It is the last week of the holidays and Peter asks Henry what he would like to do.

Every week, Henry goes to the summer camp in the local sports centre and he says he still wants to do that as usual as he meets his friends there.

Peter is pleased about that and agrees. Then he makes some suggestions for the other days.

“Well, we need to buy you some new school uniform one day, I know that,” says Peter.

Henry asks, “Can we do some baking one day, Dad? We haven’t done baking for ages.”

“You’re right, we haven’t,” agrees Peter. “We could make a chocolate cake and perhaps some scones? But we need to do some housework again and leave the house, and garden, neat and tidy.”

Henry knows he will help with this and hopes he will get a treat at the end. But he also knows he may not because he has pocket money every week.

“Let’s start by taking Charlie for a walk, shall we?” Peter suggests to Henry.

“Can we go to the park then, Dad?” asks Henry. Henry loves taking a ball to the park and throwing it for Charlie to run after and bring back.

Henry goes upstairs to get his trainers to wear for the walk and to play in the park, and Peter picks up Charlie’s lead. Charlie knows straightaway that they’re going for a walk and is vey excited.

On the way out of the house, they pick up a tennis ball.

It takes fifteen minutes to get to the park. When they get there, they find they are the only people in the park so they have lots of space to run around and play. Henry and Charlie are both very excited and play happily for more than an hour, throwing, chasing, catching, fetching.

They are both exhausted so Henry sits on a swing and Charlie lies on the ground nearby. They wait a few minutes before they walk back.

As they are walking home, Henry says, “Dad, I think my trainers are too small now. Can we go shopping for my new school uniform tomorrow and buy some trainers as well?”

“Yes, we can. Good idea,” says Peter.

It is the last week of the holidays. Peter and Henry have a list of things to do.

Today is the day for buying new school uniform and, in particular, new trainers.

Peter finds the school uniform list and starts to go through it with Henry. Peter says the item, and Henry finds the uniform from last year and tries it on to see if it still fits. If it doesn’t, it goes on the shopping list. If it does, good, one less thing to buy.

Peter says, “Let’s put new trainers at the top of the list. We know they’re too small.” And they start the list.

SHOPPING LIST:

➢ Trainers

Henry tries on his shorts and trousers and finds the shorts fit, but the trousers are too short now.

● Trainers
● 2 pairs of dark grey trousers

Then they try on the polo shirts. They are also too short now, and they look grey rather than white, so Peter adds those to the list as well.

➢ Trainers
➢ 2 pairs of dark grey trousers
➢ 5 white polo shirts

“Where is your sweatshirt, Henry?” asks Peter.

“I couldn’t find it at the end of term, Dad. I definitely need a new one.”

➢ Trainers
➢ 2 pairs of dark grey trousers
➢ 5 white polo shirts
➢ Red sweatshirt

"بالإضافة إلى الحذاء الرياضي، ماذا عن طقم التربية البدنية؟ هل ستحتاج سراويل قصيرة للتربية البدنية؟" يسأل بيتر هنري.

“As well as trainers, what about your PE kit? Do you need any new shorts for PE?” Peter asks Henry.

“I’ll try them on,” replies Henry. He finds that they still fit, but he needs new PE socks.

➢ Trainers
➢ 2 pairs of dark grey trousers
➢ 5 white polo shirts
➢ Red sweatshirt
➢ White PE socks

"أعتقد أنك تحتاج إلى جوارب رمادية أيضا يا هنري، لذا دعنا نضعهم في القائمة أيضا،" اقترح بيتر.

“I think you need new grey socks as well, Henry, so let’s put those on the list as well,” Peter suggests.

● Trainers
● 2 pairs of dark grey trousers
● 5 white polo shirts
● Red sweatshirt
● White PE socks
● 5 pairs of grey socks

And finally, they think about Henry’s school shoes. Henry tries them on and, like his trainers, they are now too small, so they also need to go on the shopping list.

Peter suggests.

● Trainers
● 2 pairs of dark grey trousers
● 5 white polo shirts
● Red sweatshirt
● White PE socks
● 5 pairs of grey socks
● Black school shoes

Peter and Henry both look at the list and agree they have a busy day of shopping ahead of them.

With the school uniform shopping list in hand, Peter and Henry get into the car to drive to town.

When they arrive, they go first to a sports shop to buy some trainers. Henry tries on 4 different pairs – one all white pair, one pair that is blue and white, one pair that is red and black, and finally a white and green pair. Peter thinks the blue and white look best but Henry wants the red and black, because they remind him of his favourite football team. They cost more, but Peter agrees to the red and black pair.

While they are in the sports shop, they buy Henry’s white PE socks.

They then go to a well-known department store to look for the other five items, including the shoes.

They find the white polo shirts straightaway and are able to put the five shirts Henry needs into the shopping basket. Near to the polo shirts are the sweatshirts in different colours: navy blue, green, purple, yellow and, thankfully, red. So, a red sweatshirt in Henry’s size goes into the shopping basket.

The grey socks are just as easy to find – there are plenty in the right size. Five pairs go into the shopping basket.

There are plenty of trousers to choose from as well – or so Peter thinks. He looks at nearly every pair on the racks and only finds one pair that are the right size for Henry. Peter puts them in the basket and tries to find an assistant. But then Peter decides not to worry as Henry will wear shorts for the first few weeks back at school, and they can order a pair online and wait for them to arrive.

