c17ds

In class we read a great book called When You Reach Me. When you look at other blogs of our from 2008-2009 you will see the same type of titles. That is because the mother of Miranda, a sixth grader, entered in the $20,000 Pyramid. What this book is based on is a girl, once again named Miranda in sixth grade who lives in New York City, is put in a big mystery. Her mother is dating a man named Richard who she calls perfect, and he reminds her that one of his legs are longer than the other. If you have read A Wrinkle in Time, then you will read a lot about it, and if you haven’t you get tuned in to the book’s summary. The book is based on it though. Miranda having her best friend Sal, totally ignore her, and meanwhile some mysterious person is sending her letters. Also she is going through the whole friend business with Ann-Marie and Julia.The person who sends her letters seems to actually know what is happening before it actually happens . . . Sorry but to figure that out you have to buy the book when it comes out in July!

A Mango Shaped Space is a book written by Wendy Mass about a girl who sees colors for letters, numbers, and noises. Her cat, mango, wheezes and when he wheezes, Mia (the star character) sees orangy, yellow mango colored puffs coming out of his mouth like puffs from a train in a cartoon. I enjoyed the book because it has fun, touching, sad, and romantic parts. I recommend it for girls from the age 9+. When you read about the teenage girl, Mia, keep in mind that there are actual people who see colors, in all different ways. It is called synesthesia. Very few people have, but still, it is not something that Wendy Mass made up. Once again; A Mango Shaped Space I recommend for mostly girls ages 9+! I hope this was helpful to learn more about synesthesia!

Right now in Alice we are making comics of one (or two if the setting stays the same) chapter of Alice. We can almost totally change the chapter except for keep the same subject. The one that me and c17ar, is about the first chapter. Our twist is that Lorena, Alice’s oldest sister falls down the rabbit hole with Alice and they go the the 1st Chapter’s adventure together. They fall, they drink, they shrink, the try to get the key at the top of the table, they eat the “Eat Me” cake, they grow, then Lorena says good bye and tries to climb back up. That is practically the story that we made. Now we are watching a movie about Alice Liddel (The real Alice) getting haunting dreams about herself of a child.

For writing skills we had to read a book call The Green Book. Then we had to compare the characters in the book to the pilgrims. The characters in The Green Book had to travel from where they live to another place, although unlike the pilgrims they actually had to go to another planet rather than country. The people in The Green Book had pills that kept them from starving but the pilgrims didn’t bring that much food. People in The Green Book were only allowed to bring one thing during the trip. Both groups trips took a long time (b.g.= 4 years pilgrims= 66 days). 

               When the people from the G.B. arrived on the new planet the youngest passenger got to name it. There were not as terrible difficulties that the pilgrims had experienced. The planet had unknown birds on it, and a lot of modern looking things. Read The Green Book to learn more!

As you might know, our class has been studying Alice in Wonderland. First, we mostly started learning about Lewis Carrol (The author who’s real name is Charles Dodgson) and the real Alice (Liddle), his favorite student. In Alice in Wonderland Lewis made many jokes about things in his actual life, and used people in his families names, disguised. After we learned a lot about him, we read Alice in Wonderland! In his book, he changes a lot of the poems, or songs that children used to have to memorize for lessons (School). As an example, Twinkle, Twinkle little bat. The parodies he made were really funny, because the poems we weren’t familiar to, Ms.Edinger read to us.We also got to watch a movie of the series “1900 House” to see what life was like around Alice’s time. The show “1900 House” was taped in 1999 so the family struggled with all of the changes they had to adjust to. The show was taken in the U.K.

When we were done reading it, after a little while, we started reading comic books. The reason why we started reading comic books was so that we could make each comic a chapter of Alice in Wonderland. Two people get to make one or two (two if the setting stays the same). We are studying how the speech bubbles should look to each emotion. Also different effects for actions. I have been paired up with c17ar. We are the only group that got second choice of which chapter we get, but that’s okay because we are friends and our moms knew each other before we were born. Soon we are having our tea party celebration! It has been so much fun to study Alice. Read more!

