WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from the big blue sky and the pretty purple lilacs,

from cuddly Boxer puppies and riding glistening unicycles

and red M&M’s

I am from the sappy maple trees in my backyard

and pretty blue vast oceans, the good smelling lilacs that grow in the pasture and grazing horses

I am from Aquabogon, from Erik, Jamseie, Matthew, Georgia, and James,

I am from trips to other states with my family and

camping in Lincoln

From “Say please and thank you” And “Say excuse me”

I am from Parkview in Maine, Shepard’s Pie and Spaghetti

I am from a scrapbook in the attic that no one actually looks at

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from the warm jam painted toast I eat in the morning,

and the water bottle sitting on my desk at school that keeps me hydrated

From Subzero and theTimex watch I wear every single school day

I am from the white apartment that’s filled with candles

I am from birch trees in the woods by my dads house,

the chipmunks that scurry around outside that my cat watches

I am from Christmas at my uncles and aunts house

and my funny family, from Toby, Heather, from McGrath, and Jordan

I am from Aquabogan and Funtown SplashTown

From “Say excuse me” and “Use please and thank you”

I am from Maine, eating big red lobsters, and my mom eating salads

I am from the books and the toys on the shelf in my room

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from flat screen TV’s and exciting PS3

From Lays potato chips and Sony

I am from laying in the sun, playing with my cat,

staring at the moon, and climbing trees

From the brown fence that borders the lawn, and the ash trees surrounding my house

I am from eating turkey on Thanksgiving and a great sense of humor

From Rachel and Nate, and Gavin

I am from connect sports and going for long walks down our road

From “Clean your room” and “Feed the dogs and cats”

I am from Park-View, and Maine, from boiled shrimp, and chopped steak

From the family pictures packed in boxes in the attic

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from twirling Batons and pedaling unicycles

I am from rainbow Skittles, Target, and Gap

I am from the white snow that blows

the red roses growing in the garden store

From the venus fly trap I watered, and the sunflowers near my cousin’s house

I am from the yellow dandelions in the field, the green trees I climb

I am from the rollercoaster at Funtown and salty fries at the Topsham fair

From Tina and Matt and Taylor

I am from bike rides down the tar road,

and walking on the path.

From “use nice words” and “keep your hands to yourself”

I am from Maine, and pepperoni pizza,

from the grilled cheese that nana makes

I am from picture books filled with memories

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from Diary Of A Wimpy Kid and the running shoes I get from Target

I am from shopping at Goodwill and eating chocolate skittles

I am from watching the moon while my dad BBQ’s

I am from the grass that I walk in with bare feet

And the wild flowers I pick for my mom

I am from painted easter eggs, and caring for my baby sister

I am from Meagan and Todd

And Abigail and Haley

I am from rollerskating with my family

And going to the fair with my friends

I am from “Chew with your mouth closed” and “Don’t slam your door”

I am from Maine and the shepherds pie my mom makes

And pork chops with teriaki sauce

I am from the living room wall where my baby pictures hang

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from skiing in Lost Valley, and riding unicycles at WOW camp

From vanilla ice-cream at Cold Stone, City and Viking Playmobile men

I am from the two story, tan house, looking at the bright stars with my cousins

From gazing for Rudolf on Christmas Eve with my family, and being cared about by mom and dad

From Mark and Karen and Ella, Bergeron and Smith

I am from watching movies with my mom and dad curled up on the couch, and cruising down Fox Hole

From “No monsters” and “Santa is real”

I’m from Maine, juicy turkey , and creamy whoopee pies that make a mess

I am from the photo album where all my family pictures are kept safe

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from Woodside One Wheelers

circus balls and unicycles

From summer bike rides with my dad

Mongoose and Honey Nut Cheerios

I am from the scent of vanilla

and the white-tailed deer hopping the trails

looking for perfect pine trees

I am from celebrating Christmas Eve with my family,

Talented bowlers, catchers, and pitchers

From Jane and Matt, and Ben

I am from Funtown/Splashtown in the summer,

and Hershey Park

From “Say please and thank you” and “Be kind”

I am from Parkview, meaty spaghetti, and cooked chicken

from the hutch where we keep our special gifts

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from fishing poles and skiis

From Moosehead Lake and Trackxs

I am from the farm next door and the country fields

I am from the bass in the lake, the red squirrels that get in my Grampy’s shed

I am from cabin camping at Moosehead

and snowshoeing and ice fishing

I am from Shane, Cory, Ethan, and Cole

From Minchim, and Pottle

I am from tag games on the lawn and video games in my big brothers room

From “Don’t chew with your mouth open” and

“Say please and thank you”

I am from Maine, and hot tacos and Bison hamburgers from the grill

I am from Cub Scouts, and Martial Arts,

And the trophies standing on the shelf over my bed.