They go to the till and pay for the items in the basket.

And now the shoes. They go to the shoe department where there are many pairs to choose from. Some with laces, some with Velcro straps. Peter decides that laced shoes are better and Henry tries on a pair that he says are really comfortable. They look smart as well. So, Peter pays for the shoes as well.

With lots of bags to carry, Peter suggests they go for a drink before going home. Henry asks if he can have something to eat as shopping makes him hungry.

Coffee and cake for Peter, Coca-Cola and cake for Henry.

Today is Henry’s last day at the Summer Camp in the local sports centre.

When he gets up, he packs his bag with his swimming costume and towel, and gets out his new trainers.

He puts on his football kit and new trainers and goes downstairs for breakfast.

Peter is downstairs already making Henry’s sandwich for lunch, and they talk about what Henry might do today at the summer camp.

“Well, we always play football. That’s the best part. There are enough people for six teams and a few substitutes, and we play a tournament during the day. In between games, we can go swimming, or play badminton,” Henry explains.

“There are other things to do as well, we choose,” Henry adds.

Thoughtfully, he says, “I think that I will try some different activities today as well, as it is my last day at camp.”

“I like the idea of archery,” Henry says. “What do you think, Dad?”

“Great. Have a go. It sounds like fun. And what other activities are there to do?” Peter asks.

Henry replies, “Well, there’s canoeing in the swimming pool. I don’t think I want to do that though. There’s also trampolining, and basketball, I think.”

“Can you do all of the activities if you want to?” Peter asks Henry.

“Yes,” Henry answers, “You just have to do them between the football matches!”

They put Henry’s packed lunch into his rucksack. Henry finishes his breakfast, and they leave.

Charlie looks sad at the thought of a day on his own.

Peter drives to the sports centre, parks, and takes Henry up to the registration desk. There are lots of staff there, as well as lots of energetic children, just like Henry. They look happy and excited to see each other and Peter knows that Henry is going to have a great day.

And so is Peter!

Henry is at summer camp and today is the last day of the holidays when Peter can do whatever he wants to do before he goes back to work as a teacher next week.

Peter takes Charlie for a long walk. They go to the park and then walk through the fields and arrive home after eight kilometres. Charlie lies down for a long sleep.

Peter goes into the kitchen to prepare an early lunch and stops to think about what he really wants to do during the afternoon.

What are his options?

يمكنه المكوث بالمنزل ومشاهدة التلفاز. لا، يمكنه فعل ذلك وقتما يشاء.

He can stay at home and watch TV. No, he can do that whenever he wants to.

He can go shopping to buy food for next week. No, he can shop online for food whenever he wants to.

He can go and play a round of golf. No, he would rather have company to do that, he doesn’t like playing on his own.

He can go for a swim. No, he doesn’t want to go back to the sports centre yet.

He can mow the lawn, clean the house, wash the car, and clean the bathrooms. No, he will do that tomorrow with Henry’s help. That will be more fun.

He can go shopping for some new work clothes.

Actually, that isn’t a bad idea.

Then he has another idea. He phones Sarah.

“Have you had lunch yet?” he asks her as she answers the phone.

“Not yet. I take my lunch in about half an hour,” she replies.

“Fantastic. Let’s have lunch together then,” Peter says to her. “I’m coming to town to buy some new clothes. We can have a quiet lunch together as my holiday is nearly ovar.”

“That would be lovely,” Sarah replies, positively. “I will meet you at the Italian restaurant on the corner of the High Street. I am really looking forward to it!”

Peter is very pleased and runs upstairs to get changed.

Peter and Henry are having breakfast together on the last day of the holidays. Sarah has gone to work early.

“Henry, today, we need to do all the household jobs so that we leave the house clean and tidy when we go back to school next week,” says Peter.

Henry smiles and says, “I know, Dad. I know we have to do some hard work today. Can we do some baking afterwards though?”

Peter agrees to a baking afternoon when they have finished doing all their jobs.

Henry offers to clean the car again – he enjoyed that and did it well last time.

Peter tells him that first, he has to make sure that his bedroom is tidy, his school bag is packed, and his uniform is ready.

Henry isn’t happy at having to tidy his bedroom, and goes upstairs slowly.

Peter puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans the kitchen, then mops the kitchen floor. Now, the kitchen is more or less done.

Peter then walks upstairs to the bathrooms to start cleaning there. He doesn’t like cleaning the bathrooms.

When he finishes that, he remembers to put some washing in the washing machine. Then he changes the beds.

Peter tells Henry that he’s going outside to mow the lawn. He finds him in his bedroom and tells him that his bedroom is looking tidy so he can go and clean the car now.

Peter and Henry go downstairs together. Peter mows the lawn and Henry cleans the car.

Again, Henry does a very good job and the car is very shiny when he finishes.

The garden looks good when Peter finishes, as well.

They realise it’s time for lunch now so they sit down together in the garden and eat a sandwich.

They reflect happily on what they have done this morning, and agree that they are going to do some baking in the afternoon.

“Which shall we make first? The chocolate cake or the scones?” Peter asks Henry.

Henry thinks for a moment and says, “Mum loves chocolate cake so let’s make the scones first. The cake will be warmer when Mom gets home and she will love it!”.