Each morning the students respond to a prompt written on the board and write in their "Blogs." Here are some of our recent thoughts!! I SOMETIMES WONDER… I sometimes wonder if dinosaurs were really alive before. If they were I will not be surprised. --Justin C. I sometimes wonder why when I wake up I’m off my bed. --Skylar I sometimes wonder if there’s something alive in outer space. I wonder if something not from earth will come to earth. I wonder if there are things living on the moon. Also, if there is something living on the moon, will it try to get us. I wonder if we could go to the moon and build buildings! --Sneha I sometimes wonder if dreams come to life. Every day I have a weird dream. Whenever I wake up in the morning I feel like something’s watching me. Then I start to feel like something’s tickling me. Then I start to get a twitch. I feel like a hairy spider’s on my backside. It feels really weird. --Sam P. Sometimes I wonder if we are going to win a game. Like a baseball game. Same with football. I just wonder who is going to win the game. It’s called curiosity. --Eli I sometimes wonder if there’s going to be a World War Three. I hope there isn’t because it helps extinct the human being. It can also cut down very many trees. I hope that we’ll become a whole country as the whole world. That would be very peaceful. --Sam S. I sometimes wonder if I could ride in a jet. I wish I could because it would be fun. I have always wanted to. It would be so cool. --Carter I sometimes wonder if I can do tricks off the diving board, like flips and back flips. I heard there’s a trick that starts with my name. I wonder if I can do it. It looked pretty easy when they did it. --Jack K. I sometimes wonder if I will have a new dog after my dog dies. I wonder about it because my dog now is very cute. My dog is a border collie. That’s something special I don’t want to lose. That’s something I worry about. --Dalya I sometimes wonder if I will ever know that I got a “4” before report cards come out because I am so curious that I will get a “4”. I am always doing good, but I most of the time get a “3” when I did very good that I should have got a “4”. I also wonder if I will ever have superpowers because I always wanted super power. I am also curious if I will never be in trouble or have a punishment of any kind. --Lossou I sometimes wonder if when I’m next to a pit, I wonder if I will fall in the pit. I would not like to fall in a puddle, either, because I would get wet. I don’t know how to swim. I don’t like to swim a lot. I would die if I fell in a pit. --Barry I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever get more allowance. I think the last time I got an allowance was one year ago. I also think an average person is supposed to get an allowance every week. Whoever that average person is had better give me some of that money. Really. As I was saying, I don’t think I’m very cheap. So, this is what I sit and wonder about. --Maya I sometimes wonder why my sister Olivia needs glasses because she got her eyes dilated. I love her but I don’t know how she will look with glasses. --Michael I sometimes wonder how a TV works. It’s amazing how thousands and thousands of tiny tiny squares can make something that’s happening just as you’re watching. It captures every second that’s going on. Even how you just press a button and it turns on. And the remote control doesn’t have to be plugged in for it to work. Also, just a metal thing plugged into wire in an outlet turns the entire system on. --Jackson I sometimes wonder if the economy is going up or down. I wonder because sometimes I’m afraid my mom will lose her job. We did a project that involved the economy. My last reason is that I like the economy. --Ethan I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever get a new Wii game. And if I’ll pass my drivers’ license. And if I’ll get an A+ today. And if I’ll be a patrol when I am in 5th grade. And if I’ll go to Georgetown University. --Jack A. Sometimes I wonder when it’s going to be my birthday! I also wonder when it’s going to be Christmas, and Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Hanukah. --Stephanie I sometimes wonder if I am in a videogame. I wonder this because I feel like I can cut through worlds. Plus I can bend metal. I feel like I can speak another language. I feel like I could do a forward flip on a trampoline. --Philip I sometimes wonder if my brother is joking or not. My brother always makes up all these lies. For example, one time he said there would be no school. I ended up staying in my pajamas all morning. I was late for school, too! --Giovanna Sometimes I wonder if the earth ever ends or if it keeps going around and around. I also wonder if there will be another Great Depression. --Max Sometimes I wonder if people are gonna say yes or no if I ask someone a question. Like if I asked for a really cute toy I would think “Will they say yes or no? Maybe no…” Then they just say their answer. They mostly say no but they say yes sometimes. I just wish that they would say yes all the time, but I know that won’t happen in a BILLION YEARS! --Hannah I sometimes wonder if my Wii is turned off. Whenever I’m done playing and I turn off the TV I always run and look. I wonder what would happen if I didn’t look? Whenever I look it’s off. --Jonathan I sometimes wonder if aliens are real (aliens abducting me is my greatest fear). The reason I’m afraid is because once when I went on vacation, I was watching a TV show on aliens. It really freaked me out (they had strange videos of alien sightings). Even though I’m afraid of aliens, I still like alien movies (not like the film that I saw on vacation). --Alec I sometimes wonder what other people are doing. Like if I am doing homework, Taylor Swift might be on a date with Drew Seely. So that’s what I wonder because our lives are different. P.S. If my grandpa was still alive I would be an actor because he directed movies. It would be cool if I was an actor and you were still my reading teacher. --Christine I sometimes wonder if my parents are lying. One reason is last year my birthday was on Sunday. I have Sunday school on Sundays. My dad said we both have to go. Then when the day came, he let me and my brother stay home! Now it is almost Halloween. My mom said we have to go to Sunday school, but me and my brother think she is lying. We’re suspicious. Well, I