National Adult Literacy Database

September 29, 2003

This week, we are launching three stories written by students from The Learning Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. As a special event you can read the stories as well as hear them.

"The Learning Centre is a community-based adult literacy and education program in Edmonton, Alberta. Whether we are drawn to the Centre to learn to write, to tutor reading, to facilitate, coordinate or do research, learning is at the centre of what we do."

The following story was written by Pauline Fraser. Pauline is originally from Kingston, Ontario. She moved to Edmonton 28 years ago. Since the summer of 2001, she comes to The Learning Centre for help in writing. Pauline loves to come to the Centre where she finds friends and a loving atmosphere. She is very eager to learn and so happy that she knows the secrets of the computer.

 

Play an audio version of this story

Birds

by Pauline Fraser

I'm writing about birds. I love birds. I like when the birds soar through the blue clouds. Years ago when I lived on the south side of Edmonton I had a big backyard and there was a lot of wildlife. I had two birdfeeders which I make with Popsicle sticks and painted the birdhouses with shellac. There was red squirrels and the squirrels would run in and outside. Birds would take a bath in a bath in the pond in the backyard. There were all kinds of birds, swallows, robins, and magpies flying in and out of the green tall spruce trees. I enjoyed watching the robins pick up worms out of the green lawn when there was a rainstorm. One day I saw a swallow of birds fly in the blue sky. There must have been hundreds of birds flying over the house. I would put out crumbs of leftover brown crust of bread that was toast and feed the crumbs to the birds. The birds always looked hungry especially in the wintertime.