Celebrity of the week-Jessica

I wanted to write about Gotcha Day because not everyone knows what it is.  Gotcha Day is a very special day.  It's the day that my mommy, daddy and I became a family.  It’s the day that they got me and I got them.

I was born on December 27, 2006 in China.  I lived in an orphanage until I was 10 months old.  On November 18, 2007 my mommy, daddy and I got to meet for the first time..

On November 18 every year, we celebrate our Gotcha Day anniversary.  I call it our official Mock family holiday. We go out to a special place for dinner and I usually get a cake and lots of presents.  It's like having 2 birthdays every year.  This year was our 7th gotcha day anniversary.  I didn't get a cake but I got an entire dessert table

Every year, my mommy gets a crown from Burger King and turns it into a Gotcha Day crown.  She used to surprise me with one every year but this year I got to help decorate it.  

Here are pictures of me in my different Gotcha Day crowns.

I love Gotcha Day because it makes me happy.   It makes me feel really special..  I love my family.

Celebrity of the week Kadyn

My Maui Family Vacation by Kadyn

Every  year my family and I go to Maui during Spring break and celebrate Easter. We have an Easter egg hunt on the beach. The hotel has a big Easter celebration. We are on the island for two and a half weeks. I swim in the pool, slide on the water slide, snuba, play on the beach, snorkel and visit the activity center.

On Easter morning, I go on an Easter egg hunt on the beach with my family. I hunt for eggs that have candy and sometimes money in them. The hotel has an Easter egg hunt outside in the garden area overlooking the pools and the beach. There are hundreds of easter eggs and a lot of kids. There are only a few golden eggs to find with special notes in them. I've never found a golden egg yet, but my friend Mia that lives on the island has found one. I get my face painted like an Easter bunny. They have a lot of fun things to do.

I swim every day in the pool and the ocean. I snuba in the pool. Snuba is when you use a regulator to breath air under water. Snuba is like scuba diving. I snorkel with a lot of fish in the ocean every year. Last year I saw a turtle real close. My brother saw an eel.

I visit the activity center at the hotel a lot when I'm in Maui. A few things that I do at the activity center are bowling, miniature golfing, and a lot of arts and crafts. I've painted a coconut, jewelry box, ornaments and made a fresh flower lei.

Celebrity of the Week-Luke

I’m going to be blogging about the great week I spent with my Auntie Karen and all the fun things we did for fall break.

Auntie Karen flew from Boise, Idaho to play with me. At the airport, I ran to hug her and then we drove home to my house.  When we got home, she gave me a present but it wasn’t a present for me. She got a Kreo Lego truck set that she wanted me to help her build for her grandson, Tanner. I love Tanner because he is funny. While my Auntie Karen was visiting I made videos of myself and sent them to Tanner. Then he would send videos back to me. [HERE IS A PICTURE OF TANNER]

The next day, we went to the Dollar Store to buy things to make Minecraft swords. We bought special paper, glitter glue spray, glue sticks and aluminum foil.  First, we weaved the special paper together to make the Minecraft pattern. Next, we “modge-podged” the woven paper to hold it together. Then, we pasted the paper to poster board and cut out the sword shapes. Finally, we sprayed the swords with gold and silver glitter glue.  When we were all done, we had sword fights against each other at the Park. [HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE MINECRAFT SWORDS WE MADE]

While my Aunt Karen was visiting, we adopted our new dog Callie from the Front Street Animal Shelter. When we brought Callie home, we gave her a bath. Then, I played tug-o-war with her and snuggled her. [HERE IS A PICTURE OF MY DOG CALLIE]

My Auntie Karen played Legos with me and we built a forest. We made Lego soldiers and put them in the forest to hide from bad guys.

Finally, Auntie Karen had to go home. I was very sad to see her go but luckily I get to go to Boise to see her during Thanksgiving break. [HERE IS A PICTURE OF MY AUNTIE KAREN]

Celebrity of the Week-Chase

Every year my family takes a trip to Trinity Center, California for a family reunion. There is a swimming hole we visit called Mann’s Hole. This area is a deep, pool are in the Trinity River. There are rocks that me and my family love to climb and jump off. I started jumping off the low rocks when I was 4. This past year I jumped off one of the highest rocks. It is kind of scary when you first start jumping but eventually you will get over it. I jump with my dad, grandpa, aunt, and cousins. Normally to warm up a little bit we lean against the other rocks that are behind us. My dad is at the bottom and ready to help me.  

One year we went all of the way to the bottom of Mann’s Hole which is 20 feet deep. We dove down to catch two crawdads which look like crabs. We named one of them Luke Skywalker because he lost an arm in the fight with the other one we found. And then we tried to sink ourselves with huge rocks. I love  Trinity Center! Here are some pictures of me jumping:

Celebrity of the Week~Emily

My Summer Vacation

By Emily Meyer

This summer I went on a vacation with my family.  We went to Zion and Yellowstone National Parks.

Zion is in Utah and Yellowstone is in Wyoming.  

We went to Zion Park first.  It was very hot there.  I climbed on a lot of red rocks.  It was fun.  I walked under waterfalls.  I walked in a river and my shoes got wet.  I got to use binoculars to see up close.  I saw a lizard, deer and a chipmunk that I named Alvin.

After we went to Zion, we drove to Yellowstone National Park.  We stayed in Idaho.  We were there on the first day of summer.  It was cold and it evened snowed!  I had to use my umbrella to keep dry.  I saw steam come out of the ground.  I saw buffalo.  They were huge!  

