August

We really don't have to blog anymore, but I am just doing it for fun.  That means that I won't have everything that I did before like the questions, predictions, connections, and Key Questions.  I can include them if I want, but don't have to.

I finished Saving Zasha and am reading Wonder.

                      http://www.thebookdorks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/wonder1.jpg
Wonder
By:  R. J. Palacio
I read the whole first section which is about one character, and am on the second section which is about another character pretty much about the same things, just from a different perspective.

August is a boy going into fifth grade.  He has been home schooled by his mom until this year.  They decide to send him to school because everybody is starting middle school because fifth grade is in middle school in the book.  They thought that it would be easier for him because if they wait till next year, everybody else will already know how things run, and they will have already created friend groups.  The reason that August was home schooled was because he was born with serious face issues. The doctor didn't think that he would live through the night.  He did, clearly, but has had a number of surgeries trying to fix it.  People stare at him all the time and he notices them whispering about him. He is used to that because just about everybody who doesn't know him does.  I assume that he looks awful.  One incident that was particularly bad was when it was halloween, and you could dress up in your costume and wear it to school.  August dressed up in a different costume than he had talked about because of various reasons.  Well, he walked in the classroom, and some boys didn't think that it was him, and one of those boys was a boy that August thought was his friend.  They were talking about him and how bad he looked. One of the boys said that honestly if he was August, he would have killed himself.  August heard them, and walked out of the class without anyone noticing him and went to the nurses office with a stomach ache.  The nurse called his mom, and his mom came and got him.  August's sister is named Via.

Question:  I wonder how I would react if people kept staring at me.

Fights, And More Fights

King Of Shadows

By:  Susan Cooper  

I read from chapter fifteen through nineteen (the end of the book).  

Chapter 15:  Nat, Shakespeare, and Burbage went to see the queen.  The one thing she thought was bad about the queens costume was the hair.  Mostly everybody in the company went to the tavern to celebrate.  The company was going to play in the Queen's court in a month.  Roper said that there was a boy from St. Paul's school that came looking for him while he was seeing the queen.  

William Shakespeare promised Nat a spot in his company when he finished school.  William Shakespeare had to leave the next morning early and Nat had to leave later that morning. That was the last time that Nat would see William Shakespeare.  

Chapter 16:  Nat had a dream of his father throwing his up into the air and catching him again when he was a little boy.  Suddenly a bird came down and swooped Nathan up and carried him away.  He could see his father getting smaller and smaller in the distance, and finally, he disappeared forever.  Nat could hear someone telling him to wake up and that he was leaving today.  

Chapter 17:  Nat woke up and noticed he was in a different place than he was when he feel asleep.  He was back in the hospital bed.  Nat looked frantically under his pillow for the poem from Shakespeare.  It wasn't there.  He ate breakfast, and then showered off.  A nurse took him in a wheelchair to the waiting room.  Mrs. Fisher and Aunt Jen were there.  

Rachel and Gil came by later that afternoon.  They were happy that Nat was better.  Rachel said that Arby was longing to have him back.  Rachel hugged Nat when they were going to leave, and she saw green paint on Nat's neck.  

Aunt Jen was staying with the Fishers.  

Nat went to the theater for the practice.  Nat didn't like the costumes.  Nat and Arby got into a fight.  Nat ran out of the theater with Rachel and Gil following him.  They caught up to Nat.  Nat sat down and explained the whole thing.  

Chapter 18:  They both believe Nat; they thought he was so lucky.  They went over to Arby's house to do some research on Nat Field of 1599.  They figured out that Nat was switched with him for a reason.  Read the book to find out why. They also found out what sonnet Shakespeare had given to Nat.  

Chapter 19:  Nat decided to go back to the rehearsal.  Before that he wanted to copy down the sonnet that Shakespeare gave to him.  Arby found Nat, and gave him two books.  The first one was a book of Shakespeare's sonnets, and the other one was the play The Tempest.  The Tempest was written by Shakespeare, and connected to Nat.  

The next day was performance day.  Nat woke up.  Nat got into another fight with Arby at the theater.  Arby told everybody to take a ten minute break. Arby talked to Nat alone and after he had said some things, Nat asked him who he was.  Arby said that he was just an actor and that his name was Arby Babbage.  His initials were RB and his first name was Richard.  I will let you think about that.  He also explained the play The Tempest to Nat.  

Question:  I wonder what was running through Arby's head when Nat ran out of the theater.  I also wonder what waas going through Arby's head when Nat got into another fight with him after he had just given him some books, and was nice to him.  

Prediction:  I predict that The Tempest will be important in Nat's life from the moment he learned about how it connected to him to the moment he dies.  

Connection:  I am going to make a spiritual connection this week.
Nat lost the poem that was really important to him about how love never changes, it is always with you, and nothing can get in the way of ir.  Because I am a Christian, I have something that Jesus gave to me that I can never lose like Nat lost his poem.  I can never lose his love for me.  He will always love us and his love is always there for us and NOTHING can get in the way of it.  Just like the song says, "Your love never fails it never gives up, it never runs out on me. Your love never fails it never gives up, it never runs out on me."  

Key Question:  There is no Key Question again this week!  :)  

Saving Zasha:  

I read chapters 18, 19, 20, and 21 this week.  I still think that you should read it.  

Nerves Cleared Up

King Of Shadows
By:  Susan Cooper
I read from chapter eleven through fourteen.

