What I did This Summer! (8th Grade English #1)

It’s finally time to go back to school! Today was my first day of the eighth grade! In my English class, I was told to write an essay on what I did over the summer.

This summer, I was pretty lazy, But, Isn’t everybody lazy over summer! For most of summer I lounged around and watched television. For the time I wasn’t doing that I was, most likely, at my grandparents!

For the past years, my brother, Caleb, and I would go to our grandparent’s house in the country and stay there for a while. However, this summer was different, because this was our first summer as a homeschooler! That didn’t change much but, we did not get to stay there for as long as we used to. Although, while we were there we did get to do a lot of fun things, for example, we went to a drama camp! Caleb and I have done this camp for five years! This year was a little different because he was a C.I.T, that means Counselor in training.

Another thing that we did this year was have rehearsals for: To Kill a Mockingbird! We auditioned for this play near the end of last year. During the first rehearsal, we did a read through and we met everybody in the play! In the second rehearsal we blocked, that means to add movement, Forty-five pages!

As you can tell, we weren’t that busy but, we did have fun with whatever we were doing!

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What I liked and Disliked about this School Year!

Today was the last day of school! This year has gone by super fast! Today I will be telling you what I liked and didn’t like about this school year!

This school year I really enjoyed writing short stories! When you write a story you get to be creative and there are no rules! There is nothing that says something doesn’t exist! You can make it exactly how YOU want! I never realized how fun writing could be until this class! Last year I would write but I would really enjoy it! Maybe it’s my age that helped me understand how much fun it is, or maybe my teacher! Another thing I really enjoyed was the robotics section! In this course I created many things! Instead of creating the robot that my teacher made I used a kit! The robot that I used is called Snap circuits! This was so fun that we actually ended up buying another one! Building a robot like this isn’t as complicated but it helps you remember what the symbols of resistors, diodes, and much more!

The things that I didn’t enjoy this year, there weren’t that many because this school year was fun, there isn’t much to complain! However, the main thing that I didn’t like this year was having to read G. A. Henty books! The reason why I didn’t enjoy these books were that they weren’t that fun to read! They just aren’t what I like! Some people do like these books, that’s their taste not mine! One other thing I didn’t like about this school year is how I didn’t have that many assignments to write a story! Many people wouldn’t complain about that! However, I find writing stories very fun! I really enjoy stories where I get a topic and I get to make up a story all about that!

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this school year! I really wouldn’t want to change anything! This year was fun, and I am excited to do another year of homeschool next year!

First Aid!

In science I going to start a new section! I am really excited for this one because it can help me get a job as a lifeguard! This section is first aid! The first this I look at it is CPR!

This is really exciting for me because I have really wanted to start earning money. Not only that, but I love the water and people being safe can help them have a good time as well!

Today I learned about what they call a CPR shield! The reason you would need a CPR shield is because of one of the five fears this fear is that when you are giving mouth to mouth you are afraid that you would get a disease from them. The rest of the five fears are that they aren’t confident in what their knowledge of life-saving technique, they are afraid they might kill the person they are trying to save! The fourth fear is they are afraid they will get sued for not saving the person they tried to save! The final fear is not knowing what to do next. When I say that I mean that they fear forgetting what the next step is!

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A Journey to the Center of the Earth!

A Journey to the Center of the Earth is an 1864 science fiction book by Jules Verne. The story is about a German professor, Otto Lidenbrock, who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth. Himself, his nephew Axel and their guide go down into the volcano encountering many adventures, like seeing prehistoric animals and natural hazards.

My favorite part of this book was in chapter 40. I like this part the most because he was seeing these creatures that were trying to kill him and he was super worried about the fate of his uncle, Otto, and his guide. He was worried because he had left them there when the strange and dangerous creature had seen him and came after him. When he left the tent he found somewhere to hide from everything. Soon enough the big creature, name the Ape Gigans, found him. He described him as 14 feet high, covered in coarse hair and sharp pointy teeth “like a mammoth saw”. He was worried that it had smelled him because the ape then started sniffing everywhere like he had smelled something. Then he woke up! The entire thing was a dream. That is the reason why I liked it. It took me by surprise when he said that it was a dream!

