Teacher Colleen

When I have a vacation, I like to visit my grandfather's house in the mountains. His house is really big and cool! There's a swing and even a little stream next to the house. His house is like a wonderland. My mom usually drives me to my grandfather's house. I can see blue sky and tall mountains. It's so beautiful! My grandfather gives me some candy whenever I visit him, so I put it in my pocket. 

One day, my mother drove me there. That day I played on the swing as usual. I swung higher and higher until I flew off the swing. I thought I would fall and hurt myself, but I didn't. When I opened my eyes, I saw my grandfather's house. I felt that I was going up and up. It was cold. I reached the clouds! I landed on one of the smallest clouds. I rolled and rolled in the clouds. It was so peaceful and quiet up there. I stood up, then I touched the bigger clouds. Clouds felt a little wet. It was very soft. I jumped and jumped. I felt the clouds get heavier and heavier. I flew around the clouds. Then it started to rain.

When it stopped raining, there were no clouds in the sky. It was kind of boring. It was empty. I thought, 'Maybe I could go up more since there are no clouds here.' I went very quickly further up in the sky until I was in space! I gasped. 

I was surprised because I could breathe in space. I thought I was dreaming, so I touched my skin and I could feel my fingers, so it wasn't a dream. In Korea, if you think you're dreaming, you should maybe hurt yourself a little to make sure it is not a dream. If you can't feel anything, it's a dream. I pinched myself. I felt the pinch. Since I could breathe in space, I could travel in space, so I did. I saw a lot of stars. I saw the Earth and the moon. I enjoyed space. I was a little scared, though. No one was near me. I was alone. I hate being alone.

I could fly back to Earth, but I was too scared to move, even a tiny bit. When I'm alone, I feel scared and nervous, so I didn't want to move. I didn't know what to do. I searched my pockets, and I found the candy. I pulled it out and ate it, and then I felt better. I could go back to Earth! Wow! I flew back to Earth. In a minute, I landed on the roof of my grandfather's house. I shouted, 'I came back from space, everybody!'

Suddenly, my grandmother, grandfather, and my mother looked up on the roof. They shouted, 'Come down, Stella. Come down, right now!' I did and told them about my sky adventure. 

Discussion questions

Retell Stella's story.

1. What does her grandfather give her?

2. She flew in the sky. How did she start flying?

3. What did she do in the sky?

4. Why was she scared when she was in space?

5. Have you ever had similar experiences?