April 28, 2011 Day One-hundred and Thirty-Nine

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

Intolerable Acts

5 Vocabulary

1. Intolerable: more than can be tolerated or endured

2. Coercive: the act of power or Coercive

3. Dissolve: to go or cause to go into solution

4. Vandalism: deliberately mischievous or malicious destruction or damage of property

5. Restitution: the act of giving back something that has been lost or stolen

5 Sentences

1. The battle of Lexington and Concord ended The Intolerable Acts.

2. In England, the Intolerable acts were called the Coercive Acts because it meant the British had complete power over the colonies.

3. The Intolerable Acts dissolved due to Revolution.

4. The vandalism the redcoats did to Concord the day of April 19, 1775 was intolerable to the colonists.

5. The East India Trading Company asked for restitution after the Boston Tea Party because all the tea was stolen.

5 Facts & Details

1. The Intolerable acts came after the Boston Tea Party.

2. At the same time as the Intolerable acts, British Parliament passed the Quebec Acts.

3. The Quebec Act stated that Canada's Border had to be lowered south, Into the colonies.

4. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry belonged to the house of Burgesses.

5. The Intolerable Acts happened in 1774, a year before the start of the Revolution.

5 Questions

1. What did the British call the Intolerable Acts? A: The Coercive Acts

2. What did the British do in Boston after the Tea Party? A: They passed the Intolerable Acts

3. What did the Quebec Act do and when was it passed? A: It stated that the Canada border had to be lowered, in to the colonies, as the same time as the Intolerable Acts

4. What was the name of the British general in Boston charged to keep the peace for the King? A: Thomas gage

5. Which two important men met at an inn to discuss the situation in Boston after the Intolerable Acts and what did they decide? A: Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, they decided to unite the colonies together

5 Math from Fraction Stories Skill 17 Reciprocals

1. Reciprocal of 1: 1

2. Reciprocal of 2: 1/2

3. Reciprocal of 50: 1/50

5. Reciprocal of 7/18: 18/7 or 2 4/7

4. Reciprocal of 3/8: 8/3 or 2 2/3

Acts & Events Leading up to the war Webquest    April 28, 2011

1. Follow this link to learn about The Stamp Act: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYYwW7_zuYI
   
2. What organization produced this video? A: PBS
   
3. Did you learn anything new about The Stamp Act? A: No, not really
   
4. What do you think about The Stamp Act and the colonists' reaction? A: I don't know I think that they were fair to stand up for their rights as Englishmen
   

 

 

1. Follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy5y942_2_k&feature=related
   
2. Funny huh? Describe the video. A: A picture of George Greenville was on the screen, he had thought bubbles coming out with subtitles of his song.
   
3. Pay attention to the text on the screen too. List three facts you learned about The Sugar Act:
   

   1. The Sugar Act was the first act passed by parliament after the French and Indian War.
   

   2. George Grenville wanted the colonists to stop smuggling, he lowered the taxes so maybe they wouldn't SMUGGLE
   

   3. George Grenville was in charge of increasing Revenue for Great Britain
   

 

 

3. Follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAdDh_3759U

A. What is the name of the video? A: MR. Bighead! (on tensions between the colonists and Britain)

B. What did you learn? A: That the colonists thought of the acts much differently than the people of Britain.

 

1. Follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI9vPxjd2pk
   
2. Who is being portrayed in the video? A: George Washington
   
3. What was his speech about? A: The tea act, tea Party, and Coercive Acts
   

   
    

4. Follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvx7i8GXtPY&feature=related
   
5. What's going on in this video? A: parody to Eye of the Tiger about the taxes
   
6. Who made this video? A: some 8^th grade students
   
7. What are some of the "Taxes of the Tyrant" featured in the song? A: The Tea act, the Townsend acts and the Intolerable acts.
   

   
    

8. Follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0LmYEjXNIg&feature=related
   
9. What song did you learn from this video and who produces it? A: School House Rock, A song that was titled, "No more Kings"
   
10. Did you like it? Did you learn anything? A: Yes I liked it a lot, yes at the end but not at the beginning.
    

Math: 1 page Guinness (5^th grade book finished!), 1 page Sylvan

April 26 & 27tth, 2011 Days One-Hundred and thirty-seven & eight

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

The Sugar & Tea Acts

5 Vocabulary

1. Tariff: an official list or table showing the duties or customs imposed by a government on imports or exports.

2. Duty (in relation to money): a specific or ad valorem tax imposed by law on the import or export of goods.

3. Pence: a plural of penny; used in referring to a sum of money rather than to the coins themselves

4. Revenue: the income accruing from taxation to a government during a specified period of time, usually a year

5. Port: a geographical area that forms a harbor where ships come in and sell their goods making commerce

5 Sentences

1. One of the reasons that the Sugar Act didn't last was because of tariff.

2. The Sugar and Tea Acts said the colonists had to pay duties on tea and sugar.

3. The colonists saved up all their pence to pay for their sugar and tea.

4. The Sugar Act made revenue to King George.

5. The sugar and tea came in from ports; usually in big cities like Boston and Charleston.

5 Facts & Details

1. George Washington disapproved of the Boston Tea Party, however, he did approve of getting back at the British for the Tea Act.

2. The Sugar Act was a few years before the Intolerable Acts.

3. The Sugar Act started in 1764

4. The Sugar Act was repealed in 1776

5. Molasses was also taxed during the Sugar Act.

5 Questions

1. What was the original name of the Sugar Act of 1764? A: The Revenue Act

2. What other goods besides sugar did the act tax? A: textiles, indigo for dyeing, coffee, wine, and molasses

3. How many pence per gallon of molasses was the tax for the Sugar Act? A: six

4. Why did Parliament withdraw the Townsend Act and what product remained taxed even after its repeal? A: tea and because of how the colonists boycotted British goods after the Boston Massacre

5. What event occurred that was in response to the "Tea Act"? A: The Boston Tea Party

5 Math from Fraction Stories Skill 16 cont.

1. What is 3/5 of 5/6 of a pizza? A: 1/2

2. What is 5/8 of 16/25 of a pie? A: 2/5

3. What fraction of an hour did Alice and Bob spend in the parlor drinking tea? 1/3

4. What fraction of an hour did Carmen and Ron spend out of sight? A: 5/8

5. What fraction of an hour did Digby spend playing the violin? A: 1/10

Farm School

Tuesday April 26, 2011

 

Sophie and I worked on the 2^nd week of her project Midden Earth Farm Almanac which is loosely based on Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richards Almanac.

• We changed the template to a Microsoft Publisher format for ease of editing etc. Sophie proof read the front page making changes to Althea's Poem and creating the Inside Index and Points of Interest Boxes.
  
• She went on-line to http://www.allrecipes.com and chose an Easy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe. She created and formatted the text box and added clip art with a caption. We plan on trying out the ice cream before the end of the semester.
  