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from colorful Skittles and unicycles

From Nascar , Dunkin Donuts, and the Boot and Buckle

I am from the colorful girl who wears bright orange on dreary days

From birch trees in my backyard

and morning birds perching on their branches

I am from Christmas and opening stockings first

From long car rides with my parents

I am from Nicole and Phil

And Cloutier

I am from northern shining lakes

From cuddling with my mommy and daddy and watching movies

I am from “I love you” and “Tell the truth”

From Mid coast and Maine

From chicken mistake that tasted good,

and the homemade pizza we make in the kitchen

I am from my cork board where all my pictures and horse ribbons

hang from the wall

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from expensive iPhones and NCAA Basketballs,

from cookie dough Gelato’s and hot sauce and Dick’s

I am from the big brown three-level house,

from the sly fox and round stumps,

and the gooey frog pond

I am from travel and fun, kindness, and sports

I am from Anna and Pat and Jill

I am from running races and shooting hoops

From “never smoke”, and “don’t be a bad sport”

I’m from Mid Coast, and crispy meatloaf, and crunchy chicken nuggets

From the wooden shelf in my room filled with basketball trophies and school pictures

WhERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from dirt bikes and jump ropes,

from Borders and Gamestop

I am from the happy home on River Rd

I am from bright and hot,

and the green pine trees

I am from playing on the hammock

and being respectful and funny

From Michelle, Erick, Bonnie, and Damon

I am from the blue metal snowshoes and sledding with grammy

I am from “Clean up your room”

And “Eat with your mouth closed”

I am from Maine, and macaroni and cheese

and grilled hamburgers with ketchup

I am from the pictures of my family hanging on the bedroom wall

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from green circus balls and flat screen TV’s

From Peanut Butter Cups, and the Boot and Buckle

I am from the peaceful neighbor where I hear chickadees and finches

from black snakes and grey sharks

and the birch tree in my backyard

I am from always going to my aunts for Christmas and Thanksgiving

from watching scary movies with my family on Saturday night

I am from funny and nice

I am from Therryn and Cheri, Cate and Smith

From eating out at Wendy’s and watching Survivor

I am from “don’t smoke” and “be nice to people”

from the state of Maine, plain tacos with cheese that my mom makes, and marble cake

I am from the cupboard in my bedroom that holds

my soccer, basketball, and baseball trophies

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from playing my Ps3 and listening to my iPod

From buying games from GameSpot

I am from playing video games and working on Gizmos

I am from digging in the dirt and collecting rocks

I am from traveling on holidays

And listening to family comedy

From Lisa, and Tom, and Tommy

I am from entertaining Si -Fi movies

And driving to South Portland

to visit the comic book store

From “Don’t do drugs” and

“Don’t play with guns or knives”

I’m from the hospital in Portland, from hot dogs and Fanta orange

and hawaiian pizza

I am from the wall in the living-room where pictures

of family trips are hanging

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from sparkly high heels and colorful headbands

From shopping at Justice and J.C. Penny

I am from my bright sunny yard filled with white daisies and pink tulips

From family gathered at Christmas

And my mom and her silly faces

I am from Dolores, and Tim

From Burns and Soule

I am from swimming and splashing and kayaking the calm river

From “Never give up” And “Always do your best”

I’m from Park-View and Velveta noodles, and pepperoni pizza at Little Caesars

I am from the special scrapbooks my mom makes

and the bureau filled with my pictures and cards

WHERE I'M FROM

Where I’m From

I am from Diary Of A Wimpy Kid and the running shoes I get from Target

from shopping at Goodwill and eating chocolate skittles

I am from watching the moon while my dad BBQ’s

I am from the grass that I walk in with bare feet

And the wild flowers I pick for my mom

I am from painted easter eggs, and caring for my baby sister

I am from Meagan and Todd

And Abigail and Haley

I am from rollerskating with my family

And going to the fair with my friends

I am from “Chew with your mouth closed” and “Don’t slam your door”

I am from Maine and the shepherds pie my mom makes

And pork chops with teriaki sauce

I am from the living room wall where my baby pictures hang

Sledding with Grammy

Sledding with Grammy

Me and my grammy thought we should go sledding. When we got to the hill we had to fight to get in the parking lot because it was covered with snow. Then we went up the hill. It was so big we we couldn’t get up the hill. When we got to the top we were looking for a path to go down the hill. Then we found a spot, so, we went down the hill but my grammy jumped off the hill. Then I fell off the sled and went right off in to the snow, then we went back up the hill and we got to the top again before I told my grammy to go on her belly and we went down the hill again but my grammy’s face went into the snow. And when my grammy’s face when into the snow she said “we have to go home” and I said “I do not wan’t to go home right now.” But I went anyway so I got right back to the car when she got the car started, but we could not get away but we did.