” . . .There we relieved ourselves with wood and water, and refreshed our people.” -Mourts Relation

Our House 43 3rd grade buddies in Little Dalton have New Orleans buddies. They communicate with them through mail. Our little Dalton buddies wrote full paragraphs about them. Look at this to learn more about the New Orleans buddies!

This is a picture of me and my Little Dalton Buddy (me to the right, her to the left)

I have learned that New Orleans is in a period of great distress, but hopefully with a little work it will be back in business. I have learned that my buddy likes to play baseball. His name is Jace. He went as batman for Halloween. At our buddy’s school their library is about the size of our classroom library, so we planted daffodils at Inwood Hill Park to raise money. Each hour your family would donate money. This relationship makes me feel connected to the world around me. It is also fun to wonder about your buddy’s reaction to the letter.

This was written by my 3rd grade buddy.

Cindy and the Little Red Sneaker

“So what do you guys want for breakfast?” said Ertha, my stepmother.

“Well do we have any more of the frosted flakes I’m not that–” I said but as soon as I did I noticed that Jen and Marina had already poured the last bit of cereal into their own bowls.

“Never mind, I guess I’ll just skip breakfast,” I said trying to keep calm without gritting my teeth at my step- sisters.

“ Cindy, just because you don’t always get what you want doesn’t mean you have to get mad at us,” said Jen trying to make her puppy dogface.

“ Its time to go to school!” said Ertha. Normally my dad took me to school but since Ertha didn’t have a job, she wanted a lot of money so she made my dad work on a job that requires every hour. He leaves to go to work at 1:00. I think Ertha doesn’t really care at all about being wealthy, she just wants to get him away from me.

On the way to school I met my best friend, Madeline Crofline. Maddie just arrived at the school this year so technically she was a new kid. I like that she stays positive. One of the only people I know who doesn’t go crazy when things don’t go their way like my stepsisters.

School was okay and then Maddie came with a big surprise on Saturday.

“Hi Cindy,” she said. I noticed that she had four tickets in her right hand.

“Hi Maddie!” I smirked. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions and ask her what the tickets were.

“You won’t believe what just happened. I was just walking by Central Park, and I saw a woman in a soccer outfit,” I knew Maddie would bring it up. She always did have exciting news for me. “ I saw that she was holding out tickets, and I just had to ask her what they were for. I said, “Are those tickets for like, some kind of soccer game?” She told me that they were New York Kicker Kids audition tickets to get into the class. “WOW! She knows that I always wanted to be a pro. at soccer. I’ve always wanted to be on the class team.”

“Maddie, I can’t wait! How can I thank you. So Me, You, Jen and Marina, can all get in if we’re good enough?”

“Sorry, actually no. All the spaces are taken up online except for one,” she sadly mentioned. I think I know what that means. She thinks that I’m the greatest out of all four of us. She wanted me to get in.

“Oh. Well I guess that’s okay. Each of us is great.” I said, smiling at her through our mind connection. She now knows, that I know what she’s aiming at. Oh gosh, of course Ertha over heard everything.

“Well hello, Madeline,” she said as if she hadn’t been behind the door the whole time.

“Hi Erth– Hi Ms.Charmer.” Maddie replied. “ Um, would it be okay if, Cindy and the rest could go audition to be on a soccer team, you know just for fun?” Maddie stuttered. It was almost as if she was asking to swim in an ocean full of sharks. “Sorry but, only one person can get in, maybe there can be an exception, you know? Yeah, um, well would it be okay?” Maddie added, Ertha stood there, trying to look like she would say no. Obviously she said “Yes.” probably for the stepsisters.

“Okay well, they are starting today, 4:00. Bye!” Maddie left. I heard a loud scream and there were the stepsisters, running in.

“ YESSSS!!!!!! Thank you so much for letting us do it mom!” shouted Jen. I can’t believe them. They don’t thank Maddie when she was here, they thank mom? Wow, they are really rude. This is not the first time I noticed.

