11.26.13- TYM By Langston Hughes

Today in class we answered questions about the poem "Thank you m'am" by Langston Hughes.

11.25.13- Gratitude Poem

What am I grateful for?

I am grateful for my family

They make me happy

I am grateful for my friends

They make my life exciting

I am grateful for the food I eat

I consider it a treat

I am grateful for snow

It transforms the world into a wonderland

I am grateful for music

It gives my life a soundtrack

I am grateful for my shelter

It keeps me safe and warm

I am grateful for my voice

It lets me talk a lot

I am grateful for my friend Kylee

Because she is super smiley

I am grateful for my cousin Kiri

She is always very cheery

I am grateful to explore

It gives me something more

I am grateful for color

It makes my life bright

I am grateful for Thanksgiving

It gives me a chance to give. :)

11.21.13- 30 Second Video

Today I made a thirty second video about my reaction if someone said they didn't like me.

11.18.13- My Performance Piece

My finished digital story:

http://youtu.be/guAEozUzvjI

My finished story:

"Seriously? It's raining?" My cousin Kiri complained.

She was right. It was pouring. The raindrops leaked down the window and the entire car was freezing. If you looked down at the road, you could see that there were puddles scattered along the ground and the car splashed through them easily.

Kiri's dad tried to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. I agreed with her though, it was a pretty terrible day for rain.

Today was the first day of camp at LOMC. Emma started at LOMC, then Kiri joined her, and about three summers later I started going. It was my third year. I remember coming to LOMC before, and I definitely remembered my first year. On my very first day, I remember that it was a hot, sunny day, almost the exact opposite of the weather today. I was also much more nervous. When I got out of the car, the entire camp was so much bigger than I thought. With a huge field, forest, and pond, I knew that I was in for an interesting surprise.

Of course, it had to rain on the day we got dropped off and had to deal with all our stuff. Plus, there was dirt and dust everywhere, and now it was mud. Great. Just great.

Suddenly, we took a sharp turn onto a side dirt road with a wooden sign that read LOMC in big gold letters. The sign was soaked. The ground was soaked. Everything was soaked. The second you stepped out into this weather you were sure to be soaked and freezing in 5 seconds flat. 

"We're here!" Kiri's dad said cheerfully while we pulled up the short dirt road. Emma, Kiri and I were definitely excited to be there, but the weather wasn't exactly ideal. 

The car pulled into a parking space and shut off. Now all we could hear was the bitter rain pelting the windows.

"Is anybody else cold?" I asked. Kiri and Emma both agreed, but Kiri's dad seemed optimistic. Great.

"Okay, lets check you in first and we'll come back to get your things," he said, already stepping out of the car in an attempt to get us to follow. We all groaned. Although at the same time we agreed silently that we might as well just go.

The second I stepped out of the car I was immediately pulled by the freezing wind. I was not only being practically blown away by it, but the rain was worse than it seemed from the safety of the car. The second you felt a raindrop, it almost numbed you. And the rain wasn't just falling, it was being whipped into your face by the wind like a tornado.

Emma jumped out of the car and she reacted just as I expected.

"I'm FREEZING!" She shivered. "Lets go to the pole barn! At least there won't be as much rain!"

The pole barn was a huge barn with open walls and a roof supported by wooden poles. Picnic tables were placed along the inside, and that's where we had to go to check in. We all ran through the rain to the pole barn, where Kiri's dad began the long process of checking us in. 

"Helen! Emma!" Kiri called from the side of the barn. "Look over here!" 

"Where?" I said, shivering. 

Kiri laughed. "C'mon!" 

I walked over to where my cousin was standing. She was in the middle of a circle of brightly colored picnic tables.

"Look at this." Kiri said, smiling. When I looked around, I saw that each of them were uniquely painted with patterns and names. It was a myriad of bright colors and last-minute additions, with splatter paint and mixed-up names placed in every nook and cranny of the tables. 

"Do you recognize any of them?" I asked. I saw that some were from the year before, but a lot of them were from this year.

"Some of them," Kiri replied. "But there's a lot of new ones, too."

Emma walked over. "Hey you guys, look at the sky!"

Kiri and I turned to look out. "What about it?"

Emma laughed. "It stopped raining! And look at that rainbow!"

She was right. It had stopped raining, and now the entire world sparkled with the raindrops. There was a vivid rainbow that looked like a mix of paint across the sky. 

"It's so pretty!" Kiri's voice sounded like it was smiling.

I looked back at the sky. The rainbow was still there, and it remained there for the rest of the day. Even the sun was a shining penny in the sky. We had started the day with a gloomy, wet rain, and we had ended it with a beautiful sunset.

11.15.13- iMovie

11.14.13- Criterion Test and iMovie Pics

I took a test on Criterion: And I also worked on my performance piece pictures.

https://prev-criterion.ets.org/student/

And I also worked on my performance piece pictures.

11.13.13- Book Fair

I went to the Book Fair.

11.12.13- iMovie

11.11.13- Performance Piece

I searched for pictures and recorded. 

11.8.13- Performance Piece Work

I worked on my digital story by recording and finding pictures and music for the video.

11.7.13- From Sad to Sunny

"Seriously? It's raining?" My cousin Kiri complained.

She was right. It was pouring. The raindrops leaked down the window and the entire car was freezing. If you looked down at the road, you could see that there were puddles scattered along the ground and the car splashed through them easily.

Kiri's dad tried to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. I agreed with her though, it was a pretty terrible day for rain.

