach in Enniscrone, Long before the era of television, storytelling was hand sanitiser, a mask, to me and my brothers, that’s quite a big perk! hospital in almost eight months.