# The Jar of Almosts

- Link: https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/stories-where-a-grandmother-imparts-wisdom/
- Published: 2026-10-30T02:32:52+05:30
- Author: MAHENDRA MANCHIKALAPATI

[English Language Lab](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/)/[Stories for Kids](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/)/
[Grandma & Make-Believe Prompts](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/)/
The Jar of Almosts

✦An original fictional family story

# The Jar of Almosts

Adi wants every drawing to be finished and right straight away. Grandma’s jar offers
a place for ideas that need a little more time.

📖 4-minute read🍃 Ages 5–11✨ Creative patience and choosing when to try again

[Begin reading ](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/stories-where-a-grandmother-imparts-wisdom/#sf-story-text)
[More grandma & make-believe prompts](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/)

![A grandmother and grandson explore rolled sketches in a clear jar beside unfinished
paper crafts at a sunny table.](https://thecuriosi.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/
jar-of-almosts-illustration.png)

**A place for ideas still growing**Read together · Retell · Imagine

Settle in and read at your pace

A story to read together

## The Jar of Almosts

Take your time. Let the story unfold.

Adi drew a turtle, looked at its uneven shell, and pushed the paper away. Beside
it lay half a folded bird and a flower with a bent stem. He had begun three things
and finished none. “I am not good at making things,” he told Grandma. She brought
a wide jar from the shelf. Inside were small rolled sketches, pieces of coloured
paper, and one drawing of a very crooked chair.

Chapter one

### The almost chair

Grandma unrolled the chair drawing. One leg was longer than the others. “I meant
to make a picture of our kitchen,” she said, “but I stopped here.” Adi was surprised
that she had kept it. Grandma explained that she called the jar her Almosts. Some
ideas waited there until she wanted to return. Others stayed because they reminded
her of something interesting. The jar was not a promise to finish everything. It
simply gave unfinished work somewhere to rest without turning it into proof that
its maker could not learn.

Chapter two

### Choosing one thing

Adi wanted to put all three projects in the jar immediately. Grandma said he could,
then asked whether there was one he still felt curious about. He chose the bent 
flower. The curve reminded him of a stem leaning towards a window. He added another
leaf and drew a little pot below it. The picture changed from the one he had expected.
It was still his choice to keep working, stop, or ask for help. Grandma sat nearby
with a sketch of her own.

Chapter three

### A turtle on another day

The next afternoon, Adi returned to the turtle. He studied a picture book and noticed
that shells were not flat circles. He tried a smaller sketch beside the first one.
It was not perfect either, but now he could name one thing he understood better.
Grandma asked if he wanted to save both. Adi rolled the first drawing loosely and
placed it in the jar. He kept the new one on the table. The half-folded bird could
wait until he actually wanted to know how its wings should go.

Chapter four

### What the jar could not do

The jar did not teach Adi to draw while he slept. It could not fold paper or decide
which idea mattered to him. What it did was hold some of the pressure to be finished
immediately. A week later, Adi opened it to find Grandma’s crooked chair. He liked
its lively shape. On a fresh sheet, he drew a whole room of chairs with different
legs. Grandma added a small table. They worked until they were ready to stop, then
cleared a space for tomorrow’s possibilities.

The end

### Story path

[01The almost chair](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/stories-where-a-grandmother-imparts-wisdom/#sf-chapter-1)
[02Choosing one thing](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/stories-where-a-grandmother-imparts-wisdom/#sf-chapter-2)
[03A turtle on another day](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/stories-where-a-grandmother-imparts-wisdom/#sf-chapter-3)
[04What the jar could not do](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/grandma-and-make-believe-prompts/stories-where-a-grandmother-imparts-wisdom/#sf-chapter-4)

### Word basket

**unfinished**started but not yet complete

**curious**interested in finding out more

**pressure**a feeling that you must do something a certain way

**possibility**something that might happen or be made

**Read it together**

This is original fiction about one creative practice. Pausing or leaving a project
unfinished can be a choice, not a failure. The jar is for large paper pieces and
supervised craft materials, not small loose objects for young children.

## After the final page

There is no single right answer. Invite young readers to notice, wonder and imagine.

Remember

Why did Adi first push his work away?

Think

What was the jar for, and what could it not do?

Imagine

How did choosing one interesting detail help him continue?

**Make something:** Choose a folder or large envelope for unfinished paper ideas.
Add a drawing and a note about one thing you might explore later; returning to it
is optional.

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