W6.B3.

Lauren and Her Doll

Her face was soft and round. She was not an ordinary doll. She was the length of a precious newborn baby, with legs and arms proportionately distributed with her body. She was dressed with a blue dress with white flowers on it and a matching blue bonnet. Her face was white and looked almost drawn on by hand. Her name was Laura.
Laura loved her owner, Lauren. Laura was made especially for Lauren. Lauren’s mother had a great friend who was an amazing artist. She took a picture of Lauren from when she was a year old and painted her face onto a doll that would be cherished by Lauren forever. Lauren would not sleep without Laura and carried the doll with her everywhere. Lauren loved changing her clothes and Lauren’s mother always insisted she needed to wash her clothes because of the way they smelled. Lauren didn’t smell a thing. To her, Laura was roses and lavender, peaches and cream and that was how Lauren liked it.
Lauren continued to grow older and Laura continued to be loved. Lauren’s friends would make fun of Lauren because of her doll whose face had now grown from white and detailed to gray and faded was still the center of Lauren’s bed. Lauren still was unable to sleep without her and she didn’t mind being made fun of.
Today Laura is in the top of a closet. Lauren still thinks of her often. Laurens bed is no longer piled high with baby dolls and stuffed animals but if she had to choose one to be on her bed once again, there is no doubt it would be Laura.

W6. B2.

An Ode about Grandpa Hardy:

My grandpa is 94 years old.
He is my hero and role model.
My grandmother takes care of him
She is a servant of the Lord.
Together they are my grandparents.

My grandpa has had cancer for over ten years.
It has spread and is moving quickly.
His body is giving up.
But his heart and soul won’t give in.

Eventually life has to take its toll and age will wear down on you.
My memories of him are filled with tears of joy and belly laughter.
His bible stories that last two hours, to his jokes about liberals.
My grandpa is and will always be the most wonderful man I know.

My father is his only male legacy and my dad is already exhibiting the wonderful qualities his dad instilled in him.

My mom stays in the hospital with my grandpa now.
She says she counts on the sparkle in his eye when my grandma comes in the room.
She also said- that sparkle is gone.

The doctor said people can live like this a long time.
It’s not living though,
It’s existing.

God put him on this earth and his goal has always been to get to Heaven.
He has accomplished God’s plan and will and his passion and joy has overflowed into my family and others peoples hearts forever.

W6. B1.

Storytelling Meeting

Tonight I went to the Aggie Storytelling Association Meeting and we told stories for an hour. It was a lot of fun. It was very interactive and not formal at all. We started the meeting by one of the officers telling us a story about a princess trying to find her mate and the three brothers who are in pursuit of them. It was a funny story in the end. After she told her story she sat down with us and opened the floor for anyone who wanted to tell a story. Before I knew it my big mouth opened and I ended up telling four or five stories before the night was over. It was a lot of fun and I am more than likely going to join the organization. I also won the door prize which consisted of me getting to pick a children’s book from a pile. I told everyone there that there isn’t many majors who would get this excited about getting a children’s book as a door prize besides education and tell me tell them boy was I excited? I got a book by the author of Because of Winn Dixie. I am excited to read it and it will probably end up being one of my outside reading books. Overall it was a fun experience and we all in a way became authors of our own oral stories.

W5. B4.

Barbara Parks Biography

I did my outside reading earlier this week on a Junie B Jones book by Barbara Parks. I was curious about her as an author and decided to do a little research on some of the other books she has written along with her background.

Dubbed "one of the funniest . . . writers around," by Booklist's Ilene Cooper, and an author "who has consistently shown an ability to shed humorous light on potentially dreary situations," by Betsy Hearne in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, juvenile novelist Barbara Park tackles subjects from peer pressure to divorce to dealing with the death of a sibling to facing the devastation caused by Alzheimer's--all with a distinctly sardonic and light touch. Her award-winning novels, such as Don't Make Me Smile, The Kid in the Red Jacket, Skinnybones, Maxie, Rosie, and Earl--Partners in Grime, Mick Harte Was Here, and The Graduation of Jake Moon, attest to her winning prose and themes that challenge but do not overwhelm young readers. In her series of chapter books for beginning readers, the "Junie B. Jones" books, she presents a plucky and feisty female protagonist who gets herself involved in adventures from discovering the identity of a secret valentine to learning what to do with a fruitcake won in a school carnival.Born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, in 1947, Park confessed in her autobiography page for the Random House Web site that "as a kid I had absolutely no interest in writing whatsoever." She did, however, have a great interest in humor. "I always found myself incredibly amusing," she further commented. "So from the first grade on, whenever a funny thought hit me, I would happily blurt it out for the whole class to hear." By high school she had developed a strong interest in reading. Then, little by little, her feelings about writing began to change, too. Graduating from the University of Alabama in 1969, she married that same summer. Her husband, Richard, was serving in the U.S. Air Force, and suddenly Park thought that writing--which she could do at home while her two boys were growing up--could be a good outlet for her humorous side.(http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=38)

Reading this I was surprised. I loved Mick Harte was Here growing up and had no idea someone with such humor in her early chapter books of Junie B Jones to something so serious as in Mick Harte was here. I personally think she is an excellent writer with a wide range of talents.

