Stuck – A Poem by J.J.

FrustratedStuck

I am stuck—
I feel like a wild cat stuck in tar
Or a caterpillar plopped in a jar.
Like a man drowning at sea
Or stuck in skin,like a bee.
Like a dog
Stuck in a log
Oh Wait!
I can post this on the blog!

Author’s Note
Ever since our first D.I.Y day, my hands were shaking over my keyboard. I was absolutely, positively……..stuck! My mind was failing to think of anything to create or research. If you, reader, were in my shoes you would do the same thing!

So, I tried to write about my frustration and ended up with this!

Brainy Guest Speakers – by 3rd grade class

Guest Speaker 3Last month, our 3rd grade class had two special visitors: Dr. Lisa Drozdick and Dr. Stuart Red. Mrs. Lasher invited them to speak with the class about their work with the brain because we had been learning and researching about the amazing system inside our craniums!

Both guest speakers work at Pearson (click here to learn more about this company). Dr. Drozdick is a psychologist whose work includes developing tests that help people who may have a brain injury. She designs the tests to show which parts of the brain may not be working as well as they should be. Dr. Red is a neuroscientist and he studies all about the brain. He’s worked a lot with people who’ve had concussions.

We got to try out some of the tests that targeted certain parts of the brain. For example, one test had different colored circles and we had to touch them according to the directions. In one part, we had to touch every color she said except “black.” If she said “black,” we were not supposed to touch anything. This may have been checking our temporal lobe (which helps with memory) and how the hemispheres of the brain work together.

We really enjoyed our guest speakers and learned a lot! We appreciated their time with us! Thank you, Dr. Drozdick and Dr. Red!

P.S.- We found a cool video with optical illusions and an article about what makes your brain wake up. Click here to see it on Wonderopolis!

Guest Speaker 1Guest Speaker 2

Liar and Spy (Book Review) – by Lauren Z.

liar and spyI found this book, Liar and Spy, by Rebecca Stead, because it was nominated for a Texas Bluebonnet Award. If you have never heard about the Texas Bluebonnet Award, you can read more about it here.

This book is about how Georges (the s is silent) is having some trouble at school. A boy named Dallas has been bullying him. His best friend, Jason, left him and hangs out with Dallas’s friend, Carter. And it gets worse! Georges used to live in a house. His family had to sell it because his dad lost his job, so his mom has to work extra shifts at the hospital.

Georges doesn’t really have any friends until one day when he and his dad are in the basement getting laundry. They see a note on the basement wall that says Spy Club. His dad writes a note back that asks, “What time?” and surprisingly, they receive a reply- 1:00!

Georges goes back to the basement at one o’clock and only two people are there: 12 year old Safer, and his little sister Candy. Safer has been trying to track down “Mr.X”.

You’ll have to read to find out what happens to George and Safer in Liar and Spy! There are some pretty fun twists at the end!

Click here to go to Rebecca Stead’s website.

Mythology Memory- by Joshua S.

Jake and Elizabeth have fun testing Joshua's "Mythology Memory" game!

Jake and Elizabeth have fun testing Joshua’s “Mythology Memory” game!

Are you interested in Greek and Roman gods and goddesses? Well I am, and I decided to make a game about it. In my game you have 24 cards, with each of the gods Greek and Roman names on them. And on the back of each card it describes what the god or goddess is known for, or in charge of.

To play, first lay out all 24 cards in an array and get a partner. Next, decide who goes first. Then begin the game. First, you flip over two cards and if they have the same description on the back they’re a match, and when you get a match you take those two cards, then go again. But if you don’t get a match, it’s the other players turn. You repeat this until there are no cards left and the player with the most matches wins.

Some people might be wondering why mythology interests me. Well at first it didn’t, but then a friend of mine told me I should read the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. So I read the first book and loved it so much that I read almost the whole rest of the series. Next I read a book about how ancient Greeks believe the world was created, and I thought it was pretty good. I decided I really enjoy mythology. So that’s why I decided to make a game about Greek mythology. I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I hope it inspired you to read the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Thanks for reading.

Josh out!

11 Birthdays (Book Review)- by Elizabeth V.

11Birthdays-cvr-thumbMy sister suggested this book to me and I’m so glad she did! This book is really a twist on normal birthdays and is a fresh new teen topic in books. In an interview, she said she got inspired to make this book because when she was a child she thought everyone got one do-over in life. It’s AMAZING and be sure to shout out to Wendy Mass. If you click here, you can go to her website.

This book is about a girl named Amanda and she and a guy named Leo are born on the same day. On their tenth birthday, they get in a fight and never talk again. On their eleventh birthday, everything goes wrong! It’s terrible, but the worst part is, the birthday never ends! Every day is her birthday over and over again and no one else realizes it… except Leo. They have to work together to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late and they never see Saturday.

It truly is different and I hope you read it and enjoy it like I did! Wendy Mass is really an awesome writer!

My Adventures in Chile – by Diego R.

1Volcano

1st adventure: HIKING UP A VOLCANO
When I first saw the volcano I thought maybe I could find some snow.  But when we started I got doubtful because the snow was close to the top, so I began to run but then I went alone too far, luckily my dad catched up with me, so we walked extremely fast. Later I found a tiny bit of snow. My mom, uncle and brother couldn’t catch up.
2nd adventure: VUELO PIONERO
This wasn’t a very long adventure but it sure was scary. What I saw, looked like a GIANT swing in the middle of the forest and pretty much it was. I wanted to go first so I did I jumped of the platform and swung. My foot hit the ground by accident then later I landed. After a few more times we had to leave but it was SUPER FUN.1Volcano2
3rd adventure: WHITE WATER RAFTING
Let’s just say this was one of the wettest of my adventures. Something I didn’t expect was the wetsuit challenge.  It didn’t fit me, it was big for me, so it took a SUPER LONG time to put on. Then we got on a big van that took us to the river. The water was freezing cold but we got used to it. The RAPIDS soaked us and we got completely wet. They put my brother and I in the front of the raft so our faces got completely wet. Later we jumped of the raft and swam. After a while it was calm and slow and thank God there were no more rapids.

4th adventure: ZIP-LINING
 
We drove for a long time to get to the zip lining place but finally we got to there. I was nervous at first but then I loved it. You can see your shadow on the floor and over the trees and it moves fast too. I was sad when it ended because there were only 4 lines. We were 240 feet above ground over the trees.
5th adventure: SURFING ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN
We were walking on the beach and we signed up for surf lessons. But the bad news was that the water was freezing. After a few waves we got used to it. There wasn’t that much sea weed so it was really fun. After a while I started to get the hang of it and I didn’t fall that much. The last time I was catching a wave I was really nervous but I was able to stand up for a tiny bit. 



I’m thankful for this amazing trip and if you like adventures, this is highly recommended!