Chapter 11:  In chapter 11, it was the day before they were to preform A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Queen.  Shakespeare, Master Burbage and some other men from the company went to a tavern.  Nathan and Harry went along as well.  They sat in a corner and talked while Shakespeare and Master Burbage talked a another table in a corner.  When Shakespeare and Nat got home, Nat asked Shakespeare if he could stay with him once they preformed A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Shakespeare said that he would have to go back to St. Paul's which is where they "know" that he came from.  Shakespeare told Nat to go get his nightshirt on and that he would be in with something in a minute. He came back with a sonnet that he had written for a women, but made a copy for Nat after he found out about his parents.  Nat asked Shakespeare to read it to him, and he did.  Shakespeare then told him to get a good nights sleep.

Chapter 12:  In this chapter, they went back to 1999 where Nat was in the hospital with the Bubonic plague.  His aunt Jennifer had come from South Carolina to make sure that he was alright.  They wouldn't let her see Nathan though because on the computer, it says 'No Visitors', so they wouldn't let her see him until tomorrow.  They had taken him off of his IV though.

Chapter 13:  They woke up, and they were both nervous because this was the day that they would be preforming the play for the Queen.  Shakespeare changed his clothes three different times and decided on the outfit that he had on first.  Nat didn't want to eat anything, but Mistress Fawcett made him. Mistress Fawcett is the lady who takes care of the house for William Shakespeare.  They walked over to the theater and Master Burbage started to paint Nathan into Puck.  He painted him in green with vines, leaves, and branch type things on him.  Nat also wore the green leggings that they had for him, but before that happened, soldiers came in the theater and started searching the theater to make sure that it was safe so that the Queen could come.  After Nat was done getting painted, Master Burbage painted Shakespeare.  While the people where waiting for the play to start, there was a cutpurse (a pickpocket) who got caught in act.  People tied him up to a post on the stage and threw apple cores and nut shells at him.  There was a drunk man who had a knife who climbed up on the stage and was going to hurt him when Master Burbage ran out and stopped him from doing so.  Right at the end of the chapter, Queen Elizabeth arrived.

Chapter 14:  The play started and everything went smoothly.  A funny part was when Puck went to squeeze the "juice" from the flower on Lysander's eyes, and a girl in the crowd said that he was not the right one.  Nathan played along with her, pretending that he had heard something, but did it anyway.  They dressed up Hippolyta just like the Queen herself.  The crowd loved it.  At the end, they went out to the audience three different times because they were cheering so loudly.  The third time, there were soldiers in the tiring house along with the man that had come to Shakespeare's house earlier in the story (in chapter 10.)  He said that the Queen wanted to see Master Burbage, William Shakespeare, and Nat.  That is how the chapter ended, and that is how I am going to leave you until next week.

Question:  I wonder if the drunken man would have killed the boy if Master Burbage hadn't come in.  I also wonder what will happen to Nat when he goes back to St. Paul's.

Prediction:  I predict that the Queen will be overly happy with the way the play turned out, and how the Globe theater looks.  I think that she will have only good things to say.  I predict that Nat will go back to St. Paul's and they won't notice a difference at all.

Connection:  My connection this week is a text to movie connection and a text to text connection.  I watched the Sound Of Music, and in the movie, the children put on a puppet show for their parents.  In Cheaper By The Dozen, the kids put on a play for their parents like very year I think.  That connects to Nat doing a play for someone special as well just like their parents were special, so was the Queen.

Key Question:  There is no Key Question again this week!!!  :)

Saving Zasha:
I only read one chapter this week, so that would make me up to chapter 18.  I don't think that Finding Zasha has anything to do with Saving Zasha unless if it ties in some how that it doesn't tell you on the back of the book.

Shakespeare Gets Himself In Trouble???

King Of Shadows
By:  Susan Cooper
I read from chapter seven through ten.

Chapter 7:  In chapter seven, the boys go to get some lunch to eat and then come back.  They were to help with another play going on.  Nat and Thomas were to open the trap door when Roper told them to.  They had three different times that they needed to do it.  The first two went well, but the third time, Roper gave them the signal at the wrong time.  He did it on purpose to try and get Nat in trouble.  Master Burbage was the one who was on stage and fell through at the wrong time.  Roper wouldn't admit it though.  He said that he wouldn't do something like that just to ruin the whole play.  Others knew that Master Burbage wouldn't be happy that night, and that there would be no supper for Nat, so they gave him some apples to eat.  They then went to another "theater" and watched as dogs attacked a bear that was tied up.  Nat couldn't stand it and went away.

Chapter 8:  He was wondering if he would ever be able to get back to his own time and what the people in 1999 were thinking about him being gone.  Later, when he was at the theater, Roper was making a big deal about him running away because of the bear incident.  Nat was about to hit Roper, when Bryan stepped in to stop them.  He was practicing his lines with Shakespeare when Shakespeare said something that got Nat emotionally.  He told Shakespeare that his parents both died and how they died.  His dad killed himself of love for his wife.  Nat found out that Shakespeare had a son, but he died at Nat's age.  His name was Hamnet, but Nat heard him as Hamlet.  At this point in time, Shakespeare had an idea for a play for Burbage, but stop there.

Chapter 9:  Back in his own time, Nat is in the hospital with his hands tied down to the bed because he has already pulled out the IV cord that is keeping him alive.  Nurse Stevens is the nurse that is taking care of Nathan.  She was sponging him and she started to sing a song that was sung in the sixteenth century which is where the "other half" of Nathan is.  He falls asleep.