• I showed her how to find a suitable quote on-line and she selected and then went through the index until she found the quote she liked. I showed her how to format the side box and to then how to change the look of the text box with a new boarder. www.smokymountainfarm.com
  
• Sophie decided that one of the on-going articles would be a 5 or 6 week 'Garden Update'. She placed the first article on Page 2 and selected and inserted the clip art.
  

 

ASSIGNMENTS

• Write the 'Garden Update' (part 1)
  
• Start her Weather Calendar. We discussed why it would have been important in both Ben Franklin's day and the present day to have weather information included in the almanac.
  
• Write a story about pigs, we are picking up two baby pigs this weekend. Use two internet sources.
  http://www.junglewalk.com/
  was suggested as a possible site.
  
  

  
   

Reading Journal Entry –

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Chapter Title or pages read:

1. What happened in the chapter?
   

   Well Johnny met an apprentice boy at the Printing press in town. His name was Reb, he understands about Johnny and his hand. Johnny told Reb his story and Reb listened, he did not stare at Johnny's crippled hand or tease him about it. In this chapter, Johnny made a new friend.
   

 

1. Were there any words you didn't understand? What were they and how did you learn the definition?
   

   NA
   

 

1. How did the chapter make you feel?
   

   This chapter made me feel happy for Johnny since he found a new friend that did not care if he was crippled.
   

 

 

1. Was there anything in the chapter that relates to what you're learning elsewhere in the unit?
   

   Yes, in this chapter people around town have started talking about war
   

 

 

1. What do you think will happen next?
   

I think that the idea of the Boston tea party is going to happen next and Reb and Johnny are going to help with it

Math—1 page Guinness, 1 page Sylvan

Reading: George vs. George The American Revolution as seen from both sides by Rosalyn Schanzer, published by National Geographic Books

This is a fantastic book that accomplishes one of my goals in teaching Sophie about the revolution—that there were both sides to the war and it's important to understand each perspective in order to have a complete education. Sophie really enjoys this book, which is challenging to read but full of great illustrations. She will use this book specifically for two of this week's 5 x 5s one for George Washington and one for King George.

April 25, 2011 Day One-Hundred and Thirty-Six

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

Declaratory Act

1. Vocabulary
   

1. Declare: to make known or state clearly, especially in explicit or formal terms

2. Consent: to give assent or permission

3. Compel: to force or drive, especially to a course of action

4. Repeal: to revoke or withdraw formally or officially

5. Writs of assistance: a writ of assistance is a written order (a writ) issued by a court instructing a law enforcement official, such as a sheriff, to perform a certain task

5 Sentences

1. The Declaratory Act was a declaration that declared the repeal of the Townsend act.

2. When British parliament declared the Declaratory Act they consented the Townsend act.

3. All of the acts before the battle of concord were compelling the colonists to war.

4. British parliament repealed the Townsend Act.

5. Before British Parliament agreed to the Declaratory Acts, they probably had a writ of assistance.

5 Facts & Details

1. The declaration stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as in Britain and asserted Parliament's authority to make binding laws on the American colonies.

2. Although many in Parliament felt that taxes were implied in this clause, other members of Parliament and many of the colonists—who were busy celebrating what they saw as their political victory—did not.

3. The declaratory act was introduced by George Grenville.

4. Declaratory means to serve to declare, make known, or explain.

5. The Declaratory Acts also said that British Parliament could keep taxing the colonists.

5 Questions

1. Who was John Dickinson and what did he do after the Stamp Act? A: He wrote the Liberty song and he also wrote a declaration to King George denying their right to tax the colonies without consent.

2. What were some of the ways the Sons of Liberty and other Patriots protest the Stamp and other Acts? A: they wrote declarations, the Daughters of Liberty boycotted British goods, and stuff like the Boston Tea Party

3. How did the colonists feel after the Stamp Act was repealed and what did they do to celebrate? A: they celebrated by worshiping the King again and had huge bonfires

4. What is the Declaratory Act and what did it allow for England? A: It allowed England the right to tax the colonies how much and for whatever they wanted

5. What did Parliament member Charles Townsend shout when one of his fellow member's say that Parliament didn't dare tax the colonists? A: "I will!"

5 Math from Fraction Stories Skill 16: Multiplying Fractions

1. What is 2/3 of ½? A: 1 /3

2. What is ¾ of 2/3? A: 1/ 2

3. What fraction of the Cheese Man does Vicki love now? A: 7/10

4. What fraction of the Cheese Man feels happy? A: 5/8

5. What is ½ of ¾? A: 3/8

Skating: 10:30-noon and again 5:00-6:00

Math: 1 page Guinness, 1 page Sylvan

Read: Chapter 2 Road to Revolution

Read: George v George, pages 1-18

April 21, 2011 Day One-Hundred and thirty-five

Boston Tea Party 5 x 5

5 Vocabulary

1. Consent: To permit, approve, or agree; to give assent or permission

2. Principle: Something of principal or chief importance

3. Protest: An expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid

4. "Committees of correspondence": The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leader of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and shared their plans; it's to bring information

5. Deteriorated: To make or become worse or inferior in character, quality, or in value

5 facts/ details

1. The Boston Tea Party was planned at the Liberty tree.

2. The Boston Tea Party was a Rabble-Rouse that was put together by Samuel Adams.

3. Samuel Adams first job was a brewer, if he had stuck to that we might be singing, "God Save the King" that's the funny thing about History.

4. To make the Boston Tea Party possible, the Bostonians disguised themselves as Indians.

5. One of the first American flags was a flag with a rattlesnake that said, "Don't tread on me" this sign was made to let the English know that they were not scared.

5 Sentences

1. The Committees of correspondence consented to the idea of Paul Revere's ride.

2. A principle (in this case) is a set of value's the colonists were fighting the war because of their principle.

3. The Americans protested on the stamp act and tea tax; the English protested The Boston Tea Party.

4. We probably wouldn't have won if there hadn't been a Committee of correspondence, the Committee of Correspondence got the news to more people and more people joined the militia.

5. The King felt like he was being deteriorated when the colonists wanted their own country.

5 Questions

1. Who owned all the tea in the warehouses? A: The English East India Company

2. What did the Tea Act specify about the tea? A: The Colonists had to be buy their tea only from the English East India Company

3. Why did the Sons of Liberty disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians? A: So they wouldn't be recognized as colonists dumping the tea

4. How many cases of tea were dumped into the harbor? A: 342 cases of tea.

5. What was the date of the Boston Tea Party? A: December 16, 1773

 

Chemistry Chapter Report for Amazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects You Can Build Yourself

By Cynthia Light Brown

Chapter Name:

1. List any glossary words and definitions.
   

   
    

   Atom: The smallest particle of matter that cannot be broken down by chemical means. An atom is made of a nucleus of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of electrons.
   

   
    

   Proton: A type of elementary particle that has a positive electrical charge and is found in the nucleus of all atoms.
   

