Drama Queen - A Superhero Story

I had another writing assignment from this book by Rebecca Olien, which I highly recommend.  The book is full of fun writing prompts and story ideas.  My job this time was to create a superhero and write about her superpowers.  Here's the finished product:

Meet Swan.  She is the daughter of the Sun and Moon.  At age sixteen million, she wanted to leave the Solar System and go to Earth.

Her parents gave her powers and sadly let her go.  When on Earth, she became irresistible, almost.  She had long flowing brown hair, deep blue moon dust eyelids, sea green eyes, and cherry red lips.  She wore a sea green dress that hid her legs and gave her the ability to fly.

Now you’re probably wondering what powers the Sun and Moon gave Swan before letting her go.  They highlighted some of her natural abilities and gave her the superhero name of, Drama Queen, because she is very good at acting.  On top of drama, her other powers are invisibility, super speed, and plasma ray.

Swan turned on the news (superheros need to know what is going on in the city).   “There is a fire downtown. Four children and their mom are stuck on the 8th floor!” exclaimed the news reporter.

Swan put on her special flying dress and zoomed through the air to the burning building.  She went in through the back door so she would not have a big crowd around her.  When she got in, she felt the hot fire; she flew as fast as she could could to the 8th  floor.  All of the family was huddling  in the corner behind the mom.

First Swan did some drama, acting like a silly clown, to get them all to stop quivering and to smile.  Then she used super speed to put the fire in the room out, like when a normal person blows out a candle.   And finally she used plasma ray to blast the roof off and fly each of them down to the ground, where she became invisible so as to not spill the beans about her identity.

Her work was done for today.  The family was safe.  As she flew home, she whispered to herself, “A beautiful defeat.”  Such a dramatic line.  The End.

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

The Three Branches of The United States Government

For the common core standards for fourth grade, I needed to learn about the three branches of the United States government and understand their major responsibilities.  To do this, my mom found some awesome websites that taught me what I needed to know through songs and games.  I love homeschool!  The links are listed below.

To wrap up what I learned, I created a government tree.  You can see that there are three branches on the tree, for each of the three branches of government.  And the leafy limbs attached to each branch describe the major responsibilities for that branch of government.  You can also see that the Constitution is the root system of the tree, because the Constitution is the root system of our government.

This was a fun project!  I like project learning better than test learning.



Flocabulary video on The 3 Branches of Government:

http://www.flocabulary.com/3-branches-of-government/?_hse=sandlerk%40tas.edu.tw&_hsh=1995c8646c5139f4ba397ca97b47c940&_hsmi=3036864



Games about the 3 Branches of Government and Checks and Balances:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/branches_government.htm

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/checks_and_balances.htm

http://www.usmint.gov/Kids/games/branchesOfPower/

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month.  In light of this, and because I'm learning about the American Revolution this year, my Mom had me read these two books.  I liked them both.  I cannot pick a favorite.

For my assignment, I had to pick 5 of the women featured in the books and do poster reports on them, highlighting 5 facts about each woman.  Here are my posters:

The Nancy Hart State Park in Georgia is only a little over an hour away from our house, so we are going to have a field trip soon.  At the park is a replica of the cabin where she shot the British soldiers.

I hope I can be brave and courageous in my life, like these women were in their lives.  The saying goes,  "Well behaved women never make history."  I'll try to make good choices in my life, but not necessarily do what others think I should do . . . because being ladylike stinks.  (Direct quote.)

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

Library Clubs

Last week I went to my library clubs again and had a lot of fun.   Here's what I did...

Jewelry Club

In Jewelry Club we learned and practiced the ladder stitch, and it was harder than it looked.   Now that I have a jewelry business, I had to get some supplies, so I spent forty dollars of my own money on my own supplies.  Since then, I have made my Grandma and Mom some gorgeous earrings.  

Ick Club

In Ick Club we played two games.  One was we picked an animal out of a card pile and learned how to use the book search to find a book on our animals, and to find out if they are rodents or not.  My card said mice and rats, and I found two books, one for each.   Both mice and rats are rodents. The other game was Gopher Guts (a memory game).  We had to match cards of different internal parts (like guts) with cards of the external animal, but if we got the spoon we had to turn our backs while someone mixed up the cards.

