Jacob's Book

Here is an excerpt from Jacob's latest work. This is all of chapter one:

Chapter One
Attack and Run

Ben woke with a start. He was sweating and panting deeply. He sat up and looked directly into the mirror. He saw a pair of his hazel green eyes staring right back at him. He rubbed his hand over his sweating face. His jet black hair was a mess. He got out of bed and heard an ear piercing shriek. He opened his drawer and took out a white tunic and black pants. He pulled them on over his sleep wear. He picked up his sword and dagger and put them on his belt. Then, he picked up his double-sided diamond pointed spear and walked to his door, cautiously. When he has near his door, his door blew into a million pieces. The thing which had caused the wreckage was a werewolf. The werewolf stood on its hind legs and thrashed its arms. The werewolf growled, hungrily.
“Prepare to die” snarled the werewolf. It jumped high in the air and crashed its heavy body on Ben. Ben fell over and hit the stone floor of his bedroom. Blood trickled down the side of his face.
The werewolf laughed, “You call yourself a prince and the commander of the king’s army!” Ben jabbed his spear into the werewolf’s leg. The werewolf howled in pain. It backed off him. The werewolf’s red eyes seemed to grow even darker red. It lunged at Ben. Ben slashed his spear wildly and cut the werewolf’s shoulder, badly. The werewolf seemed not to notice and knocked Ben over. This time, Ben howled in pain as he felt is ankle crack. Ben staggered to keep himself upright but failed. He fell over again. The werewolf smiled, “I’m going to rip each of your ribs out and then your limbs.” Ben threw the spear at the horrible beast and hit it in the chest. The beast fell over and was still. Ben groaned as he stood up. Ben pulled out his spear. Half of it was dripping with red blood. Ben staggered over to his grandfather clock and opened the door of the grandfather clock. Behind the pendulum, there was a small gold handle. Ben pulled the handle and the back of the grandfather clock opened. There was no wall behind the clock but a passageway. Ben stumbled through the archway that led to the passageway. Ben staggered down the steps. As he got deeper it got colder and darker. Finally, Ben came to an archway that led to a large wooden door. There was no handle on the door nor even a hole. As Ben came closer to the door there came a deep voice, “What is Prince Adam’s favorite sister?”
It took Ben less than a second to answer, “He has none because he has no sisters.” “You have answered correctly.” Replied the deep voice. The door creaked open. “Who goes there?” came a familiar voice.

It was Ben’s twenty year old identical twin, Adam, stood in front of his grandfather clock staring at Ben. “Well are you going to open the clock door?” asked Ben.
“Oh, right.” said Adam, stumbling on the grandfather clock door. Once the door was open, Ben fell forward to be caught by Adam. Adam was as old as Ben was and was a lit bit taller than Ben. Ben was 60” and Adam was 62”. Ben was stronger than Adam because he was the commander of their father’s army. Adam was the commander of all the archers in the kingdom. Adam dragged Ben over to his bed and picked him up and laid him on the bed.
“I’ll go get a doctor to come look at this.” said Adam and walked out of the room. Ben closed his eyes and let sleep take over him.
…
Ben woke the next morning in Adam’s bed and his ankle was tied up tightly in bandages. Ben got out of bed and noticed he was in his clothes he had worn last night when the werewolf attacked. His weapons were hanging on the wall. He took his weapons off the wall and attached them to his belt. He walked slowly to the door and walked down the steep stairs. He arrived at the round table room and walked in. As he suspected the court were waiting for him to begin.
He walked over to his father and almost sat in his chair when someone said, “No!” Surprised Ben walked away from his chair. Adam was at the door pointing his bow at one of the knights. The knight grabbed his sword and started killing the other knights. Adam fired his bow but missed. Adam reloaded a shot again. He repeated reloading again and again. Then, a sword’s point went through the knight that had tried to escape. The knight collapsed as Ben sheathed his sword.
“Let us start.” said Ben as if nothing had happened. Ben lifted the cushion under his seat and saw a Crusadest Snake. It reared up, ready to strike but lost its head as Ben swiped it away with his dagger. Crusadest Snakes are one of the foulest snakes to live. In one bite anywhere on your body you would die instantly as black magic spilled through the snakes fangs. Then you will become part of the Crusadest Army of the Dead. Ben put the cushion back on the chair and sat down. “What are we going to discuss now?” said Ben
…
The rest of the court had talked about how Ben had almost been assassinated twice. Ben had said it was no big deal but his father and Adam had disagreed.
“Ben this means that there is someone out there trying to kill you and Adam.” said his father. “There are a lot of people trying to kill me and Adam.” said Ben. Ben had then stoked out of the room and walked up to his room. Ben was so angry with his father he did not notice the shadow creep up behind him.

Riddle Me This

Can you figure out our riddles? Maybe our illustrations will give you a clue.

Emma's:

I like to sleep – love it!
I think of crazy things.
I stand outside,
Sniff the air,
And go back to the door.
I eat my sandwich happily
My mother made it for me.
They scratch my back and give me food.
I love my family.

Jake's:

What am I???
Electricity runs through my veins.
I hate water.
Normally, I’m white.
I’m very lazy and I hardly move.
People hand me disks
So they can hear music.
I say a lot on the TV,
But on the outside I say…
XBOX 360

Audrey's:

I take a wicked pounding
Every time I leave my quiet home.
But, I have a constant companion
Who shares the relentless abuse.
My partner and I rarely spend time apart,
Though we constantly compete
To be one step ahead of the other.
The pair of us, you might say,
Are sole mates.

How 'bout a Haiku?