W5. B3.

This is a poem I wrote my junior year of high school after capturing these baby birds in our front yard. Photography has always been such a love of mine. This is my favorite pictures I've ever taken. The poem is kinda depressing but its just a poem : )

Cry For Love:

Lauren Hardy

CRY FOR LOVE

Small, helpless, begging for attention
The baby birds cry out for help,
Unable to help themselves
Depending fully on their parents.

The noise they make is so soft
But so loud to those who listen.
If forgotten about, or not shown love,
The baby birds will not thrive.
Not only will they not thrive,
They will cease to exist at all.

How many people are like this?
In this world people want to be noticed.
They may not be the life of the party
Or be the jock from the football team
But they all need the same.

If not noticed, they will begin to wait
Like those baby birds
Waiting for someone to show them love.
And if no one listens or shows them love
They will also cease to exist.

Suicide in our society is at a high rate
So take the time to say hi to a boy or a girl
Who doesn’t have many friends.
You might just be the one who listens
And helps them thrive.

W5. B2.

Outside Reading: Junie B Jones & The Mushy Gushy Valentines

by: Barbara Parks

I love being in Dr. Self's ECHE class for a number of reasons but one of my favorites is the fact that we get the Scholastic Book Orders ever month. I have a real weakness for children’s books and so I always buy at least 10-15 new books. The one I chose to read today for my outside reading list was Junie B Jones & the Mushy Gushy Valentine. It was really cute. Very typical of how kindergartens are. Junie B and Jim pick on each other in class all the time and everyone believes they hate each other but on Valentines Day Jim gets Junie B a BIG "mushy gushy Valentine." But they decide they should go on pretending to hate each other so Room Nine won’t be different. It is a real cute book. Another thing I realized as reading was her best friend is a snob. She tells Junie B she can sweep her castle one day and Junie B is happy to do so. And she is conceited and only thinks of herself yet her friends Grace and Junie B love her anyways. That little girl will have a reality shock when she gets older. Her “bestest friend” Lucille (the snob) reminds me a lot of the girls from Mean Girls.

W5. B1

Conclusion to Creative Writing: Worst Day Ever

The ten year old was comfy in the middle with plenty of room for her legs to be fully extended. However, mine were cramped and about to be Indian style. I didn’t know what to do, my body was aching and my legs were getting closer and closer to my body. Eddie just kept on driving faster and faster. Before I knew it my legs were up underneath my bottom. And two bumps in the water later I was screaming STOP for real! I had begun to cry and have a panic attack all at once. Finally Eddie and the cousins realized I wasn’t yelling stop for fun anymore that I was crying and really wanted to stop! What seemed like hours later (probably 30 seconds), he stopped and I immediately felt like a baby. My heart was racing and I thought for sure I was having a heart attack. I freaked out and forgot all about my back because my heart felt like it was going to explode.
Slowly we rode into the deck where the remaining family that hadn’t gone on the relaxing boat was waiting, watching us realizing something was wrong. Thankfully, one of Patrick’s aunts is a nurse. She walked me into the house, got me some water and grapes and took my heart rate. It had slowed back to normal. By this time I was so embarrassed that I had caused such a scene for my heart which was perfectly fine. I didn’t dare tell them I couldn’t move off the couch. For the rest of the day I sat on the couch moving only when I needed to.