I was eating ice cream and sitting at a picnic table at Lake Shore-Lunch. We came in our boat from our camp. When we were heading back to camp, Ella, my sister, was sitting in the front of the bout and making my dad hit waves. So did I. Whenever my dad hit a wave, my sister yelled “weee, this is fun!” When we got back to our camp, my cousins, Austin, Carter, Collin, Justin, Taylor, Ella, and me decided to go swimming. We swam out to our launch pad, a floating trampoline. What we do on the launch pas is push each other off. I came up behind Taylor when he was gong to do a dive and I pushed him off. Hat night we had a campfire. “Can I have two s’mores?” I asked. My dad answered “After I had two s’mores.” I went over to put my crayfish trap in the water. “Make sure to tie it tightly.” Justin Said. “Fourteen!” I said to my cousin Carter. I just caught 14 crayfish in my trap, it was early in the morning and only me and Carter were outside.

My Fractured Foot

My story starts on my 2nd day at wow camp. When I got to wow camp we did 45 minutes juggling. I juggled 3 scarfs. The colors of my scarfs were blue, green, and red. Then I went over to the balls and worked on getting up by myself. The steps to getting on the ball by yourself are: first put one knee on the ball and leave the other foot on the ground. Second: put the other knee on the ball, hint, leave the other knee on the ball. Third: put one foot on the ball then the other, hint, do it fast or you will fall off. Now, back to my story. After I practiced it was time for lunch I had a subway sandwich with a bag of popcorn on the side. After lunch I went to do ball again. When I got up on the ball I fell off and hit my foot! It hurt so bad it felt like someone dropped a huge boulder on my foot!

Snowboarding

The Lamar’s, our neighbors, have a grandson named Alex. Whenever he visits we play. Once, we went to Foreside Hill to snowboard down the hill. When we went there, me, Alex, and Mrs. Lamar talked in the car. When we got there, we had to trudge through the snow to get to the hill. Then we finally got to the hill, Alex sat down on a tree stump. He than said “I’m...so...tired.” With every pause he took a deep breath in and out. I said “Come on! You ready?!” He said “Not...yet.” When we started going down, I was so excited. “Wooooo!” I said as I went down the hill. “Yeah!” Then I wiped out. It was awesome! Alex’s snowboard went slower and farther than mine, so he didn’t wipe out as much. “You done?” I said. “No.” Said Alex. Then we continued. I went down on my back, stomach, and side. Sometimes, I even lost the board! It was so fun! Until we left. On the way back, we talked. We could hear the snowboards banging together in the back. When we got back, we unloaded the snowboards and I told mom about my day.

I went to Irving and I got a milkshake. It tasted like cookies and cream. I went home after that. My daddy and my uncle Ken were spreading sand on the driveway. Lexi was there too, she had her snow pants on. I went home and got my snow pants on too. We went sledding for awhile and then we went up to see my daddy. My daddy asked me and Lexi if we wanted a ride on the ATV. We said yes. We got on and we went fast up and down the driveway. Lexi was yelling “go faster, go faster, go faster”! I had my shake in my mouth, I thought I was going to choke myself to death so I said “Daddy stop the ATV!” So I could set it down on the ground. Then we had to go home. When I got home, mom said “How was AVTing?’ I said “It was fun.” But I have to go to bed, it was tiring and very cold too. I like AVTing.

I got a dog. His name was Kegan. I think he was black and white, but when I was younger I was on my swing, swinging and Kegan would lay down under my swing and lick my feet. We had so much fun but our yard was too small for him, so we had to give him away. I was extremely sad. I said “do we really have to get rid of him?” My mom said “yes, our yard is too small for him, he can’t run all over our yard like...big.” I said “oh, I am going to miss him a lot.” My mom said “I know, I am going to miss him too.” And now that he is gone I think at PetCo I think I see him because there wait, there are two reasons I think I see him. Number one: there are dogs in PetCo. Number two: there are black and white dogs in PetCo.

Me and my mom were driving to Sea-dog's, I was only one year old. It was night so it was dark. We saw a car on the wrong side of the rode. “Bang!” The car hit us. The glass came back and hit me and my mom. My mom wasn’t buckled so she came up and hit the steering wheel. A bunch of police and fire trucks and ambulances came to help us. They said my mom wasn’t breathing. They tried and tried to make her breath but she didn’t. I was okay, they took me to the hospital. I needed stitches in my lip and head. I still have the scars from the accident.