   
    

   Neutron: A particle of an atom that has no electrical charge and is found in the nucleus of all atoms.
   

   
    

   Electron: A stable, negatively charged particle found in all atoms
   

   
    

   Nucleus: the central part of an atom, made up of protons and neutrons
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

2. List 5 facts/details you learned from the chapter.
   

   The ancient Greeks discovered atoms.
   

   Water is made up of molecules.
   

   Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known.
   

   The number of molecules you breathe in, in only one breath of air, is more than the number of grains of sand on the entire earth!
   

   A nanotube is 50,000 times thinner than a human hair.
   

3. Summarize the chapter in at least 5 sentences.
   

   In this chapter they teach you about atoms and molecules and how they make chemical reactions happen. Atoms and molecules are important in most chemical reactions but are so small, most microscopes can't see them. We did a lab project today where the atoms and molecules made chemical reactions because of temperature.
   

   
    

4. What did you learn?
   

   
    

   I learned that atoms and molecules are important in most chemical reactions, but are also very different things.
   

   
    

5. Summarize the lab or project for chapter and make any notes for preparation and list the materials needed.
   

Well we did the lab project before and it wasn't in the book, we boiled the eggs for Easter but they made different chemical reactions

 

Chemistry Lab Report for Amazing Kitchen Chemistry

Date: Earth Day, April 22

Chapter Name: Atoms & Molecules

Lab or Project Name: Boiling Eggs

Materials Needed:

One dozen eggs

Large pot

Cold water

Bowl

Kitchen timer

Preparation Notes for Lab:

We gathered the 12 eggs and a large bowl, the pot, and turned the faucet on cold water

 

Step or Stage 1: What did you do? What do you notice?

We put the eggs in the pot covered by an inch of cold water

Changes in the egg started happening because the eggs were not used to the cold temperature of the water and their atoms and molecules were affected by the change

Step or Stage 2: What did you do? What do you notice?

We put the eggs in the pot on the stove and we turned the stove on a high temperature and waited for a "rolling boil"—a rolling boil looks like the eggs are floating, the bubbles are small and increasing

 

Step or Stage 3: What did you do? What do you notice?

We turned the temperature down once we saw the rolling boil to a medium temp and set the kitchen timer for 10 minuets

Step or Stage 4: What did you do? What do you notice?

When the timer beeped we immediately put the eggs into SUPER cold water. The eggs made the cold water warmer because they were so hot.

The drastic change in temperature hardens the eggs and creates a chemical reaction that changes the density from a liquid to a solid—it is a chemical phase change

 

 

Step or Stage 5: What did you do? What do you notice?

Take the eggs out and carefully dry them & wait until they are totally cool before dying them for Easter or peeling them for a snack

 

 

Copy and Paste any pictures or illustrations of Lab.

*Here's what's going on: the proteins in the fresh egg are

in the shape of tight little balls. When you boil the egg, these proteins

unravel ("denature"), like balls of yarn unraveling into loose skeins. The

strands of protein then get all tangled up with one another, so much so

that they are locked in place and can no longer move. They also lock into

place the other liquid components of the egg, forming all together what's

called a "gel" instead of the liquid you started off with. The gel acts

like a soft, rubbery solid because of the network of protein strands

holding it all together. It's certainly true that when the protein

denatures some chemical bonds are broken, but the most important effect is

the tangling up process.

April 20, 2011 Day One-Hundred and thirty-four

Farm School: almanac

Sophie and I began the 8 week project Midden Earth Farm Almanac based on Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richards Almanac.

• http://privatelibrary.typepad.com/the_private_library/2010/01/almanacs-and-the-private-library.html - On line research to look at copies of the original Franklin's Almanac.
  
• 
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Richard%27s_Almanack - We looked on Wikipedia for a short description of the Almanac.
  
• Sophie approved the template for the Almanac and we chose the fonts and worked on the title page. Sophie chose a photo of the farmhouse and wrote a rough draft of how the farm was named.
  

 

ASSIGNMENTS

• Write a poem about Althea
  
• Create or find a recipe using something found or grown on the farm. ex: chicken, eggs, pumpkin, apples
  
• Find a quote from an online site such as: http://www.quoteland.com/
  

 

Read Chapter 1 Kitchen Chemistry

Stamp Act 5 x 5

5 Vocabulary

1. Stamp Act: An act of the British Parliament for raising revenue in the American Colonies by requiring the use of stamps and stamped paper for official documents

2. "natural rights": Any right that exists by virtue of natural law like in the stamp act where the English colonists felt that there natural rights to be English men were being taken away, they were not getting treated the same as the people in England were getting treated

3. Smuggling: To import or export goods secretly, in violation of the law, especially without payment of legal duty.

4. riot: A disturbance made by an unruly mob or in law three or more persons; tumult or uproar

5. boycott: To refuse to have dealings with a person or organization or refuse to buy a product as a protest or means of coercion

5 Facts/ Details

1. The Stamp Act started in 1765 and ended in 1766 because of economic pressures at that time.

2. Adhesive stamps were more common and practical during the Stamp Act.

3. Stamp Acts have been in forced in many countries.

4. Once there was a Stamp Act in Britain.

5. To stop the Stamp Act, many colonists refused to buy British goods.

5 Sentences

1. The "Stamp Act Congress" was the first time the colonies worked together to fight a common cause.

2. A citizens natural rights are the natural rights to survival, it was good the King of England wasn't taking those away from them, YET!

3. The colonists were smuggling before the Navigation Acts.

4. The riots, boycotts, and declarations were heard across the ocean, Parliament ended the Stamp Act.

5. There were a lot of boycotts before the Revolution, that's probably because there were so many acts.

5 Questions

1. What Act followed the Stamp Act and what did it declare? A: Quartering Act, it meant that the colonists had to let the English stay with them providing them food, a bed, and pretty much meant that they had to be their concern, the king also declared that the colonists had to pay for the English to be there.

2. What did the Townsend Acts tax? A: Glass, lead, paper, and tea

3. Who coined the phrase "no taxation without representation"? A: James Otis

4. What are the Navigation Acts? A: they were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade.

5. How many pounds of tobacco were paid to the clergy? A: 17,000 pounds a year

5 Math from Fraction Stories page 46

1. What is 1/3 of 21 and 3/8 of 24? A: 7 9

2. What is 2/3 of 36? A: 24

3. What is 5/6 of 54? A: 45

4. What is ¾ of 32? A: 24

5. What's 3/10 of 90? A: 27

 

Althea's Poem:

Althea, Althea,

Oh how I miss you,

But all you did in our house,

Was pee and poo,

I think you were mad,

About Casidee leaving,

But why to my mom,

Who you were deceiving,

You treated our house,

Like a big litter-box,

Cause you pooped on the floor,

And peed on my socks,

Althea, Althea,

I know you're happy at this farm,

It's like your young again,

Playing with a ball of yarn

April 19, 2011 Day One-Hundred and thirty-three

Music with Kat

Reading Journal Entry

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Chapter Title or pages read:

1. What happened in the chapter?
   

   
    

   Johnny was working on his pitcher for Mister John Hancock. He had to miss Sunday Sermon which was completely against the law. He was working on it and spilled silver on his hand. It was a 4 degree burn… the worse and beyond burn you could get. He did it because he did it because he felt bad for missing Sermon. At the end of the chapter, after a month, Johnny got to see what his hand looked like and his thumb grew into his palm and stayed the way… Johnny had become crippled.
   