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The Vikings!

The Vikings were a Germanic tribe who settled in Scandinavia, Russia, and North Atlantic islands.

The Vikings had an age called the Viking age and it lasted from 793 through 1066. The loss of the battle of Stamford Bridge is what caused the end of the Viking age.

The Vikings had their first attack when an assistant to the king tried to tax them for no apparent reason.  Later on the Vikings killed that man. People say that, that instance doesn’t count as an attack but no one really knows for sure.

As almost everyone knows the Vikings were a very cruel and barbaric people.

Later when the Vikings grew bigger they had to expand, well, that’s one reason they could have needed to expand another reason would be because they had such an urge for war the wanted to go to it rather than wait for it to come to them!

The Vikings had many different religions however for the Christians did finally outlaw dioceses. That is when they murder their own child if they do not want it. I, personally am very happy that they outlawed it because it is MURDER!!

The Viking age was over in 1066 but, that does not mean that they all went “extinct” they did start to populate more and continue to expand their land!

Fun Fact: on my dad’s side of the family I am actually related to Vikings!

See you next time for a whole lot more in Learning In Pajamas!!!

The Battles of Hastings!

In history class I learned about the Battle of Hastings!

The battle of Hastings marked the start of Norman conquest and the end of the Viking era in 1066. Also in 1066 European power got added to England’s domain.

A man named William of Normandy made an attempt to win a battle! This battle lasted an entire day! luckily he and his army won, because of this he was then named William the Conqueror. Another war was the Battle of the Stamford Bridge. This war was a very bloody war and many people died. Unlike the battle of Hastings the Saxons won this battle, because of this win, William was crowned king on Christmas Day. The battle of the Stamford Bridge started because many people believed they should be king! The battle of the Stamford Bridge played a big role in the Battle of Hastings.  The role was to see who the next king was to be, because at the time many people wanted to be the next king! The battle of Hastings was won by the Normans this is when it started a new era, the Norman conquest era.

As King William was leaving the battle he was either shot in the eye by an arrow or he was shot in the back of the head. The reason I don’t know how King William was killed is because, there are many stories of how he was killed, but nobody knows for sure how he was killed! By the end of the war the Saxons were fleeing the sight and King William then got killed!

 

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Sleep Is Not Optional!

I often go to bed around eight or nine o’clock. Then every morning during the week I get up at seven. That is an average of ten and a half hours. Many teens stay up very late then get up very early. Adults who work usually go to bed late and then get up early. As many people know sleep is very important it can lead up to many bad things like stroke, heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases! I will be telling you steps that you can take to start getting enough sleep!

Step one: to get enough sleep before you go to bed you will want to keep all electronics away. Electronics keep you mind “awake” when you honestly need the sleep.

Step two: if you want to get full rest you should keep out all lights if your alarm clock is very bright then I would recommend a mask for you eyes!

Step 3: Do not eat anything with caffeine in it before you go to bed. It will make you energetic and you will not be able to sleep when you need to. Also do not exercise before you go to bed or else your mind will be very busy and will stop you or make it harder for you to go to sleep! If you want to do these things before going to bed make sure you do them at least 3 hours before you go to bed!

Step 4: during the day you want to get out as much as you can because the more you went out the more sunlight you got. At night you need to sleep in complete darkness so at the end of the day the sunlight you got payed off !

I hope this can and will help you get a lot more sleep. Many things can happen if you don’t get enough sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep you have a 12% chance of dying because you are not as aware. However if you get too much sleep your chances are raised up to a 30% chance!

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English semester report

Throughout the first half of my class I have been reading and learning a lot in my English class. Today I will be doing a semester report on everything that I have done or learned in my English class!