guess we’ll find out. Sometimes I wonder. --Ariel THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING MY AGE IS… The best thing about being my age is that I am so close to my sister’s age. Then when I’m at my sister’s age I get my ID and e-mail so I get to e-mail my friends. At nine, I get my e-mail—well, actually I have to be nine and a half and ten to get my ID. --Sam P. The best thing about being my age is you’re small so you can fit through small places to get stuff. For example, my bouncy ball always gets stuck under the couch. Since I’m small, I can crawl under the couch to get it. Also, since I’m eight, I’m also pretty tall. So I don’t need any more step stools. But of course I’m not that tall! --Giovanna The best thing about being my age is you don’t get to do as much fun stuff when you’re an adult because you’re old. For example, going on a roller coaster. --Dalya The best thing about my age is that there is a movie named after my age. The movie is “9” and that’s how old I am! The other thing is that when I’m ten I can sit in the front row of the car no matter how short you are! I like the number 9. In my reading class, my egg thing number is 9! That is the best thing about my age. --Nick G. The best thing about being my age is when you’re 8 you can do a back flip and when you’re 60, you can’t. You can’t. --Julian The best thing about being my age is when I go to the store because when people want to get in the fitting room but it’s locked and the people that work there are busy I crawl under the door and open it. --Bodur The best thing about being my age is that I don’t have to do chemistry and all that. Second, I don’t have to learn how to use deodorant or a razor and shaving cream. Also, I’m not too old. Or too young. I think you can understand why I’d rather be 8 than 80. And 8 rather than 8-. --Maya The best thing about being my age is that we don’t have children yet. We have Ms. Powelson as our reading teacher. We can still be in great youth groups. We’re still young! And a lot more! --Jessie The best thing about being my age is you feel so old next to little tiny kindergarteners. Plus I’m short and I feel like a kindergartener right now. You should see me next to my kindergarten cousin—the one who might move here. --Julia The best thing about my age is playing video games because when you’re 30 and higher you need to focus at work. Another reason that being 8 is great is because I get to play on a great baseball team. Ben N. is on my baseball team. He’s the homerun king! Eli is also on my baseball team. We are good! --Jonathan WHAT THINGS SCARE YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW THERE IS NO REASON TO BE AFRAID? I’m scared of myself when I have a bad bad hair day. I go look in the mirror and then I start to scream. My hair sticks up like a Mohawk. I look weird. --Dalya The thing that scares me that there’s no reason for is when I go to bed. Whenever I go to bed I first watch TV. So then I go to bed. Sometimes I bring the computer up to the room and play games and then I finally go to bed. --Sam P. When I am on a rollercoaster and there is the downhill track to get you started, it scares me even though there is no reason to be afraid because there is a bar. I like the rest of the rollercoaster. I once went on a rollercoaster and the hill was bad but it had a large loop and it was fine. --Ian Chucky. He is so cool and so scary. He eats thumbtacks for goodness sakes. When you stab him, he laughs—now that’s scary. When he jumps off a building, he’s still alive. --Julian Something that scares me is when my brother jumps out of nowhere. I hate it when he does that. It scares me. Also, it scares me when somebody taps on your shoulder and you don’t know who it is. It freaks me out. Also, when somebody rings the doorbell and nobody’s there. Then my brother tells me he did it, but I’m still scared. I don’t believe him. --Sneha Cicadas scare me. They have germs and I’m germ free! I really don’t care about any bugs. I think you can get sick by touching a cicada. They are terrifying. --Jonathan Something that scares me is any violent or scary movies. If you visit my room, you’ll see a mess, another mess, but you’ll notice pictures of monsters. They are there because just in case there are actual vampires or anything in scary movies, those monsters will block them from my stuff. As I was saying, I’m really scared of those. --Maya These are some of the things that I’m scared of and there is a reason to be scared of them: a tsunami, a tornado, and a hurricane. Here is something that there is no reason to be scared of: the costume called “The Scream.” Fake blood squirts down its face. That is what I’m scared of. --Eli Sometimes I worry about doing bad on a math test. Like getting a zero out of four. Or if it is a huge long packet. Or if I didn’t study. But of course I always do. --Uriel I am scared of squirrels because when they’re on trees close to me I’m afraid they’re going to jump on me. --Stephanie I am sometimes scared of blood even though there is no reason to be scared of it. Blood comes when you get hurt. I don’t like getting hurt. I especially don’t like the blood out of other people. Sometimes I have dreams about blood. There is nothing to be scared of I know, but I am scared of it. --Justin S. Sometimes drama movies scare me. Also, tarantulas scare me. And Michael Vick scares me. Also people who are learning to drive scare me. --Teddy Sometimes I know that I’m not supposed to be scared but I am. Like when I’m all alone upstairs I hear a “thump.” But I know it’s just the wind on the window. Sometimes I hear a car coming when I’m walking on the sidewalk. I get scared so I run even though I’m on the sidewalk. --Jessie What scares me that I know there’s no reason to be afraid is a knife. I mean like when I am five feet away, I still think it’s gonna cut me. It’s weird—I know that it can’t cut me. --Hannah Something that scares me even though it will not happen is my dad will get hit by lightning. If he does I will stab myself with a knife. Once I thought it would happen. It was pouring rain, but he was fine. If I ever have a bad dream about it, I will ask my mom if it is true. --Ethan Something that I’m scared of but has no reason to be afraid is monsters are going to pop out of the carpet and catch me. They will dissect me until my heart comes out. They look like Venus Fly