   
    

2. Were there any words you didn't understand? What were they and how did you learn the definition?
   

   
    

Crucible: A container of metal or refectory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures. I found out on Dictionary.com

 

1. How did the chapter make you feel?
   

   
    

   This chapter made me feel depressed because of Johnny's crippled hand and how the other kids tease him about it.
   

 

1. Was there anything in the chapter that relates to what you're learning elsewhere in the unit?
   

 

Yes, He has to make a decision to go be an apprentice to Paul Revere, who I am learning about now.

 

1. What do you think will happen next?
   

I think that "the shot heard 'round the world" will happen and Johnny becomes a soldier.

Boston Massacre 5 x 5

5 Vocabulary

1. Tar & Feather: A mob action in Revolutionary times, the colonists would literally put tar and feathers on the tax agents

2. Regiment: A military formation varying in size from a battalion to a number of battalions

3. Whigs: Another word for patriots

4. Patriot: A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.

5. Massacre:
The wanton or savage killing of large numbers of people, as in battle

5 Facts/Details

1. They were trying to protest so hard, they even said, "No Stamp Act" on teapots!

2. General Thomas Gage was the commander of troops of the British Army.

3. The Quartering act meant that any colonist family that had a British Army man come to their door had to let him stay the night providing him food, and a bed.

4. The colonists disagreed to the Quartering act.

5. Gage was so mad at the colonists about the Quartering act that he pulled down a Liberty pole in New York an chopped it in to little pieces to show his scorn.

5 Sentences

1. The is a British cartoon of Bostonians tarring and feathering the tax man.

2. The British were a regiment; they had a leader telling them what to do, while the Militia fought for themselves and were independent.

3. Patriots is a more common word than Whigs.

4. The patriots thought of the Tories as traders, just like the British thought of the Patriots as traders.

5. Only 5 people were killed the day of the Boston Massacre.

5 Questions

1. Who was the first person to die in the Boston Massacre? A: Crispus Attucks, a black sailor and former slave

2. How many people died total that day in Boston? A: 5 people died that day

3. What does it mean that the Patriots and people of Boston taunted the British soldiers? A: It means they started calling them names they didn't like, like 'redcoats" and "lobsterbacks"

4. Who was the lawyer for the British soldiers? Why is that strange? A: John Adams, because he was a patriot, he thought the law and a fair trial were more important than his own opinions or politics

5. What happened with the Sons of Liberty after the Boston Massacre? A: They formed "committees' correspondence" to keep patriots in all colonies in touch with each other?

5 Math from Fraction Stories Skill Review Quiz 2

8 problems and 100 %!

April 15-18, 2011 Day One-hundred and thirty-one & two

 

Sophie's Blog: Hey everyone, I just got back from Components camp in Ohio. Components camp is for figure skaters that compete. The components of competition are… "Choreography, Interpretation, Program Execution, Transitions, and Skating skills." Components are the things that get you the points in competition (other than the elements). In this components camp, we had Olympic coaches and Junior and national medalist coaches. We each were put in to teams depending on our level and age; I was put in to the "Annie" team (such a coincidenceJ.) We were each put in to Broadway teams and were expected to perform a group number to a song from our team. Our team was choreographed by world famous…. "Jamie Isley" who did our number to "It's a Hard Knock life" and "Tomorrow." We were on the ice 6 hours a day, and off ice for 4 hours, plus an hour and a half break, Lunch, and dinner. So 13 hour days for 4 days! I learned so much and so did Linda. Nut the best part about this camp is that I made friends with all of the girls on our team, there were 20 girls! I am in touch with most of them, by phone or email. My favorite classes were Interpretation, Disco Diva's, and Program Execution. In Interpretation we did all sorts of exercises. Like the mirror exercise to music, the statue exercise, an exercise where you had to go to the red line using only your top and torso, red line to blue line using only the legs, and then the rest going both. In Disco Diva class it was a dance class where we danced to Disco music which was fun. And in Program Execution we got put in to groups and made programs up together.

2 pages Guinness, 2 pages Sylvan

Chapter 1 American Revolution for Kids

Chapter 1 Road to Revolution

Sons of Liberty 5 x 5

5 Vocabulary

1. Tories: Colonists who remain loyal to England and fear the glowing rebellion

2. Loyalists: A person who remained loyal to England during the American Revolution; also called Tory

3. Lobsterbacks: The British REDCOATS were also known as "Lobsterbacks" during the Revolution.

4. Redcoats: British soldiers during the Revolution and even now are known as redcoats

5. Rabble-rouser: A person who stirs up the passions or prejudices of the public, usually for his or her own interests

5 Facts/ details

1. There is a tree in the center of Boston that is known as the Liberty tree, it was where the Boston tea party was planned.

2. John Hancock was the richest man in New England.

3. Mom, Lily, and I are going to brew a batch of Root beer soon.

4. If Samuel Adams had stuck to brewing, America might be singing, "God Save the King" instead of "The Star Spangled Banner."

5. I found three lucky penny's heads up today, one at the bottom of my dresser, one under a button in the desk on the computer, and one in between the couch pillows.

5 Sentences

1. In the book, "Road to revolution" by Stan Mack and Susan Champlin, the Tories push the kids down on their way to stopping the redcoats.

2. Loyalists were the more common names for Tories.

3. Get it; the "redcoats" were called "Lobsterbacks" because the back of their coats looked like lobsters!

4. The British army still wears red coats today.

5. The Boston tea party was a Rabble-Rous made by Samuel Adams.

5 Questions

1. What was Sam Adams' original job? A: Brewing

2. What is the Liberty Tree? A: A tree in the center of Boston where the Boston tea party was planned.

3. Who gave the Sons of Liberty their name? A: Issac Barre, who warned the British that the Sons of Liberty would revolt against their mother country

4. Who is Patrick Henry? A: He was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia

5. What was the name of John Hancock's ship that was seized? A: The Liberty

5 Math from Fraction Stories page 45 Subtracting Mixed numbers with unlike denominators

1. How many degrees will it have to warm up before the ice cream starts to melt? A: 1 1/4

2. How many degrees above freezing will today's high be? A: 2 1/2

3. What is the difference between the current temperature and today's expected high? A: 3 3/4

4. By how many mile per hour does Billy predict the wind speed will increase? A: 1 1/3

5. How many inches of snow would have to fall to have a foot of snow on the ground by tonight? A: 7 2/3

April 14, 2011 Day One-Hundred and thirty

Math: 2 pages Guinness, 2 pages Sylvan
Chapter 1: from the Cartoon Chronicles of America: Road to Revolution by Stan Mack and Susan Champlain
French and Indian War song to the tune of "Row, row, row your boat"
Using Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars 1689-1763 by Betsy Maestro and Giulio Maestro as reference
Also used Chester Comics with Content series: Revolutionary Rumblings and The Jamestown Journey
Key Words (with rhymes)