Book Club

For Book Club we had to read any Magic Treehouse book, then we had to have a good time and create a story diagram using our imaginations.  I read the 10th book in the series, which is called, Ghost Town at Sundown, and this is how my story diagram turned out. What do you think?

The main characters of the story are Jack and Annie.  The genre is fiction.  The problem is they have a riddle to answer.  The solution is they find the answer: echo.  In the beginning of the story they are transported to the Wild West.  In the middle of the story they help Slim, a cowboy, get a little colt back to its mother.  At the end of the story they find the answer to their riddle when Slim calls out, "Who am I?" and the echo answers, "Am I."

This is me and the best librarian ever, Miss Natalie, making our story diagrams.  Thank you Miss Natalie for three fun clubs!

Signing Off, 

Evalynn and Mom

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Saturday, March 2, was Dr. Seuss' birthday.  To celebrate, I watched a documentary about his life and gathered some facts for you.  Here are ten interesting things about Dr. Suess:

1. Dr. Seuss won two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.

2. Dr. Seuss was born in 1904, on Howard Street, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

3. Dr. Seuss left Springfield as a teenager to attend Dartmouth College. 

4. He became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, a humor magazine at Dartmouth.

5. Dr. Seuss' books have been translated into more than 15 languages.   

6. Over 200 million copies of his books have been bought around the world.

7. He died on September 24, 1991.

8. Dr. Seuss had written and illustrated 44 children's books by the time he died.

9. Dr. Seuss do not really like children, they scared him; he really liked being alone. 

10. To please his father, who wanted him to be a college professor, Dr. Seuss went to Oxford University.  However, it was not right for him and he quit after his first year.

This is my sketch of Dr. Seuss.  He was very difficult to draw!  

Here are 3 of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes:

1.  Everything stinks until it's finished.  (Like this report!)

2.  Be awesome!  Be a book nut!  (Check.)

3.  Why fit in when you were born to stand out.  (So right.)

Here are 5 of my Mom's favorite Dr. Seuss quotes:

1.  Be who you are and say what you mean, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

2.  Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

3.  You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

4.  Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.

5.  A person's a person, no matter how small.

How about you?  Do you know any interesting facts about Dr. Seuss?  Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss quote?

Signing Off,

Evalynn and Mom

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To remember Dr. Martin Luther King, my Mom and I researched and read his most famous quotes.  We also watched his "I Have a Dream" speech, and a mini-biography about his life.  My Mom chose five of her favorites quotes from him, and I had to write 3-5 sentences about what they mean to me.  Here's what he had to say, and what I have to say about what he had to say:


The time is always right to do what is right.
What Dr. King is saying is that when you see something that needs to be fixed, do it - not tomorrow . . . NOW!   So, if you need to clean, go and get it over with. Speaking of which, have I cleaned my room yet?

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”
O.K., Dr. King, you got me here . . . but here it goes. You're saying that we always need to think about this to make the world a better place, where everyone is treated right.  That is a pretty good guess, if you ask me.  

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
What Dr. King is saying is that when you do something that takes faith you do not know what is going to happen.  Faith is just a wild roller coaster built for only people who have the courage to use it.  I have a lot of faith, I just do not use it very often.  

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Dr. King is saying that if you fight hate with hate, nothing ever happens. So, we should not fight with our fists, but with our souls.  Sounds fun, but I do not think my brothers and I can do that.

In the End, we will remember not the word of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.  
In this quote Dr.King is saying that when someone sees something that they think is unfair but stay silent, it hurts a lot more than the words of our enemies.  So, if you think something is unfair DO NOT  be silent, stand up for what you believe in.  

Do you have a favorite quote from Dr. King?  If you do, will you please leave it in a comment to this post?  Thank you!

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

Sacagawea

Please excuse the scribbles on my drawing above.  Berrett!  More on my hero, Sacagawea:

Facts on Sacagawea

• In 1999, the U.S. Treasury paid tribute to Sacagawea by putting her picture on the golden dollar coin.
• Clark drew plants, trees, and animals, but never once sketched Sacagawea.
• There are a river, two lakes, and four mountain peaks named after Sacagawea.
• Sacagawea means bird woman.
• Sacagawea was born in modern day Idaho.
• Lewis and Clark depended on Sacagawea because she spoke several native american languages and dialects.
• Sacagawea was kidnapped by Hidatsa raiders when she was 11.
• After she was kidnapped, she was sold to a fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who later became her husband.
• When Sacagawea went in to labor the baby did not come out for almost 2 and a half days, until an Indian woman gave her some dried rattlesnake to hasten the birth. Ten minutes later, out came her baby boy.
• Sacagawea got to vote at Fort Clatsop. This was important because women did not have voting rights at this time in the world.  
  