A few hours later I went to get my soccer shoes, but through the door I saw Marina and Jen ripping them up.

WHAT DO THEY THINK THEY ARE DOING! I looked through the crack of the door. I saw them cracking up, then suddenly Marina saw me. She whispered to Jen then they both looked at me then laughed.

“What are you guys doing! Those are the only soccer shoes I have and you know mom doesn’t give me any allowance, it might take me years to save up for more!” I yelled at them.

They both looked at me and laughed.

“Well I guess you won’t be going to the auditions then,” said Marina. I was surprised. Jen was always the real talker. I have 30 more minutes until the auditions. I can’t get a 25-dollar loan from my step-mom in that little time! I would take about 10 minuets to get to the closest shoe store to our apartment building. I can’t believe this. “Sorry Cindy, please don’t cry. Maybe if you beg mom will give you a loan, but I doubt it,” Marina added, then her and Jen began cracking up, again. They walked out of the room and told their mom that my shoes were broken.

“Oh, well that’s to bad Cindy, I’m sorry that you can’t come,” said my step-mom, and even she looked like she was going to crack up. “You would do very great, I think.” She added trying to make me think she was serious, of course I knew she wasn’t. They left and let the door slam behind them. I couldn’t– well actually I could believe what was happening. I had a hard pain in my head that felt like it was pushing tears out of my face. I know that it’s called crying, but it hurt so badly.

Meanwhile, I bet Maddie is looking for me at Central Park, probably thinking that I was too chicken. I made a ham sandwich, right after I realized how hungry I actually am right now. I ate it like I was a dog, literally. Tears are still running down my face, but I feel better. I’m now lying on my bed, not exactly bawling, but panting, like I just won some kind of marathon. Then there was a knock at the door. I ran towards it to I ask who it was, wiping off all of my tears.

“It’s Maddie,” the voice replied. What was Maddie doing here, I thought that she would already be at the auditions. “ I was just wondering, is Cindy here?” She added.

“Yeah, its me.” I said, as I opened the door. Maddie came in. “ Why aren’t you at the at the auditions?” I asked. I really wished that she would get in, rather than my stepsisters.

“Well I thought that you would like to have soccer shoes,” she confessed, “so I just went to buy some for you.” Maddie is a lifesaver. I could not believe what she does for me. “Come on, let’s go. We have to hurry,” She added, giving me my ticket, and pulling me out the door. I got my coat, and we rushed down to Central Park. Conveniently I live right across the street from Central Park, so we got there really quickly. “Sadly, you’ll have to go to my house and drop them off at 12:00 AM, because my mom wants to see them. I told her they were special soccer shoes. She only wants to see them if your okay with that,” Maddie added, once again. I nodded. Well, I’d have to be home by 10:00 AM anyways because I don’t want my stepsisters to see me. I am already wearing a soccer outfit so I was all set with the shoes.

When we got to the park, there was a long and huge line and a coach, and behind the coach there was a goal. People were taking turns, practically trying to get the soccer ball in the goal. I saw a sign that said 20 tries. I am not surprised that we only get twenty tries. All of the girls that I see besides Maddie, look really, well not good at all. They look like typical wannnabe girls. I saw one of the girls, struggling, missing the first, second, getting the third . . . I will try my best. Maddie and I went to the end of the line, and what do we see? Marina was up. So far she missed the first seven tries, obviously she is not that good. Marina ended up with four goals. Next up was Jen. She got the first one in, but only ended up getting 7 in. Now, it is my turn. When I got the first twelve tries in, I heard Jen whisper, “That girl looks just like Cindy!” I smiled. What could they do about it. My turn was over. I got every goal in. I could not believe it!

