Hello, friends! Today, we’re going to talk about a fun story called The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister. This story is written by Linda Ravin Lodding and has beautiful pictures by Suzanne Beaky. Let’s dive into Ernestine’s world and see what she’s up to!
Every morning, Ernestine has breakfast while her nanny, Nanny O’Dear, gets her lunch ready. Her dad rushes off to work, saying, “Live life to the fullest, Ern!” and her mom hurries to catch the bus, saying, “Make every moment count, E!”
Ernestine’s neighbor, Hugo, always asks her to play after school. But Ernestine is super busy because her parents have filled her schedule with lots of activities!
Here’s what Ernestine does each day:
Wow, that’s a lot of activities! Luckily, Nanny O’Dear helps Ernestine keep track of everything. But sometimes, things get a bit mixed up.
One day, Ernestine watches Hugo play in his yard. He jumps on his trampoline, pretends to be a cowboy, and bounces his ball. Ernestine wishes she could play like Hugo. Then, she has a great idea!
The next day, Ernestine decides to try something new. She skips her usual yodeling class and heads to the park with Nanny O’Dear. They lie on the grass, look at the clouds, and imagine all sorts of fun things. They even pretend to be tiny bugs and build a fort out of twigs!
Meanwhile, Ernestine’s parents are worried because they can’t find her. They search everywhere, from knitting class to karate, but no Ernestine! Finally, they hear laughter and find Ernestine and Nanny O’Dear having a wonderful time on the hill.
Ernestine tells her parents that she loves her lessons, but she also wants time to play and imagine. Her parents realize that sometimes, the best way to live life to the fullest is to enjoy simple moments.
After that day, Ernestine’s family makes some changes. Her mom starts biking to work and gardening, her dad builds a treehouse, and Nanny O’Dear discovers kite flying. Ernestine still does some of her activities, but she also makes time to play with Hugo and just have fun.
This story reminds us that playing and using our imagination is a wonderful way to tell stories. When you play outside and let your imagination run wild, you’re creating your own stories! Reading is fun because it lets us explore endless adventures and ideas.
Thank you for joining us for this storytime. Keep reading and playing, and let your imagination soar!
Activity: Create Your Own Schedule
Just like Ernestine, let’s create a fun weekly schedule! Use a piece of paper and draw a calendar for the week. Think of different activities you enjoy or would like to try, such as drawing, playing a sport, or reading a book. Fill in each day with one activity. Remember to leave some days open for free play and imagination time, just like Ernestine did!
Activity: Imagination Adventure
Find a cozy spot in your home or outside in your yard. Close your eyes and imagine you’re in a magical place. Are you in a jungle, on a pirate ship, or maybe on another planet? Draw a picture of your adventure and share your story with a family member or friend. What did you see? Who did you meet? What fun things did you do?
Question: What Makes You Happy?
Think about the activities you do every day. Which ones make you the happiest? Why do you enjoy them? Talk with your parents or teachers about how you can make more time for these activities, just like Ernestine did when she decided to play with Hugo. Remember, it’s important to have time for both learning and playing!
**Sanitized Transcript:**
Welcome to Storyline Online brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. I’m Connie Britton, and today I’m going to be reading you *The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister*, written by Linda Ravin Lotting and illustrated by Suzanne Beaky.
Each morning, while Ernestine ate breakfast and Nanny O’Dear prepared lunch, Ernestine’s father zoomed out to work and called, “Live life to the fullest, Ern!” And each morning, Ernestine’s mother zipped out to catch the bus and said, “Make every moment count, E!”
Every morning, Hugo from next door asked, “Ernestine, do you want to play after school?” But Ernestine never had time because her busy, well-meaning parents had packed her after-school schedule.
On Mondays, she sculpted with Clay Lumpkin. On Tuesdays, she did water ballet with Miss Goldfisher. On Wednesdays, she knitted with Mrs. Pearl Stitchem. On Thursdays, she took tuba lessons with Mr. Oompah. On Fridays, she yodeled with Little Old Lady Hoo. On Saturdays, she studied karate with Grand Master HiYa! And on Sundays, she practiced yoga with Guru Prakash Pretzel.
Thank goodness the Buckmeisters had Nanny O’Dear to help Ernestine stay on schedule. Nanny made sure Ernestine got to all her classes. But sometimes they were so busy that things got confused.
One night, when Mr. and Mrs. Buckmeister dashed home from work late, they noticed Ernestine looked pale. “Maybe she needs some face painting lessons,” said Mr. Buckmeister. Nanny O’Dear just said, “Oh, dear.”