1. War—for, more
2. Trade—made, paid
3. Furs—occurs
4. Battle—cattle, tattle
5. Lakes—makes, snakes, takes
6. French—wench
7. George—gorge, potage
8. Maize—faze, gaze
9. Continent—fought the end
10. France—pants, chants

10 Facts and Details

1. The Algonquin Indians fought with the French, the Iroquois Indians fought with the English.
2. King William's War was the first battle of the French and Indian War.
3. One of the main reasons for starting the French and Indian war was the fierce competition of fur trading.
4. The attack on Deerfield, Ass was during the Queen Anne's War in England.
5. Before the French and Indian war came the Beaver Wars.
6. The attack on Louisburg put the English in the lead.
7. Some of the things that were really important with trading with the Indians were: furs, hides, maize, salt, and other things.
8. By 1689 France had most of the U.S. and called it Louisiana.
9. George Washington fought in the French and Indian War.
10. The battle of Quebec made England win the war.

Song
"The French and Indian war"
"The French and English had a war, just because of trade,
The French were protecting their maize and furs,
But the English they got paid"


"King William's War was the first battle of the French Indian War,
This battle the French, they won, but the English said
That they want more"


"You know those tall fancy English hats, were made out of beaver furs,
I don't know why, don't know why, English tried, to make the Beaver
Wars occur"


"Soon after that came the attack, on Deerfield Massachu---SETTS!
The French won this battle, pushed the English like Cattle,
The French said burn it?... LETS! "


"The English got back, with the attack, on Louisburg, put them
The lead! The colonies grew,
Most of the wars threw, just need to sign the peace treat—ey!"


"Come on you English, just burn down Quebec, it's not that hard of a plan,
Just climb up that rock, and at 1 o' clock,
Fight until the war's end"


"That is exactly what they did, George Washington
Won the war! But with all of this tax, the colonies said, "MAX"
Go see what this is for."

April 13, 2011 Day One-Hundred and Twenty-nine

Intro to new unit—reviewed plan, projects, schedule, expectations, templates for The American Revolution, Unit 3

We're here! Just about 45 more day so of our first year of homeschool and the final unit for fifth grade: The American Revolution. Our long Spring family trip was wonderful, fun, educational, and relaxing. It was so nice to get a break from our "real" life and just spend time together without the burden of work and appointments and lessons and and and. Sophie enjoyed a much-deserved break from skating, school, dance, and music. She was a kid. And we snuck in some school while we were gone, as you may have noticed from our previous posts. One of the many benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility that school can be anywhere and learning is everywhere! Besides, Sophie and I have worked really hard and she has really proven she can handle the work and challenge of homeschool and she has produced a tremendous amount of good, solid work and during those hard, full weeks of school and skating, knowing that our break south was coming—two weeks "off"—really helped us push through getting all the projects and reviews completed. Once again, I am so proud of her.

Our last unit is 8 weeks long and began this week. Today we spent time introducing the unit, reviewing the 2 major projects, setting expectations, and looking at the schedule. She has also spent time this week reading and learning about the French and Indian War and her presentation is included in the post for day 130.

Unit 3 is simply The American Revolution. As I told Sophie, you can spend the rest of your life learning about the American Revolution and plenty of folks have! It's a monumental, complicated, exciting part of our history that spans the entire east coast and signifies the beginning of not only a country, but a new way of living and believing in the world~ it is truly one of the most significant events in history and it can be overwhelming. And that begets the question all teachers ask themselves: How do you teach something like –fill in the blank: The American Revolution, Shakespeare, Physics, Computer Science, The Civil War… -- to a young student in a small amount of time? What's important? Dates and facts or the people involved or books written or injustices perpetrated? There are so many options, facets, possibilities to consider and one of the most challenging aspects of elementary education is condensing a huge concept into a fun and accessible unit for young students.

Over the next 8 weeks Sophie will complete two major projects. The first is a Power Point Presentation (PPP) of 35-40 slides about the American Revolution. She will use what she has learned to complete a 5 x 5 and use these daily, subject-specific exercises (as well as webquests and book reports) as her information for the presentation. I have designed the presentation in 5 parts of 5 slides each plus her Introduction, Conclusion, and Bibliography slides.

The 5 parts are:

5 Acts

5 People

5 Battles

5 Dates

5 Events

She will be working with a PPP template and will complete 5 5x5s a week according to her PPP plan and list of needed slides. We are using two great books as weekly references for the 5 x 5s, as well as webquests I design or find on-line and other book reports over the next 8 weeks. She will read a chapter a week from The American Revolution for Kids and Cartoon Chronicles of America: Road to Revolution by Stan Mack and Susan Champlain. She also has a great Magic Schoolbus American Revolution Research Guide. She also has two great Dover coloring books about the Revolution and she will color and read one page from either book every day as well.

The second project for this unit is the Midden Farm Almanac. This is her farm school project that she will work on with Gamma and Bo at Midden Farm. She has a really cool Eyewitness Biography book on Ben Franklin, as well as a fantastic resource collection Courtney picked up at the library for her, as well as a few old Farmer's Almanacs to consider. She will read about Franklin and some of Poor Richard's Almanac and work on writing, collecting, and taking notes and photographs around the farm as we move and work from spring to summer~ should be a cool project!

She will also be reading Esther Forbe's fantastic and classic young-adult novel Johnny Tremain with Gamma and Bo at the farm and completing a reading journal entry for each chapter. When the book is done she gets to watch the Disney movie.

For Math we will continue with the Guinness book for 5^th grade, which she's almost done with and we were sorry to learn there isn't a 6^th grade, so we decided since it was such a great book and she enjoys working with it, that we'd get the 4^th grade version and do 2 pages a day for that book. She's also continuing with the 5^th grade Sylvan book and when that's done we'll start on 6^th grade and she has to complete one page per book a day for 5 days of school a week for the next 8 weeks. For summer math we have a really cool paper airplane book to work with!

Science for the last unit is: Chemistry and she will read one chapter a week, complete a chapter report, and we will do a lab every Friday and complete a lab report every week. The book we're working with is: Amazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects You Can Build Yourself by Cynthia Light Brown. This is definitely going to be the hardest science unit we've had this year and I have to admit, "I don't know much about chemistry…don't know much trigonometry…" but we'll work together and learn! *Which is another cool benefit to homeschooling—I get to learn new stuff too!

