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A Short Message for Grown Ups Parents We've all had those times when the whole family is off on their own screens. Wouldn't it be great to find something active and fun that everyone agrees on? Families everywhere are discovering Next Playground, an active gain system where your body powers the play. No controllers or wearables, just natural 100% motion driven fun. Fly with how to Train youn Dragon, Dance with Barbie, Pop Bubbles in Gabby's Dollhouse, or Master Moves with Kung Fu Panda all from your living room. Even better, Next Playground is totally kid safe. No ads, no in app purchases and no mature content. Just good clean fun for long summer days. Want to learn more? Visit nextplayground.com that's nexplayground.com to explore active family gaming today. A short message for Grown ups Looking for a fun way to keep the Bluey fans in your home busy with imaginative screen free play? The Bluey Supermarket playset is here, standing over 15 inches tall and packed with surprises across three levels of fun. Inspired by the episode Kids, this set comes with exclusive Bluey and Bingo figures, including Bingo holding her lollipop. There's a real working escalator, a rooftop cafe, and even an intercom with 24 different sound effects your kids will love. With over 15 play pieces, shelves to explore, carts to fill, and stickers to decorate, your little ones can recreate favorite scenes or or invent new ones of their own. It also works with all your other Bluey figures for even more imaginative adventures. The Bluey Supermarket playset is available at all major retailers. Hello friends and welcome to sleept Stories. Everett enjoys school but isn't enjoying the extra responsibility that grade four brings when he learns that he has homework to do over the weekend, he cannot believe it. Ev, as he is usually called, can't get his work done fast. Fast enough, and when he finds a shortcut, realizes how lucky he is. Until he gets to school on Monday and hears the other students talking about their homework and realizes maybe he shouldn't have taken the shortcut. The Magic Leaf Everett Jude Hawthorne lived with his parents in an old house with too many stairs on a narrow street in Montague. No one ever called him by his full name. Ev, as he liked to be called, thought it took too long to say. It was fall, which meant Ev had to go back to school. Even though he could run to school in a fraction of the time the bus took, his teachers insisted he take the bus. It's the way things are, they would say. Usually Ev didn't mind. The bus rides were fun because he got to talk to his friends. But today he wasn't too happy he was bringing home homework. Now that he was in fourth grade, Ev had more responsibility, which apparently meant more homework. His art teacher, of all people, had assigned a huge project to complete over the weekend. Didn't she know weekends were off limits for homework? Even the math teacher didn't send homework home on weekends, and she was super strict. What made this project worse was that Ev had to collect things, and he just knew it was going to take forever. His teacher had asked the class to collect autumn leaves in as many different colors as possible and write a short paragraph about each one. Many different colors, she'd emphasized. Ev sighed as he burst through the front door with his usual amount of noise. At least tonight was pizza and movie night. His parents wouldn't let him watch TV during the week because they wanted him to read books. Ev didn't mind that too much unless someone asked him what the book was about. Then it could take longer to finish. As they ate Ev's favourite pizza, pineapple and ham, he told his parents about his weekend homework. He tried to convince them to help him to save time, but they shook their heads like always. You'll have to start first thing tomorrow, his dad said. That meant no Saturday morning fun. The next morning, right after breakfast, Ev's mom bundled him up in a jacket, hat, and scarf and sent him out the door. She handed him a large bag and said, you need to fill this with as many different leaves as possible. But Mom, Ev groaned. This bag is too big. It'll take forever. I'm supposed to play with Sarah and Timmy today. His mom just smiled and said her usual lines, no buts. It was like her favorite phrase or something. Ev knew there were lots of trees on the path his parents always made him walk, but it was far away and getting there would take too long. He remembered a place closer by, just behind the school where the big kids went. That would be faster, so Ev ran as fast as he could, his feet crunching the leaves beneath him. The wind blew hard, slowing him down more than he expected, and his scarf kept slipping off, which didn't help. When he finally arrived, he looked around and exclaimed, lots of leaves on the ground here. I should be done in five minutes. But as he started picking up leaves, he noticed a problem. All these leaves look exactly the same, he muttered. How am I supposed to find many different colours when they're all yellow or red? Just then, something caught his eye. A large leaf, much bigger than the others, glowing a bright shade of purple it wasn't yellow or red at all. Ev picked up the leaf. Wow. This leaf must be at least three times bigger than the others. He glanced at his bag, which held just three small leaves. I wish all the leaves I collected were this big, he said without thinking. Right before his eyes, the leaves in his bag changed size. They were now as big, if not bigger, than the glowing leaf he held. Ev had wished for a lot of things in his life, like eating pineapple and ham pizza every single day, or having a pet dinosaur when he was younger. Just last weekend, he'd wished he didn't have to clean his room. And most recently, he dreamed of having a magical remote to fast forward through boring social studies class. But this was the first time a wish seemed to come true. He decided to try again. Holding the glowing leaf tightly, he wished. I wish all the leaves on the ground were big and had lots of different colors. In