To a bread crumb,
Oh, tiny meal of a mouse
Hidden, you are, under the table
Stale with dry jelly
Dodged the broom, and now forgotten
To all but the mouse
Who has waited so patiently
For a feast such as this
To bring in his little chamber in the wall
And share with his kids
The Great and Terrible Quest by Margaret Lovett, published by Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd. in 2001 is exactly what the title is, for both the reader and the main character, Trad. Trad has lived a lowly life as the servant of his thieving, cruel grandfather. One day Trad finds an old, sick, and mysterious man. The man has lost his memory, but in one of his rages the man reveals that he is searching for the long lost Laughing Lord…The prince and the rightful heir to the thrown! Trad takes the sick man and runs away, taking with him a ring that has more power than he knows!
This is an exciting book from the beginning to the very last lines! Unlike most books, you are hooked on the first chapter. Who is the man? What does the ring mean? Even who is the little, kind boy? These are some questions you will be asking.
I think readers nine years and older would most enjoy this book. It is a fabulous medieval tale and perfect for a bedtime story. I loved this book, and it was a highlight in my school day. Once a day my imagination would soar as I went on the great and terrible quest!
For this assignment, I had to look up and write about different kinds of archeologists.
When you think of an archeologist, you probably think of people digging in the dirt for bones or ancient artifacts. But there are a lot of other jobs for archeologists. I will tell you about three.
Surprisingly, archeologists can work at zoos! What they do is design cages for the animals. This is not an easy job because they have to make sure the temperature is right, the light is on or off, the correct amount of water is in the cage, the cage is big enough, and the cage is tall or deep enough. Another thing archeologists can do at zoos is give tours and help visitors.
Archeologists can also work for the law. This kind of archeologist is called a forensic archeologist. They help especially in murders, but they can also work in other law related things. You might be wondering why these are even called archeologists. Well, it’s because they dig through the evidence!
The most interesting job for an archeologist to me is a maritime archeologist. A maritime archeologist is a person who studies shipwrecks. They will scuba dive down, and swim in the ship to learn about other times and things! I love water and mysteries so this would be the perfect job for me.
There are many different kinds of archeologists that some people don’t even know exist! I learned a lot in this assignment. I hope you did too!
For this assignment I had to write about exciting event in my life. Here’s what I came up with…
In Tullocks Woods, we have a fourth of July celebration every year! The fun starts at the beginning of the day with the fishing derby at 9:30. I have participated in this for 7 years and I have never won. My brother has twice and my sister once. We were all around the pond and ready to cast off our lines… 5…4….3…2….1! There was a swish as we cast off our lines followed by a plop! After a half hour, my brother, that lazy luck bag, decided he didn’t want to spent the time fishing! So he went off and took a shower while the rest of us fished. Forty minutes passed with an occasional catch by someone, when Nate comes back and starts fishing again. Twenty minutes to go…five. Ten seconds! The count down starts… 3….2….Nate screams with delight…1! Nate has caught the last fish and won the derby!
After the fishing derby, we wait until 6:00 pm to go to the Pow Wow clubhouse. There was a dunking tank last year! And on my second try – 15 feet away from the target – I pulled back my arm, gripped the ball and threw-whiz. Bonk! I had hit the target!!! Moments later – Splash! The neighborhood volunteer fell into the tank. Soon he had to go somewhere and left. I, tomboy that I was, ran to mom and asked her, “ Please, can I get dunked!! Please!”
“Well, – I guess if you want to…”
“Thank you!” I rushed home to get my suit. I, Sam, was in the fun. Not a part of, but in.
So a few minutes later, I was on the bench in the tank ready to get wet! Whiz… nothing. Again- Whiz…bonk splash! I gave a scream of delight as I fell into the water below! It felt so good to be in water; it was so hot out! As I jumped back onto the bench, I was struck with cold. Then before I knew what happened, I was in the water gasping for breath. I have to say that it was probably one of the best days of my life! But, when it came time for the bike parade, I was a little sad that I had gotten wet.