Sunday morning was the worst. I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t tell anyone this so I slowly pulled myself out of the bed and realized something really was wrong. The rest of Sunday I did nothing but move slowly from one chair to the other and lower myself into each one. Each time someone asked me what was wrong I just insisted I was sore. Later that night we packed up and headed back to Bluefield where my family was staying with my Granny. The rest of my trip was full of pain and misery. What could possibly be wrong with me? Granny blamed mom and said she never should have let me go, and mom just told me I was sore and I would be fine in a couple of days.
She was wrong. Two months later, two days before moving into my dorm as a freshman at Texas A&M, I finally convinced her something really was wrong and that I needed to go to a doctor just to put my mind at rest before venturing out on my own as a college student. We went to the doctor and got it X-rayed. The doctor came in with a solemn face, put my x-ray on the wall and said so matter of fact, “Your back is broken.” I was in shock! How had I been walking? How had I been doing anything at all!? He showed me on the x-ray where the bones had done a domino effect when my legs came under me and how my bones had squished all my discs which keep your back bones from rubbing against each other. I was horrified. My mom felt awful for doubting me and now believes me anytime I tell her something is hurting or wrong with me.
Two days later I moved into my third story dorm and realized I had never been in so much pain in my life. I took physical therapy for a couple of months and that helped. However, still to this day, when the weather changes I know. And if I do something too strenuous I have no back. Crazy to think, I am twenty one years old and have already thrown out my back two times. One fun weekend on the lake turned into a lifetime of pain.

W4. B4.

Set Me Free

Little Girl, Why are you crying?
I've lost my way and cant seem to find it.
Little Girl, Little Girl please dont cry-
I'll help you get found fast.
Oh but I dont know if you can help me
You see I am not really lost
I just cant seem to be found.
Ive searched long and hard
but everywhere I go
I feel I am farther and farther lost than before.
I think I know who can help you.
He will set you free and help you get found.
Im sure has been looking for you.
Oh please Oh please, if you can help me find him
that would be wonderful.
What is his name?
His name is Emmanuel, King of Kings, Prince of Peace,
Jesus.

W4. B3.

The Parent Trap

Real quick blog tonight considering I should be studying for the exam tomorrow but as I was eating dinner I was watching The Parent Trap with Lindsey Lohan and so I had to watch the whole thing and decided as I was watching it a number of things in this movie can relate to fairy tales.
• The girls call there soon to be step mother “Cruella”
• The step mother plans to make their life miserable once they get married (thankfully he doesn’t marry her)
• They have a form of a ball where they meet and fall back in love (scene where they are on the boat)
• Lastly, the very last line of the movie the girl’s original mother says, “What are we supposed to live Happily Ever After…?”

W4. B2.

Creative Writing: The Worst Day Ever Continued...

Patrick and the adults were all going for a ride on the big slow boat and it sounded great to be sitting on the boat relaxing, not on a Jet Ski or speed boat. However, his little sister, Stacey was bound and determined that I was going to go tubing with them. Stacey and her two cousins wanted to go in the tube where you actually sit in the tube with your legs out in front, not to mention they wanted to be pulled by Patrick’s older red neck brother, Eddie on a Jet Ski. I should have known better, but I only agreed to go because I was going to sit on the back of the Jet Ski and tell Eddie when they wanted to stop, slow down, go faster, etc. However, Stacey decided at the last minute (once the relaxing boat was gone) that she wanted to sit on the Jet Ski and her two cousins and I would be in the tube. UGH! What was I going to do!? I had no other option.

I got into the tube nervously. What was I going to do? Here I am with a ten and twelve year old that are so excited and I’m the eighteen year old scared out of my mind. I should have been in the middle because I was the tallest and so my legs needed the most space but of course the ten year old was semi-scared and wanted to be in the middle as to not fall out into the lake. I took my place on the outer right side and said a little prayer…off we went.
Before I knew it I was screaming at the top of my lungs to STOP! I was laughing, but I was so scared I was just screaming stop for the heck of it. I really just wanted him to slow down. We were flying through the water bouncing up and down going this way and that. I thought for sure I was going to die.


stay tuned for the conclusion...

W4. B1.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Character Interview:

The Lion:

•My name is Aslan.
•I am the king, the lord of the whole wood and the great emperor beyond the sea.
•I am the honest peacekeeper.
•I make wrong right.
•I bring new life.
•I am the great sacrifice.
•I often drop in but will not stay
•I am not tame. I am wild.

The Witch:
•I’m tall and pale with flaming eyes.
•I pretend to like everyone.
•I am the “Queen” of Narnia.
•I make it winter all the time but never Christmas.
•I turn my enemies into stone through the use of my magic wand.
•I want to have complete control over Narnia through taking over the “sons of Adam” & “daughters of Eve”

The Wardrobe:
•I am in a forgotten hallway in a forgotten room during the World War II during the 1950’s.
•I am enormous and my floor sometimes is cold and full of snow.
•I am full of long fur coats.
•There is a world beyond my coats.
•Lucy falls upon my magic on accident and there begins our story…

Week Three: Blog Four

Creative Writing: Worst Day Ever

Part One

The worst day of my life began as one of the best. It began much earlier than I would have wanted but spending time with Patrick was worth it. I was spending the weekend with his family at their three story lake house in the midst of the beautiful Virginia mountains on the lake where Dirty Dancing was filmed. It couldn’t get better than this.