Traps but bigger. To avoid them I run out of the room as fast as I can so they can’t catch me. If the lights are out when I get to the steps, I walk slowly but carefully. I try to go fast but I couldn’t without making too much noise. --Jackson ON WEEKENDS I DON’T LIKE TO HAVE TO… On weekends I don’t like to have to go to ice-skating because it is very cold and it is annoying to practice for my lesson. The worst figure is the change foot spin because you have to change feet while you’re spinning. My favorite is the one foot spin. I do it every single time I first get on the ice. --Dalya On weekends I don’t like to have to clean up my house. I mean it’s the weekend—can’t we go out and play? I mean what’s the point of cleaning? I HATE IT. --Julian On weekends I don’t like to have to get up early for some reason. Can’t people see that I’m trying to sleep? Really. Sleep is an important part of the day! Who can’t understand that?!!? (I’m talking to you, Jayna.) Anyway, it’s weird how parents make you go to bed early and wake you up early. It just doesn’t make any sense. So…DON’T WAKE ME UP!!! If you do that, you’re good to go. --Maya On weekends I don’t like brushing my hair before sports. I don’t like doing it because my hair is going to get messy anyway. It’s like brushing hair for no reason. Also, if I wet my hair, it’s going to get cold. My mom will even make me wet my hair on freezing cold winter days! --Jackson On weekends I don’t like to have to do work before playing video games. I don’t like doing this because when I’m almost done my heart beats fast. Sometimes my mom makes me do extra work while waiting for my brother to finish. If I don’t do work I’m going to get super bored. I don’t want to wait or do work so that’s why I hate both. --Sean On weekends I don’t like to have to go to Hebrew school. It’s pretty boring. All we do is sing Hebrew songs and learn about stories. Also, their food is not that good. --Uriel On weekends I don’t like to have to do chores. I just want to play on the computer. I DON’T want to play the piano. I just want to play on the computer. I don’t want my mom nagging for me to help her cook. I just want to play on the computer. I don’t want to just sit there. Computer! Computer! Computer! --Jessie On weekends I don’t like to have to go to Hebrew school! I think I’d know that because it is BORING! I’m only going for a Bat Mitzvah. Do you know Jonathan and Eli—they are in my class and the teacher loves them. --Julia On weekends I don’t like to have to go to church. The only part I like about it is the food, and that’s only at the end! It takes like an hour to do, and it’s no fun. Another thing I don’t like is weekends are the only time I can go to my friend’s house. And my mom banned me from my friend’s house and he’s my only friend who has a trampoline in his backyard! Then I only do boring stuff. --Anonymous On weekends I don’t like to have to drive in a car or truck. I don’t like driving in a car or truck on weekends because I could be playing at my house during the ride. In the car or truck I am not allowed to play my DSI. I don’t like to ride in trucks or cars on the weekends! --Barry WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TOLD SOMEONE YOU LOVED THEM? The last time I told someone I loved them was last year in second grade because someone told my secret and now everyone knows about it . I felt so embarrassed about it so I never ever talked to that girl again. I told him I loved him because I couldn’t keep it in. I also told it because I had to. Everyone has a crush—just they won’t admit it. --Anonymous I never told someone I loved them. It’s gross saying it. I would never ever do that. I hate doing that. --Anonymous About a year ago when I was 7. I told it to a girl that I like. And now she’s my girlfriend. --Julian The last time I said I love you to someone was to my brother because when he went to Texas to the air force—it’s almost like the army—when I had to go to school I had to say I love you and bye and good luck. --Bodur The last time I told someone I loved them was this morning. I said it to my hamster Leo. He passed away. I said I love him when we were burying him. I really meant it. --Uriel The last time I told someone I loved them was last night. I told my mom and then my dog Maggie. Maggie was cuddling up to me in bed. She was sleeping like a human! I love my dog! --Nick S. The last time I told someone I loved them was yesterday. I told my mom. It was just random. But I do love my mom. I would love her always—nothing can stop me!! --Jessie The last time I said “I love you” to someone was this morning to my dog, because I felt sorry for him. He can’t eat cheese his whole life ever again. He has to eat chicken and salmon now. He was crying—his eyes were teary. Then I left for school. His birthday is Monday and his favorite food was roast beef, but he can’t eat red meat at all. --Julia The last time I told someone I loved them was on Sunday because my mom let me get two new toys. That was a great time. And to my sister—she used her Build-a-Bear workshop gift card for me. --Anonymous The last time I said I loved someone was today. It was to my mom. I didn’t have a good morning. I ate breakfast. I almost didn’t make the bus. --Barry The last time I told someone I loved them was when me and Mom were snuggling and watching TV together. But sometimes Dad comes and bugs us and we get disturbed. I hug and kiss Mom because I love her. --Matty The last time I told someone I loved them was to my mom. It was today. It was when she said bye to me when the bus got to the bus stop. I gave her a hug. --Justin S. The last time I told someone I loved them was last night. To my mom, dad, brother, and my two dogs. Before bed, at 9:30 pm. After I told my dogs, one of them licked me! But the other just barked. --Giovanna The last time I told my dad that I loved him was last night. It was when we were watching the Maryland game. They were playing Cincinnati. They lost to that team. If they shot all their free throws, they would have won. --Sam S. The last time I told someone I loved them was yesterday when I told my mom I loved her. I also told my dad I loved him. And I told my brother I loved him. Also, I told my dog I love her. --Teddy The last time I told someone I loved them was probably last night to my mom. Or this morning to my dad. Maybe yesterday, the day before that, or