  
  Signing Off,
  Evalynn and Mom
  
  
  
  

My Grandma and Grandpa Ellison came to visit the last couple weeks of December, and one of the weeks I had to do school.  My Mom and I sat down and thought about the things that Grandma and Grandpa are knowledgeable about that I was interested in.  Then we came up with some ideas of subjects they could teach me, and luckily they agreed to share their knowledge.  So my Mom got the week off while I had the best substitute teachers ever.

My Grandpa Ellison walks five miles almost every day at a nature reserve.  He uses his time on the walks to birdwatch and photograph animals in their natural habitats.   My Grandpa is also very good at designing and engineering things.

My Grandma Ellison is an excellent artist and knitter.  She has been teaching watercolor for longer than I've been alive.  And she has knitted me amazing clothing.

So, on the docket for their week of teaching was:
Watch and learn about birds.
Build a bird feeder from natural/found objects.
Knit.
Watercolor birds in a field journal.
Illustrate the life-cycle of yarn.

I had a great time learning the knowledge my grandparents shared with me.

We saw so many birds that my Grandpa didn't even know and/or had never seen in the wild before . . . like the Cardinal, which is the prettiest bright-red bird.  The birds you see on the north-west coast of America are different from the birds you see on the south-east coast.

We went birdwatching in our backyard and along the Savannah River.  After birdwatching, I came home and Grandma taught me how to draw and watercolor the birds we saw.  Then I had to read my bird books from the library to learn interesting facts about each bird.  Here are the pictures and notes from my field journal:

One of our final projects was making a bird feeder for our backyard to attract the birds from the woods behind our house.  We took a plastic mesh basket and weaved pine needles through the holes on the bottom.  Then we tied bark, pinecones, and shells to the sides with twine.

Since hanging it, we have seen so many birds in our backyard!  Our favorite is the female Cardinal that my Grandma and I nicknamed, Cranberry.

Here is a picture of me and my Grandpa making the feeder:

I haven't finished my knitting project (I'll post that later), but I did finish my life-cycle diagram of yarn.  What do you think, did I capture yarn from beginning to end?

Oh my goodness . . . my Mom and I cannot figure out why this picture is sideways.  It's not on the original file on our computer, and Blogger will not let us fix it.  So - sorry.  How are your sideway reading skills?

To sum it up, here are the phases:  the sun, water, soil, and grass seeds combine to create grass to nourish a sheep; the sheep eat the grass and grow a wooly coat which is then sheared; the wool is washed and combed and then sold; the wool is spun into yarn and dyed (My Grandma and I were going to dye wool with kool-aid and we didn't get to it.  I'm saving the yarn for next time she visits.); then a person buys they yarn and knits it into something; then the yarn decomposes and is recycled any number of ways - in this case, somebody reused the yarn and knitted it into a cape.

Now that my grandparents are gone, I have to do hard work again . . . like posting this.

Signing Off,
Evalynn and Mom

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I read this book for my independent reading assignment.  We went to this Harry Potter party at the library, and my favorite librarian, Ms. Natalie, suggested that I read this book.  It is amazing!  You must read it!  

My Mom gave me the assignment to create 3 fact posters about 3 of the magical beasts from the book.  Drum roll please . . .

• The female is generally larger and more aggressive than the male.
• A dragon hide, blood, heart, liver, and horns all have highly magical properties, but dragon eggs are defined as class A non-tradeable goods.
• Dragons are probably the most famous of all magical beasts.  

• The Billywig lives in Australia.
• It is half an inch long. 
• If you get stung by a Billywig one of the side effects is hovering uncontrollably.

• A fairy is a small and decorative beast of little intelligence.
• Fairies have large insect like wings which may be transparent or multi-colored, according to type.
• Despite its humanlike appearance a fairy cannot speak, but makes a high-pitched buzzing noise.

Read the book!  