an instant, the leaves on the ground transformed, each one bigger and more colorful than the next, shimmering in every shade of the rainbow. Ev was thrilled. He scooped them up by the fistful, quickly filling his bag. After finishing, Ev walked home, the bag full of colorful leaves swinging by his side. Bursting through the door, he kicked off his shoes and bolted upstairs. But before he reached the top, his mother's voice called out. Everett. Why are you home so early? You've only been gone a short time. Whenever his mom used his full name, Ev knew she was serious. If she ever used his whole name, he was really in trouble. Don't worry, Mom. I got all kinds of leaves. I, uh, got lucky and found a ton of beautiful ones in his room. Ev dumped the leaves onto the floor. He realized, though, he still had a lot of work left. This is taking too long. I'll never get to play with my friends at this rate. Thinking back to the glowing leaf, Ev said aloud, if it worked once, it should work again. Without hesitation, he grabbed the magical leaf and blurted, I wish my homework was already done. Immediately, a breeze swept through the room, and in an instant, his homework was magically complete. The colorful leaves were neatly packed back into his bag, and every paragraph was neatly written on perfect paper. Wow. I can't believe I'm so lucky. Ev exclaimed. This is the best day ever. From now on, it's pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And no more boring homework for me. I can wish for whatever I want. My mom and dad can have whatever they want, too. And so can my friends. But first, he had to go play with Sara and Timmy. He stuffed the magic purple leaf into his pocket, planning to use it later. Ev raced out the door, his thoughts buzzing with all the things he would change. The afternoon passed in a blur of games, laughter, and fun. By the time Ev got home, it was already late, and his mom called him to bed before he had a chance to make any more wishes. Sunday came and went in much the same way Ev had planned to use the magic leaf. But between chores, a family visit to his grandparents, and playing outside with his friends, the day slipped away faster than he realized. By the time Sunday evening rolled around, he was too tired to think about wishes. Before he knew it, the weekend was over. By Monday morning, the weekend felt like it had flown by. Ev woke up to the sound of his alarm and realized that despite his best intentions, he hadn't used the leaf at all over the weekend. There wasn't time now as he hurried through breakfast and rushed to catch the bus for school. He would have to wait until later to use the magic leaf, and that thought made sitting through another school day even harder than usual. But at least he had one thing to look forward to. Handing in his homework. Ev couldn't wait to see his art teacher's face when she saw the perfect, colorful leaves he'd collected and how beautifully his paragraphs were written. This is going to be awesome, he thought, practically bouncing out of his seat as the bus pulled up to the school. As soon as art class began, Ev eagerly grabbed his bag, ready to impress his teacher. He could hardly sit still as he waited for his turn. When it finally came, he walked up confidently and handed over his project, grinning from ear to ear. Here you go, ev said proudly. I found the best leaves ever. His art teacher looked surprised as she glanced through the collection. Wow, these are incredible evil, she said, flipping through the colorful leaves and reading his neatly written paragraphs. You really put in some effort. At first, Ev felt a wave of relief. He had gotten exactly what he wanted. No long hours of searching for leaves. No boring writing. Just a perfect project without all the hard work. But a strange feeling crept in as his teacher continued to praise his work. Around him, the other kids were excitedly showing off their projects, chatting about the interesting places they found their leaves. I found this one under the big oak tree near my house, one student said. It is supposed to be haunted, but but I don't believe in that stuff. And this one has the brightest yellow I've ever seen, said another. They were laughing, telling stories about their searches and how good it felt to put in the effort. Another classmate shared about all the animals they'd seen while looking for the leaves, and someone else said they'd made a whole day out of it, treating it like a picnic with their family. They were proud of their work, and it showed. Ev realized that he didn't remember anything about collecting his leaves. He couldn't recall where he found them or what made each one special. The glowing purple leaf had done all the work for him. Now, while everyone else shared their stories, he had nothing to say. He felt disappointed. Suddenly, the magical shortcut didn't feel so great. He'd missed out on the entire experience because he had been too impatient. After school, Ev decided to return to where he'd found the magical leaf. This time, he walked slowly through the trees, taking his time to really appreciate the colors, shapes, and textures of the leaves around him. He started a new collection, carefully placing each leaf into a book so it would stay flat until he got home. It still felt like it was taking longer than he wanted, but as he collected each leaf with care, Ev felt a small sense of pride grow inside him. The work felt real this time, and even though it wasn't as fast or easy, it was his. The sun began to dip lower in the sky as he finished, and Ev's stomach told him it was just about dinner time. Before he left, he took out the magical purple leaf from his pocket and placed it back where he had found it. With his new collection tucked safely in his book, Ev turned to head home. This time, he didn't mind the walk. He felt proud of his work, knowing he would have stories to share with his classmates tomorrow. Real stories just like theirs. And while he still wished for pizza for every meal, Ev had a feeling that maybe some things were worth waiting for. And that's the end of our story. Good night. Sleep tight.