Chapter 10:  Nat moved to live in Shakespeare's house for a little while. Shakespeare had someone come who liked the Queen.  He knew that they were putting on the play for the Queen and was telling him not to.  Later, at the theater while they were preforming a different play in which Nat was a soldier, Roper ate backstage when we wasn't suppose to.  He started chocking on a piece of apple and he would've died if Nat hadn't been there backstage at the time.  Nat preformed the Heimlich maneuver on Roper.  Everybody just stared at him because that hadn't been "invented" yet.  He saved Roper's life and he jumped in and played Roper's part as the boy in the play.  At the end, Shakespeare came out and talked about Essex which was a bad idea because he had just returned from Ireland and did things that the Queen didn't like, so she didn't like Essex and she liked Shakespeare.  So, Shakespeare just put himself into what could end up as a heap of trouble.  Also, for the first time, Nat's attitude changed about living in 1599.  It could be that he realized that he was just going to be there for a while.  I think that it could also be that he is kind of taking Shakespeare in as a second dad because his first one died.  That's what I think.

Question:  I wonder how Nat will respond to Shakespeare's speech.  I wonder if he will understand that Shakespeare just put himself in a sticky situation or not.

Prediction:  I predict that the people in the company that were backstage are going to be frustrated with Shakespeare for putting himself in a bad situation.

Connection:  I am going to make a spiritual connection this week to the part about the bear.  The part with the bear being tied up and the crowd urging the dogs on kind of reminds me of Jesus dying on the cross.  He was “tied” up to a cross and there were people mocking him and yelling at him.  They urged Pilate to let them crucify him.  That is like the people urging the dogs to kill the bear.

Key Question:  There is no Key Question again this week!!!  :)

Saving Zasha:
I am up to chapter 17.  You should read it, but I think you might need to read Finding Zasha first.  I am not sure, but the title makes me think that it goes before Saving Zasha because you would have to find her first in order to save her.

Back In Time? No Way!!!

King Of Shadow
By:  Susan Cooper
I read from chapter four through chapter six.

Chapter 4:
Nathan woke up the next morning and found himself in a different place.  Could it be?  Was he back in time?  Yes, he was.  He was back in time all the way to 1599 when the Globe Theater was just built.  Harry, an apprentice who lives in a house with Master Burbage thought that Nat might have had the plague, meaning the bubonic plague.  For breakfast that morning they each had a slice of bread and cheese along with Ale to drink.  They walked across the the bridge to get to the theater.  Nat threw up once he saw all of the skulls hanging from sticks.

Chapter 5:
They jumped back to present time in this short chapter.  Mrs. Fisher went into Nat's bedroom to check on him and saw that he was hardly recognizable.  He was hot, sweaty, he had a fever, he was flushed and damp-skinned.  Mrs. Fisher tried to wake him up, but she couldn't.  There were little bumps on his neck and his fever was really high.  She called for her husband and they called the doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't in.  They called for an ambulance to take him into the hospital.  The nurses take care of him right away along with the doctor. He calls another doctor and tells him that he thinks that they have a case of the bubonic plague.

Chapter 6:
Harry shows Nat the new theater.  The theater looked about the same as it did in 1999.  The company had been playing at a different theater before the Globe had been built.  When they went inside of the theater, there were two people arguing.  Will Kemp and William Shakespeare.  Nat met William Shakespeare a couple of minutes later.  He is told that they are performing for the Queen, but he can't tell anyone else that.  Then, they get to show off their gymnastic skills. There is another boy named Roper who is not very nice, and is really good at gymnastics but not as good as Nat.  There is a boy named Thomas who is not good at gymnastics at all.  They then have to give a speech.  Nat was going to give one from Hamlet, but he remembered that Hamlet hadn't been written yet, so he did a part of Oberon's  At the end of the chapter, they were learning how to fence.  Nat knew that he had an enemy then.  His enemy's name is Roper.


Question:  I wonder if Harry knew that Nat wasn't telling the truth when he told him who had taught him his act or routine.

Prediction:  I predict that Nat does have the bubonic plague, but that he doesn't die from it.

Connection:  My connection this week is about the gymnastics that the boys had to do.  I can't do near all of the things that they can do, but I can do cartwheels, and somersaults.  I did take gymnastics for a year or two, but I can't do flips or walk on my hands, although I can do hand stands and I might be able to walk on my hands under water.   

Key Question:  There is no Key Question this week!!!  :)

Saving Zasha:
I am up to chapter 8.  It is a good book.

King Of Shadows

Here is a picture of the book King Of Shadows.

A New Book Finally!!!

I finished Cheaper By The Dozen.
I am starting to read Saving Zasha by:  Randi Barrow


http://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/27/9780545206327_xlg.jpg

Acting, Shakespeare, Plays, Puck, Love, Arby, Sickness, Fishers

King Of Shadow
By:  Susan Cooper
I read from chapter one through chapter three.

My blog post this week is just barely going to tell you about the beginning of the book, and then it is going to talk about the eight words in my title.

The book starts out with boys playing tag.  There were about 20 boys who were picked to do something at the Globe Theatre in London (read the next paragraph to find out what.)  The main character is Nathan, or Nat and he is telling the story.

The boys are picked to act in two Shakespeare plays because they are amazing actors.  One of the plays is  A Midsummer Night's Dream and the other one is Julius Caesar.  Nat is playing Puck who is the most important character in  A Midsummer Night's Dream.  A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy play which for Shakespeare meant not really funny, but that there were a couple of couples that ended up getting married in the end.  That is where the love part comes in.  There are two human men and two human women.  Both of the men like one of the women, and the other women who nobody likes, likes one of the men.  In the end they all end up getting married, but Puck tries to fix things first. It gets confusing, so I am going to move onto the word Arby in my blog title. Arby, is the director of the play.  He is the one who tells people what to do, and he is the one that made them play tag at the beginning.  Towards the end of chapter two, Nat ends up getting sick.  Earlier on in the chapter, he was acting a little funny, like things were spinning and dizzing.  The result of that was that he ended up pucking and going to be sick.  Nat is staying at the Fishers house. Some of the other boys are staying at other families' houses or somewhere else, but Nat is staying at the Fishers house.