Sledding with Grammy

Me and my grammy thought we should go sledding. When we got to the hill we had to fight to get in the parking lot because it was covered with snow. Then we went up the hill. It was so big we we couldn’t get up the hill. When we got to the top we were looking for a path to go down the hill. Then we found a spot, so, we went down the hill but my grammy jumped off the hill. Then I fell off the sled and went right off in to the snow, then we went back up the hill and we got to the top again before I told my grammy to go on her belly and we went down the hill again but my grammy’s face went into the snow. And when my grammy’s face when into the snow she said “we have to go home” and I said “I do not wan’t to go home right now.” But I went anyway so I got right back to the car when she got the car started, but we could not get away but we did.

Arizona

Me and my dad, my sister and my mom were in Arizona. My dad got four phoenix Suns Basketball Game tickets. I am so lucky that we can go. We got to the stadium early and I bought a sweatshirt with my own money. My sister got a Steve Nash t-shirt. My parents didn’t need one they said. I got a picture with the cheerleaders. It was my moms idea. In Arizona it is two hours behind so it was 11:00 o’clock in Arizona and 1:00 in Maine. I stayed up until 1:00 in Maine. It was nice to spend time with my family and sit together. My sister, Anna, and my dad sat down low. Me and my mom sat at the top of the stadium. My dad doesn’t like high stuff so he sat down low. It was nerve racking sitting up high. The best part was when they won. It was an upset. They were vs the Atlanta Hawks. The Sun’s weren’t that good but they won 105 to 97. That was the first time I went to a Phoenix Sun’s Game.

The Piano

One spring afternoon I was walking by the play-set saying “I want to play piano.” That night I asked my dad if I could take piano. He said that I could take them! One problem, I had to practice on a keyboard piano. A few days later my great uncle died. You probably think I was sad. No. The day my uncles started cleaning the house so they could rent it. They found a piano! The best part was my grandmother gave it to me. I was really happy that I got an upright piano to practice on instead of a keyboard. On the first day of my piano I was kinda nervous but my dad was there to support. I did a lot of stuff like finger builder and lots more. At the end of every lesson you get a sticker for a job well done. At first I had a little bit of trouble with practicing but when my dad helped I could do it on my own. I could play!

My Dog Jax

My Dog Jax

by Emma

Last week it was cold and dark. I went to see Santa at Cringleville. When I went in Santa called my name. I walked over to him, Mrs. Claus had a puppy. When Santa asked if I wanted the puppy I said, “yes!” When Mrs. Claus gave me the puppy I was so excited. Santa also told me about the puppy. He said that the puppy was a Britney Spaniel and it was one year old and it was homeless too. The dogs name was Jax. He is a good dog. My Mom and me walk Jax every day. He plays tug-o-war with me and I also feed him his food which is called Taste of the Wild. He really likes it. He has to eat 1 ½ cups and 2 times a day. He loves to eat treats all the time. I love him very much. He likes bones with peanut butter in it. I try and walk him every time I can. He plays fetch with me all the time. We like to play tug-o-war too. I let him win every time we play. This year Santa brought Jax a stocking, in the stocking was a toy squirrel because Jax is a hunting dog so he tends to chase after birds and squirrels. Then my Mom said that we were going on a vacation in Florida with her friend Lisa and her 5 year old daughter Abigail. I said I would miss Jax but I would still go. So on the day we had to leave I gave Jax the biggest hug and said goodbye. A week passed and I came back and Jax was so happy to see me and my Mom. He gave us hundreds of kisses.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

WILD TURKEY

The three musketeers Sophie, Kyle and Natalie rode off with their imaginary horses, into the woods looking for frogs. They finally got to a great enormous pond. Suddenly they heard "gobble, gobble, gobble!" Sophie and Natalie were talking about and looking for frogs. Kyle turned around and saw a big wild turkey charging toward them. Kyle kept on tapping Sophie on the shoulder. But Sophie and Natalie did not pay attention because they were watching a bullfrog hop onto a lily pad. So Kyle tarted shaking Sophie and yelling her name. Sophie turned around and said "Oh, yes!" because the turkey was right about to get Kyle. Natalie and Sophie jumped right on their horses and galloped off leaving Kyle behind. Sophie and Natalie were laughing so hard even their horses were laughing, but mostly Sophia and Natalie were laughing the most. "Ha!" Sophia yelled.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

rrrr.. "Oh man Cole, get my remote control car!" Ashton yelled. flippp... rrrr.....aww. "Hey want to race?" Ashton asked Cole. hummmmmm "I win" said Ashton. His car had just climbed a snow drift. "cool" Ashton said and jumped off the drift. Cole man car's flipped into the snow. Cole had just saved my car in the luck of time. Ashton was jumping when it happened.