“Cindy you did so well!” Maddie cheered me on. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you won,” Maddie said. As soon as she finished, I saw Jen and Marina leaving, acting as if they were as good as me. There was an announcement for the winner, but I ran away anyways. As I ran my red sneaker came off. I didn’t mind though, I had to be home before my stepsisters saw me. I heard Maddie yell back, “I’ll just show my mom this shoe!” in the distance. I yelled back, ”OK!” and kept running. I also heard the coach announcing the winner, but sadly didn’t here who won. I ran past my stepfamily and got upstairs pretty much 10 seconds before them, luckily. Jen and Marina came in confidently.

“How did it go?” I asked them smiling, because I know how bad it was. “ Did either of you guys get in?” I added, again knowing they did not.

“Well I wouldn’t be surprised. We couldn’t stay for the announcement though, ‘cause, we uh, we just decided that soccer wouldn’t be as good as a career like, being a lawyer, you know?” Jen muttered. She was so quiet that it sounded like she was slightly adding math equations.

“Oh, that’s too bad. Well I bet Maddie got in.” I hoped. I knew either Maddie or I won, unless I missed some terrific player. I just realized, Ertha was so quiet I actually forgot that she came. Since when is she ever quiet? I know its weird that I always call my stepmom by her name, but if you have a stepmom then you know that it’s hard to get used to calling them “mom”. This is the first time that I’ve ever seen Jen and Marina feel a little inferior to me. It feels really good, though I hate to be mean.

What a surprise. There was a knock at the door, again. I opened it, I already knew it was Maddie though. WHOA! It’s not Maddie, it was the soccer coach! I cannot believe my eyes.

“Hi, did you take the soccer auditions?” She asked. Suddenly I hear my stepsisters run to the door.

“YEAH we did. Yes we, we did!” Jen shouted. Man could she be loud. I didn’t mean to be standoffish to our new guest, but walked away from the door. The is asking them to try on the shoe—hey, I need to try on the shoe, I ran back to the door and watched Jen and Marina fail the shoe task then said that I would try it on. It fit perfectly.

“Hey, but Cindy didn’t go!” Marina shouted. I looked at her smirking.

“Well, how do you know Maddie didn’t come here and give me a pair of soccer sneaks?” I said. Ha! Well that’s too bad for them.

“Well, I am proud to say that you are the winner!” said the coach who gave me a New York Kicker (Girls) t-shirt. This is where my story ends. I am Cindy Charmer and I am proud to say that I am a soccer champion.

When I was in 2nd grade, me and my dad read The Series of Unfortunate Events. For me, it was a great read. If you want a happy story, Lemony Snicket will tell you NOT to expect it. Some people get bored with it, but I will tell you I did not get at all bored. It is very well told. It is about Violet (an inventor), Klaus (a reader), and Sunny (a biter). They explore their new guardians and the terrible Count Olaf. Count Olaf is the evil villain of the books. In the first book, he has them as orphans. Count Olaf is not only a count, he is an actor and has his own theater troupe and theater outside of his house. Attempting on doing many evil things to the Baudelaire orphans they are just to smart for his evil plans. Of course, inventing, reading, and biting can come in handy in anybodies life.

   Violet is the oldest, very smart of course. If you know her, you will know that whenever her hair is tied up the gears, and levers in her head are working at top speed. Klaus, younger than Violet, has read almost every single book in the Bauldelaire mansion and will read almost every book you give him. He enjoys even books not for children, like ones about automobiles and more. Last but not least, Sunny the youngest of the family yet, is fond of biting things. She never liked rattles because if she bit one, it would break and she would never be able to bite it again. Sunny likes to bite anything hard enough to bite. I hope you read this series and enjoy it as much as I did!

Introduction

Our house made our own collages with Amistad poems. We made them because we have been reading Amistad poems, and books. They were inspired by Ms.Edingers and  Elzabeth  Alexanders.

Our Poems

We made our Amistad poems based on Margru, the ship moving, and all different themes based on the ship. We typed them up on our laptops, printed them out, had them checked once or twice, and then created the collage. The reason why we were inspired by Elizabeth Alexander, and Ms.Edinger’s poems is because they have written poems that have a good clean style to try to use. It was a very hard process in the beginning, but once I started, it got really fun to make the poem, and collage.