Today was the first day of camp at LOMC. Emma started at LOMC, then Kiri joined her, and about three summers later I started going. It was my third year. I remember coming to LOMC before, and I definitely remembered my first year. On my very first day, I remember that it was a hot, sunny day, almost the exact opposite of the weather today. I was also much more nervous. When I got out of the car, the entire camp was so much bigger than I thought. With a huge field, forest, and pond, I knew that I was in for an interesting surprise.

Of course, it had to rain on the day we got dropped off and had to deal with all our stuff. Plus, there was dirt and dust everywhere, and now it was mud. Great. Just great.

Suddenly, we took a sharp turn onto a side dirt road with a wooden sign that read LOMC in big gold letters. The sign was soaked. The ground was soaked. Everything was soaked. The second you stepped out into this weather you were sure to be soaked and freezing in 5 seconds flat. 

"We're here!" Kiri's dad said cheerfully while we pulled up the short dirt road. Emma, Kiri and I were definitely excited to be there, but the weather wasn't exactly ideal. 

The car pulled into a parking space and shut off. Now all we could hear was the bitter rain pelting the windows.

"Is anybody else cold?" I asked. Kiri and Emma both agreed, but Kiri's dad seemed optimistic. Great.

"Okay, lets check you in first and we'll come back to get your things," he said, already stepping out of the car in an attempt to get us to follow. We all groaned. Although at the same time we agreed silently that we might as well just go.

The second I stepped out of the car I was immediately pulled by the freezing wind. I was not only being practically blown away by it, but the rain was worse than it seemed from the safety of the car. The second you felt a raindrop, it almost numbed you. And the rain wasn't just falling, it was being whipped into your face by the wind like a tornado.

Emma jumped out of the car and she reacted just as I expected.

"I'm FREEZING!" She shivered. "Lets go to the pole barn! At least there won't be as much rain!"

The pole barn was a huge barn with open walls and a roof supported by wooden poles. Picnic tables were placed along the inside, and that's where we had to go to check in. We all ran through the rain to the pole barn, where Kiri's dad began the long process of checking us in. 

"Helen! Emma!" Kiri called from the side of the barn. "Look over here!" 

"Where?" I said, shivering. 

Kiri laughed. "C'mon!" 

I walked over to where my cousin was standing. She was in the middle of a circle of brightly colored picnic tables.

"Look at this." Kiri said, smiling. When I looked around, I saw that each of them were uniquely painted with patterns and names. It was a myriad of bright colors and last-minute additions, with splatter paint and mixed-up names placed in every nook and cranny of the tables. 

"Do you recognize any of them?" I asked. I saw that some were from the year before, but a lot of them were from this year.

"Some of them," Kiri replied. "But there's a lot of new ones, too."

Emma walked over. "Hey you guys, look at the sky!"

Kiri and I turned to look out. "What about it?"

Emma laughed. "It stopped raining! And look at that rainbow!"

She was right. It had stopped raining, and now the entire world sparkled with the raindrops. There was a vivid rainbow that looked like a mix of paint across the sky. 

"It's so pretty!" Kiri's voice sounded like it was smiling.

I looked back at the sky. The rainbow was still there, and it remained there for the rest of the day. Even the sun was a shining penny in the sky. We had started the day with a gloomy, wet rain, and we had ended it with a beautiful sunset.

11.6.13- Digital Story Work

*today I searched for pictures for my story and recorded so I can make it a digital story.*

Here's my youtube channel where I will post the finished digital story:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm38JeGey_oR36sPkDIpkDQ

Here's the latest version of my story:

http://helendevine.blogspot.com/2013/10/102913-from-sad-to-sunny.html

11.4.13- Digital Story Work

*today I searched for pictures for my story and recorded so I can make it a digital story.*

Here's my youtube channel where I will post the finished digital story:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm38JeGey_oR36sPkDIpkDQ

Here's the latest version of my story:

http://helendevine.blogspot.com/2013/10/102913-from-sad-to-sunny.html

11.1.13- The Doorbell

"Trick or treat!" I chorused. It was Halloween, and it was pouring. Rain dripped through the leaves, and every so often, there was a quick but freezing wind that blew though the streets. So basically, I was cold. I was entirely soaked, and my hair was tangled and dripping. Just a small price to pay for the amount of candy my street was handing out. There was almost nobody trick or treating because of the weather, so every house was desperately trying to get rid of their candy into my bag. But then, I skipped up the uneven bricks to a small one story house with some pumpkins. Even though the outside light wasn't on, their house was decorated and their indoor lights were on. 

I walked up to the brick house and looked for the doorbell. When I didn't find one, I knocked on the door and waited patiently. When a small, frail old lady opened the door, I did my part and chimed, "Trick or treat!" I smiled at the lady. "Happy Halloween!" 

She looked annoyed. She walked over to her bowl of candy and practically spat at me, "Does the doorbell work?!" 

I stood there, silent until I found my voice a few seconds later. "Um, I didn't see it. I'm sorry?" I questioned, still slightly smiling in an attempt to change her mood. 

She raised her eyebrows in a very rude manner at me. "Oh, you didn't see it? Hmm, let me check if it still works." She then leaned over her doorframe and looked around for the almost nonexistent doorbell. It was the exact same color as the bricks in her house and there was moss covering every part but the button. To add to that, she hadn't turned on her outdoor light, so there was no possible way I would be able to see it. She then spotted her doorbell, leaned over, and hit the button. A distant bell rung through her house.

"Oh, it does work!" She said in distant fake wonder. "Hmm."

I was speechless. 'Rude,' I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. She then handed me a piece of candy and practically slammed the door in my face.

"Well Happy Halloween to you too," I muttered quietly while stepping down the walkway. "Well, at least now I have an interesting story to tell."