We have a busy 8 weeks ahead! We still have to finish filming for her Unit 2: Colonial America project! We're waiting for most of the sites to open back up. She filmed at Jamestown and that was great and we're going to Plymouth again in May and Salem sometime in May too. We have to wait for Old York to fully open but hope to film there the last week of May or first week of June on a weekday. Not sure about Sturbridge but we'll get there and we definitely want to plan another trip to Lexington and Concord soon and maybe a trip to Boston!

Thanks again for our readers and supporters! We have a lot to accomplish but she and I both have been looking forward to this unit and learning about the American Revolution! Keep reading and checking in~

Farm: Reading with Bo Chapter One: Johnny Tremain

Math: 2 pages Guinness, 2 pages Sylvan

Reading Journal Entry

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Chapter Title or pages read: 20 pages read

1. What happened in the chapter?
   

   Johnny Tremain is an apprentice silversmith. He lives with an old silversmith and is an apprentice with two other boys. The girls in the family's names are, Madge, Dorcas, Cilia, and Isannah. Johnny is 14 as well as Cilia. They are supposed to get married to each other someday. John Hancock, the richest man in New England, came to the house of The Laphams (the silversmiths house) and asked Mr. Lapham to repair a pitcher that had been broken, But there was no way to repair it and Mr. Lapham was too old so Johnny had to make a completely new pitcher for Mr. Hancock on his own! When he didn't think it looked right he went to Paul Revere for help on how to fix it. Paul Revere liked Johnny and wanted him for his own apprentice.
   

   
    

   
    

2. Were there any words you didn't understand? What were they and how did you learn the definition?
   

   Fatigue…… Bo told me the definition: it means you are really tired
   

   
    

3. How did the chapter make you feel?
   

Well I am wondering if Johnny is related to merchant Lyte and why he is allowed to go ask merchant Lyte if he is.

1. Was there anything in the chapter that relates to what you're learning elsewhere in the unit?
   

Yes, Paul Revere and John Hancock were mentioned in this chapter… I am learning about them

 

1. What do you think will happen next?
   

   
    

I think that he will become an apprentice to Paul Revere

April 12, 2011 Day One-Hundred and Twenty-eight

Music with Kat: she learned and sang "Wouldn't it be lovely" from My Fair Lady

Farm School: What's an Almanac? What's the plan for school and the new schoolroom at the farm.

Spring play and interest in the farm now that most of the snow is gone.

Silent Reading: Johnny Tremain in the sun while Mom cleaned out the stalls and prepared a new garden and Lily played in the sand pile.

April 10, 2011 Day One –hundred and twenty-seven Visit to Concord

Minute Men National Historic Park, Concord, Mass.
5 x 5 *using Junior Ranger Guide filled out by Sophie on Sunday April 10, 2011
5 Vocabulary
1. Minute Men: Younger members of the militia who were trained to be ready at any minute.
2. Regulars: The regular British army was called regulars
3. Munitions: also called ammunitions, these were the supplies needed for war
4. Ambush: Giving the militia an advantage, an ambush is a place where you can fight usually with lots of hills making no way out
5. Militia: The group of colonists not trained to be an army but the group of colonists fighting in the Revolution.
5 Facts/ Details
1. The Brooks family operated a tannery for tanning leather hides.
2. Nathaniel Hawthorne, who als0o lived in Maine, lived in Concord.
3. Alcott, Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thorough were all next door neighbors.
4. According to legend, Paul Revere's horse was named Brown Beauty.
5. Paul Revere was captured in Lincoln Massachusetts.
5 Sentences
1. We went to the Minute men National Park in Lexington Mass.
2. Paul Revere was yelling on the night of April 18^th "Wake up, Wake up, the regulars are coming."
3. I did a crossword puzzle and could not figure out what went on 4 across, turns out it was munitions and mom spelt it wrong.
4. In Concord, there is a place where the militia had an Ambush; it is called "Bloody Angle."
5. The militia were regular colonists that were trained to be blacksmiths and coopers, while the British were trained to be army men, the militia didn't follow the rules like the regulars did.
5 Questions

1. Who is the "midnight rider"? A: Paul Revere
   *Bonus question: How many riders actually rode that night to sound the alarm? What were their names? A: 3, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott.

2. What was the "shot heard round the world?" A: The first gunshot of the Revolutionary War.
3. What did the colonists of Concord and the surrounding areas think the British army had done in Concord? A: burn the town
*Bonus: what did they actually do? A: find munitions and burning the houses down where the munitions were hidden
3. What happened on the Battle Road between the Redcoats and the militiamen between Concord and Charlestown on April 19, 1775? A: they fought the whole way to Charlestown
5. Who was Amos Doolittle and what did he do for the American Revolution? A: he painted the North Bridge and told what happened there otherwise we wouldn't know today.
5 People

1. Amos Barrett: He was part of the militia and said to the rest of the militia "Will you let them burn the town down"
2. Samuel Adams: A politician to Massachusetts, Samuel Adams was one of the leaders starting the Revolution.
3. William Dawes: Another midnight rider
4. The Brooks family: A family that owned a tannery in Concord.



The "shot heard round the world" North Bridge, Concord





Minute Men Memorial on Colonists side of the North Bridge

5. John Pitcairn: The leader of the redcoats

March 21-April 1, 2011 Spring Trip—Days One-hundred and twenty-one through one-hundred and twenty-six