Monday. On Sunday to my mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa. Yes, I think it was this morning or last night. I think I say it often or at least often enough. I may say it usually but my mom and dad say it every single day I think . I love my mom and dad and cats. Oh. It might have been this morning to my cat. That’s probably it! --Ariel The last time I told someone that I loved them was yesterday. I told my mom. On Monday I told my Grandma. On Sunday I told my cousin. On Friday I told my dog. On Wednesday I told my other cousin Ariel. --Jack A. I WOULD NOT LIKE TO LIVE WITHOUT… I would not like to live without my brothers. I will always need them through thick or thin. I love my brothers. They can peeve me off sometimes, but I love them. --Tony I would not like to live without my own room. I have my own room. One older brother. I would hate to share a room with him! I need my own personal space. From fish to clothes, to toys to a bed, I need one room to do that. --Ariel I would not like to live without a couch. It would not feel comfortable sitting on the floor. Also, I wouldn’t be able to see the TV with a table in front of me. I would have to stand or go on my knees. --Uriel I would not want to live without my Mom because I love her. She makes me good peanut butter sandwiches. We both watch TV together. I like to sit with Mom when we go to restaurants. --Matty I wouldn’t like to live without parents. I wouldn’t like to live without parents because they cook for you. They sometimes teach you how to clip your nails. They pay for video games. They pay for your food. --Philip I would not like to live without a dog. I love dogs. They are cozy. They are also fun to play with. I hope I can have one when I’m a grow-up, too. --Eli I would not like to live without a Wii. And without a printer. And a computer. And some games. I would like that. And some food. --Jack A. I would not like to live without a family. It would be so boring without a family. Also, you wouldn’t get to meet your birth parents and your brother or sister. If you lived without a family you might live on the road. Also, you might get lonely. --Sneha I would not like to live without people. They are very useful and if I was the only person on earth, then the human species would be extinct after I died. Also, I would be very lonely and I wouldn’t know where to go and the TVs wouldn’t work because there would be no commercials. Also, if the power went out I wouldn’t know what to do. But luckily I’m not the only person on earth. --Sam S. I would not like to live without family and friends. I couldn’t live without family because then I couldn’t go anywhere because my family drives me everywhere. I couldn’t live without my friends because my friends comfort me. Also, I wouldn’t have friends to play with. --Giovanna SOMEDAY I’D LIKE PEOPLE TO REMEMBER THAT I… Someday I’d like people to remember that I’m 8. Everybody thinks that I’m 7. In Japan, everybody thinks I’m 8. --Sam P. Someday I’d like people to remember that I was an inventor and the awesome invention I might make. I have no idea what the heck to invent, but when I am an inventor I’m sure I can invent something very cool everyone can use. --Sean Someday I’d like people to remember that I will be the first Spanish president of the United States. I will kind of do my speech in Spanish because I am Spanish. --Julian Someday I’d like people to remember that I became a “wrote-great-poems” person. Someday I want people to remember that because then they could see how good I am. Also I think people would be inspired to write poems, too. I think they will like my poems. --Sneha Someday I’d like people to remember that I am awesome. Also, that I almost broke a world record for screaming, I think. I almost really did. Until my lungs got dried out. I hope people remember that I screamed that loud. --Maya Someday I’d like people to remember that I can speak, write, and read Russian. I also know how to write cursive Russian. For example, “hi,” “no,” and many more. I go to Russian school every Saturday. (They usually choose me to be in plays.) --Alec Someday I’d like people to recognize me as Jonathan the great baseball player. I get singles, doubles, and triples. I got one homerun in my life. I want to have a baseball card of myself. I want them to call me “Homerun King.” --Jonathan Someday I want people to remember that I saved my house! One time when we were about to get in the car to go to Connecticut, I noticed the stove was on. My mom quickly turned it off. If the stove was left on it would spread! It would start a fire! --Giovanna Someday, I’d like people to remember that I like them because they are my best friend forever. My best friend forever is Jack K. We had a playdate and we had a fun time because we played on the Wii and Jack got two random homeruns. He got one with Yoshi, and he is hard to get a homerun with. He got one with Bozer Jr. also and he is hard to get a homerun with, too. I can hit homeruns with them too but it’s really hard to and I only got like two or three homeruns with them. We had snack in the middle of our game so we had to pause it. We played a little bit with my toy soldiers but that was before the Wii. He came to my house at 1:30 pm. And when he got to my house I got so excited that I almost busted my head open. We played a little bit of Mouse Trap after the Wii. When he had to leave I felt very sad. --Barry When I’m old and when other people are too I want them to remember that I was kind. I also want people to remember that I was happy for people when they won or got something. --Skylar Someday, I’d like people to remember me as a kind person. I want that because it’s a good trait. Also, kind means you’re nice. My last reason is that people can remember me for being nice to everybody. That’s what I want to be remembered for. --Ethan Someday I’d like people to remember how good I was in soccer. I want them to remember that because in case I ever become a professional soccer play, people can show videos on E:60 or SportsCenter. I also want people to remember how good I was in football. They should remember it because they can show videos on E:60 and Sportscenter of amazing plays I did. --Jackson Someday I want people to remember that I am smart. Also I want to be remembered as a good athlete. And I want to be remembered because I’m gonna get into Florida. But