I used to have so much fun writing poetry in the Haiku form. Even first graders with a basic knowledge of syllabication can give it a go. A Haiku should:

*Focus on nature

*Encourage readers to think in a new way

*Have 3 lines

*Follow a 5-7-5 syllabication pattern

Emma's Haiku is called Dolphins. It reads:

I am a mammal.

I swim above the sea floor,

Dancing on my way.

Jacob's Haiku is entitled Arctic Wolves. It reads:

White blurs on the ice

Move toward the new daylight,

Slinking on the tundra.

I had to try it too! Here is Last Dance:

Trees sway back and forth.

Leaves twist and play in the wind.

The last dance of fall.

Get Rhythm

We've moved on to talking about rhythm in poetry. Chants, nonsense rhymes, and songs keep knocking around our heads. Right now I'm humming an old Johnny Cash song...

Below you'll find our first attempts at using rhythm in our poetry:

Where Is My Cat?
By Emma J. Saunders

Oh, jit, oh jat,
I want to find my cat.
Oh, bit, oh bat,
I wish to find my hat.
Oh, sit, oh sat,
I can’t find my mat.
Oh, dit, oh dat,
I hope to find my bat.
Oh, split, oh splat,
I want to find my rat.
Oh, flit, oh flat,
I need to find that gnat.
Oh, fit, oh fat,
I want to find my fat, fat cat!


Finding Cat
By Jacob Saunders

Oh, flip, oh flap
I want to find my cat
The zats in the cat
It wants to get the rat
The rats on the bat
It wants to get the mat
The mat on the gnat
The gnat wants the cat
Oh, flip, oh flap
I want to find my cat

My dog
My dog, my dog
My dog likes the fog
The fog, the fog
The fog likes the hog
The hog, the hog
The hog likes the frog
The frog, the frog
The frog likes the log
The log, the log
The log likes my dog
My dog, my dog
Oh, I love my dog


Lamentations of a Homeschool Mom
By Audrey Saunders

I have a special job.
At times it makes me sob.
It keeps me up at night
While I work to get things right.

My kids both think I’m mean
Because I’m sort of like their dean.
But I won’t give up hope
When I see my pupils mope.

Someday they’ll actually find
That they cherish their bright minds.
And they’ll turn to me and say,
“We give thanks for you each day.”

Getting in the Mood for Poetry

Love is in the air and paper hearts abound. It's Valentine's Day and we're writing poetry!

All week long we've been learning about personification, similes, and metaphors. We've read poems from our favorite authors like Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. Today we made some attempts at poetry ourselves:

Snowflakes
by Emma J. Saunders

A snowflake is a
Independent,
Self-Organized,
Individual,
Glass Sculpture.


Snowflake
by Jacob Saunders

A small,
fluffy pillow
meant for a fairy
falls from the sky
for me to eat.


Don't you love how that poem takes a turn at the end? Not bad for a first try!

Writing to a Prompt

Who is your hero and why?

Jacob:

LaDainian Tomlinson, the running back for the Chargers, is my hero. He inspires me to do many things in football and in life.

Tomlinson is very fast. Once, he ran so fast he was able to run from endzone to endzone without being tackled! Tomlinson breaks lots of tackles with his speed, strength, and skill. He catches many throws thrown at him. He has dedication to his fellow team mates. Tomlinson has never missed a game or practice in three years, except this years playoffs. When his team is down, he makes a big play to get them going. I think he is the best running back ever.

Tomlinson’s speed inspires me to run faster. His courage and energy teach me to never doubt my team. One day, I want to be like Tomlinson.

Emma:

Grandma Joann is the best grandma in the world. I look up to her. In fact, she is my hero!

Grandma is a great artist. I know this because her gorgeous paintings are all around her house! She is also very creative. When we draw or play with play dough, her creations are funny, cute, or unique. Grandma is the best cook in the world. Her tacos are delicious. They make my mouth water!

Grandma is a great inspiration. Anyone would want to look up to her.

Jacob's Report on the Arctic Wolves

Arctic Wolves

The arctic wolf is well-suited for the harsh cold of the Arctic Circle. They live on the wild tundra and roam the icy plains in a pack. They only go in dens when they mate, two at a time. When they are not mating, they huddle close together to keep warm. They live in forests and sleep there. They only leave the safety of the trees for hunting and mating.

It is true that wolves eat meat, but they also eat berries and plants. They hunt caribou, moose, rodents, and birds. Pups eat by licking the adult’s jaw after they go hunting. The adult wolf brings up the food and the pups eat the predigested food.

When wolves go hunting, they go as a pack. For example, wolves may prey on moose. They look for sick or old moose. Once they find one, the wolves advance on their future dinner. The other moose dash away. Since the old moose runs slower, the wolves’ strong, thin legs catch the moose. They circle around it. They bite it in the stomach and other places till it loses enough blood that it dies. The wolves eat the moose where they caught it. Afterwards, if there are leftovers, they bring the meat home and bury it for later.

Wolves have a dominance order in the pack. They are separated by strength mostly. The strongest members of the pack are the alpha male and female. These two mate in mating season (which is in summer). The next wolves in line behind the alphas are the noble wolves. Then, there are the wolves at the bottom of the list. On a hunt, the lower ranking wolves watch the pups. Pups have their own dominance order too. Wolves fight with one another to earn dominance. How high the wolf holds its tail explains what rank the wolf is.

Reproducing is very important, even though only two wolves mate. The alpha male and female dig a den and have babies in their den. A litter is normally 5-15 pups. Wolves are born blind and develop sight 2 weeks later. The alpha male and female return to the pack a few weeks later, with the pups. The whole pack is in charge of the pups. Wolf parents are one of the best in the world because they never let their pups out of their sight.

Wolves are important to the ecosystem and they are dying off because humans are hunting too many of them. We should try not to kill so many wolves. Wolves are great animals. Let’s try to save them!