Beach Tales • 9 minutes read

Sandcastles and New Friends

A Story About Kindness, Empathy, and Inclusion at the Beach

A Day at the Beach

Lily and Max were jumping up and down with excitement as their parents helped them pack a picnic basket for their day trip to the beach. “I can’t wait to build sandcastles!” exclaimed Lily, while Max was eager to go swimming in the sea.

Finally, they arrived at the beach - it was even more beautiful than they had imagined! The sun was shining bright, seagulls were flying overhead, and there was a gentle breeze blowing from the sea. The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled their ears.

The siblings quickly ran towards the water’s edge with glee, feeling its coolness on their toes. They looked at each other with huge smiles on their faces; this day couldn’t get any better! But then something caught their attention - another child sitting alone by himself near some rocks.

“Max, look over there,” said Lily pointing towards Alex who seemed sad and lonely. “Do you think he wants us to play with him?” asked Max curiously.

Without hesitation or second thoughts, both siblings made a beeline towards Alex smiling brightly as they approached him.

Inviting Alex to Play

Lily and Max looked over at the boy sitting alone in the sand. They could see he was feeling a little sad, so they decided to go talk to him. As they got closer, the boy looked up at them with big eyes.

“Hi there,” said Lily cheerfully. “We’re building sandcastles and wondered if you’d like to join us?”

Alex hesitated for a moment but then nodded his head shyly and stood up. The three of them walked over to where Lily and Max had been working on their castle.

“My name is Max,” he said as he shook hands with Alex.

“I’m Lily,” she added with a smile.

“And my name is Alex,” replied the other boy softly.

Lily handed him a bucket of wet sand, encouraging him to start building his own tower alongside theirs while Max showed him how to make it stand tall without falling apart! It didn’t take long before all three were giggling together as they built their sandy creations higher and higher!

As they worked together under the hot sun, it became clear that inviting Alex had been an excellent idea - he was such good company!

Building Sandcastles Together

Lily, Max and Alex started working on a sandcastle together. They decided to make a big one with different towers and decorated walls. Lily took the first step, showing them how to make the base of their castle strong by packing the wet sand tightly using her hands.

Max followed Lily’s lead and helped her build up the structure taller while Alex watched carefully. Then it was time for Alex to try himself! With some guidance from his new friends, he packed down the sand as tight as he could before building upwards.

They all worked together, taking turns adding details like windows or flags made out of shells they collected earlier that day. The sun shone brightly above them as they laughed at each other’s funny ideas for decorations.

As they built higher, their structures became more unstable and eventually fell over - but instead of getting upset about it, they just laughed even harder!

“It’s okay,” said Max with a smile on his face. “We’ll just have to build an even better one!”

And so they did! They kept on trying until finally creating an impressive castle that towered over all others nearby.

The three children were proud of what they’d accomplished together - not only had they built something amazing from scratch but also forged new friendships in the process.

“Wow,” exclaimed Alex excitedly. “I’ve never had this much fun at the beach before.”

Lily and Max both smiled knowingly; building sandcastles wasn’t just about making something cool - it was about having fun with new friends too!

Making New Friends

As they built sandcastles together, Alex slowly started to feel included and happy. He had been feeling lonely for a while and didn’t know what to do by himself at the beach. But now he felt like he was part of the team.

Lily and Max were great teachers, showing Alex how to make towers out of wet sand and how to use shells as decorations. They laughed when their structures fell over but kept building more, trying new designs each time.

It wasn’t long before Lily and Max realized that they had learned something important too - empathy. They saw how much fun Alex was having with them and understood that it’s important to include others in your activities - even if you don’t know them very well.

So from then on, whenever they went back to the beach, Lily and Max made sure to look out for other children who might be feeling left out or alone. And every time they did, they remembered the day when they met Alex - a friend who taught them an important lesson about kindness.

As the sun began setting on their first day at the beach together, Lily asked Alex whether he wanted her phone number so that she could text him next time she came down here. “That would be awesome!” replied Alex happily with a smile on his face.

And just like that - three new friends were made!

Saying Goodbye

As the sun began to set over the beach, Lily and Max knew it was time to pack up their things and head home. They had spent the entire day building sandcastles with Alex, who had quickly become their new friend.

“Bye Alex!” said Lily as she gave him a big hug goodbye. “Thanks for playing with us today!”

Max also hugged Alex tightly before saying, “Yeah, we had so much fun! We should do this again sometime.”

Alex smiled from ear to ear as he waved goodbye to his new friends. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have met such kind and friendly people on the beach.

Lily and Max walked away feeling happy knowing that they made a new friend from a different background than themselves. They realized that even though people may look or act differently from one another, they can still find common ground in having fun together!

As they drove home with their parents, Lily and Max shared stories of all the sandcastles they built with Alex throughout the day. They were excited about going back to the beach soon - maybe next time they would build even bigger sandcastles with Alex!

The siblings fell asleep in the car dreaming about all their future adventures at the beach with their new friend. And little did they know that this was just the beginning of many more exciting days filled with laughter and friendship ahead of them!

Learning about Kindness and Inclusion

Lily and Max couldn’t wait to visit the beach. They packed their bags with sunscreen, hats, and towels. When they arrived at the beach, they were amazed by how beautiful it was.

As they started building their sandcastles, Lily noticed a boy sitting alone on the sand. “Hey Max,” she whispered to her brother. “Do you see that boy over there? He looks so sad.”

Max looked up from his sandcastle tower and saw the lonely boy too. “I wonder why he’s all alone?” he said.

Without hesitating, Lily got up and walked over to the boy. “Hi there! My name is Lily,” she said with a smile.

The little boy looked up at her shyly before introducing himself as Alex.

“Would you like to come build sandcastles with us?” asked Max who had joined them by now.

Alex hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. The three of them happily worked together building towers out of soft white sand while laughing every time one fell apart due to waves or accidents!

After a while, when it was time for everyone to go home- Alex thanked them both for including him in their fun activities despite being strangers earlier.

Lily hugged him back saying that making new friends is what makes life more exciting!

From that day on- whenever Alex visited the beach - he always found two new friends waiting eagerly for him!