Question:  I wonder what the Fishers house looks like?  Is it big, or is it small?

Prediction:  I predict that Nat will end up getting hurt when he actually jumps off of the stage in the real performance.  (That is a part that I didn't explain in my summary of the chapters I have read.)

Connection:  My connection this week is not from me personally, but from somebody else.  The VanderBeeks who are in Costa Rica for a year.  She commented on her blog how good it was to be able to see her mom (or grandma to the kids) just through Skype.  They have been away from their family for ten months.  Nat has been away from his aunt for awhile just like the VanderBeeks have been away from their family for a while.

Key Question:  There is no Key Question this week!!!  :)  :)

Visit this link to see a picture of the book.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnC30RrwjlPBhtn5sU5axP2AkVl8LUs-a9SgZRw_PeQzHsTnBSfzbzLHSrhj9HqUfgzUDE23r8VyqCN-a7GlmOnfC2VMcVwDk_gTjNtV-NE6MI6W5Fu4toFdG6mQ3GHbHIPeviaLnfyjh/s400/King+of+Shadows.bmp

I am also still reading Cheaper By The Dozen

Cheaper by the Dozen Part 2

Cheaper by the Dozen~Frank B, Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
I read from page 22 to page 52

This week they told about how their dad taught them to do the touch system for typing and how to multiply really fast in their head.  Ernestine was the fastest at typing and their dad wanted to take her to a typing competition, but their mom wouldn't let him.  He taught them by giving all of the children a typing chart with the fingers on.  They then put colored chalk on their fingers and the paper keyboard to represent which finger went on which keys.  Then, once they learned the order of the keys and things they would be able to type of the brand new typewriter that dad had just bought.  The person who could type the fastest at the end of the two weeks that they had to learn the fingerings and things, would get the typewriter.  Martha was the fastest at multiplying in her head and dad wanted to take her to a competition and their mom let him. He taught them to multiply two digit numbers in their head at the dinner table one night.  They had to memorize the squares of all of the numbers up to twenty.  It took a couple of months, but eventually they got the hang of it and so did the littlest child.  Their three year old son was able to multiply in his head pretty fast as well.

Question:  I wonder how they all took turns using the typewriter because there were so many of them that were trying to practice their typing, and only one typewriter.

Prediction:  I predict from the title of the next chapter that some of the kids got to skip grades because they were so smart.  The title of the next chapter is "Skipping Through School."

Connection:  I am going to connect to the part in the book about learning to type.  We use a system in our school called Ultra Key.  On the key board on the screen they have all of the keys color coated by what finger goes on them.  We used that system in third, fourth, and fifth grade to learn to type fairly fast and accurately.  That is sort of similar to what they used to type on the typewriter.

Key Question:  There is no Key Question this week!!!  :} :} :} :} :} :}

Cheaper by the Dozen Part 1

Cheaper by the Dozen~Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
I read from page 1 to page 22

In the beginning, they described the family and how it ran.  They described that the dad would try and figure out how they could get things done with less motions.  For example, he buttons his shirt bottom up because it saves him four seconds from if he went from the top to the bottom.  He also did that for businesses.  He would try to figure out how he would be able to make their production rate go much faster.  They explained how he would call the family assembly call to give out gifts, or introduce them to someone, or make an announcement, or he would use it if there was an emergency like a fire or something because the children could evacuate the house VERY quickly.  They explained how he showed them their new house.  He told them that it wasn't the best, and then he drove to a neighborhood with a rundown house.  They all got out thinking that this was their house and they didn't know how to respond. Then their dad looked at the address and said that he had gotten it wrong.  When they got to their actual house, they didn't know if he was joking or not.  It ended up that he wasn't joking.  They explained how everybody had a job in the car. They certainly got a lot of attention when they were driving down a street and the dad would just talk right along with the people.  They told about a joke that one of the kids played on the dad.  If you want to find out more detail, you should go pick up the book and read it for yourself.

Question:  I wonder how their family ever gets along.  Think about the TV.  Who would get the remote?

Prediction:  I predict that in the next chapter, I will figure out who Mrs. Murphy is because her name is in the title of the chapter.

Connection:  I am going to connect this week to the movie Home Alone.  In that movie, a little boy gets in trouble and is told to go up the attic or something like that.  The family has cousins, aunts, and uncles over because they are leaving for Paris (I think.)  Well, the next morning they take a head count, but a neighbor boy gets counted and they think that they have enough kids.  It wasn't until they were on the airplane that they realized that they had left him home alone and forgotten about him.  That is sort of like what I am telling you about in my Key Question.  When one of the kids gets left at a restaurant and they don't notice until they are almost home.

Key Question:  For our Key Question this week, we had a choice whether we wanted to write a paragraph comparing two of our characters from our book, a paragraph on a problem that occurred and they had many different solutions for it, or if there was something that happened to the characters that had a lot of effects on them.  The last one that we were allowed to do was persuasion.  We have to do one that we haven't done yet.  The only one that I haven't done yet is problem and solution.
             There are problems that occur in this family considering problems occur when there are only five people in a family, imagine the problems with a 14 person family.  A problem that occurred in this family is people would get left behind in places and really, you wouldn't get noticed because there were so many other kids.  To solve this, they always take a role call before they leave. They had it once where they left someone at a restaurant and they didn't notice until the trip was about done that they were missing him.  So, now they always take role call before they leave for somewhere or from somewhere. That is how they solved that problem.

Cheaper By The Dozen

I chose to read Cheaper By The Dozen

This is about the only picture that I could find of this exact book cover.