most of all, I want to be remembered as a good friend. --Teddy IT’S TOUGH BEING A KID BECAUSE… It’s tough being a kid because you have to go to college. And it is almost three years. I do not want to go. --Sam P. It’s tough being a kid because I can’t do anything I want. I can’t go to bed at 11:00 on Friday night. I can’t wear my own pick of clothes. I can’t even pick my own food, for goodness sakes. --Julian It’s tough being a kid because you HAVE to listen to your parents. If they tell you to do work, you have to do work. If you don’t listen to them, they can get mad. They might punish you. Also, kids have homework and parents usually don’t. --Justin S. It’s tough being a kid because when I’m at an amusement park my brothers get to go by themselves. When I go I have to stay with an adult. My brothers can go on the big roller coasters and I have to go on the little ones. --Uriel It’s tough being a kid because you have to work hard for your future. Your parents are in charge of you. We have rules. Don’t have enough money to buy our own house. That’s why I sometimes want to be an adult. --Jessie It’s tough being a kid because first, you have responsibilities; second, you can’t see a really good movie that you saw on a commercial because it’s rated PG-13. Now you see my pain. Oh, and I can’t go to parties by myself. --Max It’s tough being a kid because you have a bedtime. Like me. My bedtime is 8:30! Then I usually read until 9:00. My brother is in 6th grade and his is only 9:00! I’m usually not asleep until like 10:00 something! I’m only awake that late because I’m not tired! I am never tired it seems. That is why I can’t sleep! So it’s not my fault it takes so long! It’s tough being a kid. --Ariel It’s tough being a kid because when my dad says we have to go hiking I say I don’t want to go hiking. And when I want to go to Target last week, two weeks I could not go and it’s because of my dad, because he thinks that hiking is fun, but it’s not. And I think of good things to do, but my dad says that we can’t do that today, and I say but that’s a good thing to do. --Matty It’s tough being a kid because you have to go to bed early and you have so many things like karate, swimming, piano, soccer, and more! It is so tiring! I have to practice piano everyday even if it’s late! For swimming, the water’s so cold, then since you were in chlorine you have to shower, then you have swim meets! In karate…well, there’s nothing wrong with karate. Soccer’s great, but early. --Hannah It’s tough being a kid because you start doing hard work. You feel like you’re doing hard work because you really work your brain. You have to start doing sports. You have to take care of yourself more. You have to eat properly. --Philip It’s tough being a kid because I have lots of homework to do when your mom or dad just cook and then watch TV. That’s not fair, but I am going to become a grownup soon and I can relax. --Christine It’s tough being a kid because you have to do a lot of things for your parents. Also, parents and teachers can yell at you and you can’t do whatever you want. Plus, you HAVE to go to school if you can even afford to go to school. Also, if you’re ages 2 to 24, you’re high risk for swine flu and your parents have to force you to get the shot or mist. --Jackson It’s tough being a kid because if you have an older sibling then they hurt you and you have to tattletale on them a lot and your parents don’t believe you that they hurt you. When your older sibling insults you then you try to do it to him or her but they have a better insult. --Skylar It’s tough being a kid because you can’t get everything you want. For example, I wanted a TV in my room and I got in trouble. You also learn all this stuff in school and you don’t even need it when you’re 23. The only things you need to remember are to read, write, type, count money, how to read a clock, and how to use maps. It’s like throwing 50% of your brain away and installing a whole new 50%. --Sam S. It’s tough being a kid because I can get grounded. I don’t like getting grounded because I’m not allowed to play my DSI. I have homework on Monday to Thursday. I can’t go to bed at 11:00. I don’t like going to bed at 9:00. --Barry I WILL NEVER FORGET… I will never forget my friends Bryce and Xavier--he was my best friend. I really really really miss them. Bryce moved to Belgium, but Xavier is still in Japan. I miss them a lot. My first was those two. And my very first friend in Japan was Treg. --Sam P. I will never forget the taste of Sour Patch Kids. The taste of the sugar in your mouth. All flavors—red, yellow, orange, and even green. The sweetness and sourness all in one. That’s what I would never forget. --Uriel I will never forget to brush my teeth. But I only have two cavities. One is in between my teeth and the other one is on my grinder. --Michael I will never forget the time I went on a cruise for a week because it was really fun. We got to go to a kid’s place and we got to see our cousins. We also got to see our grandma and grandpa. We got to see them because they paid. It was really fun. --Stephanie I will never forget the first day my cat came home. I thought she was going to be an angel, but she is really evil. She almost broke a lamp, but even though she can get into mischief, she is truly a gift from above. --Max I will never forget when I got one of my teeth pulled out by my dentist. Before I got it pulled out, it looked ugly and weird. I could not go to school that day. It really hurt. It took 30 minutes to pull it out. I was relieved after the dentist did it. --Justin S. I will never forget to bring my backpack to school. I will never forget to bring my backpack to school. I cross my heart that I will never forget to bring my backpack. I have nothing else to say. --Sam S. I will never forget how to ride a bike with no training wheels. That’s just the way it works. Once you get it, you never forget. You just get better. You practice and see how fun it is! It feels good in your hair. The wind in your face. You want to do it more. You’ll never forget once you know! --Ariel IF I COULD DO ANYTHING I WANTED, I WOULD… If I could do anything, I would finish Super Mario Galaxy. I’ve always wanted to finish it. --Sam P. If I could do anything I wanted, I would grow up to be 32 and marry Beyonce. We will have one kid and I will be a basketball player and a singer. We will live