Lora stared at her homework. As she stared, she got confused the more. She has been given a homework by her teacher to write about her day at the fair. The blank lines on her worksheet seemed to mock her as she held her pencil tightly.

"Is it play or plai? Is it paynt or paint"? She wondered, her forehead wrinkled like a worried puppy. Just then, the door bell rang. "Lora! Aunt Abigail is here!" her mother called from downstairs. Really!? She jumped up in excitement.

Aunt Abigail breezed into Lora's room, they both hugged each other. Lora was so excited to see her favourite Aunt. Aunt Abigail schools in the Federal University in their state and visits Lora's house during holidays.

Lora's excited face faded. "What's that worry on your face", Aunt Abigail asked sitting beside Lora. "I can't figure out when to use 'ai or ay' in words," Lora replied, her voice as soft as a whisper.

"I need to write my homework, but I keep getting stuck. Should I write 'plai' or 'play'? And, is it 'train' or 'trayn'?" Lora asked.

"Oh! I know a secret about these tricky letters. How about we get an ice cream when you learn it?" Said aunt Abigail. Lora's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of ice cream. Yippee! Shouted Lora in excitement.

"Now" said aunty Abigail, "think of 'ai' as best friends who love staying together in the middle of words. They are shy so they need other letters around them. Words like 'paint', 'rain', 'train', 'nail', 'snail', 'afraid' and so on."

"But" Aunt Abigail continued, 'ay' is like a little show-off who loves to stay at the end of words and wave goodbye! You will find 'ay' in words like 'play', 'clay', 'hay', 'day', 'delay', 'tray' 'spray' and so on."

"Hmm! Now I know. So 'ai' likes to hide in the middle of words and 'ay' likes to be at the end" Lora said. "Exactly!" Aunt Abigail replied.

Here is a little rhyme to help you remember:
"When A sounds in the middle. Let AI solve the riddle.
But when A sound ends the way, AY is here to save the day!"

Lora's face beamed with smile as she sang along with Aunt Abigail. She began her homework with newfound confidence. When she finished, she smiled. Not a single spelling mistake in sight. "Great job!" Said her aunt. Now it's ice cream time!

From that day on, whenever Lora saw 'ai' or 'ay' in words, she remembered the secret that made spelling magic happen.




Photo Credit: Illustrations are AI-generated.