LOVE poems!

 How can we describe Love?  By using our senses, of course!  I love this simple yet meaningful fill-in-the-blank activity that I usually try to time around Valentine's Day.

By Bella, 1st grade 

Bella, I agree that love is ALL of this!  (Especially the chocolate cake!)

By Vedant (2nd grade)

Yes, Vedant!  I LOVE yummy breakfast sandwiches!

William (2nd grade)

I agree, William!  Love does feel like a happy family, and it definitely tastes like sprinkles!  :)

 

Squiggle Stories!

 This is one of my favorite assignments!  I love seeing how different students take the same computer-generated random squiggle lines, year after year, and create totally different art work.  Then, it is so amazing to see the creative stories that come from their art work!  For this project, we learned the "5W's and an H" story map:

WHO is in my picture

WHAT is happening

WHERE (setting)

WHEN (setting)

WHY this is happening (story line)

HOW my story ends

Once the students jotted down these important notes, they wrote a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.  Enjoy these entertaining samples across the grades!

Squiggle Story by Liam (3rd grade)

  Once upon a time, there was a bunny who heard the myth about Easter.  They always said in the middle of spring, if you go to the Forest of the East, you will find falling eggs with stuff in them. The bunny set off in a hurry, trying to get there.  Many days later, he found an unfamiliar forest.  He thought for a minute, and he looked up and saw eggs falling from the sky!  He did it!  He found the Forest of the East.

The Attack of the Monkeys, by Grayson (3rd grade)

        Once upon a time, there was a little farm house in New York.  It was a very normal day.  Then at 5:00 AM, Avery (the son of the family) saw a god and thought he was there to bless him.  But then thirty seconds later, he realized that the god was just there to fight off these monkeys and the monkey god. 

         About five minutes later, Avery's brother Sam came and started to watch the fight.  Then they got the whole family to be looking through the window.

        After that, the god sent a tornado to try to defeat the monkeys.  Then Sam, Avery, and their scared parents had to go to the tornado bunker so they did not get sucked into the tornado.  

        Then their sister Kate came in and said, "Have you seen what's happening?"

        "Yes, it is very terrible!" exclaimed Sam.

        Avery was watching the commotion outside of the bunker when he yelled, "The monkeys are throwing fireballs towards the house and god created a lightning storm!"

        The family rushed to see what Avery was talking about.  They say what Avery was saying: The god had created a lightning storm and the monkeys were throwing fireballs at the house.

        The family decided to go back into the bunker when the god summoned a tsunami to put out the flame of the monkeys.  Their fire went away, so they became statues.  Then it was just the monkey god vs. the good god, who luckily knew Monkey's weakness.... banana bombs!  So god threw a banana bomb, but the monkey god did not chase it and he said, "I can tell if a banana is a bomb or not."  Little did the monkey god know the banana bomb was right behind him, and it blew up.

        The monkey god lost his wings, and to the good god's surprise, the monkey god turned into King Kong and started to punch god, who fought back.  He sent a. meteor to hit King Kong, and then King Kong was defeated and he faded away.  

        Then the family broke open the meteor and found a very, very rare metal, and sold it.  They became rich and lived happily ever after!

The Death of Bakaluela, by Andreas (5th grade)

        In the black of night, the island of Bakaluela suffers at the thought that it's facing its enemy.  Today, in the middle of the night, the island will experience death.  There was no doubt.  The end was just around the corner.

        The tall was volcano was rumbling.  It was like a car running.  But louder, waves of sounds, words don't have the ability to describe.  Scorching heat flamed, spreading warm temperatures across the island.  Lava popped, and not satisfyingly, but deadly.

        Time was beating, very rapidly, so fast the island of Bakaleula didn't have time to think.  A rumble echoed across the island.  Tsunamis rose above unimaginable heights.  San flew everywhere at the beach.  Trees shivered as undescribable air passed by.  The whole island was trembling with horror.  Everything was feeling it.  Something was coming.  No one knew exactly what, but they knew it would be deadly.

        Everything was silent.  Now everbody was ready.  The trees didn't whisper, the sand didn't tremble with wind, and the waves didn't flow.  It was just a sound that stood out.  A little pop in the lava at the volcano.  Just an average, simple, and tiny pop.  But it wasn't a good pop.  No, not even close to a little pop.

        Lava erupted out of the volcano.  The volcano was screaming, leaving burning ash, smoke, and lava on the poor trees.  Ash gathered in the sand, making it black.  The water was steaming, as it faced the lava.  The volcano continued its deadly bursting while it tilted to the left.  It tilted slowly, then faster, until the volcano fell on the island, cracking its base under the ocean.  The island was slowly sinking.  The island was almost dead.  The trees were vanished, the sand was black as the night sky, and the volcano left a gigantic puff of ash. 

         The volcano stopped.  It realied its mistake.  But it was too late.  Seconds later, nothing was there.  The island was under the sea, never again to be seen.

We Stand Together, by Emily (5th grade)

        On Earth, corruption lurked in all the nooks and crannies on the surface of the world.  Disease and destruction were found everywhere, including the infamous Covid-19.  Everywhere, people fought.  War corrupted and destroyed cities, forests, and more.  In most places, people lay hopeless, waiting, just waiting, for things to get better.

        One fateful day, Covid-19 made a drastic impact, killing hundreds of thousands of people.  Earth fell into chaos.  You could almost hear the primal screams of despair, every day and every night. 

         Then, one day, heroes stood up, tired from everything and determined to make a change.  Doctors, police officers, firemen, teachers, artists, writers-- even children-- stood up from their seats, all with one goal: to change the world.