in a house with four rooms—one in the downstairs and three upstairs. --Julian If I could do anything I wanted, I would go skydiving. I would land in Fiji. I would go to the beach, and then enjoy a smoothie. I would stay there for four weeks with my family and friends. --Uriel If I could do anything I wanted I would go on American Idol, win, collect five hundred million dollars, be in a movie, settle in a mansion the size of the school, write in my will saying “Each kid I have will get half a million dollars. Signed, Julia Lescht.” Probably not that, but who cares. --Julia If I could do anything I wanted, I would go to Hershey Park. (I heard they had chocolate soup at the hotel there). I have never been there, so I really want to go there. I want to go on every ride. I also want to go to the Hershey chocolate factory. I heard on the tour there are singing cows. --Alec If I could do anything I wanted, I would start a business with lawyers. I would do this so I could see my dad more. Also, because I could get to meet the president. Lastly, I would get smarter. That’s why I want to start a business. --Ethan If I could do anything I wanted, I would get something smart like a computer chip in my brain so I would be super smart. Then I would do everything I wanted to do, one by one. For example, I would go to an inventor. Then I would get a time machine. I would either travel to the future then the past. --Sean If I could do anything I wanted, I would go to an amusement park. In the amusement park there would be a rollercoaster that went upside down 11 times. Then when I went to sleep, I’d sleep in a five star hotel with room service. Also, I’d take a friend with me. Then we could have twice the fun! Plus I could share a giant Hershey with my friend and play games with my friend, like the Hershey laser tag. --Sneha If I could do anything I wanted I would live in Hershey Park. No one would be allowed to go in only if I let them. I would buy 100,100,387 horses. I love horses so so so so so much. I would go on every ride. The Hershey Park Hotel would be my house. Then the whole park would be the playground. --Skylar If I could do anything I wanted I would play Wii. Also, be in the NFL. Or I would be in the NBA. Or I would buy a Promethean Board. Or I would be a teacher. --Jack A. If I could do anything, I would make a little house in my backyard. I would do that because I could play with friends in there and I could relax and play my PSP. I would put a box as a table to play board games. I would put a lock on it (the door). --Jonathan I ALWAYS FEEL GOOD WHEN… I always feel good when I see the dog Xylophone. I don’t know why it’s his name, but he likes playing the xylophone. It’s confusing. It’s a really weird name. His owner lives in a townhouse. --Sam P. I always feel good when I go to the pool. It’s so fun—I do front flips inside the pool. I play football and basketball in the pool. Also, the coolest thing of all is I wrestle in the pool. I tackle my brother in the pool. --Julian I always feel good when my friends play with me. It makes me feel sad when they ignore me or don’t want to be with me. One of my best friends is Ben E. My other best friends don’t go to Bells Mill ES. I have a lot of friends. --Alec I always feel good when I get compliments. It feels good. It always reminds me I’m a good person. I like it. And that is why I like compliments. --Nick G. I always feel good when people let me play with them. And when people say I like your shirt. And when people say I want to play a sport with you. And when people are respecting me. And when people are nice to me. --Jack A. I always feel good when someone is tickling me. It feels so tingling. It just makes me laugh so hard. Especially when my mom does it. --Uriel I always feel good when I eat turkey on Thanksgiving. I love turkey. Turkey is awesome. Turkey is in every sentence. Goodbye, turkey! --Nick S. I always feel good when I snuggle up under a blanket with a small cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, sitting in front of the fireplace and listening to Christmas music. I just love it. It makes me feel cozy. --Max I always feel good when I don’t want to go hiking and I can stay home. And I could stay home and do Wii Fit. Wii Fit is an exercising game. I like balance games. Balance games are games that you balance and work on. You also need a Wii balance board. I like Wii Fit, and I feel good about it because my mom cheers me on. --Matty I always feel good when I get mad and people say it’s okay. It makes me feel happy when they say they’re sorry I feel that way. --Hannah I always feel good when I’m riding two special horses that I love. Their names are Minnie and Andante. I love when I ride them both. I made a song for both of them. When I’m appreciated I feel special. --Skylar I always feel good when I get good grades on my report cards. I also feel good when I’m on the computer and I want something. My brother says “If you get it you will have a time limit,” because we usually always have a time limit, but since my other brother is mean, he will give me a time limit but he is on punishment so I don’t have to bother about that. I can just have a peaceful time on the computer. --Lossou I always feel good when I take a shower. I like the feel of hot water. It cools off my body. It also wakes up my body. I like the hot water. --Jonathan I always feel good when I get a good grade. Like on my report card. And on a BCR. That is when I feel good. Very, very, very good. --Eli I always feel good when we win a game or I get a touchdown. I like it because all the people start chanting. I like winning because I always have an exciting feeling. My mom or dad or friends chant me on and on. I like winning or getting a touchdown. --Jack K. I always feel good when I go to Kings Dominion. Going to Kings Dominion is my prize for getting good grades in school. One reason why I like going to Kings Dominion is because they have lots of really fun rides that are wicked. For example, there’s a ride called the Backlot Stunt Coaster. It’s based on the movie “Italian Job.” --Sam S. OVER THE WEEKEND I… Over the weekend my football and soccer games were cancelled because the field was muddy. So I helped my dad rake up leaves on my driveway because it was covered from top to bottom literally. Then in the middle of while I was raking leaves, my friend Alex and his dad came