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Vocabulary for Childhood Memories

Vocabulary for Childhood Memories

Vocabulary: Childhood & Past — Contextual examples

Useful vocabulary with example sentences to practise storytelling about childhood.

1. Objects / Toys Examples

Word Example in context
scooter When I was little, I used to ride my scooter every afternoon after school.
bicycle Every summer, we would ride our bicycles to the park and play until sunset.
doll I used to collect dolls, and I would dress them up every weekend.
ball Back then, we played football with a ball in the empty street near my house.
kite I remember flying my kite on windy days at the beach.
crayons I would spend hours drawing with crayons in my notebook.
bucket and spade We used to build sandcastles with a bucket and spade every summer.

2. Actions / Verbs Usage

Word Example in context
play I used to play hide-and-seek with my friends in the garden.
ride When I was little, I would ride my bicycle around the neighborhood.
draw I remember drawing pictures of my family with crayons.
collect I used to collect seashells on the beach every summer.
climb We would climb trees in the park after school.
swim During summer holidays, I used to swim in the sea every morning.
share I would always share my toys with my little brother.
laugh We laughed a lot when we played games outside.
dream I used to dream about being an astronaut when I was a child.
remember I remember spending hours making paper boats with my friends.

3. Emotions / Feelings Feelings

Word Example in context
happy I felt happy when I received my first bicycle.
excited We were excited every summer when our grandparents came to visit.
curious I used to be curious about the crabs on the beach.
carefree Back then, life was carefree and full of games.
proud I was proud when I learned to ride a scooter without falling.
shy I used to feel shy when meeting new friends at school.

4. Temporal Expressions Time

Word / Phrase Example in context
when I was little When I was little, I would play in the park every day.
once Once, I found a tiny turtle on the beach and took care of it.
a long time ago A long time ago, we used to have picnics by the river.
in those days In those days, we didn’t have smartphones, so we played outside.
every summer Every summer, we would go to the seaside for two weeks.
after school I used to go to my friend’s house after school to play.
back then Back then, I didn’t understand why adults were always busy.
Example: When I was little, I used to play with my red scooter after school. I would ride it with my best friend, and we were always laughing.

Exercise

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the list.

1. When I was little, I used to ride my to the park with my friends.

2. I would collect on the beach and put them in a little box at home.

3. We used to fly a on windy days near the seaside.

4. I was always when I received a new toy for my birthday.

5. My friends and I would pictures of our pets with crayons.

6. I used to play outside with my friends before dinner.

7. We went to the beach every summer and built huge .

8. Riding my scooter made me feel very .

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Exercise

Question

1. Back then, we __________ hide-and-seek in the garden every day.

Answers

a) use to

b) used to

 c) uses to

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Question

2. When I was little, I would always __________ ice cream with my cousins.

Answers

a) eat

b) eating

c) ate

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Question

3. On hot summer evenings, I was __________ by the waves at the shore.

Answers

a) sit

b) sitting

c) sat

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Question

4. We would always share our __________ with each other.

Answers

a) toys

b) toy

c) toying

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Question

5. Every summer, I felt very __________ when my grandparents visited.

Answers

a) excited

b) exciting

c) excite

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