Day 121 Sophie's Blog: Write a detailed book report on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone was an audio book that we listened to on our way down to Virginia and Florida. Here is my summarized book report on this well known fairytale about the young wizard Harry, who escaped from the dreaded Valtamore: It was a dark cold night, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were walking down Douglas street with a small infant with a lightning scar formed on his head. They left harry lying down on the door step of the family of the Durzley's. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Durzley were Harry's Aunt Uncle and cousin. There was a note taped to Harry asking if the Durzley's would take care of him, they didn't want to at all but they could use a servant so they took him in. for 11 years harry had been treated exactly like a servant. He slept in the closet under the stairs. He always had to let Dudley and his friends tease him. He had no friends and lived all those years without knowing he was a wizard. Then came Dudley's birthday. The Durzley's took Dudley and Harry to the zoo. When they went in to the reptile house something strange happened. After Dudley got bored of the snake they saw and started tapping the glass he went on to look at other animals, Harry stayed behind and said sorry to the snake about Dudley, the snake started talking back! The glass keeping the snake in was gone and Harry let the snake go! When Dudley was curious he went inside the glass and it formed itself back up making Dudley stuck! Things got even stranger after that. An owl was flying over their house one day, and at the same time a piece of mail came flying through the mail slot, the letter read, "To, Harry Potter" but of course uncle Vernon wouldn't let Harry open it soon after that another owl came and the same letter came through the mail slot. In that week the house became infested with the same letter. More than 5 dozen owls were putting letters through the chimney under the door and everywhere you could imagine. Harry secretly opened one, "Dear Harry, You have been accepted in to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Before you start please pick up a wand, schoolbooks, and remember to stop by Gringotts in Diagon Alley. School will start on September first of the new year. Please arrive at the London train station, platform number 9 and 3/4 Signed, Professor Albus Dumbledore" Professor Albus Dumbledore thought Harry who's he. Harry's 11^th birthday was finally here, not that Harry was looking forward to it because it just meant another day with the Durzley's, but the Durzley's traveled to a little island in the sea to "celebrate" Harry's birthday. There was a storm outside and Harry couldn't get to sleep. Instead he lay awake thinking about Dumbledore's letter. "Diagon Alley" Harry thought, where might that be? At that very moment a very large man came in to the hut with a box that said Harry on it. He gave it to him and wished him a happy birthday. Harry thanked him and opened the box, inside was a cake. Harry questioned how the big man knew his name and who he was. The big man said," I'm Hagrid, former wizard Animals and games teacher at Hogwarts" The Durzley's were terrified of Hagrid and told him to get out. Hagrid didn't listen and asked Harry if he had his school supplies yet. Harry said no so he hopped on to Hagrid's, "FLYING MOTORCYCLE!" The next day they arrived in Diagon Alley. First they went in to the lounge of the hotel they stayed at and met some of Harry's teachers that he would have at Hogwarts like Professor Quirell. Then they went to the wand store. Harry tried out a few wands finally they found the right wand for him. Harry was amazed at this world. Then they went to get his school books and supplies. Last but not least on their shopping spree stopped at Gringotts bank. Harry asked Hagrid why everyone knew his name and Hagrid told Harry the story of how he survived Valtamore, who they could not name in the wizard world. Once they got in to Gringotts they went to vault number 687 to get Harry's money for Hogwarts. On August 31^st Harry was so excited; tomorrow he was going to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Tomorrow finally came and the Durzley's dropped Harry off at the train station. He got inside but could not find platform number nine and three quarters. He saw a family of red heads, 4 of the kids looked like him with a cart with an owl, a pet, the books, and their own wand. They knew that it was Harry's first time. Harry asked the lady how to get to the platform she recognized him immediately and introduced her kids. This is Ron, Fred, George, Percy and Jenny. Harry watched Percy go through the brick barrier, "Oh I get it now, said Harry" So him and Ron, his new friend ran through the barrier and boarded the Hogwarts express they met a genius girl named Hermione on the train. They made friends with her. Harry loved Hogwarts he got put in Gryffindor by the sorting hat with Ron and Hermione. Harry liked all his teachers except for one, Professor Snape, the professor of potions. He liked all the people at Hogwarts except for one Draco Malfoy who was put in to Slitherin. After 3 months of school Harry learned a lot. During flying lessons when madam Hooch was gone, Harry retrieved Nevil's rememberum. Professor McGonagall saw and immediately put Harry in the quidditch team. Quiddetch is the most popular wizard sport in the wizard world. Harry is the seeker, his job is to catch the snitch and win the game. The most difficult position in the game. Harry was the Gryffindor Seeker; he was as good as his father James Potter who was also the Gryffindor seeker. So after 2 semesters of learning spells, fighting giant trolls, going to Hagrid's hut, and making new friends. Harry found out something, Hagrid accidently told him about the sorcerer's stone. Fluffy, the giant three headed dog was guarding it. Once harry figured out how to get past fluffy he found it. He tried to grab it. After fighting Professor Quirrel, he recovered the stone safely for Professor Dumbledore. The day finally came when Harry had to go back home to the Durzley's. After all this, Harry, Ron, and Hermione gained points and won the house cup for Gryffindor. The next year is another story to come. If you want to know just a little bit more, read Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone and for the second book of what to come in the next year, read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

 

 

Day 122 Sophie's Blog: Write good 30 + sentence blog about Epcot—how about Spaceship Earth and The Land—also write a detailed blog about the Kim Possible adventure.

Sophie's Blog: I'm going to let you in on a little secret…. "I LOVE DISNEY WORLD!" And one of the things I love about Disney is one of its theme parks, Epcot. Epcot stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of tomorrow." Epcot is an educational theme park with fun thrill rides such as Soarin', Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Nemo. But all of them are educational. Epcot teaches people of the future world and how we can make the future world a better place. One of the other thing's I like about going to Epcot is Kim Possible. Kim Possible was a T.V that was on a couple of years ago. It was about this teenage girl named Kim Possible who was a Secret Agent saving the world from super Villains. At Epcot's World Showcase You can help Kim Possible out as a secret agent. In different places around "The World" On my missions I went to England, Mexico, and Germany. In England I had to stop Duff Killigan from turning the world in to a giant golf course. I followed Wade and found golf balls in a telephone booth, saw robot butterfly's move and even talked to a clerk in the tea store and found out where Duff Killigan was hiding so I could stop him. In Germany I saw steins sing and stopped the Dementor by chasing him inside a big clock! I don't remember the rest. There was a ride we did this time that we never did before, it's called… "The Land". It teaches people how recycling and growing your own crops will help the environment. Inside the symbol that recognizes Epcot, The big golf ball, is a ride called spaceship Earth. Spaceship Earth teaches you that the future is really in the past. At the end they added this cool thing, here let me tell you how they do it. At the very beginning of the ride they take your picture. I made a funny face. J At the end they have a computer screen. You answer questions and they built our future. Mom and I made our future all about recycling. They put the pictures from the beginning and put them in cartoon bodies, it was HILARIOUS!

 

 

Day 123 Sophie's Blog: Disney World. Write a convincing blog (30+ sentences) about why going to Disney World can be considered a learning experience. What did you learn at Disney World?

• Backstage Tour: During the backstage tour I learned how they made movies. This is at Disney's Hollywood Studios next to the famous stunt show, "Light's, Camera's, and Action". At the beginning of this educational tour, they pick 4 guests in line and get them dressed up in water suits. When the tour finally begins, these 4 guests go out on set. The director tells you what's going to happen and tells the "actors" what they're going to do. One of the guests, in this case Mike, sat in half of an office. Suddenly, water came splashing in through the window and mike got soaked. The other three, Claire, Rick, and Peter were on the set of a ship. Special effects sounded like cannons and blew up in the water, fire was on the ship and it was so cool. After that we boarded buses and looked at all the props from the movies, such as herby the car, planes from pearl harbor, and even the figure head from pirates of the Caribbean.
  