walking down the road. Then I spotted them and then his dad and my dad started talking and then Alex asked if I could come over and since my sister Olivia was at a birthday my dad said yes so I spent the whole day with Alex. --Michael Every weekend my cousins come over. We play games. Every Sunday we go to the Taj Mahal in Silver Spring. This weekend we went home after that and played teacher. Then we all went to someone’s house. The food there was great—we had sandwiches, chips and salsa, but the dessert was the best—we had brownies and ice cream! --Aden What I did on Saturday was I went outside to play with my friends. On Sunday I went to church, then we came back. Then our mom said to clean up the shed. So first we had to take everything out of the shed. Then we did. Then she told us to put it back in, but it took us awhile to do that. One reason is because we kept playing around. Then my friend came by and wanted to ride my high-tide (rib-stick) so I said yes. Then he was about to give me a piece of candy so then my brother ran as fast as he could and grabbed the candy from me and said “I want it.” Then I said no it was for me, but he ate it. So then there were these two people who were my friends and they were selling cookies for 50 cents so then my brother was so dumb and kept getting cookies from them. --Lossou What I did this weekend was I couldn’t do anything. First I had $12 and one dime and 4 pennies. The thing I wanted was $12.97 and my dad said no. Then I couldn’t even chew gum. Also I couldn’t play football. --Julian Over the weekend I went to Terrapin Adventures on Sunday. When I was there, we did the high ropes course. It had three levels. The higher you went up, the harder it got. My top two favorite parts were the zip line and the jumping thing. What we did was we were attached to a rope which was attached to our harness. We stood on a ledge and just fell off. After that we went on the giant swing. That is my favorite out of all. My mom didn’t go on, but me and my brothers Lian and Yonah did. First it lifted us up and then Lian had to pull the string to make it drop. He tried to make me not pay attention so he asked me what day was my birthday on. And then he tried to pull the string while I was telling him, but he didn’t pull hard enough. Then me and Yonah started to laugh, and he pulled the string and we dropped down, and then back up. It is almost like a roller coaster. We did it two times. Then we went to get ice cream. I got cotton candy—that’s my favorite flavor. On the way back I fell asleep in the car. When we got home, my mom woke me up. When we got home, my dad got home, too. He arrived with my grandma’s dog because she is going on a cruise with Emet for his Bar Mitzvah present. At home we had a Uno tournament. And of course I won. As we were playing, we watched the movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” My favorite characters are the black bird, the two twins, Sam’s girlfriend’s mini robot, and Sam’s roommate Leo. Then we ate dinner. We had spaghetti and meatballs. After that we played Banana Grams. I won one game and my dad won the other game. Then I went upstairs and got my footsies on and started to read. While I was reading, I fell asleep on my mom and dad’s bed. --Uriel Over the weekend I had a dream. It went like this: I was in a library and there were a lot of doors. Everyone went in one. Inside, it was like a cave made of dirt. I broke one of the walls. On the other side there was a lot of gold. --Nick S. I had an OK weekend. It wasn’t the funnest weekend of all. On Saturday I finished my piano games. One of the games was really hard. It took me forever to beat! On Friday my brother went to a Bar Mitzvah and he got a giant crayon that you have to blow up. I blew the giant crayon up. Then my brother and I tried to hit something with the giant crayon. My brother tried to hit me. --Sneha Over the weekend I had a football game and my team was the San Diego Chargers. We played the Vikings and we lost by two touchdowns. I also had a soccer game and I played an undefeated team, but because of me we tied 1-1 and my dad was so proud of me. And I had my last baseball game and we went to California Tortilla. --Michael On my weekend I had a playdate with Brian. We played on the Wii. We played “Shake-it-up” on the Wii where you shake a soda then you open it. We also played “Trap,” where you make a lot of strings tied up and somebody has to get you. We also played “War,” where you fight each other and Brian and I were a team against Brian’s sister. --Philip Over the weekend I had a double header football game. At one of the games there was a 5’1” eight year old on the other team. Then I went to DC for haircuts. Then I went for Japanese food with my friend Mark. After that I went to a bookstore and got a book called Great Lies to Tell Small Kids. It is so funny. Sunday I went to Hebrew school and my teacher was back from Israel and she got chocolate and key chains for us. We were all looking forward to Chanukah. Later that day my dad and me went to the park and then went to Costco and overflowed the cart. Last, I watched football the rest of the night. Then I came to school today. --Ben M. Over the weekend I went to Target, but they didn’t have anything I wanted. So we went to Toys R Us. I saw something I wanted, but my mom said we can’t get that. So I got a Lego set. Before, we went to the tennis court to hit some balls. My dad wanted us to go hiking, but we could not. My brother and I were glad—we said “Whoo-hoo!” --Matty What I did on my weekend is…on Friday I had the Halloween party, then my brother Chris Jr. as Kiddo picked us up and we played basketball to 33. I won! Yes, I did, and I’ll keep doing it. Then I went trick-or-treating and got tons of candy on Saturday. And then I spent the night at my dad’s and ate candy apples after having seafood soup! --Anna Over the weekend Max had swine flu. He got better on Sunday. So now Max is fine. I wish I got swine. I wish I got swine so I could miss school. --Eli Over the weekend I ate a bug, won a soccer game, practiced my pitching, and went to religious school. The bug I ate was called a silkworm pupa. It was okay. Another kid at the party ate a silkworm pupa and a cicada. At the soccer game I passed the ball across the field to Ryan. He shot, it went too high, hit the top post, bounced back in and Justin kicked it in. I