France's Phenomenal Sites

France is a beautiful country to see and explore.  Mt. Blanc is the tallest mountain in France.  It's along the border of France and Italy in the Alps.  Going from one side of the Loire River to the other is the Castle of Chenonceaux.  The Loire River stretches through central France.  In northern France is the capital of Fance, Paris.  One thing to see in Paris is the Louvre, an art gallery which has Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.  The prominent Eiffel Tower is another of Paris' famous sites.  There are many cafes surrounding the Eiffel Tower which are nice places to have a snack and enjoy the amazing view.  Now go and plan a trip across France to see its phenomenal sites

An Expedition West

Lewis and Clark were dutiful on their mission from Thomas Jefferson to learn about the animals and people living in the new territory of the Louisiana purchase and beyond.  On their journey they discovered new animals like the prairie dog and plants like Lewis' monkey flower.  Friendly Indians, like the Mandans and the Nez Perce helped them find food and shelter along the way.  The Shoshone Indians guided them through the treacherous Rocky Mountains.  Lewis and Clark's expedition West gained valuable information for the United States of America.

England

England is on a small island near northern Europe.  The geography of England is very pretty with green sloping hills in most of the country and mountains in the north.  England also has moorlands in the south west and meadows and pastures for the sheep and the cattle.  The white chalk Cliffs of Dover are an amazing part of England’s geography.  You can see these from the English Channel, which is the body of water that separates England from Europe.

England’s climate is mostly mild all year long.  Interestingly, the weather is affected by the ocean.  England has warm summers and cool winters.

The people in England follow several different religions.  Most people are Christians.  The country’s official church is The Church of England.  The Church of England is commanded by the Sovereign.  The other faiths include Hinduism, Judaism, Muslim and others.  These faiths have only a small percentage of believers living in England.

England has some unusual as well as traditional holidays.  One unusual holiday is Guy Fawkes  Day in November.  The people pass flaming barrels with dummies inside from person to person, and make massive bonfires on the beaches.  The children enjoy watching fire works in the night sky.  A traditional holiday is called Trooping the Colour which is when they celebrate the Queen’s official birthday.  During this holiday England’s soldiers march the flag around London.  The route takes them from Buckingham Palace to Whitehall and back to the Palace.  

England is an amazing country.  From the White Cliffs of Dover to the Queen’s birthday celebration there is always something fascinating to enjoy.   

Bibliography

Barrow, Mandy. www.projectbritain.com Woodlands Junior School, 2011.

www.kidport.com. Kidport, 2012.

Humpback Whales

Migration

Humpbacks, who migrate from the cold waters of the north to the tropical waters of the south, travel quite a bit.  While the humpbacks are in the north they discover amazing amounts of food to devour.  In the course of the year they spend four extremely long months traveling from North to South, and eight months of the year consuming food and giving birth.  Interestingly Humpbacks that live in the Pacific Ocean alternate migrating to Mexico and Hawaii to their birthing grounds.  Humpbacks return north.  When they head back north the babies have enough blubber to survive in the cold northern waters.  Humpbacks travel even more than military kids.

History

The humpback whale’s history is amazingly sad.  Sadly it seems humans only love whales after they are nearly gone.  When people throw trash in the water and near the shore they are killing humpbacks.  People also killed humpbacks intentionally.  They killed them for their meat and oil.  From the oil they produced soap.  The meat, which was used to make cat food, is another reason the whales were hunted.  Because the whales were hunted they are now commercialy extinct.  The whales have a tragic history.

 Family

Humpbacks live in family groups.  Male humpbacks sing sweet songs hoping to attract a female.  The couple will romp together.  After that, they nuzzle and sing gently to each other.  Mother and baby humpbacks are guarded by an escort.  Secretly, other humpbacks will trail behind the escort wanting him to leave so they can take over. The male escort, who is very aggressive, will protect the mother and babies if they are in danger.  When they are in danger the male will lash the attacker with his barnacle covered tail and sometimes draw blood.  These family groups protect each other in the large open waters.    

Alexander and The Mysterious Knot

retold by Mary Beth

Alexander who had conquered Asia Minor was heading toward Persia.  When stopping in Gordian, Alexander saw a gigantic knot in the center of Gordian.  The townspeople told him that whoever could untie the knot would be the next king of Asia.  Alexander desperately wanted power and untied the knot by slicing it in half.  Maybe because of the knot or maybe not, but Alexander conquered Asia and became known as Alexander The Great.                                   

                                                      

THE END

My Adventure in Ulm

We went to the top of the tallest steeple in the world!  My family visited Ulm, Germany, and went to Ulm Minster.  I wanted to go to the top of its steeple.  Since you had to be seven or older, my dad bought tickets for Cory himself and me; and my mom and Riley stayed with Lucy who was too young.  Next we started up the narrow spiral steps.  As we were fifteen steps up my brother Cory chickened out so he went back to be with my mom and my sisters.  My dad and I continued fearlessly up the stairs, and we stopped at different levels.  At the second level we stopped to see the bell tower.   Inside the bell tower we looked down and saw four different bells.  While we were on the stairs after seeing the bells they chimed eleven O’clock.  Finally we were at the tippy top.  While at the top we waved at our family and took lots of pictures.  We also saw a wide river and the whole city.  I couldn’t wait to get back down to tell my brother, sisters and my mom how much fun it was.