Yesterday evening, homework started after snacks. The banana plate was still on the table, and her school bag was open on the floor. One sock was on the sofa. I had already told myself I would clean everything after five minutes.
Then she opened her English notebook.
The topic was my best friend’s essay for Class 1.
She wrote:
My best friend is Anaya.
Then she looked at me and asked, “Amma, enough?”
I said, “No, 10 lines.”
That face. As if 10 lines meant a full book.
At first, I thought she was avoiding homework. I was also tired, honestly. I had one eye on the kitchen and one ear on the TV. But after two blank looks, I understood. She knew Anaya. She just did not know how to turn friendship into small english sentences.
So I stopped saying, “Think and write.”
When I stopped asking big questions
For us, my best friend for class 1 sounds easy. For children, it can feel too wide. Best friend means school, tiffin, games, laughing, small fights, sharing pencils, and who sits next to whom.
I first asked, “What do you like about her?”
Blank.
Then I asked, “What does she do?”
More blank.
Then the pencil broke. Of course. We searched for the sharpener, and it was under the drawing book.
So I said, “Don’t write now. Just tell me.”
That helped.
Line 1: Name first, nothing extra
I asked, “Who is your best friend?”
“Anaya.”
So we kept the line as:
My best friend is Anaya.
I did not add any big words. For my best friend, class 1, this line is enough.
She wrote it and looked proud.
Line 2: Say where the friend is from
Then I asked, “Where do you know her from?”
“She is in my class.”
So we wrote:
She is in my class.
This is how I explained a sentence to a friend. When children get worksheets like friend make sentence for class 1, they freeze because the word is alone.
So I asked, “What do you do with your friend?”
She said, “My friend plays with me.”
Fine. Simple sentence. Done.
Line 3: Add one thing they do together
Just then, the TV became loud, and her head turned fully. I waited. No point fighting the TV, also.
Then I asked, “What do you and Anaya do in school?”
“Colouring.”
So we wrote:
We like colouring together.
For my friend’s 10-line English essay, this kind of line works.
Line 4: One small quality is enough
I asked, “Is she funny, kind, helpful?”
She said, “Funny. She makes a rabbit face.”
I almost laughed, but controlled.
So we wrote:
She is funny and kind.
Many lines for my best friend online sound too grown-up. My child will never say “sincere and well-behaved” on her own.
Line 5: Use one real memory
I asked, “Does she help you in school?”
She thought for a while. “She gave me an eraser when mine fell.”
That was enough.
The notebook slipped because she was leaning on it. We pulled it back and wrote:
She helps me in class.
Line 6: Bring in playtime
By now, she asked for water. She drank two sips, left the bottle open, and started turning the cap like a toy. I closed it.
I asked, “Where do you play with her?”
“In the playground.”
So we wrote:
We play in the playground.
This works for my best friend for class 1. For my best friend for class 2, it can become, “We play on the swings.”
Line 7: Let the honest answer stay
“Do you share anything with her?” I asked.
“Tiffin. But only sometimes.”
That “sometimes” mattered to her, so I kept it.
We wrote:
We share our tiffin sometimes.
It made her laugh because she remembered Anaya eating her cheese dosa. Also, it sounded true.
Line 8: Ask the feeling simply
I asked, “How do you feel when you are with her?”
“Happy.”
So we wrote:
I feel happy with her.
If I had said, “Write your feelings,” she would have looked lost again. Smaller questions work better.
For my best friend, 15 lines, this can become two lines. “I feel happy when we play” and “I like talking to her.”
Line 9: What does she like most?
Someone called me from the bedroom. I went for a second, came back, and she had drawn a tiny flower near the margin.
I wanted to say, “Don’t draw in the English notebook,” but I left it.
I asked, “What do you like most about Anaya?”
“She shares stickers.”
So we wrote:
I like her because she shares with me.
This is where the phrase “bestie in a sentence” came up. I told her, “My bestie shares stickers with me”, is okay at home, but for school, “my best friend” may be better.
Line 10: End in her own style
Finally, I said, “Last line. What should we say?”
“She is my best friend forever.”
Big emotion. Very serious face.
So we wrote:
She is my best friend forever.
And there it was. Ten lines. Not fancy. Not perfect. But hers.
Read More – Essay on A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed
The 10 lines in her notebook
This is what we had:
- My best friend is Anaya.
- She is in my class.
- We like colouring together.
- She is funny and kind.
- She helps me in class.
- We play in the playground.
- We share our tiffin sometimes.
- I feel happy with her.
- I like her because she shares with me.
- She is my best friend forever.
If your child needs my best friend 15 lines, add simple things about lunch, birthday, school bus, games, sharing crayons, or why the friend is special.
After That, She Moved On
Once the essay was done, she did not look at it lovingly. She shut the notebook, left the pencil near the banana plate, and ran away to find a toy.
The bag stayed open. The sock stayed on the sofa. I still had to clear the plate.
But I was glad we did not make homework into a fight. She had made her own lines for my best friend, one small memory at a time.
Later, while cleaning the table, I remembered something I had once heard during a EuroKids Preschool interaction: that children understand writing better when it starts from familiar things. A friend, a tiffin box, an eraser, a playground. Parents exploring Eurokids Preschool Admission often appreciate this child-centred approach, where learning begins with everyday experiences that children can easily relate to.
That evening, with the broken pencil and open bottle, it made sense.