I had a great summer vacation!  

Celebrity of the week: Roberto

On my last vacation to El Salvador, my grandpa taught my brother and I archery. My grandpa was and archer champion on a tournament. He taught me that there are three different types of archery competitions: Long range, short range and group range. When I grow older I would like to be an archer like my grandpa.

To practice the archery sport you need a bow, an arrow and a target board. You have to be very focused when practicing this sport because the arrows are very pointy and dangerous. You are only allowed to hit the target board.

My grandpa taught me that the bow does not go up or down, it should only go to the left or to the right.The arrow always goes in the middle of the bow and you need to hold it still with your finger. At the beginning of our practice, my brother and I were very nervous. But after a few tries, we loved practicing it. And the best part is that at as we practiced our arrows were even closer to the middle of the target board which is the best points that you could have in an archery competition.

I felt very confident after a few days practicing with my brother and my grandpa. I thank him for teaching us. Archery is not a very common sport, but is one of my favorites. Hopefully, we go back soon and I could go practice with my brother again.

Thank you for reading.

Roberto Carlos

Celebrity of the Week-Quinn

Horseback Riding - Meet Dude

I recently started to learn how to ride a horse. I am taking lessons at Hoofbeats Equestrian Center in Elk Grove.  At Hoofbeats, their horses are saved from people who don’t take good care of them. They have thirty horses. Some are miniature horses and some are large horses.  I met a horse whose head is almost as big as my body.

Dude is a miniature horse. He is not going to grow anymore. This is how he will stay. He is thirteen years old.  This is the horse I ride.  When I start my lessons, the first thing I do is brush his coat. I use two brushes. One brush is for the mane and tail, and the other brush is for coat.  They get all of the dirty things off of him because he rolls in mud a lot. Then I clean the hooves with another brush that is kind of like a scraper and you use it to get the dirt, thorns and rocks out. If you leave rocks in the hooves the horse can get an infection.

Meet Dude.

Alexis is my trainer. She gets me my saddle and puts it on Dude. I put on my helmet. I lead him to the stadium and climb on.

I ride around the stadium with Dude. Last week I learned trotting.  It was really funny because it feels like you are on a bouncy ball. Alexis says that if I do really good I can start jumping.

We Like To Move It!

There isn't a day that goes by that we don't do a GoNoodle dance. There are some days where I just don't have the time to do a 3 minute break but do you think my students would let me get away with that? If you said, "No way", then you are correct!

I keep my door open throughout the day and when we are taking a brain break, the kids and adults passing in the hall can't resist and take a peek. The students passing in the hall start to dance because clearly, we are having a "dance party" in my classroom!

Although we have recess a few times a day and Friday Fitness every week, GoNoodle brain breaks are at the top of the list. I have to say that I personally love all the Zumba dances and all the Koo Koo Kanga Roo breaks.

When my students are losing attention or when they look lethargic, that is my key to stop and throw in a little "Awesome Rainbows" or "Push all the buttons" routine. The students rejuvenate and are ready to focus once again. Wednesday after lunch, we go a long stretch without a recess so the kids either get really antsy or too relaxed..sometimes I feel the same way. We all get a little unfocused. It's these times that I appreciate and love GoNoodle! 

 Even Mrs. Torres likes to MOVE IT!

Celebrity of the Week~Sophia

My Sleepover

On 9-20-14 was the best day ever!

First, me and Allyson packed for a sleepover. Then, we came to Jordan’s house and unpacked.  Next, we watched TV...It was so fun. (and funny.) Then, we played outside, and ate cake at my dad’s B-day party and played in the photo booth. My Dad had lot’s of friends at the party even some of my friend’s parents! Then, we went back to Jordan’s house, and ate homemade pizza! Then, we brushed our teeth, and then Jordan AND Elizabeth read a story and Jordan read the book and Elizabeth acted it out. It was so, so funny! Then, we went to sleep. In the morning we ate pumpkin pancakes and scrambled eggs. Sadly, we had to go home.

I can’t wait for the next sleepover and party!

-Sophia

Aekam~Celebrity of the week

Aekam’s Blog -MY MINECRAFT

Hello Friends,

I will be blogging about Minecraft today. In MINECRAFT there are two modes for the game - Creative and Survival. You can play in both the modes on iPad and also XBox 360. In ‘Creative’ mode, the players don’t get hurt. There is no night time play and there are no monsters. On XBox though, even in ‘Creative’ mode, you can play in nighttime. On iPad, in ‘Survival’ mode, the players start with nothing in their inventory. On XBox, you just start with a map and some food.

I like to play in the Survival mode because you have to protect yourself from creepers, zombies, witches, ghast, silver fish, skeletons, spiders and more. It is a game of and you have to build a house, chop trees, you have to slaughter animals to eat and make your bed so you can sleep faster. You can play with your friends. If you are playing with others, then you need to have two beds. If there is only one bed, then it will never be morning. You can’t fly to see different worlds in Survival

CREEPERS

ZOMBIE

SKELETON

SPIDER

WITCHES

SILVER FISH

GHAST

In the Creative world, the players do not have to worry about being hurt. You can make different things. I have build a lot of different types of palaces, roller coasters etc. Here is a glimpse in one of my Creative world.

I love playing Minecraft because I play it with my brother and together we get to create a lot of cool stuff like Skyscrapers, houses for other people who want to join us. Even our mom and dad, whenever  they can, join us and I show them how to play in my worlds.

Take a tour to one of Aekam's world

Thanks you for reading and viewing my blog.

Aekam Madan

2nd Grade