We just drove really far in the snow. Cole hit a footprint and he flipped it and landed on his wheels.

REalistic Fiction and Character Development

Megan went to school one day. In fact it was a snowy day. Megan wore a red dress and red ruby shoes. She also had on a big T-shirt leggings and a skirt.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

One evening a little girl named Emma was on her way to riding lessons becasue she loved horses. When she got there her riding instruction Bailey said "Hi Emma, which horse do you want to ride today?" "Can I ride Slick" Emma asked. "Well of course you can " was Bailey's response. Emma went to Slicks stable and got him. They put him on a cross tie, and then groomed his powdery ginger coat. Next they picked his hooves up and picked them out. They combed his mane and tail and got tacked up. When Emma got on she felt a sign of relief and started to ride around the indoor ring at a walk. Bailey told her to warm Slick up by trotting around the ring. Slick was eager to go and wanted to canter, but Emma didn't let him. Once both rider and instructor were on their horses they started with trotting and then trotted as they weaved through cones.

They went outside to the outside ring and began to canter. The horses were doing fine so Bailey and Emma decided to go on a trail ride. As they rode, the trail led them to a farm. The spotted a corral with a broken gate. Emma caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. It was a farmer trying to lasso a horse that had broken out of the corral. Emma searched the corral and found a sign with the name Runner on it. Emma gasped in disbelief. All of a sudden Emma felt her hands slip from the reins. SLick had reared and she fell off.

REalistic Fiction and Character Development

My name is Izzie. When I was three years old, I was in a horse show. My cousin Mia also was in the horse show with me when she was 9 years old. It was at the Topsham Fair Mall. It was so cool for my grandmother to make a book about the horse show for my Mom for her birthday. I got a red ribbon when I won. I don't have it anymore, I don't think, anyway. Our horses names are Max and Julie. Max passed away a few years ago. It was sad. I didn't have a nice time that day because he was my horse. I won first place and Mia got second place. “Good for you,” Mia said. “I am sorry to be the winner,” said Izzie. “It's okay, I have to deal with it because of my brother. He won once,” said Mia.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

Me and my sister, Cate, fight a lot and I pushed her down the stairs and broke her arm. My sister broke both my arms too. But I hit her with my Nerf gun. Ha. Ha. And then she started running at me. Then, she got sent to her room. Score! But I shouldn't be talking because I go to my room a lot. Sometimes we are nice to each other but not all the time. Sometimes I like her. Me and Catlyn have Nerf wars a lot. She is so fast I can't hit her so I take a short cut and hit her and then she starts to cry. When I hit her with my Nerf gun I have had to go to my room. Me and Cate fight a lot so I get grounded a lot.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

One day when I was walking to the bus I met a kid named Caleb. He had black hair and a white shirt, black pants and colorful shoes. I saw him when I got on the bus. He was 8 years old, and I watched him laughing and being nice to the other kids on the bus.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

My name is Maddie. I have a friend named Lindsey. We play together most of the time. Sometimes Lindsey plays with Rebecca. When I play with Lindsey we play far out in the woods. We pretend we are horses. Then we found a wild horse. Me and Lindsey got on the horse and the horse started to go. There was a big wall. Me and Lindsey thought we were going to crash but the horse jumped over the wall. The horse landed. We got off the horse and it galloped away. Me and Lindsey played some more. We galloped back to the playground. I tripped and hurt my knee but I was okay. Lindsey brought me to the nurse anyway and got an icepack. Lindsey needed her inhaler anyway. I asked Lindsey if she wanted to come over to my house. She said, “yes.” So, after school she came with me. When Lindsey got to my house, we played horses in the woods and guess what we found... another wild horse.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

Me, four grown-ups, and four little boys decided to go sledding one day. Hi, my name is Macala, my favorite color is purple. Now back to my story about sledding. It was one winter day when we went sledding. I got there by car and I went in Waterville by a small school. When we got there I grabbed a snow board and ran to the hill and went down. While I was going, I went over a bump, did a flip in the air, and broke my arm and also the snowboard. After that, I waited at the bottom for a grown-up. Finally one came down and helped me up. He carried my snowboard for me. I walked very slowly like a turtle up the hill. When I got to the top, it was time to go so I said, “good-bye” and waved to everybody. Then, like a bunny, I jumped into the car. My Mom talked for a minute and then came into the car. I sat next to my dog Jax for the ride home. When we got home I had to brush my teeth and put on my jammies. It was cold in the house. I snuggled up in the blankets with my Mom and fell asleep.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