When I started this year I began to learn about plot! First, I learned about exposition, which means introduction. I learned that in the exposition you have to introduce the main character or characters. Also, the setting is introduced in the exposition. The book that I was reading at the time was: The Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Henty! As my teacher says, “He does a very great job at explaining the setting!” However, even though I did not like this book I would recommend this book to people who like to read history, but in a story mode! The next part of the plot is the rising action. When you reach the rising action in a book you learn about a problem and sub-plots. A sub-plot is a mini plot in the story where you have a slight problem or issue that gets solved in the climax! Also the rising action builds up to the climax! The climax is when you have the big/main problem that the main character or characters need to solve.  When an author is writing his/her story they have to try there best so that you don’t know the outcome or even what the climax is going to be about!  That is when you can see their personal writing style very well! Coming right after the climax is the falling action! In my teacher’s words “it is one of the hardest parts of the story to write effectively.” in the climax you are building up the tension but you have to be careful when you release the tension in the rising action you could write something that is expected, or something that can be “called” before it has even happened! Last you have the resolution. In the resolution the author is just ending/finishing the story! If they leave too many cliffhangers in the  resolution the readers will be expecting another chapter! If they don’t have another chapter than either they will have to add on and write another book or they’ll have to expect bad reviews on the book due to the fact that the readers are left confused and/or expecting more!

The next subject that I focused on was genre! I have previously made an essay on this subject check it out in the link above! The definition of genre, according to my English teacher, is: “a term for any category of literature or any other form of art or entertainment based on some set of stylistic criteria” in most books you can immediately tell what genre it is. In non-fiction books you read it and you come out knowing more and also knowing that that book was telling you facts not a story. It may have been told in a story like way. In my opinion I prefer that way because then it’s more like a story and to me a lot more fun!

I have also been reading books in this class. One of my favorite books was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland! Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a book written by Charles Dodgson also known as: Lewis Carroll. It is about a girl named Alice who fell down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world with all “peculiar” creatures. The story, even though is a fiction book, has logic, helping the story last in both adult’s and children’s memories. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the nonsense genre. That is the summary of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland! I would rate this book as a 9 because for me it is very crazy and odd. However I love the storyline and it is a fun story to read!

Another book that I have read that I really enjoyed was A Christmas Carol. I have also written a book report on this. Check it out in the link! A Christmas Carol is a story by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old man named Ebenezer Scrooge and how he changed his personality in just one night because of visits by the ghost of his previous business partner, Jacob Marley, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future! This is the summary of a Christmas Carol! I would rate this book a 10 because it’s a classic story that everyone knows and is very well written!

This is my semester report on what I have learned in English! Thank You for reading this post! Come to my blog for more learning in pajamas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gerhard Groote

Gerhard Groote was man who gave kids, who became orphans after the black death took their parents, an education, food, and water. Today, I will be writing a paper on Gerhard Groote.

Gerhard Groote was born in 1340 and lived in a small town in the Netherlands. He lived during the time of the black plague. Both of his parents were killed because of the plague and so he then became an orphan. When is dad died  He inherited all of his things! Gerhard also, went a school, which at the time, Was very special and rare! Gerhard became a spoiled brat because he felt like he was better than most people! However he did change! On a very special day he was traveling and he saw a monk later the monk had converted him to Christian!

A few years later the plague came back! This time he found the orphaned boys and took them in. He gave them food and water as well as an education. A few years later, Gerhard made this into a school! In his school  he would teach the orphans to write and read by making them re-write scriptures! He named his school, Brethren of the Common Life. He named it this because the students shared their living space and their theological and philosophical views with each other! Some of his notable students names are Martin Luther, John Knox, John Calvin, and Martin Brucer. This is not the Martin Luther that you immediately think of. This is not Martin Luther King Jr, this is just Martin Luther!