Alone

Mary Ingalls On Her Own~Elizabeth Kimmel Willard
I read from page 152 to page 180 (the end of the book)

This week, Mattie was asked to leave the college like I said last week.  That meant that Ben was going to go home as well because he was only there to try to help Mattie.  Mary was sad that Mattie was gone once she found out her whole story.  She was engaged, but when she began to become blind, the man quit the engagement.  She was sad and I think that that is part of why she was so mad and sharp to everyone else.  Mary was also sad because she wanted to apologize to Mattie for what she had done. After a little while, Mary left the infirmary and a few weeks later told Hannah and Blanche about what really happened that night that she and Mattie were in the rain.  Then Hannah and Blanch told their stories about how they had become blind.  Hannah's parents didn't tell her that she was going blind, and she had to figure it our all by herself.  Blanche had gone to the doctor and the doctor told her that she was in the first stage of blindness.  For her, she had relatives that were either blind, or partially sighted.  Over Christmas break, Mary volunteered to tutor two younger girls who were staying at the college over the holidays.  Mary knew how they felt.  Right at the end of the book, on Christmas Eve, Miss Mattice came in her room with a package and two letters from home.  One letter was from Ma, and the other one was from Laura.  Mary decided to wait to open them until Christmas morning or day.  She then went downstairs to meet the girls that she was going to tutor.
I next hope to read either Cheaper By The Dozen, or Storm Warning.  Stay tuned to next weeks post to find out what one I picked.

Question:  I wonder how old the two girls are that Mary is tutoring?  It never says how old they are, it just says that they are young.  Their names are Tessie and Lucia.  Both are pretty names.

Prediction:  I predict that Mary will have a fun time tutoring the two younger girls and that she will have a good time at the college over Christmas break. She will have fun in the activities that they have planned the the students who are staying at the college over Christmas because their houses are two far away, or their families can't afford to have them home for Christmas.

Connection:  I am going to connect to the part of the book where Mary is not home for Christmas.  I am going to connect that with another family that I know. Their name is the VanderBeeks.  They were in Costa Rica over Christmas (they still are in Costa Rica.)  She posted on their blog that it was hard knowing that everybody was gathering together on that day and they weren't going to be there with everybody.  They knew what their family members were doing on that day.  The is kind of like Mary because she thought about what her family would be doing at that time, and she missed them and wished that she could be back home with them.

Key Question:  For our Key Question this week, we had a choice whether we wanted to write a paragraph comparing two of our characters from our book, a paragraph on a problem that occurred and they had many different solutions for it, or if there was something that happened to the characters that had a lot of effects on them.  This week, we are also allowed to do persuasion. We just have to do a different one than we did last week.  I am going to do the one on Persuasion.

          Miss Mattice sort of persuaded Mary that Christmas at the college is not that bad.  She said that they had a few treats in store for the next few days for the students that are staying over at the college. Plus, Mary is tutoring two students, and that will make the time fly by.  Miss Mattice understood that it is not like home, but I think that she persuaded Mary that it won't be so bad.  I also think that Mary figured some of that out on her own.

Temper Lost

Mary Ingalls On Her Own~Elizabeth Kimmel Willard
I read from page 114 to page 152

A teacher's assistant came into the study room with a letter from home.  Laura had written to Mary the same day that she had left for Iowa.  His name was Ben.  He offered to read the letter to her and she said yes.  If she had not been blind, she would have read it over and over again.  In a new chapter, Mary had free time and she wanted to go on a walk really bad because the weather hadn't been very nice for a while.  Her roommates were doing other things and that meant that Mary couldn't go for a walk.  You needed to have a walking partner to go with.  Mary decided to go to a room to study her braille.  It happened that Ben was in that same room that Mary decided to go to. Somehow in the conversation that followed, Mary's want for a walk came up. He offered to take her to a bench where people who didn't have a walking partner but wanted to go on a walk went and sat until somebody else without a walking partner came along and then they went on a walk together.  She said yes and it just so happened that the person who was sitting on the bench at that time was Mattie.  They ended up going on a walk, but neither of them were very pleased with this.  On the walk Mary and Mattie had an argument and Mattie left Mary to find her own way home.  This was a problem because Mary didn't know which way the building was.  She founded a wooden structure because of the way that the wind was blowing the rain.  She went in there and woke up to find Ben right by her trying to get her to wake up.  She told him what had happened and he said that he knew how difficult Mattie could be because she was his sister.  Mary ended up in the infirmary for a little while.

Question:  I wonder what the wooden "house" that Mary went into was used for.  I also wonder how Ben found her in the "house" thing because the book said that Mary closed the door.

Prediction:  I predict that others at the college will find out about this because Mattie was involved.

Connection:  I am connecting Mary being lost to my own life.  My mom was at Art in the Park one year and I was littler.  I asked her if I could go on the gazebo.  She told me that I could go.  I went farther up the hill than my mom thought that I would go.  I decided that it was time for me to go find my mom again, but she wasn't where she was before.  I had lost her, and she had lost me.  She ended up finding me again and I remember that a police officer was there and the lady who makes a mystery word in the kids bulletin and if you get it right, you get it right, you get a piece of candy.  For some reason, she had her candy bucket along, and she gave me a piece of candy.  So, I got lost just like Mary got lost just in different situations.  :)

Key Question:  For our Key Question this week, we had a choice whether we wanted to write a paragraph comparing two of our characters from our book, a paragraph on a problem that occurred and they had many different solutions for it, or if there was something that happened to the characters that had a lot of effects on them.  We just have to do a different one than we did last week.  I am going to do the one about a problem that occurred that had many effects on the characters.