On the day Willy and Kathy got married, Matt dropped Willy's ring through the crack of the deck. Matt felt sorry. Amy was the flower girl. She was great at being the flower girl. She spread petals all over people. They tickled. Amy was very funny. She made really good jokes. When Amy's uncle cut the cake, he broke the knife that had a groom on top of it. Amy got to sit at the long table with the bride and groom. Lucky!! She got to sit next to Nick Cloutier. Amy is kind and happy and loving. She wears shirts with hearts on them and she wears jeans too. Willy and Kathy were happy to get married. Amy wanted to call her aunt her aunt before the wedding but she couldn't. Her aunt and uncle met each other through school and then they separated. Her uncle is a carpenter and he has an update on line and that is how they met. And that is her story of her aunt and uncle's wedding.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

"This is my first day at school and I am really nervous." I thought to myself. I don't know why, but I was thinking that I might get in trouble. When I got on the bus I sat next to a boy. "What's your name?" I asked him. "Dom" he answered, "What's your?" "Jimmy" I said. I stared thinking about school and who my teacher might be. When the bus got to school Dom and I walked into the building together. We found our classroom and sat next to each other at our new desks. Then our teacher walked in , her name was Ms. Amy. She had white skin and red hair.She was wearing Uggs and a scarf. Ms. Amy told us that she had lots of fun games to play like Count to One Hundred and Addition. "Here's our schedule" Ms. Amy said, we had morning meeting first, then math and spelling. After that we had reading and then lunch and recess. In the afternoon we had writing workshop and our specials and then it was time to go home.

Once we knew the schedule it was time for morning meeting. Dom and I walked to the rug and sat down next to each other. At morning meeting I shared my hockey cards. I looked over at Ms. Amy and her face was getting red which was starting to match her hair! Ms. Amy said "I don't like hockey because of the fights." She had tried to play hockey when she was younger but she got a penalty and had to sit in the box for 2 minutes. That is why she did not like hockey. Ms. Amy was so annoyed with me that I had shared my hockey cards that she sent me to the teacher in the classroom next door. In a mean voice she said "GO!" Dom looked at me with a weird look on his face. As I walked to the other classroom I was thinking "I might get sent to the Principals office." I walked into the other classroom and sat at the back table.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

One summer day, Frank Dudman and his dad were going somewhere. But Frank didn't exactly know where they were going. When they got there, Frank recognized the place. It was the Coastal Maine Humane Society. They were going to buy a dog! "You're really buying a dog?" Frank asked his father. As they were stepping inside, they noticed it was dark. They didn't see them , but there were giant lizards scurrying on the walls and ceilings. They could hear them. The dogs couldn't smell the lizards because they were sleeping. Suddenly a lizard on the wall stepped on the light switch and flicked it on. Franks' dad said "Finally, the lights are on." A lizard screeched and scurried away.

Realistic Fiction and Character Development

My cats Fred and Ted fight a lot. I don't know why, but they just..well... do! For example, Ted wants......wait a minute I'm getting ahead of myself.

My mom and I were watching a show about cats on Animal Planet and mom fell asleep halfway through it. I started drawing on a piece of paper while I was watching the show. Suddenly I heard a hiss, and I stopped drawing. I looked up and I saw Fred clawing at the T. V. screen. Fred is black with two little areas of black on his head. His tail is all black except for an inch of white around the tip of his tail.He is mishevous and can sometimes knock things over. Sometimes when my mom is reading a magazine, Fred will push it over because he wants to let my mom know that he is hungry.

"Hah ha ha", I thought as Fred clawed at the screen. I had to wake up mom who was asleep on the couch. Slowly I crept toward mom to wake her up, but Fred flew by my face and the second he landed on mom he fell asleep. "That was weird" I whispered. Ted my other cat was eating like a pig at his food bowl in the kitchen, but of course Ted was a pig for Halloween last year. I got back to drawing, I was working on a picture of Iron Man, and then I got bored and I went to bug Ted. He was sitting next to his food bowl. Mom woke up .. "aw man, " I said in a low voice. I went back to my picture. Mom looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:15. "Mom " I said," Can I eat now?" Mom noticed that we should have eaten fifteen minutes earlier. We had pizza, and cake for dessert.

Next... THE FIGHT!

The Moon and its Phases

DID YOU KNOW?.....................

· The moon is the closest object to Earth and is ¼ times the size of the Earth.

· The moon is covered with craters made by rocks in space that smash into the moon.

· There is not any wind on the moon so astronaut's footsteps, like Neil Armstrong's, are there forever.