Signing Off,

Evalynn and Mom

An American Girl

 My Mom and I read two books about what it was like to live during Colonial Times.  My Mom gave me the assignment to write a book comparing what it was like to live then versus now.  Enjoy my masterpiece:

Page 1:  Hello my name is Hope, and I am truly happy to meet you.  I am a Colonial girl and I have been asked to tell you all about what my life is like.

Page 2:  Hey my name is Evalynn.  I was also asked to tell you about my life.  Well, what are we doing just standing around - on with the book.

Page 3: My education is very poor, the only school I ever went to was Dame School.  The only thing I had to do was learn how to read and write everything on the school book.  Our school book is called the New England Primer.

Page 4: My education is good; I will go all the way to college.  I am taught more than reading and writing, I am taught math and science too.  I have to go every day unless it's a holiday, the weekend, or summer.

Page 5: My dress is very plain; it is brown with a long, white apron in front.  I make most of my clothes, including the fabric.  I also cover my hair at all times.  I am either wearing a hat, hood, or kerchief.

Page 6: My dresses are fluffy, sparky, and if I do say so myself, they are out of this world.  I wear my hair down, but other girls wear their hair in ponytails.  I buy my clothes at many different stores in all sorts of colors and fabrics.

Page 7: We think it is a sin not to work, so we mostly work for the whole day.  Even though we work most of the time, we always find time to play.  Some of the games we play are Tag and Blindman's Buff.  We also sing Here we Go Round the Mulberry Bush and London Bridge is Falling Down.

Page 8: I do not have many chores; all I have to do is clean up my room and bathroom, and that's only on the weekend.  I like to make up fun games that are like a chapter book.  When I am not outside, I am usually watching TV or playing a game on an electronic device.

Page 9:  I mostly eat corn, pumpkin, and squash.  My father and brother go fishing for clams, lobsters and many kinds of fish.  My mom and I always cook the food, and we always take some and smoke it to save for winter.

Page 10:  I do not live on a farm, so I buy my food at the supermarket.  Sometimes as a special treat I get artificial junk that tastes delicious to my taste buds . . . candy!  Most of the time we eat fresh fruit and vegetables, grain, dairy, and meat.  We store our fresh foods in a refrigerator.

Page 11: My house only has one room plus an attic.  We do everything in that one room:  cooking, sleeping, and working.  There is only one chair in the house and it belongs to my father; no one else is allowed to sit in it.

Page 12:  My home has many rooms for many things.  It's warm in the winter time and cool in the summer time.  My home has many pieces of furniture for everyone to share.  It is decorated with art and objects from around the world.


I am so glad I live now instead of during Colonial Times!  I do not want to have to work all day and wear ugly dresses.

Signing Off,
*Evalynn* and Mom

Where, What, and Why - A Lolly Dolly Play

After reading several books about the American Revolution, my Mom and I created these Lolly Dollies of the historical people from the Revolution that I found most interesting and important.  My Mom drew the people and I colored them.  Then I was given the assignment to write questions I would like to ask them.  I typed up the questions, edited them for grammar, revised the questions, and practiced answering them with my Mom.  I created a time machine, went back to the late 1700s and grabbed all of these people, and brought them to my house to ask them my questions.  Hot off the press, here is my cutting edge journalism:

UGGGGHHH!  NEVERMIND.  My mom cannot get the video to load!  She has tried everything she can think of and it's not working.  Anyhow . . .

Here are the questions I asked the guests in the interviews.  See if you know all the answers.  I do.

King George the Third

King George, how are you?

Do you really have 15 children?

How do you manage?

George Washington

How could you believe in slavery?

Are your teeth really wooden?

Samuel Adams

Why were the Sons of Liberty so violent?

Were you really one of 12 children born in your family?

Patriot Soldier

How did you survive Valley Forge?

Why did you want to be in the Army?

Redcoat Soldier

Do you like King George?

What do you think of the taxes on the Americans?

Paul Revere

What was your horse's name?

How many miles did you ride?

Thomas Jefferson

How long did it take you to write the Declaration of Independence?

Was it hard to be President after George Washington and John Adams?

Benjamin Franklin

How did you get the French on our side?

How did you feel when the French King said France would help us?

Minute Man

Could you really get ready in a minute?

Button Spy

Were you scared that you were going to get caught?

Molly Pitcher

How did you feel when your husband fell wounded?

Signing Off,

*Evalynn* and Mom