The Black Plague came for the third time. This time it took Groote’s life. Gerhard Groote’s school lasted 150 years after his death. Some of the previous students became teachers. Groote ran his school for ten years, so in total the school lasted 160 years!

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The Secret!

It has been raining since Friday, It’s Thursday now. Crestmont city had been in a serious drought for an entire year! Many people think that the rain had been stored up in all the clouds and now we are getting all of it. I don’t know what I think. All this rain is stopping me from going outside and doing me outdoor chores. Mama thinks that I’m procrastinating, just being lazy. She doesn’t understand the trouble of this rain, it’s not like any other rain I’ve ever seen! This rain makes people break out into a rash. I already have sensitive skin. Doctor says a rash could be deadly. See mama never heard that part of the story, all she ever heard was that I had sensitive skin. I guess I am procrastinating, I still haven’t told her. I guess I am scared to let her know, I feel like she won’t understand. She’s always talking about how wonderful I can be, I think this might ruin what she thinks of me. The thing about my sensitive skin is that I get it from my Daddy. Mama and Daddy haven’t spoken directly to each other in years. It’s kind of sad how relationships sometimes do  that! At my old school all the other kids would make fun of me, push me around, make fun of my skin, and talk about my parents. Ever since I started homeschool I haven’t met anybody who is mean, to be honest I haven’t really met anybody, I’ve been locked up in this house. I see people ,from my window, out and about doing their business all of the time, I wish they knew about the rashes. Mr. Hobleson, my neighbor, Was out there yesterday, He had rashes all over his face. He never was mean to anybody, He was the sweetest and nicest old man you’d ever meet. He didn’t do anything to anybody, all he ever did was love, he doesn’t deserve this rain. I can’t say the same about Mrs. Winston, she’s mean and hateful. I can’t blame her though. She lost her husband a few week before the drought. We all went to the funeral, you can really tell she misses him. She hasn’t talked to another man since his death She calls it a sin. I never thought such a nice lady could become to mean, I think there is still some good in her heart. She was talking on the phone yesterday, Her sister passed. I really feel bad for her, sometimes I wanna giver her a hug and tell her that it’s okay, I’m right here, I’ll be here for you. She wouldn’t appreciate it though she’ll tell me to get off her and go home! I’ve never tried it before I just don’t know what to do, I can’t go outside, I can’t do anything unless she come here! Mama says that everybody goes when there time comes. I hope that the rain will stop before Mrs. Winston’s time ends.

If that’s the case I can hug her, I can tell her that everything is okay, She has the entire neighborhood as family. I guess by now there’s no hope in neighborhood it’s every man and woman for themselves!

“FAITH GET DOWN HERE FOR SUPPER”! Mama yelled from the kitchen.

“COMING” I yelled back down to her. Mama usually didn’t have yell for me. This was a special day for me, today I get to go out to see the doctor! Now you might be thinking “what a crazy girl, who “wants” to go to the doctors?” well I do! The reason is because when you don’t get to see people that often, whenever you do, whether it’s seeing the doctor or  going to school, it’s really exciting!

I went downstairs to find my mama talking to strange woman!

“Mom who is that?” “oh this is your Aunt Lily!”

“Hi. mom can we eat?” I asked. I was kind of scared of her. This was my Aunt but I had never met her before, and why is she here now?

I was silent for the entire meal while mama and aunt lily talked. The strange thing was mom said that she was an only child! I didn’t trust this lady, I felt like she was lying to my mama!

“Ok faith you can stay here with lily I’ll go to the doctor by myself.” mama told me.

“NO MAMA, please, let me come with you, PLEASE!” I begged!

Mama thought for a minute, her answer was final, I was staying with Aunt Lily!