· The moon controls the Earths tides.

The phases of the Moon are: new moon, first quarter or crescent, full moon, and gibbous moon. When the moon is moving from small to large it's called waxing, and when it moves from large to small it is called waning.

Hibernation

Did you know that moles spend most of their lives underground hidden from enemies like the sharp-toothed weasel? They also stay hidden underground during hibernation. They need to be under the ground to stay safe from predators, and protected from wind and snowy weather.

Hibernation is when animals go into a sleepy state , and their breathing gets very light, they almost seem dead. The hibernating animals eat lots and lots of food, to build up fat for their long hibernation.

Scientists believe that the length of the daylight tells animals when to hibernate. As the days get shorter animals know that it is time to eat up and go to sleep.

TRUE HIBERNATORS

True hibernators like the ground squirrel hibernate all winter and don't wake up at all. Their body temperature drops down to just above freezing.

LIGHT SLEEPERS

Racoons, skunks and bears are not true hibernators, they are light sleepers. They sleep for awhile and wake up often. They look for predators and to eat a light snack. They do not hibernate underground, they sleep inside hollow trees or caves.

GLOSSARY:

Hibernation; to spend the winter in sleep

Predators: animals that hunt other animals

Snowflakes

Snowflakes are formed by water vapor and dust particles in clouds. The temperature of the air is what helps form the snowflake. Their arms are like branches, if the air is warm the branches get thin, and if the air is cold the branches get wider. Each snowflake is never exactly like another, they are all different. Some snowflakes look like stars, but they are all six-sided. It can take hundreds of snow crystals to make one snowflake. The largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches. The larger the flakes are, the faster they fall. Large flakes form when the temperature is warmer, and when the temperature is very cold the flakes are small and dry.

Did you know that Rochester, New York gets almost 8 feet of snowfall each winter? And that in the mountains of Washington state 95 feet of snow fell in one winter!

Owling

When you go out owling you have to be quiet. The best time to go owling is in the winter during a full moon. You also have to be brave because it is dark in the woods, if you get scared you might make a noise and then scare the owls away.

Sometimes you have to call the owl in. To call a Great Horned Owl you have to make a hooting sound six times. Right after you call you have to be silent to listen for the owl to call back. If the owl hears you it will echo your call. Sometimes the owl will fly towards you, you will see a dark shadow but you won’t hear anything because they fly silently.

MIGRATION

Migration is when animals travel from one place to another. They swim, walk, trot, or fly to move from one place to another. They are looking warm temperatures and available food. Some animals like robins and geese migrate from Maine to Florida and even Mexico. Monarch butterflies can fly from Canada to Mexico and South America to find warmer temperatures and food.

Here are some cool facts about the migrating animal the Whooping Crane:

The Whooping Cranes rare call can be heard two miles away. That’s a loud call!

Some Whooping Cranes do a dance to find a mate.

Whooping Cranes can be very loving too, in fact if one get hurt in the middle of a flight, their mate will stay behind which usually means the end of both birds.

The Whooping Crane is four feet tall with a wing span of seven and a half feet. Big bird huh?

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, December 21^st. The ancient people believed that there were evil spirits during the dark days of winter. They would start a fire, and boil water. Then they would put coals from the fire into the water and wash their hands in it. They believed it would keep evil spirits away.

People also celebrated the Winter Solstice by building huge bonfires! They had big feasts and gave presents to their children. They put coins in chocolate pudding for their children to find. Some people tied apples on their tree, and hung mistletoe on their altars where they prayed. They prayed a lot, they wanted the sun to come back really bad.

At the big feasts men were the only ones to eat at the tables. The girls had to make the food. They ate wild pigs that had fruit in their mouths.

Today people put up trees, turn on the lights and enjoy a cup of warm cocoa. They know that the sun isn’t gone, it’s just not rising as high in the sky, which gives us longer nights and shorter days.

By Connor and Dom

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, December 21^st. The ancient people believed that there were evil spirits during the dark days of winter. They would start a fire, and boil water. Then they would put coals from the fire into the water and wash their hands in it. They believed it would keep evil spirits away.

People also celebrated the Winter Solstice by building huge bonfires! They had big feasts and gave presents to their children. They put coins in chocolate pudding for their children to find. Some people tied apples on their tree, and hung mistletoe on their altars where they prayed. They prayed a lot, they wanted the sun to come back really bad.

At the big feasts men were the only ones to eat at the tables. The girls had to make the food. They ate wild pigs that had fruit in their mouths.

Today people put up trees, turn on the lights and enjoy a cup of warm cocoa. They know that the sun isn’t gone, it’s just not rising as high in the sky, which gives us longer nights and shorter days.

