Hannah Smith’s Day

Hannah Smith’s Day
By Emma Saunders

The sweet, plump, strawberries exploded in my mouth. Some of the juice leaked onto my chin. I was having a picnic with my fairest friend Elizabeth. She laughed blissfully. “Ilts lnot blunny (It’s not funny)!” I mumbled, with my mouth full. Just then, a strange noise interrupted our conversation. I woke from my dream, startled. What could it be? Phew! It was only the cockerel crowing, which means get up and get ready!

I put on my petticoat, stockings, garters, a 2nd petticoat, a 3rd petticoat, waistcoat, coif, apron, pocket, and shoes. Then, I had to be about my chores. I needed to milk the goats. I marched to the goat pin. “Oh, Mary!” I exclaimed. “The goats have escaped! How could they have got out?” I thought.

I had to hurry to fetch them. I looked by rocks, bushes, thick shrubbery, and then I looked in a near-by field. There, nibbling grass, were the goats. I brought them home, and started milking them. I got kicked while milking Mamma Goat. “Ouch!” I yelped, gripping my forearm. I had a mark to show Mam and Pa.

I finished milking just in time to hear Mam call, “Hannah, breakfast!” I hurried to breakfast so I could serve it. Pa said the blessing. I served Mam and Pa first, then myself. After a hard morning’s chores, the oatmeal and bread sure tasted excellent.

Joseph Marksons’ Day

Joseph Marksons’ Day

A strange light stung Joseph’s face, burning his closed eyes. He woke up. The light was just the early morning sun. Joseph climbed out off his straw mattress and stretched. He walked over to his wooden chest of clothes. Mam, his mother, helped him put on his clothes. “First the stockings then the garters.” mumbled Joseph, as he put them on. “How now, Mam?”

“I am well.” responded Mam. Joseph put on his breeches and doublet. He tied his shoes and Mam put the points in. Joseph snatched his hat off the hook, grabbed the yoke, and ran to the spring. He dunked the buckets under the chilly water and pulled them out. The weight of the water was so heavy Joseph almost spilled it. But he wasn’t thinking about the weight. He was thinking about the traps he had set up in the forest.

Joseph returned the water to Mam and started to run deep into the forest. Joseph thought how much his family needed the game he planned to catch. On his way, Joseph saw Jacob and Mary Hopkins playing ninepins. He wished he could join them in the game.

As Joseph walked into the forest, his breeches were cut by thorns. Winter air bit at his bare skin. Joseph saw a grove where one of his snares was set. Nothing was caught in the snare though. Joseph groaned. He lumbered over to the next snare, by a large oak tree. One baby blue jay was caught in the snare. Joseph got a little happier.

“Time for snare number three.” he thought. His third snare was near a rabbit hole. In that trap, was a big, plump rabbit. Joseph was overjoyed. He darted home, collecting firewood as he went. He walked inside and gave Mam the firewood.



“How now?” asked Pa.

“I caught big game, Pa!” Joseph cried. Pa hopped up from the chair he was sitting in and grabbed his knife. They started towards the forest.

On their way, Goodman Smith, a neighbor, asked, “How now, Goodman Marksons?”

“My wee boy has found big game for our family this winter.” explained Pa.
Goodman Smith nodded and bid, “Fare thee well.”

Joseph led Pa to the bird and rabbit. Pa cut the rope off and slung them over his shoulder. The two of them started home, very happy. Joseph could imagine the warm taste this rabbit would give. Not only that, but rye harvesting was tomorrow. Maybe he could impress Pa and make him think he was a man. Joseph was very satisfied.

More Sketches

We sketched goats today. I realize it's an odd subject, but next week you'll understand why. Can you guess who sketched which goat?

A:

B:


C:

Thanksgiving Acrostic Poems

Emma's -

Thankful for family
Hearty friends
Amazing turkey for the feast
Numerous cousins to play with
Kind and loving brother
Shelby's fluffy coat
Great grandparents
Interesting parents
Vases full of flowers
Intense video game I can play
Newborn babies to hold
Giving service to friends and family

Jacob's -

Thankful for turkey to eat
Happily singing songs with family and friends
Appetizing rolls and turkey
Non-nutritious pumpkin pie
Kindly playing with cousins
Slamming Tate into the couch
Growing larger around the waist
Ignoring pain as I'm tackled
Vexing parents all around
Ignighting fireworks in the street
Now we run around the house
Giving thanks to all

Audrey's -

Tasty treats satisfy my sweet tooth.
Homemade temptations abound.
All my loved ones gathered together.
Napping and snoozing through the day.
Kids play happily with each other.
Satisfied sighs escape smiling lips.
Gluttony excused, even encouraged.
Intoxicating aromas fill the air.
Vast amounts of food cover tables and counters.
Infectous laughter envelopes the group.
Nostalgic tales warm full hearts.
Gratitude fills my soul.

Turkey Art

I recently rearranged our homeschool schedule to allow more time for art. For today's lesson, we talked about sketching animals with pencils on construction paper. We learned that a sketch is a "silent line" that can be erased and manipulated. We also found that drawing is more manageable when we follow these 5 basic steps:

1. Start the drawing using basic shapes.
2. Add the major features of the animal.
3. Incorporate detail to make the figure more realistic.
4. Color and shade.
5. Sign the work.

Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, we focused on drawing turkeys. Here is a sample of our work:

Jake's -

Emma's -

Audrey's -

A Day In the Life: Making Molly's "Pilgrims"

A Day In the Life: Making Molly's "Pilgrims"

The Leaf Pile

The Leaf Pile

“WEEEEEE!” I screamed, as I jumped into a gigantic leaf pile. It was a cool November day. We were at the Toledo Zoo with Papa and Lala. I stood up and said, “You try it, Jacob!”

Jacob lurched into the colorful leaves. Some were still green! I joined in. Standing up, Jacob threw some leaves on me. Then, Dad pushed him in again, causing him to topple over me.

“Get off of me!” I squeaked.

“What?” he questioned.

“Get off of me! I yelled. He got up. I gasped for air, and then I wiped the leaves off of me. We kept on jumping and playing in the leaves for about 3 minutes. Luckily, Jacob didn’t fall over me again.

“Let’s take pictures now!”Papa said. ”You guys can go first.”

“Oh, the joy.” Jacob murmured.

We positioned ourselves in the pile of leaves. “1, 2, 3, CLICK!”Papa counted. The flash went off. He took 2 more. Next, Papa and Lala posed in the pile.

“Click!”The camera snapped the picture. Papa got up, but Lala just lay there, silently, gazing at the sky, with a sweet smile on her face. Then, Jacob threw some leaves on her. Lala finally got up, wiped herself off, and laughed. We went to the next station.

THE END

Starving Sunday by Jacob Saunders

Starving Sunday

I was dying. I felt like I hadn’t eaten for the past week. Mom passed back a bag of pretzels. I snatched them away without looking up from my Nintendo DS. I opened the bag and tossed three pretzels into my mouth.

“When are we going to eat lunch?” I asked.

“We’re going to snack instead of eating lunch because we don’t have time to stop. We'd miss all the Kirtland tours.”explained Dad.

I groaned. Then, my face light up like a light bulb. I had just beaten Magma Leader Maxie on my video game.

My sister, Emma, was also pecking away at her GameBoy. My family was driving to Kirtland, Ohio with my Lala and Papa. We were close. When we got there, we took a tour around Kirtland. It was very peaceful and beautiful. Next, we went to the Kirtland Temple. I wasn’t as impressed because it didn’t have the same peaceful feeling Historic Kirtland did.

Once we got back to the car, I flipped on my DS and started playing again. We got to our hotel in Cleveland and I was famished. I walked to the elevator and went into the warm hotel. When we all got in our room, we unpacked and decided where to go for dinner. I suggested The Hard Rock Café. Everyone agreed.

We devoured our food and sucked down our sodas until we were stuffed.

We got back to the hotel and changed into our bathing suits. My sister and I swam in the pool while the adults sat in the Jacuzzi. I impressed Papa by walking on the lane line. When we were done, we changed into our pajamas and watched Kung-Fu Panda. It was hilarious! After the movie, I climbed into my sleeping bag and went out like a light bulb.

Summarizing Formula

We slowly worked our way back into the school mode this morning once Lala and Papa left for Phoenix. I wanted the kids to write about some of the amazing experiences we had this weekend, but I knew they needed to ease into writing after our break. We watched some new movies during our hiatus from school. I challenged the kids to briefly summarize what they saw using the most important details. I reviewed a story summarizing formula I used with my second graders:

Somebody
Wanted
Because
But
So
Then

Here is an example of how it works using the story of Cinderella:

Cinderella (SOMEBODY), a poor but lovely maiden, dreamed (WANTED) of attending a royal ball so (BECAUSE) she could meet a handsome prince. Unfortunately (BUT), Cinderella's evil stepmother and stepsisters prevented her from going by ruining the ball gown she worked tirelessly to make. Just when Cinderella though all was lost, (SO) a fairy godmother cast a spell that magically changed Cinderella's life. (THEN) Dressed in a beautiful gown, Cinderella rushed to the ball and met the prince of her dreams. They fell in love at first sight and the prince rescued Cinderella from her wicked family.

I found that this formula can really help kids focus their summaries and uncover the most important events in a story. It's a hard activity, but I was proud of how the kids performed.

Here is Emma's summary of High School Musical 3:

Troy, a senior attending East High, wanted to make decisions for himself, because he wished for his own future. His dad wanted him to go to UofA and play basket ball, while his teacher wanted him to go to Julliard and do drama. Troy finally decided to pick his own future. He found a college that would let him do both basket ball and drama and be close to his girlfriend, Gabriella. In the end, Troy was able to have it all.

Here is Jacob's summary of Kung Fu Panda:

Po, an enormous and flabby panda, dreamed of being a Kung-Fu master because he loved Kung-Fu. But, he was a noodle-maker and had physical limitations due to his fatness. So, he went to the Dragon Warrior contest (to watch and sell noodles). He accidentally flew into the contest and was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. With LOTS of training using food as his motivation Po battled Ti-lon, an evil panther, and won. In the end, Po found confidence in himself.