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Nessa

STOP WHEN YOU'RE DONE

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01 Opening
Nessa beat 1 of 5

Nessa has long dark hair and a soft brown jumper, and she holds a little paper list with a big tick on it in one hand, and a warm cup of cocoa in the other. Nessa is very good at one thing that many people find hard.

Nessa knows when to stop.

02 Nessa
Nessa beat 2 of 5

It is the end of the sprint. Nessa's friend Ravi has finished his three tiny things. But he's still sitting at the table, flipping pages.

"What are you doing?" Nessa asks.

"Finding more things to do," says Ravi. "If I do more, I'll be even better, right?"

03 Nessa
Nessa beat 3 of 5

Nessa smiles and holds up her list. "Look at my list. See the bottom? It ends. I picked my few things, and now they're done. Done means done."

"But I could do more."

"You could," says Nessa. "But you chose three, and you did three, and you did them well. That's the whole plan finished. Now the time that's left is earned. It's yours."

04 Nessa
Nessa beat 4 of 5

She takes a happy sip of cocoa. "When my list is done, I go and play outside. Or I build with my blocks. Or I sit with my grandma and she tells me stories."

Ravi looks at his list. Three ticks. Nothing left. He feels a funny, floaty feeling, as if he is allowed to put something heavy down.

"So I'm... finished?"

"You're finished," says Nessa. "That's the best part. Nothing to add up. No points. No 'do more tomorrow or else.' Just, well done, go enjoy yourself."

05 Closing
Nessa beat 5 of 5

That's Nessa's gentle idea.

When your few things are done, stop - the list has a bottom, and the free time is yours.

A grown-up can play too! Write a short list of three small jobs together. When all three are ticked, stop, and choose one restful or fun thing to do together, like a walk, a game or a story.

Ravi closes his book, pushes in his chair, and runs outside into the sunshine. He isn't worried about all the things he didn't do. He did exactly the few things he chose. And now the afternoon belongs to him.

Hear it as an audio drama

A short play starring Nessa, from SprintPals. Different voices, same idea. Listen any time after you read.

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Read the drama script
  1. Narrator: From Spark and Anvil and Sprintpals — this is Nessa, in chapter 1 of the Sprintpals cast.
  2. Narrator: This drama uses an AI-generated voice. Voiced via Gemini 2.5.
  3. Narrator: Nessa held a little paper list with a big tick on it, and a warm cup of cocoa. Nessa was very good at something many people find hard. She knew when to stop.
  4. Child: I finished my three things, but I'm looking for more. If I do more, I'll be even better, right?
  5. Nessa: Look at my list. See the bottom? It ends. I picked my few things, and now they're done. Done means done.
  6. Child: But I could do more.
  7. Nessa: You could. But you chose three, and you did three, and you did them well. That's the whole plan finished. The time that's left is yours.
  8. Narrator: Nessa took a happy sip of cocoa.
  9. Nessa: When my list is done, I play outside, or build with blocks, or sit with my grandma while she tells me stories.
  10. Child: So I'm... finished?
  11. Nessa: You're finished. No points to add up. No 'do more tomorrow or else.' Just well done, go enjoy yourself.
  12. Narrator: The child closed the book and ran outside into the sunshine.
  13. Narrator: When your few things are done, stop. The list has a bottom, and the free time is yours. That's Nessa's idea.
  14. Narrator: You've been listening to a Spark and Anvil chapter, written by the Spark and Anvil writing team for ages 9 to 14.
  15. Narrator: Apps stay free forever.
  16. Narrator: Curriculum aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
  17. Narrator: Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 for educational reuse. Visit Spark and Anvil for the full transcript.
Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up

For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.

Let them finish it

Say “Nessa says: when your few things are done, STOP - the list has …” and stop. Let them finish it.

Then say the whole line together: “Nessa says: when your few things are done, STOP - the list has a bottom, and the free time is yours!”.

Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.

Circles together: 0

The SprintPals ensemble

Nessa is one of the friends in SprintPals. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.

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