I ran right to my room! “Why is it that my ONLY interaction with people for the next few months was taken away because of the strange weird lady came into my life?” I thought. A few seconds later an idea came to me! With her here she can be my human interaction! I walked downstairs to find aunt lily picking a game. Once I got her attention we talked for a little bit, I chose my favorite game ever, RISK!  Aunt Lily and I played for a few hours. That’s why I like this game, when you play you have to stick around through the entire game, you can’t just get up and quit! Mr. Hobleson and I used to play all the time! He taught me how to play! Eventually I grew to like aunt lily! Three years later she was living with us! It was then mama, Aunt Lily, and myself living together. Aunt Lily slept in bed and I slept in a cot in mamas room! One night, I woke up due to thunder, mama was dead asleep so I went to Aunt Lily. I overheard her on the phone so I listened in.

She said that she was still working on getting our trust but she thinks that she is getting a little too close with, and I quote, “the little girl, Faith” At the exact moment when she hung up, I walked in! She asked me what I was doing up I lied and said that she woke me up while she was on the phone! You could tell that at that moment she got seriously frightened! She asked me how much I have heard. I lied again, I told her I had heard it all. I threatened that if she didn’t tell me what was going on I was going to tell mama. She tried to bribe me but I declined. She told me that she really was mama’s sister and my Aunt, I just had to trust her for now! By now I’m confused, I don’t know what to do.

That next morning while aunt lily and Mama were making breakfast, I made a plan. I decided that I‘m going to find out if the water is going to kill me! Mama called me down to eat, I didn’t say a word. That’s when aunt lily and Mama, at the same time, said “what’s wrong does the cat have your tongue?” Mama had never done such a thing like that, she was sophisticated, she was smart, and she never said anything someone else would! Was Mama outwitted? Is this lady really who she says she is? Is this my fault? So many questions went through my mind! I didn’t know what to do! I went upstairs and hid my bag in the closet. “Tonight while Aunt Lily and Mama were out, I am going to run away!” I thought to myself! While I drew out where the possible exits in my house are. Aunt Lily came in my room to get changed. I tried to hide my paper but Aunt Lily had already seen it. She asked me what it was ,so I lied and said that if there was a fire this was our exit plan. Somehow she believed me. As soon as I could no longer see mama car I grabbed my bag and left. In my bag I had tons of things! I had clothing, a first aid kit, loads of money, and food for a month! I’m prepared and I know it! I take my  first step outside since two years ago. Obviously this rain was lasting to long. I feel the water hit my foot, it feels nice, it’s fresh water. I didn’t feel a thing wrong with the water! I took my umbrella out and opened it. I walk out behind my house and start walking farther and farther away from my home. I start to feel like a horrible person! I miss mama, I take out the only photo that we have of her and hug it! Eventually I realize that I don’t have any rashes on me at all! I was lied to! This isn’t true, I was able to go outside for three years! All of those summer days that I missed! I put my umbrella away and let myself get wet! I am so happy that I’m free, I dance. I get a headache for no reason and so I stop. I cover my eyes, when the headache is over I open them. In the distance I see a man running. I follow him, He leads me to a place that I have never seen before! There is sand all over! There is water all over! I set my bag down and jump in the water! I hear a man’s voice in the distance! I turn around and see a strange man. I asked him who he was and he told me the scariest thing! He told me that he’s my father. I couldn’t breathe, but at the same time I couldn’t believe that this was real! I ran up to him and hugged him! We talked and talked. He told me that mama lied about the rain because she knew that I would run away if she let me out in the rain!  see how that turned out? The craziest thing was that mama never told me that aunt lily was daddy’s sister not hers! Everything made sense now, daddy sent aunt lily to get me to run away! Mama had no idea and probably still doesn’t! Daddy and I went and swam for a while then he told me to go home and take a shower! When I got home Mama and Aunt Lily were still gone! That night I fell asleep without any trouble! Everything was better, EXCEPT, I have to tell Mama that I know! I’ll do that later. I met my Daddy, I met my Aunt Lily, and all is good! I can now tell Mrs. Winston that she is okay! I can talk to people I can go back to school! And even better The rain won’t bother me!