I woke up Saturday morning reflecting on the day before and ready for another fun day on the lake. I could smell breakfast above me and could hear everyone laughing and moving around. I went upstairs to join them and found that I was the last one to wake up and everyone gave me a hard time. I don’t Jet Ski or tube very often so my body was aching from the fun day before. However, this family was always on the water, and I didn’t want to look like a baby. Before long the boats, the jet skis and the tubes were all out, and we all were in our bathing suits ready to have some more fun! I was trying my hardest to ignore the throbbing pain or aching I was experiencing from my lack of normal exercise...


until next time...

Week Three: Blog Three

What is the Caldecott Medal?

The Medal shall be awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in English in the United States during the preceding year. There are no limitations as to the character of the picture book except that the illustrations be original work. Honor Books may be named. These shall be books that are also truly distinguished. Another requirement is that the artist must be a U.S. citizen or resident. This annual award has been presented every year since 1938. It is named after Randolph Caldecott, a nineteenth century English illustrator who was known for his picture book illustrations. In most years, in addition to the Caldecott Medal winner, several books are designated Caldecott Honor Books for the quality of their illustrations.
The 2008 Caldecott winner is Brian Selznick with his book The Invention of Hugo Cabert. This book is stunning and absolutely one of my new favorite books. If any book I would recommend it would be this one. It is stunning!

Week Three: Blog Two

Runaway Valentine

The Runaway Valentine was a very cute picture book. I work in a pre-school for three hours on Tuesdays and I read this book at least 5 times this morning. It is about the adventure of a Valentines Day card. It starts out by telling the reader that there is a shop full of the most wonderful valentine cards. In particular, “Victor” is the best and he knows it. He is very impatient and gets knocked off the shelf. The store owner doesn’t realize it and he is brushed aside. Victor decides that he will “runaway” and find someone who will want him. He comes across many obstacles but no one wants him for a card. Everyone that he meets takes a tiny piece of him making him more distraught and upset every time. Finally, when there is just a tiny piece of his face left a little girl finds him and makes him into a Valentines Day card more beautiful than anything you could buy.

This made me think of how creative young children are. You don’t think to go and buy the ten dollar Valentines Day card that sings or is shiny, instead you look for the small things that would make something beautiful. This valentines day I will spend my time trying to be creative and I’m sure I will think of Victor and how he was so full of himself and sure he would be the first one to be bought when really he wasn’t bought at all and how to appreciate the small things and the things someone took the time to make and give you.

Week Three: Blog One

Biographical Notes for Eric Carle

Growing up Eric Carle has always been my favorite author. His sense of style is all of his own and is very recognizable. This is his biography off of his offical website.

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 45 languages and sold over 25 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 75 million copies of his books have sold around the world…One day, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Martin’s eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Carle had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration. It is still a favorite with children everywhere. This was the beginning of Eric Carle’s true career. Soon Carle was writing his own stories, too. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed soon afterward by the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Eric Carle’s art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His art work is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension—die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket’s song as in The Very Quiet Cricket - giving them a playful quality: a toy that can be read, a book that can be touched…
The secret of Eric Carle’s books’ appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions.
The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature—an interest shared by most small children. Besides being beautiful and entertaining, his books always offer the child the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. It is his concern for children, for their feelings and their inquisitiveness, for their creativity and their intellectual growth that, in addition to his beautiful artwork, makes the reading of his books such a stimulating and lasting experience.
Carle says: “With many of my books I attempt to bridge the gap between the home and school. To me home represents, or should represent; warmth, security, toys, holding hands, being held. School is a strange and new place for a child. Will it be a happy place? There are new people, a teacher, classmates—will they be friendly?
I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born. Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun.”

Taken from: www.eric-carle.com/bio

Click on the books and it takes you to a short synopsis about each one.

Week Two: Blog Four

Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella

I chose this book for my third outside reading book because we are currently reading our Cinderella stories. When I went home my mom and I went through our closets upstairs and found me tons of my books from when I was younger. My mom was raised in Virginia and has instilled me in the love of the mountains. So when she handed me this book I knew it would be a good one. In the author's note of this book it talks about all the many other verisions of Cinderella. She talks about the "Catskins" and "Ashpet." Before this class I wouldnt have even bothered to look at that and take into consideration all the differences but she points them out and now that I have read them all it so intreresting to look at the different versions.





Another thing I loved about this book was the language she used to really put you in the Smoky Mountains and understand how they talk and felt. Also I loved the larger than life illustrations.