         Mattie leaving Mary outside alone, was a big problem for both of the characters.  It effected Mary.  Mary got left outside in the rain and she was sent to the infirmary for a little while.  I looked ahead and read ahead and found out an effect that it had on Mattie.  Mattie had had some problems before at the college and they told her that one more problem and she wouldn't be able to stay at the college.  Well, this was one more problem, and so she was asked to leave the college.  That was one problem that occurred and effects on two different characters.

Dreadful Start

Mary Ingalls On Her Own~Elizabeth Kimmel Willard
I read from page 86 to page 114

Mary decided to enroll in beadwork, organ, knitting, sewing, English Literature, Higher Mathematics, and Political Economy.  Mary's first class was to be beadwork.  Someone was going to bring her down to the room because neither Hannah or Blanche were taking beadwork.  After lunch the door opened without a knock.  The girl said come on and Mary realized that it was Mattie the rude and mean girl that was to take her to her first class ever at the college.  This was a dreadful start that Mary had not be wanting.  She got her down there after telling her that she had to walk and not just move slowly.  She was walking slowly because of her fall earlier that day (or week.)  Mattie left her at the door and Mary didn't know if this was the right one or not. Thankfully, Charlotte who is a friend of Hannah's, Blanche's and I think Mary's came and asked if she was going in.  Mary asked if it was the beadwork room and she said yes.  They went in and found a nice warm seat.  Their teacher started and welcomed Mary.  Mary wondered if their teacher, Miss Hennick was blind or if she could see because some teachers at the college are blind, partially blind, or they can see clear as day.  She handed out everybody else's pieces and then came and explained things to Mary.  She had her just string some because for a little while and then taught her the Daisy Chain stitch.  She said that it takes a bunch of tries to get it just right so don't be depressed when it doesn't come out the first time.  But, much to Miss Hennick and Mary's surprise, Mary did it just right the first time.  She was pleased with herself until Mattie said a mean comment back to Mary.  Mary started to learn the Braille and started to write a letter to Laura but then threw it into the fire.  She did feel like she had had a real conversation with Laura.  Mary also had a very nice organ lesson teacher.  His name was Mr. Locke and he said that Mary was a very promising musician.

Question:  I wonder how hard it would have been for Mary to write a letter back home even though she had a guide to help her.  I would find it hard because I think that my hand writing wouldn't stay in a straight line and my words might overlap.

Prediction:  I predict that Mary will have a very good Christmas at the college even though she can't go home for Christmas.

Connection:  My connection this week what I did last week.  I am going to put myself in Mary's position.  If I were Mary this week, I might have taken Hannah's offer to go to her house for Christmas. I might have sent the letter to Laura.  I might have burst out crying because of what Mattie did to "me."

Key Question:  For our Key Question this week, we had a choice whether we wanted to write a paragraph comparing two of our characters, a paragraph on a problem that occurred and they had many different solutions for it, or if there was something that happened to the character that had a lot of effects on them.  I am going to compare and contrast Mary and Mattie.

             Mary and Mattie are mostly different, but I can find some similarities with them.  Mary is a kind sweet, nice, compassionate, considerate "little" girl.  Mattie on the other hand is very rude, not considerate, bold with what she says, mean, short tempered, not patient.  Mary is nice, Mattie is rude.  That describes the differences in one sentence, but what about their similarities?  Well, for one thing they are both at the college for the blind.  Now Mary is actually blind, but Mattie can still see, but not very well.  So, they are both "blind."  I can imagine that deep down inside of Mattie there is love and compassion.  I think that someone said in the book that Mattie is angry and mean because she doesn't want to be where she is or she doesn't want to go blind.  Someone even said that she might be jealous of how Mary and others look because her eyes are "cloudy."  Those are some differences and similarities about Mary and Mattie.

Alone

Mary Ingalls On Her Own~Elizabeth Kimmel Willard
I read from page 54 to page 86



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Examinations, roommates, passing, chapel, falling, goodbyes.  Mary had a busy week this week.
I left off telling about Mary's examinations.  She finished those and went to see Ma and Pa for a little bit.  She found out that they had gotten a little something for Laura, Carrie, and Grace back home.  She was really excited for them and happy because they had gone without things for a long time so that she could go to college that they should get something back.  That night, Mary cried because she was thinking about if it was worth being away from her family to get an education that she wanted.  She decided yes.  The next morning, Hannah came in from the infirmity and Mary found out right away that she was a very talkative person.  They went down to breakfast together and Mary didn't find her appetite.  Instead, she drew a picture of what she thought the room looked like in her head.  After breakfast, the girls went to the chapel.  They started off singing one of Ma's favorite hymns.  Then there were several readings from the Bible, a quiet prayer time and a short sermon.  While they were leaving, Miss. Mattice came and told Mary that she had passed her examinations and that her ma and pa were downstairs waiting to say goodbye to her.  Mary decided to let Hannah and Blanche come along with her because they wanted to see her folks and because she thought that if Ma saw what nice roommates she had that that might ease her worrying.  It did and Hannah and Blanche thought that Mary had very nice folks.  Mary had to say goodbye to her ma and pa for a long time because she would not be coming home for Christmas.  Before they saw Mary's folks, Mary fell down the stairs holding on to Hannah and Blanche's hand.  They did not get hurt though.  Thanks goodness!  The chapter kind of ended with Hannah crying because she hated goodbyes although this was Mary's goodbye.  Then they went off to bring Mary to Miss. Mattice's office and for Hannah and Blanche to go to class.

Question:  I wonder what class Blanche and Hannah were going to when Blanche said that she cared how much of the class she missed.

Prediction:  I predict that Mary will cry when she goes to bed because she misses her parents and family so much already.  I bet that there will be times when she doesn't think about them, but times when she misses them terribly.