        We joined hands and helped those in need.  People of all ethnicities stood up together.  Big or small, short or tall, we never judged.  We helped many in need, raising money, providing food, supplying shelter, even hosting drives where we gave out necessities to those that were poor.  We stood together, never giving up.  Even in dire situations, we never sat down.   Never backed down, never relented.  Never gave up, never stopped trying to reach our goal: to change the world.

        Everyone helped.  Doctors healed the sick, writers inspired.  Artists drew, citizens volunteered.  Even children helped, writing, inspiring, drawing.  In the end, we eventually did it.  We sparked hope.  We joined hands, never giving up.  We succeeded.  Even though Covid-19 still hung in the air, something else overtook the feelings of pain and corruption: Hope.

        We joined hands, fighting for what we wanted.  We worked together, giving giving up, never backing down.  In the end, we succeeded.  We brought back hope.  Hope that we should keep going.  Hope that everything is going to be alright.  We also learned a lesson, a valuable lesson.  We learned that no matter what, we stand together.

My Great Invention!

 If you could create a new invention to improve your own life, the life of your community, or the world, what would it be?  Students got very creative with this "how to" assignment.  Their job was to create an invention, and then using guide words and clear direction verbs, tell us exactly how their invention would work.  The "Budding" classes were to write one long paragraph, and the "Awesome" classes wrote three paragraphs: an intro, a clear "how to" body paragraph, and a snappy conclusion.  Enjoy these samples across the grades!

The Teacher Calmer Downer, by Emily (1st grade)

        If I were a great inventor, I would invent a "Teacher Calmer Downer."  It would calm down the teacher on a hard day.  First, you get a microwave.  Nexxt, you get whatever food you want.  Then, you get a lounge chair.  Finally, you can press a blue button, and it will all turn on and calm down the teacher.  This invention is free for all teachers!  I think my invention is fantastic.

(Me too, Emily! ~Mrs. Huff, after a particularly challenging day)

Animal Bodychanger XP, by Chuyu (3rd grade)

               If I could create a new invention,it would be the Animal Bodychanger Xp. Have you ever wondered what it would feel to be an animal? Then this is the thing for you!

                 The Animal Bodychanger XP is easy to use. First, turn on the device  by pulling the blue lever up ⬆️.Similarly pull the green lever to the left. Second, press the button of  the picture of the animal you want to be which is blue. You can also type your custom animal’s description. It could become anything you want, from a minuscule  elephant to giant beetleand everything in between! Then take the pill from the purple hand in the top middle of the machine. After that,  eat the very tasty pill that is different colors.

When you want to turn back to a human, just press the button opposite of the first button when you wanted to choose your animal.

                 Now you can can experience what it’s like to be any animal, from an ant to an alligator!  Imagine what it would be like to be an animal in the wild, and use the Bodychanger XP to bring your imagination to life!           

Hyper-Glasses! by Titus (4th grade)

If I could create an invention, I would produce the Hyper Glasses™! They magnify, translate, and protect your eyes all in one! 

These glasses have multiple colors, which are red, blue, purple, orange, and gray. They also have three buttons: green and red, and black. To use them, you must simply put the glasses on, then click the green button. The green button turns the glasses on or off, while the red button changes the mode. Also, the glasses’ battery life is ten hours when it is being actively used. There are four modes: Magnify, Relax, Movie, or Translate. Magnification makes things appear closer on your side, so you don't have to squint to see objects or animals. Movie mode reduces the exposure from blue light to your eyes by 82%-88%, depending on multiple factors. They also render things that have too few pixels, so you can always view the best quality! Translation translates foreign languages into whatever language you set it to in settings. You can turn on settings by holding on the red button for ten seconds. Finally, Relaxation mode mildly vibrates the sides of your glasses, acting like a massage.

Next time you want to watch anything, study, relax, or read foreign languages, these glasses are the way to go!

The Pollution Destroyer, by Max (5th grade)

    If I could create a new invention, it would be the "Pollution Destroyer." Wouldn't you like to see pollution go away in a flash? Even if this was possible, it would be extremely hard. My invention wouldn't only do this, but it would do it quickly.

    The "Pollution Destroyer" would be easy to use. Just look out, and when you see pollution engulfing places in the world, get the "Pollution Destroyer." The "Pollution Destroyer" is a dolphin, and sucks pollution out of the air and water. When you get it, place it in the water. You have a controller to control the dolphin, but you can put it on auto mode. The air the dolphin breaths is filtered. The water around it also gets filtered. 10% of the world's pollution gets destroyed every minute. When you think the pollution is mostly taken away, you can press a button on the controller for it to return to your location. It has little robotic legs to walk to you if you're on land. If you see any rising of pollution, you can put it back in. It has solar panels, so it charges automatically. Now, you don't have to worry about pollution!

        Thanks to the futuristic and improved technology in this creature, pollution will quickly subside. The "Pollution Destroyer" will turn any world into a shining new place. Now, your beaches will be blue and beautiful for the rest of your life!

The Drivers Ed Headband, by Arielle (6th grade)

        If I could create an invention, it would be the "Drivers Ed Headband."  How many parents out there are worried every time your child touches a steering wheel?  My invention would take away all of your stress and worry.

        The "Drivers Ed Headband" is very easy to use.  First, when your teenages is about to go driving, make sure they are wearing the headband.  Then enter the type of driving you are are doing.  There will be these options: "Freeway Driving," "Highway Driving," "Residential neighborhoods," "School Zones," and there will also be an option to type your own.  After you select the type of driving, press the Enter button, and wait for the next five minutes as knowledge is downloading into your brain.  Now, you will have every bit of information you need for driving.

        Now, boys also need to learn to drive, but they don't usually wear headbands.  So instead of headbands, there is also a hat that both genders can use.  The headbands and baseball hats come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.

        So now make worrying about your teen driving a thing of the past.  Look out Drivers Ed School!  The "Drivers Ed Headband" is coming for you!