practiced my pitching by tying a jump rope into my throw back. I tied it into a square. Sometimes the ball would go out of control and hit the fence for keeping people out of the Cabin John School area. Most of the time I hit somewhere on the throw back. I rarely was able to hit the target. It was fun practicing my pitching. At religious school we played games. A game we played was they wrote letters up on the board in different colors and then they would say that letter or they would say a word with that letter. When they said that word or letter you have to touch something that color. Jack A. and Eli were in my group when they split us up into three groups. We also decorated bookmarks with our Hebrew names on them. Some kids put so much glitter glue they had to put it back into the bottle. We also wrote Hebrew letters in shaving cream. It was so messy. I had fun with the shaving cream. Some kids kept on taking more shaving cream. Some letters I didn’t know. My weekend was awesome. --Ian MY FAVORITE ROOM IN MY HOUSE IS… My favorite room is my big brother that’s 15 years old. He has an Xbox in his room and a PS2. Also he has a 26-inch TV in his room. He has an iPhone, a computer and a real PDA. I wish I was living in there. --Julian I have two favorite rooms. One of them is my room because it has my bed in it and it’s so soft and cozy. And the other room is my mom’s room because it has favorite stuff in it. But I have one more favorite room—it’s the downstairs because it has everything I love, like food and a 90-inch plasma TV. --Lossou I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO… I would like to learn how to braid hair. My cousin said, “Can you braid my hair?” but I said I didn’t know how. --Bodur I would like to learn how to…actually, I know most everything I want to. I am already correcting teachers in my mind. I am also correcting kids in my head. I already know most things I hear people say. I am one smart kid! --Nick S. I would like to learn how to shade when I color so I can be good at it. Also, when I grow up I want to learn how to make realistic animal sculptures because I love animals. --Michael I would like to know how to spell “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” in Hebrew. --Ben M. I would like to learn how to save animals from hunters and help kids in need who may have a disease in places all around the world and that might not have good drinking water like in Africa and Australia or places that might not have good or enough food. I want to help save polar bears that are losing their ice and to help unwanted dogs and cats, or dogs and cats that were in accidents. --Max I would like to learn how to go to sleep, because every time I go up to my bed I can’t go to sleep. One time I didn’t go to sleep until 2:00. But I fell asleep and woke up at 6:00 am. Also, it’s weird that the later I go to sleep, the earlier I wake up. I wish I could fall asleep! --Giovanna I would like to learn how to whistle. Most of my friends can whistle but I can’t. I’ve tried many times, but I just can’t. I just make a wind-like sound. I really want to whistle! --Alec I would like to learn how to do gymnastics. I love doing gymnastics and it’s fun. Plus if I’m good enough I could compete when I’m older. Then I might win gold medals. Also, I get to learn super cool moves like flips. Plus I might be a star. --Sneha I would like to learn how it feels to have a dog in my house living with me. I really like dogs. But my parents won’t buy me one. There is a problem where I wouldn’t want a dog. The problem is that it might bark in the middle of the night. It might wake people up. --Justin S. I would like to learn how to knit a scarf. I already know how to knit, but I don’t know how to knit a scar. To knit is really easy. Do you know how to knit? --Christine I would like to learn how to play hockey. I want to learn to play hockey because I like the fights. Also I am a good skater. And I want to score a lot of goals. Another reason is at camp we had a street hockey shootout and I won! --Teddy I would like to learn how to drive a car. I’ve driven a golf cart before and I was pretty good. A car is different because there are other cars on the road and you use gear shifts. Plus, you have to go to driving school. And you need to learn where all of the roads are. --Jackson I would like to learn how to do tricks on a skateboard. And learn how to speak Chinese. And learn how to cook soup. And how to make turkey. And how to make pizza. --Jack A. I would like to learn how to drive. The only reason I don’t want to now is because I’m too young. Even though I try, my feet are too short to reach the gas pedal or the brakes. If I ever learn, I would be sure not to crash or anything like that. Also, I can go wherever I want by myself. --Sean I would like to learn how to earn money. I would like that because I only have $11.00. And my allowance is $3.00 a week and I barely get it. Also I’m saving up for a rip stick. I also like money, too. This is what I want to learn to do. --Carter IF I COULD BE A CHARACTER FROM A BOOK, I’D BE… If I could be a character from a book, I’d be the giraffe from the book The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl. She has a magic neck which is cool. Also, she works for a window washing team. --Maya If I could be a character from a book, I’d be Rafiki in “The Lion King”. Rafiki is a really funny monkey. He lives in a big tree in the savannah. He is a spiritual character. Also, when he is fighting hyenas, he does a front flip and then whacks the hyena in the face. --Uriel If I could be a character in a book, I would be Lucy from My Life in Pink and Green. I would be Lucy because she’s great with hair and makeup, and she always has a way to save the pharmacy. --Hannah If I were a character in a book I would be Peter Hatcher from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Super Fudge, Fudge-a-Mania, and Double Fudge. I wouldn’t be Otis from Otis Spofford because he gets his comeuppance, and Ellen takes Otis’ shoes. I wouldn’t be Snoopy because he’s a dog. And I wouldn’t be Bobby from Football Double Threat by Matt Christopher because he breaks his leg. --Jackson If I could be a character in a book I would be a spy because I’m suspicious. I also like to spy on my sister and others. Sometimes I spy with Eli. I want to spy today, any day. But sometimes I don’t. --Jonathan