Connection:  My connection this week is a that I am going to put myself in Mary's situation for having to leave her folks.  If I were her, I would have cried and not wanted to let them go.  I would've been very clingy and kissy.  I would not have wanted them to go.  I would not have cared if their last picture of me was of me crying because that is just what I would've done.

Key Question:  There is no Key Question this week again.  :)

Life At College

Mary Ingalls On Her Own~Elizabeth Kimmel Willard
I read form page 1 to page 54

I had to return my other book to the library and now have it back, but at the time I didn't and I needed something else to read.  So I choose this book which is about Mary Ingalls which is Laura Ingalls' sister.

The book started off with Mary traveling with Ma and Pa to the College for the Blind in Iowa.  They took the train there.  Ma and Pa told Mary what the school looked like because she was blind.  When they got there, they sat in the sitting room and waited for the Principal of the school to come and greet them.  He welcomed Mary to the school and he told her that she had two roommates. One of them was sick with a cold and one was in classes.  He said that her room was the fourth door on the right on the second floor.  He said not to count the gray supply closet.  When they got up there, Mary felt like she was going to cry.  She asked if she could do this on her own.  Ma and Pa reluctantly let her and they said good-bye for the night.  Mary started to count only she made the mistake of counting the supply closet.  When she thought that she was at her room, she opened the door.  Mattie, the girl whose room it was got really mad at Mary because she knocked over her beads.  She was really rude and not nice.  Mary apologized and found her real room.  She got settled in and after a little while Blanche the roommate that wasn't sick came in and showed her to the dinning hall.  Her other roommate was named Hannah and she was the one with the bad cold.  They ate dinner and then went back to their room. Mary fell asleep and woke up the next morning.  She remembered that today was the day of her entrance examinations.  I left off with Miss. Mattice (who is a very nice lady who works there) came and took Mary to take her examination.  She asked her one question so far which was about the Continental Congress.

Question:  I wonder how Mary will do on her own without any family members around by her.  Right now Ma and Pa are still in town, but they won't be for very long.  I think that Mary will do just fine and will get used to it, but it might be a little while before that happens.

Prediction:  I predict that Mary will pass the examination with no problem at all.  The reason is because she spent a lot of time studying for it before she came to college and Miss. Mattice said that she was a very good student when she went to school as a child.  Miss. Mattice didn't think that Mary would have any trouble at all with the examination.

Connection:  It would be really hard for me to be away from my family for a long time.  Plus, I have a pretty hard time falling asleep at someone else's house.  I don't know how Mary will do.

Key Question:  There is not a Key Question this week.

The Fourth Of July

Little Town at the Crossroads~Maria D. Wilkes
I read from page 1 to page 22

I read one chapter this week that was all about the fourth of July.  I also now think that I know why the book is titled Little Town at the Crossroads.  The reason is because they talked about the crossroads in this chapter.
It starts off with Caroline's family walking down to where the parade and events are going on.  Caroline has to walk with Eliza and Martha has to walk with baby Thomas.  Caroline complains because she wants to walk faster so that she can find her friend Anna.  The "fireworks" that were going on scared Eliza a little bit.  The Carpenters catch up with Caroline's family and they invite them to picnic with them.  They said yes and Ma sent Joseph and Henry ahead so that they could save a picnic spot with Charlie who is the Carpenters son. (I think)  When the two families found the boys, Ma said that Caroline and Martha could go find Anna.  Martha wanted to help set the baskets down first and hurry so that she could help Ma get the food ready.  Caroline thought that that was strange because Martha never wanted to do anything but play.  I think that she wanted to be around Charlie because she likes him.  Anyway...they found Anna at her fathers shop and her father was making her a fife.  He finished that and the girls went outside to watch the parade go by.  They saw Joseph, Henry, and Charlie by the drummers.  Martha said that she was going to go with them and that Caroline and Anna should stay together and meer her at the end of the parade route.  They found their families at the end of the parade route.  Caroline thought that Independence day was awesome and that they should celebrate it more than once a year.

Question:  I wonder how well a wooden fife would hold up rather than a metal or non-wood one.  A fife is like a flute thing or a recorder.

Prediction:  I predict that Caroline is going to remember this Fourth of July and that she will be really excited when next year rolls around.  She might be counting down that days until the next one.

Connection:  I am going to connect to the fireworks/gun powder things that they had back then.  On the Fourth of July, we normally celebrate my brother and cousins birthdays.  Then we go to my grandparents friend's house to do games and watch fireworks.  There are a ton of people there and there are a lot of fireworks.

Key Question:  There is no Key Question this week.  :)

The Truth Revealed

A Bundle Of Trouble~Kathryn Reiss

I read from page 54 to page 163 (the end)

This week a lot of different events occurred.  I will give you the brief explanation and then maybe you will want to find out more of the details by reading this book.

I continued my search, but realized that I had no idea where she lived.  I asked around, and happened to find her father and he told me where they lived.  The strange thing is that once I found her and told her that I needed the babies switched around again, she said that they weren't switched at all.  That made me all the more suspicious.  I found my friend Rose, and we came up with all these reason why Francesca's family would've wanted the babies switched.  I left and went home feeling bad that I didn't have success.  I tried to tell Mama, but she thought that I was making up a story and she wouldn't believe me.  I kept trying and I finally got the truth out of Francesca and her brother Luigi which is the boy that Victor has been hanging out with.  Well, first I figured out what happened but wanted the whole story from them.  The Brodsky's lived next to Francesca's family before they moved in by use and Francesca used to help take care of baby Nora.  On the day that they moved, she was taking care of both of the babies.  She took them outside and then a little while later quickly went inside to get her younger brothers.  Luigi played a trick on her and switched where the babies were laying.  Later some of Nora's relatives came and took her to her new home.  The only problem with that was that they had taken Vincenza, Francesca's little sister.  So, when we meet in the park, Francesca switched them back. That is why I thought that I had the wrong baby because I had never meet the real Nora before.  Later on, I caught the kidnappers that had been kidnapping children around New York.  I was a hero.

