Peter’s Picnic Plan

Peter and Ruby were planning a picnic with Aunt. Peter wanted to leave straight away. He picked up the empty picnic bag. “Are we ready?” he asked. Aunt smiled. “Some jobs need to happen before we go.”

First they washed their hands. Then they washed the fruit. Aunt cut it safely while the children fetched plates. “Washing comes before preparing our food,” said Peter. “We cannot pack fruit that is not ready yet.”

Next they packed the fruit, plates and water. Ruby checked the bag. Peter found the picnic cloth by the door. “We’ve prepared the food, and now it’s all packed,” he said. “We’re nearly ready!”

They carried the bag into the garden. Aunt chose a shady place. Before anyone sat down to eat, the children spread out the cloth. Peter held one end while Ruby gently pulled the other end flat.

The friends sat down and shared their picnic. Peter remembered his hurry at the door. “Eating could not be first,” he said. “We needed food, plates and a place to sit before we could begin.”

After eating, Ruby wanted to play a ball game. Aunt pointed to the used plates and the fruit box. “What needs to happen before we play?” Peter looked around. “We need to tidy our picnic things.”

They put the plates away, closed the box and folded the cloth. Then they checked the grass for anything left behind. “We’ve eaten and tidied. Now we can play!” said Ruby. Peter carried the bag inside.

At last, the ball game began. Peter told Aunt the picnic plan: wash and prepare, pack, spread the cloth, eat, tidy, then play. “A good order helped us,” he said. “There was time for our game too!”