By Connor and Dom

Snowflake Bentley

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY

Snowflake Bentley is famous because he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. His name was Wilson, and his mother was his teacher until he was 14 years old. He grew up in Vermont on a farm. When he was 15 he bought a camera because he wanted to take pictures of snowflakes. He wasn’t successful at first, but he kept trying and figured out how to get the picture before the snowflake melted. He took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes.

The best snowstorm of his life happened on Valentines Day in 1928. Wilson took over a hundred pictures of snowflakes over the two-day storm. He called the storm “ a gift from King Winter.

Wilson also took pictures in the summer. He took pictures of spider webs and insects. He also hung up a sheet and did a slideshow for his neighbors on summer nights.

He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He loved what he did! Many colleges bought his pictures of snowflakes and lots of artists used his photographs to draw pictures of snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley died from pneumonia after he had walked home in a blizzard. But he will always be remembered as the first person to capture a snowflake.

Snowflake Bentely

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY

Snowflake Bentley is famous because he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. His name was Wilson, and his mother was his teacher until he was 14 years old. He grew up in Vermont on a farm. When he was 15 he bought a camera because he wanted to take pictures of snowflakes. He wasn’t successful at first, but he kept trying and figured out how to get the picture before the snowflake melted. He took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes.

The best snowstorm of his life happened on Valentines Day in 1928. Wilson took over a hundred pictures of snowflakes over the two-day storm. He called the storm “ a gift from King Winter.

Wilson also took pictures in the summer. He took pictures of spider webs and insects. He also hung up a sheet and did a slideshow for his neighbors on summer nights.

He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He loved what he did! Many colleges bought his pictures of snowflakes and lots of artists used his photographs to draw pictures of snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley died from pneumonia after he had walked home in a blizzard. But he will always be remembered as the first person to capture a snowflake.

Snowflake Bentley

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY

Snowflake Bentley is famous because he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. His name was Wilson, and his mother was his teacher until he was 14 years old. He grew up in Vermont on a farm. When he was 15 he bought a camera because he wanted to take pictures of snowflakes. He wasn’t successful at first, but he kept trying and figured out how to get the picture before the snowflake melted. He took hundreds of pictures of snowflakes.

The best snowstorm of his life happened on Valentines Day in 1928. Wilson took over a hundred pictures of snowflakes over the two-day storm. He called the storm “ a gift from King Winter.

Wilson also took pictures in the summer. He took pictures of spider webs and insects. He also hung up a sheet and did a slideshow for his neighbors on summer nights.

He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He loved what he did! Many colleges bought his pictures of snowflakes and lots of artists used his photographs to draw pictures of snowflakes.

Snowflake Bentley died from pneumonia after he had walked home in a blizzard. But he will always be remembered as the first person to capture a snowflake.

Blizzards

BLIZZARDS by Emma

What is a Blizzard?

Blizzards are one of the most deadly storms in the world! In a blizzard two things happen: SNOW and STRONG WINDS! Winds can blow 35 miles an hour or more, and heavy snow falls for hours! In New York City in 1888 a blizzard raged for over 36 hours. There was over 20 inches of snow and up to 40 foot snow drifts!

Hazardous Blizzards

Blizzards can kill hundreds of people in one storm. Over 200 people died in the New York City Blizzard of 1888. Many died from hypothermia. If you get hypothermia you can die from the coldness of a blizzard. You can also get frostbite from blizzards. You’ll know if you get frostbite because you will have red and white blotches on your nose, checks, fingers or toes. Even snow storms that are close to being a blizzard can still be severe.

Where and When do Blizzards happen?

Blizzards happened mostly in Canada, Russia and the Northeastern part of the United States. They usually happen during the winter months of December, January, or February.

GLOSSARY (WORDS YOU SHOUD KNOW)

Hypothermia very low body temperature caused by severe cold

Hazardous dangerous unsafe

Severe harsh or cruel

Snowflakes

By Bella and Maddie

Snowflakes are formed by water vapor and dust particles in clouds. The temperature of the air is what helps form the snowflake. Their arms are like branches, if the air is warm the branches get thin, and if the air is cold the branches get wider. Each snowflake is never exactly like another, they are all different. Some snowflakes look like stars, but they are all six-sided. It can take hundreds of snow crystals to make one snowflake. The largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches. The larger the flakes are, the faster they fall. Large flakes form when the temperature is warmer, and when the temperature is very cold the flakes are small and dry.

Did you know that Rochester, New York gets almost 8 feet of snowfall each winter? And that in the mountains of Washington state 95 feet of snow fell in one winter!