Kiko the seahorse hero

11 years old Grade V West City Exceptional  Child Learning Center

One sunny morning, there is a big gathering at the palace of Seahortam, in the kingdom where all the seahorses live. Everyone is excited as a new prince is about to be born.

As the little prince is born, the king seahorse names him Kiko. Then the king lifts his little one up into the air to show to all what a beautiful child he has.

Kiko grows up and develops good virtues. He is obedient, kind and courteous. He has really become an admirable seahorse.

One day, the queen and king receive a message from the fish kingdom. It says that there will be an important meeting to be held at the fish palace. So the king and queen leave early the next morning for the meeting.

Then a terrible accident happens. Just as the queen and king have left their palace gate, they are ambushed and eaten by a big fish. The whole seahorse kingdom is shocked of the unfortunate incident.

Kiko is the saddest of all. As he grieves over the death of his parents, Kiko is also filled with anger. He rages silently, “I will kill that fish!”

The following day, the young prince takes his sword and shield and goes out of the palace. This is the day he will avenge his parents’ death. He is going to find the fish that killed them.

He is already at some distance from the palace when Kiko notices blood in the water. He checks where it’s coming from and is surprised to see a big fish lying wounded between the rocks. The face looks familiar – it is the very fish that killed his parents!

Surprisingly Kiko’s anger is overtaken with pity as he watches the big fish gasping hard and struggling to hold on to dear life. He quickly approaches the dying enemy, and carefully cuddles him to stop his bleeding. With much effort, Kiko carries the fish back with him to Seahortam palace.

The virtuous prince explains to the angry seahorses in the kingdom demanding the punishment of death for the big fish, “There is no doubt that this creature had done a terrible crime. You are right in thinking of him as evil. But we need not turn heartless because of his evil deed.”

There’s silence for a while, and then the seahorses turned away one by one. They have been convinced that a wrongdoing cannot be made right by another wrong. They are grateful for the wisdom of their prince, their hero.

After a time, the wounded fish has recovered and is well again. In his great appreciation for the kindness given him by Kiko, the fish volunteers to be the defender of the entire seahorse kingdom. The prince has turned a frightening enemy into a loyal friend!

Fun Kiddie Craft

Leaf Doodling with Metallic-Color Pens

Marylea Harris

The girls and I were collecting leaves on our walk home from school and thought it would be fun to embellish them with metallic markers. So, while I fixed dinner, I set up the girls with their pile of leaves and some metallic pens. 

They loved experimenting with the different leaf shapes and pen colors. One of them enjoyed making gold and silver leaves by coloring the whole leaf with one pen. It really brought out the vein pattern! Use a light touch; if you press down too hard the leaves will tear

We decided to just play with the leaves and experiment. For our project, we used fresh leaves and they dried and curled the next day.  If you want your leaves to last a bit longer, try pressing and drying them for a bit first and give them a protective coating of glue before you decorate them with the pens.

Happy decorating!

Note: This craft activity is ideal for kids 5 to 9 years old. The process does not create too much mess. The materials needed are: leaves, metallic-color pens, clear drying glue (optional).

(Source: www.kiwicrate.com)