On her way to lessons each day, Ernestine slowed down long enough to watch Hugo play in his yard. He flip-flopped on his trampoline, giddy-upped like a cowboy, and bounced his ball. One afternoon, Hugo shouted, “Look out!” as his ball sailed over the fence and landed in Ernestine’s tuba. WHOMP! Ernestine bounced the ball to Nanny and squealed, “Bounce it back!”
“Oh dear,” said Nanny, “It’s time for tuba.” Ernestine sighed and passed the ball back to Hugo. That night, Ernestine practiced yoga in bed. She inhaled and stared at her busy schedule. She exhaled and thought about Hugo, and how he got to flip-flop and giddy-up and bounce. Then Ernestine had an idea.
The next afternoon, Ernestine announced, “Today I scheduled something new!” “But you have yodeling,” said Nanny. “It’s written on my… have you seen my calendar? And where’s my phone? Oh, dear…”
Ernestine giddy-upped across the yard to the park. “Ern-e-stine!” panted Nanny. “Now we’ll be late for yodeling – or is it knitting?” Ernestine reached the hilltop and flopped onto the grass, pulling Nanny down with her. “Oh, dear!” muttered Nanny.
“Look!” Ernestine sang. Nanny stopped huffing and noticed the valley below. “My, the view is heavenly!” “That cloud looks like a pineapple!” said Ernestine. “No, a bunny…” “Or… whipped cream?” suggested Nanny.
Before long, they were imagining that they were tiny bugs and the world was huge. Then they were pioneers building a twig fort, and Nanny showed Ernestine how to make a daisy crown. Meanwhile, Little Old Lady Hoo called Mrs. Buckmeister to report that Ernestine had missed yodeling. Mrs. Buckmeister called Mr. Buckmeister. “It’s not like Ernestine to get off schedule. I know she’s with Nanny, but where could they be?”
They tried to call Nanny O’Dear, but she didn’t hear her phone. So the Buckmeisters set out to find their daughter. “Have you seen Ernestine?” the Buckmeisters asked at knitting class. Mrs. Stitchem replied without dropping a stitch, “Knit one, purl two. Sorry, I can’t help you.”
They dashed to karate. “Hi Ya!” called the Buckmeisters. “Is Ernestine here?” Grand Master HiYa answered, “No!” with a flying twist. “Maybe she’s at water ballet,” called Mrs. Buckmeister. “Is Ernestine here?”
The Buckmeisters zoomed to Clay Lumpkin’s studio. There were lots of children sculpting, but no Ernestine. They rushed to yoga. “Is Ernestine here?” they whispered. Guru Prakash Pretzel was meditating, and all he said was “Ohm… ohm…” “Ohm?” wondered Mr. Buckmeister. “Oom?” said Mrs. Buckmeister. “Oompah! She must be at tuba!”
“HAVE YOU SEEN ERNESTINE?” Mrs. Buckmeister yelled over the blaring horns. But Mr. Oompah didn’t hear a word. By the time they looked everywhere, the Buckmeisters were dazzled and frazzled. “This is what poor Ernestine does every week,” Mrs. Buckmeister panted. “No wonder she always looks so pale,” added Mr. Buckmeister.
Then, off in the distance, they heard bubbles of laughter. The Buckmeisters trudged up the hill. And there was Ernestine, her cheeks as rosy as apples. “Ernestine Marigold Buckmeister!” called Mrs. Buckmeister. “Where have you been?”
“Oh, dear!” Nanny stuttered. “Well, you see…” “We were right here!” Ernestine squealed. “It was my idea. We saw pictures in the clouds and rolled down the hill and pretended we were bugs and then I was a princess… and I want to do it again!”
The Buckmeisters were stunned. “I like taking lessons, but can’t I stop some of them?” pleaded Ernestine. “But how will you live life to the fullest without sculpting and swimming?” asked Mr. Buckmeister. “Right,” Mrs. Buckmeister agreed. “And how will you make every moment count without yoga and yodeling?”
“Like this,” Ernestine said. Everyone inhaled. Then they exhaled. “My, the view is heavenly,” said Mrs. Buckmeister.
Since that day, Mrs. Buckmeister bikes to and from work and has taken up gardening. Mr. Buckmeister tries to get home early once a week to build a treehouse, and Nanny O’Dear has discovered the joy of flying kites. As for Ernestine, some afternoons she practices karate with Hugo. And sometimes she plays the tuba. And sometimes she just plays.
The End.
I love this book. I love reading almost as much as I love playing, and you know I think that the two are very closely related. Because when you play, when you really get to play and be creative, that’s storytelling. And next time you’re playing outside and just letting your imagination run wild, imagine if you wrote some of those ideas down, you would be creating a story. That’s why reading is so much fun, because the sky is the limit in terms of the stories that you can tell and the things that you can read.
Thank you for watching Storyline Online. Make sure to check out all of our stories. Keep watching and keep reading!
