The Box

Imagine that you find a box in the attic of your new loft. What is in it?

• a ‘build a bear’ - an old toy with a recorded message
• an old notebook with some interesting facts written in it
• an ornament which has been passed down by your great, great grandad
• a photograph of mysterious relatives

What are the contents? Describe what you find as you open it?

What do you do with it?

What’s the outcome?

Now imagine a story around the object you find.

Think again about changes. Think about a time in your life when things changed so much, everything was different. How did you feel?

Read the diary extracts below by Sophie. She has a mum, dad, two sisters and a brother, but on moving day she was left to help her mum pack. Write your own diary about moving to another house, another school or even moving to a new country.

30th November

Friday (3 days to moving day) Help!

we’re not getting on well with the packing. We started to pack, but then Grandad was taken seriously ill. How awful. We received a call from the hospital to come immediately. it had been a long night with Grandad. i remember the frantic drive up the motorway, the ghastly smell of antiseptic as we entered the door of the old people’s home and seeing Grandad lying in his bed, his face as pale as marble. it made everyone sad. of course, the packing had stopped. The clearance of the loft had come to a temporary halt. Bad news, because time was running out!

1st December

Saturday (2 days to go)

Then my big brother became ill too. Typical of him! He had volunteered to climb into the loft and sort out all the old toys, schoolbooks, rugs, curtains and all the paraphernalia you keep in there. He had thrown down boxes for the rest of the family to sort. we’d spent a lot of time reading ridiculous stories, we’d written in our textbooks when we were about eight.

We laughed and giggled until the clock struck twelve, then one, then two... But, this morning my brother became ill with flu. He couldn’t find the strength to get out of bed. He felt sick and dizzy. worse still, my two sisters also succumbed to the flu and then my pad.Just our luck!

2nd December

Sunday Morning (one day to moving day)

“Help me,” my mum screamed. “Help!” she was stressed out as usual. we have to get this lot packed in boxes. The removal men are coming at nine am tomorrow morning. “I’m doing my best,” i shouted. it was manic this afternoon. Mum and i heaved all those heavy items, like an old lawn mower, a go-cart my brother had made and a pram into the car. we took them down to the storage unit, even though we’d probably never need them again. Then we queued for ages to get into the car park to buy a huge roll of bubble wrap from a Diy store. For two hours we sat together on the floor surrounded by best china. i cut off little squares of bubble wrap while mum gently covered each teacup and saucer. The clock was ticking on. My father, who looked as white as a ghost, put his head round the door to tell us he was going to the chemist. He’s thought of a way of getting out of the work i thought!

Sunday Afternoon (15 hours to go)

“work faster - even faster - sophie, we’re running out of time,” gasped my frenzied mother. Suddenly, the phone rang. i was so pleased to hear a familiar voice on the other end of the line, “How are you getting on? do you need any help?”

“Help - yes please! Come straight round,” replied my desperate mum, as she explained to uncle John the trouble we were in.

Sunday evening (7 hours to go)

That evening, you would have seen everyone packing industrially in our old house. it was a good sight to remember. Auntie Mona arrived, joined by Mary from next door. The former was standing on a wobbly table, passing down books to Mary to pack in boxes. After this, they used loads and loads of bubble wrap to cover my mum’s prize paintings from her college days. unclejohn dismantled the wardrobes. Now we had plenty of help and the work was getting done: my dad, brother and sisters had also made some degree of recovery.

3rd December

Monday Morning

The clock chimed nine. Removal day had come, but we were in total chaos. i mean chaos. There were loads of half packed cardboard boxes. The removal men arrived but most of our possessions were still unpacked. Take the kitchen, for example, if you’d opened the cupboard door, you would still have seen a row of little jam pots containing my sister’s home made strawberry jam.

The removal men had to radio up for reinforcements, including more men, another van and a lady from the office. They crammed all the remaining items into boxes - clothes, shoes, pots and pans and started to load them into the van. our possessions went hurtling along the road for their new life. All that remained for us there was to collect the cat and rabbit, who were commiserating sadly with one another in their cages on the patio. we handed the keys to the new owner and left that place. To be honest - i was relieved.

Monday Afternoon

As we entered the new house, there was more disorder everywhere. There were full boxes brimming over. The removal men were battling to get the piano through the door, which was stuck at an awkward angle. Mum’s favourite vase had just gone over and she was collecting up the pieces.

“How about a cuppa,” sounded a jolly voice from the hall?”

“i’m desperate for one,” echoed every member of the family in unison. My brother dashed out to the local Co-op and soon we were sipping tea and munching cookies. our friend,jennie’s, face appeared around the door with two steamy casseroles of hot pasta. “This is going to be a peaceful house,” smiled tunclejohn. “i just know you’re going to like it here.” i like unclejohn, he’s so positive.

Now, write your own diary extracts about a time in your life when everything changed.

Don’t forget to write in1st person. write down the events in the order they occur. Make some personal comments. you can use a chatty informal style for a diary.

Here are some points to remember when writing a diary:

Diaries are about your personal experiences. They’re about the things that happen to you in your everyday life. in a diary, you capture ‘special moments’. you can express your feelings about places, characters and events. Some diaries have a humorous tone. They are written in first person. you will be the main reader. it is important to structure your work into paragraphs and use good words and good punctuation.