For the bike parade, I had decorated my bike with red, white, and blue streamers and flags! Of course, in my opinion, it was the best bike there. But when my wet, dripping body sat on the seat, the streamers fell apart and the flags bled color! By the end of the parade, my bike was more like soggy rags. I was so sad that I didn’t win! But I couldn’t be too sad because my friend Morgan won! She got a blue ribbon, and a prize of candy and…I forget! But I was not going to give up! Next, was the pet parade!
OK, I don’t really have a pet. But every summer I catch and keep toads in my cage! I picked my favorite, Pete, to be the lucky one! I tied a red bow on him and decorated his private chamber (AKA bug cage) with blue and red fabric! He looked so cute in there! But my hart sank when adorable pups, hamsters, and cats in little dresses and ribbons assembled around the circle. I kept my chin high and walked with my Pete! After the three complete circles were finished, and the judges were talking, I looked down to see if Pete was looking his best. Shock – he was gone! Hurriedly, I looked around to see Pete hopping as fast as his little legs could go towards the pond! Surreptitiously, I left the circle and ran off to catch him! At the sight of me, Pete, who was scared out of his wits, took a sharp turn, much like a bull dog would, and fell head over heels right at my feet. As soon as I had him in my hand, I heard the judges calling out the magic number…29! My number! I had won! My Pete had won as best pet! I didn’t get a blue ribbon, but I did get modeling clay! I was so happy, not so much for the clay, but because I had won! Pete had won!
Pete had one more task. He would enter the frog racing contest! Although he’s not a frog, he’s a fast jumper! I, Sam-I-am, was the only girl who had entered! And now was the sign to begin! We’re not allowed to touch the frogs, but we can clap or something. I have learned the secret: Blow! The frogs and toads must not like it because if you blow on them, they will jump like they’re on fire! While I am going “ whoooo….whoooo”, everybody else is clapping their hands violently and jumping up and down! Two inches to go… one…He’s over! I grab up Pete and shout, “He’s done it! He’s over first!” Pete had also won the race! I got a pocket radio, which was big stuff to me then!
Now, although I loved Pete, I have a little ceremony that I do after my toad has won something. I take him to the pond, sprinkle flower petals into the pond, and gently give him back to freedom. As I watched Pete swim away, I didn’t feel sad, for he had made me happy, and now I have made him happy, too!
For this creative writing assignment, I had to write a descriptive paragraph about a trip. As with the previous post, I chose to write as a travel critic, since I want to be a National Geographic photographer and writer when I grow up.
by Star H.
Last month I traveled on American Airline, from Chicago, IL to Orlando, Florida. It was a three hour trip. Although I have been on planes before, this was the first time I had traveled on American Airline to Florida.
It took a little while to find the right waiting area, and to find where to check in my luggage , but for the most part, nothing out of the ordinary happened. The plane was a little late, which was a bit of a problem for me because I had to catch a bus which came to the Orlando station ten minutes after the plane was supposed to land. But it turned out OK because the bus ended up being late.
The plane was not too crowded, so I found my seat easily. The leg room, even in the first class, was so small. I couldn’t even stick my carry-on on the floor and put my legs in front of me. After a lot of readjusting, I concluded with sticking my legs on my carry-on. Then, I turned on the light above my seat so I could read. After I had finished, I was going to take a nap because I had to go to a late meeting that evening. Well, the light above my chair would not turn off. I even asked one of the flight attendants to help me. He rolled his eyes as if to say “ you can’t even turn off a light” , but when he tried and failed he looked a little embarrassed and said, “ I’m sorry ma’am. I guess it’s stuck.” I just gave him the “I told you so” look.
After we had taken off, I had a meal on the plane. It was a main course of roast beef, with a side of mashed potatoes and carrots. I have to say that I was not pleased with the meal. For one thing you have to be in first class to get the meal, and as for the meal itself, it was so salty that I drank about eight glasses of water afterward. As you can expect, it became a problem about half way through the trip.
It was pretty easy to find my luggage and catch my bus. Although I prefer other airlines, American Airline was preferable to many others I have traveled on.