I am going to start Little Town at the Crossroads~Maria D. Wilkes.

This is the second book in the Caroline series.  If you look back at earlier blogposts, I have blogged about the first book as well.

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Question:  Since the title of the book is Little Town at the Crossroads, if Caroline's family moved in between books.  

Prediction:  I predict that Rebecca will take care of the Brodsky's baby a lot more.  I also predict that Francesca and Rebecca will be good friends because of how the book ends.  I think that they will take their sisters/neighbors to the park and play there.  I think that they might take care of Nora together or go to each others houses.  Maybe Francesca's family will move in next to Rebecca's family or intothe same apartment building.  

Connection:  This week my connection is world to text.  In Uganda last year, there was this man named Joseph Koning who was kidnapping kids and doing bad things to them.  In a sense the kidnappers did the same thing except they didn't really hurt the children besides change their clothing and cut or do something to their hair.  Joseph Koning was MUCH worse though.  

Finish and Start

A Season of Gifts~Richard Peck

I read from page 11 to the end.

Over Christmas break I finished A Season of Gifts.  It was good and the back of the book was right.  Mrs. Dowdel was helpful and they did need her.  The epilogue said that that was the only Christmas that they had in that town.  Towards the end, they had a Christmas concert and Mrs. Dowdel helped Phyllis (even though she didn't realize it.)  Mrs. Dowdel came at the end and she said that there was a wedding.  Now Phyllis had been dating a boy who was not good and another girl liked him as well.  In fact, she had been dating him before their family even came.  Well at the concert, the people who were going to get married were the boy that Phyllis liked and the other girl.  That was a relief to Bob's parents and probably to Bob as well.  That way Phyllis didn't have to think about him anymore.  I don't want to spoil the book for you, so I am going to stop telling you about it and move on to the next one.  

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A Bundle Of Trouble~Kathryn Reiss

I read from page 1 to page 54.

The book is a Rebecca Mystery.  I am going to write the summaries about this book with Rebecca telling it to you.  

It was Sunday and we were eating breakfast.  Father read us an article in the newspaper about a kidnapped baby that was found safe and sound.  I was so happy to hear that because I was worried about him.  We heard cries downstairs and we figured that they were the new neighbors that were moving in.  Mama, Benny, my twin sisters, and I went downstairs to meet them.  We saw that they had a baby.  Also we saw and heard that the Mother of the three person family had eye issues and could go blind.  The father worked two jobs to make ends meet.  Mama offered to take care of the baby for a little while.  I went for a walk with the baby to the Pharmacy and the park.  When I was there, I meet another girl with her little sister.  We sat on a blanket together and talked.  When it started to rain and it was time to go, the other girl whose name is Francesca wrapped the babies back up and we both left.  I went back the other day and helped with Nora or so I thought.  I started to unwrap her to give her a bath and realized that the rash she had yesterday was gone and her toenails were long when we had just clipped them.  Long story short, I had Francesca's little sister.  I started to frantically search and I will have more for you next week.  

Key Question:  We have to structure our question, prediction, and connection again.

Topic Sentence:  This is a paragraph containing my question, prediction, and connection.

Major Supporting Detail #1  I wonder what Rebecca will do if she does find Nora.

-minor supporting detail #1  I wonder that because "Nora" is at home and if she found the real Nora, Rebecca would have to switch them without Mrs. Brodsky noticing.  

-minor supporting detail #1  Another reason I wonder this is because if I were in her spot, I wouldn't know what to say to the parents.  You would have to say that this isn't your child and this really is.  They would never want you to take care of their child again.  

Major Supporting Detail #2  I predict that Rebecca won't find Nora right away.

-minor supporting detail #2  I am only in the sixth chapter and the book is longer.  If they had her finding her right away, there would not be anymore story to really tell. 

-minor supporting detail #2  Another reason that I think that she won't find her is because she doesn't know where Francesca's family lives.  

Major Supporting Detail #3  My connection this week is that I like to take care of babies too.

-minor supporting detail #3  I like to be in the nursery at Church and I love to babysit.  

-minor supporting detail #3  If I returned the wrong baby to somebody, I would be really scared just like Rebecca would be if she found Nora and returned her to her correct parents.  

Concluding Sentence  I hope that from my summary, question, prediction, and connection that you will want to read the book and that maybe you can make your own prediction or connection.  

            This is a paragraph containing my question, prediction, and connection.  I wonder what Rebecca will do if she does find Nora.  I wonder that because "Nora" is at home and if she found the real Nora, Rebecca would have to switch them without Mrs. Brodsky noticing.  Another reason I wonder this is because if I were in her spot, I wouldn't know what to say to the parents.  You would have to say that this isn't your child and this really is.  They would never want you to take care of their child again.  I predict that Rebecca won't find Nora right away.  I am only in the sixth chapter and the book is longer.  If they had her finding her right away, there would not be anymore story to really tell.  Another reason that I think that she won't find her is because she doesn't know where Francesca's family lives.  My connection this week is that I like to take care of babies too.  I like to be in the nursery at Church and I love to babysit.  If I returned the wrong baby to somebody, I would be really scared just like Rebecca would be if she found Nora and returned her to her correct parents.  I hope that from my summary, question, prediction, and connection that you will want to read the book and that maybe you can make your own prediction or connection.