Walt Disney's story: In Disney's Hollywood Studios there is a movie called Walt Disney's story. He told it himself for his guests like me. He was born in Chicago Illinois, and then moved to Missouri with his Parents and his Brother Roy. He grew up there. When Roy got a job in the navy, Walt didn't know what to do with his life, So he decided to go in to the animation business. When he was about 24 he married one of his workers, Lillian. Lillian and Walt were very happy together and they lived a great life. On their way back from New York city after visiting Roy, Walt started doodling a mouse. He doodled and right then and right there, came Mickey Mouse. Walt first decided to name Mickey, Mordemer mouse. But Lillian liked Mickey. Soon after that came steamboat Willy, Mickey's first animation. Walt did the first voice of Mickey mouse. (Which is hard to believe because Walt had such a low voice.) Steamboat Willy was an animation showing the hilarious personality of the Mickey mouse we all know so well today. After Donald, Goofy, Minnie, and Pluto, Walt had an even bigger dream. Walt had an idea of Disneyland, a place where Dreams come true. He first got the idea because of his two little girls; He wanted a fun amusement park where the whole family could have fun together. He made some of the famous Disney movies in this time and in 1955 Disneyland was opened. With the Cinderella Carousel, Peter Pan's Flight, The Haunted Mansion, and many other famous rides we all know today. More movies came out and Walt had his newest dream of Disney World. A place in Orlando Florida, bigger then Disneyland with more rides and different theme parks. Walt passed in 1974 so the imagineers worked harder in June that year Disney World opened and has improved amazingly until this very day.

• Hall of President's: The hall of Presidents is in Liberty Square of the Magic Kingdom. It first starts out as a movie telling you about very important presidents such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Kennedy and FDR. They tell each famous Presidents story and what they did for this country. At the end they have all the Presidents of history in a room together and name them in order. At the very end president Obama comes and says a speech and that's the finale.
  

 

• Animal Kingdom safari: We did the Animal Kingdom Safari, also known as the Kilimanjaro Safari the second week we were in Disney. It was raining so there was no line. We got on and all the animals were active, we even saw the cheetahs! (which we never see.) The idea of this ride is that you're in Africa on a week vacation on a safari; At the end you stop poachers from capturing a baby elephant.
  

 

 

Day 124 Kennedy Space Center. 30 sentences

On Thursday, March 31^st, Dad and I went to the Kennedy Space Center. This was the day of the tornado in Florida, But the cool part about that is that I saw the lightning hit the lightning rods! The first thing we did is we saw a show called star trek live. An alien came to Earth and Commander Chris found out. The Aliens name was Orca and she needed a volunteer to time travel to space with her, they picked me! We went back stage and she asked me to start fanning myself with a shell. We ended up on a "beach" and I was over heating myself. Finally we arrived in space. We did our mission and returned home. Me and Dad went in to the Rocket Garden, did the bus tour, the space shuttle launch experience and we even ate lunch at the lunching pad! The shuttle launch experience was like a Disney ride, I think that they copied it from Disney. It was really realistic according to the astronauts who tried it. It flips you vertical and launches you through different phases. The shuttle launch experience is exactly like how the astronauts train. We went to where the shuttles actually launch and could see it on our Bus tour. It was really cool.

 

 

Day 125 Write a good book report on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: This was the summer after Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry was turning twelve years old this year and this would be his second year at Hogwarts. He met two best friends there Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He had been writing to them through the summer and they haven't responded. There was a month before he went to Hogwarts again and that night at the Durzley's house something weird happened. A House elf named Dobby from the wizard world. The Durzley's had a family from next door come over and they were selling something to them. Dobby warned Harry not to go to Hogwarts this year and when Harry refused to listen to Dobby, Dobby spilled cake on The Durzley's guests and they didn't get their deal. After this the Durzley's refused to let Harry go to Hogwarts. Harry found out that Dobby was stealing his letters from Ron and Hermione. At that very moment Ron, Fred, and George came by Harry's window in a flying car asking if he wanted a ride, they knew what was happening. Harry escaped with them in the car. He spent the rest of that month there at the weasley's house. They went to Diagon Alley to get school supplies but Harry went the wrong way and got stuck he ended up in a store and saw Malfoy and his dad. Luckily Hagrid found him and lead him back to Diagon Alley. He saw Hermione and they went to go see Gildeory Lockhart.

 

 

Day 126 Jamestown

We went to Jamestown Virginia on April 3^rd. We first went to the original Jamestown. After Emma had a talk with one of the park rangers about building his house, we moved on to the Jamestown fort. We talked to a guy there and he gave us a lot of information. I videoed and then we went to the archearium which is a museum of archeology. We saw a skeleton of a 1607 killed boy. We saw lots of other old stuff found in the ground at the archearium. Then we went to the place like Plymouth. (except I didn't like it because it wasn't at all as authentic as Plymouth.) But I learned a lot and we filmed there. There were replicas of the three ships and we watched a movie and I did my interview.

March 18, 2011 Day One-Hundred and Twenty

Sophie's Blog: Write about

1. Finishing up all your projects and reviews and getting the chance to show them to your grandparents, etc.
   
2. That's Entertainment show!
   

 

1. Sophie's blog: The week of March 14^th to March 20^th I was finishing up all my school projects. I needed to put my human body poem book together, re-glue my collage book, get my final video template read, but the best part of that week was that I knew that next week, I was going to Disney. I got back yesterday and I had the best trip of my LIFE!, and I felt good that one unit of school was done. But here is the summarized-ish story of showing my work to everyone and the week of March 14^th. "7:00 a.m the usual morning line up" I fed the dogs and cats and got to work right away. School wasn't as hectic because there were no 5x5 that week, just math and finishing projects. So, that's all I did, pretty much. I skated as much as I could that week. And that Monday I did. 12:00-1:30 all with Linda getting ready for the big show that weekend. I got back to school and that's all I did for the final week of colonial America. When Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda got here, I showed them everything! They LOVED IT! They were so proud of me. Then everyone else came over before the show when I was warming up, Caca, Gama, Bo, Emma, and so yeah! I am proud of myself, I worked as hard as I could and it totally paid off!
   

 

1. Sophie's Blog: Sunday, March 20^th THE SKATING SHOW! What I have been practicing for 3 months was all for the skating show! I was in so many numbers, let's see: I was in, Senior team, the opening, my solo, charlottes number, high free and the finale. So 6 numbers! 2 weeks ago the night that I was going to perform all those numbers was upon me. I got to the rink early, I helped decorate and I had rehearsal. So after that when we were all behind the curtain waiting to go on, the lights dimmed and the national anthem came on. We all lined up and the opening music boomed in my ears I started skating, as did the 5 other people starting the show. We all smiled we were having a great time. It was time for our big jump, "My first axel" we all went up, AND MY LEG FELL ASLEEP IN THE AIR! I fell along with two others out of the six. I was worried after that, but it was fine, I kept on going and the opening number was finished perfectly. Then came the stars, Lily, Eloise and 8 other little girls in white outfits came out to skate to twinkle, twinkle little star! We all went off. My next number was my solo; I quickly got into my space-suit. But wait, I went out in charlottes number for a special appearance oh yeah, DUH! So after that it was my solo. I did my beginning part and finally headed in to my first jump, My second axel of the day I went in to it and PERFECT LANDING! I was psyched! I kept on going, beautiful split jump my second big jump, my double! POPPED! I didn't do it, but that was ok, I was so happy about my axel, nothing could stop me then. In all the rest of my numbers, axel, LANDED! Axel LANDED! I was so happy, Get ready for Disney!