Jake Is So Big!!

On March 12th, 2018, Jake came back...again!!!! He was so big!!! When I saw him, I couldn't believe that he was so big because he is only 7 months!!! He was the same size as his Mom!!!! Chloe was so happy that she jumped to joy.  When Jake saw my mom, he was licking her face. When Jake saw my dad, he barked at him. I didn't know why. 

We took Jake and Chloe for a walk and then we saw Chloe's friend, Snoopy. Snoopy's owners are friends with my parents. Snoopy was playing with Chloe and Jake for 3 minutes and then we had to leave because it was getting dark. When Jake left, Chloe started to whine. 

Jake

Golden Peacock Orchid

 Last weekend was the Santa Barbra Orchid Show. Our teacher went for the very first time with our plant friend, The. They had a great time and came back with some interesting plants. This one is quite fancy. It is Pcv. Golden Peacock. It is a cross of Bl. Richard Mueller x Psh. vitellina.

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Rainbow Puddles

On Saturday, it rained. I like it when it rains because I love the smell after the rain stops falling. To me, it smells fresh, and like Earth. I also like it when it rains because I can collect water in a bucket, and use that water to water my garden. But, the reason why I like rain the most is because of rainbow puddles.

Sometimes, cars drop oil which is awful for the fish in the ocean. Then, when the oil mixes with water, it makes rainbow puddles! Rainbow puddles are puddles of oil and water that have different colors. The first time I saw one, it was on a neighbor's driveway. Then, Saturday was the second time I saw one. My mom, sister, and I got out of the car into a parking lot. Then, I looked down at the ground, and saw a rainbow puddle. I immediately told my sister, and she started taking a million pictures. We saw four of them! These were better than the first one I saw, because these had purple in them, while the other ones only had green and brown.

I think that Rainbow Puddles are the most beautiful things that happen when it rains.

This one is my favorite one because it is like a stream. 

A Letter From Pam Muñoz Ryan

On March 5th, 2018, I sent an e-mail to an author!!! I thought she wasn't going to respond, but the next day, she responded!! The author was Pam Muñoz Ryan!! I sent her an e-mail to inform her that we were reading her book, The Dreamer, and I asked her, why she wrote it. Pam Muñoz Ryan was the first author that I have contacted and that responded to me. I could not believe that she took the time to read my email and respond back to me. It made my day!

We, Classtopians, have read the books of Pam Muñoz Ryan since the beginning of 4th grade. The books we have read are Esperanza Rising, Becoming Naomi Leon, Echo, and the book we have just finished reading is The Dreamer.  Some of my classmates have gone ahead and read her other books like Paint The Wind, and Riding Freedom. I was so happy Pam Muñoz Ryan wrote back to me. 

My teacher is very proud that I wrote to her and got a response. She said I may be the next student of the month. 

P.M. Ryan's books have been an inspiration to all of us for the last two years. 
My favorite will still be Becoming Naomi Leon. Every Classtopian has his/her favorite book. Pam Munoz Ryan is the author that we have read the most and that we love most. Her stories help us to understand that life can be difficult, but we can still succeed.  

So Classtopians, the next time you read a book and love it, write to the author.

This is what I wrote to her:

"Dear Pam Munoz Ryan,

I have read your books Esperanza Rising, Echo, Becoming Naomi Leon, and I am reading The Dreamer. I really want to read your book Paint The Wind, Riding Freedom, and When Marian Sang. My teacher and my classmates love your books. I really got inspired by your books because I used to not like to read and when I read Esperanza Rising, I was inspired. I really want to thank you for writing books for children and adults. I really want to ask you, "Why Do You Write Books and Why Did You Write The Dreamer??" 

Sincerely,

Mariana

P.s. Please write back because I am curious."

This is what she wrote back to me:

"Dear Mariana,

Thank you for your kind email. I'm so glad that you are reading so many of my books. 

You'll find many interviews posted on my web site from each book's page about how I came to write each book. I hope this is helpful.

Happy reading,

Pam Muñoz Ryan

NBA JR. For A Day

On Friday we went to the Convention Center. Not everyone though, the only ones that went were Lindsay, Nathaniel, Jesse, Elizabeth, Aiden, Brianna, Katherine, Kylie, and I. We went because we have been student of the month. The kids that went had to be in grades 3-5. Every one was split into groups. Our class was in the same group together. It did not take us long to get there. What were we going to do there? To go see some NBA basketball.

The first thing we did was go watch some basketball players practice. They were going to have a game that night or the next day. They had to divide the players into 2 teams, team 1 and team 2. Each team had to make as many baskets from half court in 1 minute. Team 1 made 6 and team to made 7. For the end of their practice they put little things that looked like ramps so the plays could do tricks while making a basket. 1 or 2 of them did back flips and actually made it. Just as another team was coming to practice the team mascot came to the bleachers were we sat. He greeted all of the younger kids. After that we had to go eat. I actually kind of wanted to go because we sat so high up. We sat at the top of the all the bleachers. Every time I looked down I got scared. I AM SCARED OF HEIGHTS. That was something I did not know about myself until Friday.

I thought it was the school that was going to provide food but no. It was the convention center. The food was really good. We had a choice of pizza or chicken fingers. I choose chicken fingers because it looked good. The lady gave us a tray and our food next we choose want to drink. We could get Spite or orange soda. I could not believe that we got to drink soda. I choose Sprite. Then we choose between oranges of pears. I do not really like pears so I choose an orange. After I got my food I went to the tables. Lindsay came and sat with me. She had chosen pizza. The pizza was a small one with 4 slices with a soda.

Then we went to a room with many small basketball courts. We sat down and listened to the man speaking. We saw 2 actors from the movie Stranger Things. After that we were assigned coaches and practiced basketball. They were just the basics. Since I know basketball it was simple. I do those practice in basketball. Every single team has to do it in the first practice of the season. The only thing that could not do is shoot I am not good at shooting during the games. I could not shoot there either because I am not used to that place.

After we were called to our seats we met NBA all stars and 1 WNBA all star. We also met the Black Panther. That was unfortunately the end of our day. It is a day I will always remember. It was the best time ever.

Jr. NBA Day

Yesterday was a great day. All of the kids who were student of the month got to go to an NBA event at the Convention Center. Only Kylie, Leslie, Elizabeth, Katherine, Lindsay, Jesse, Aiden, Nathaniel, and I got to go.

In the morning, we went to the auditorium, and were split into groups. Our class was in the same group. Then we got in buses, and started our trip to the Convention Center.

Once we got there, we went and sat down on the top bleacher. I was actually scared because when I turned around, I could see the floor, and it looked really far down. I was sitting next to Elizabeth and Katherine, and Elizabeth was terrified.

Anyways, we watched NBA players practice. They did some cool things. They put a small trampoline and some mats in front of the net. Then, the players bounced on the trampolines, did flips, and tried to make the ball into the net.

Then, we went to go eat. We could either get pizza, or chicken fingers with fries. To drink, we could either get Sprite or orange soda. I chose chicken fingers, Sprite, and a pear.

After we ate, we went to a large room with basketball courts. We sat down, and then a man went to the middle of a basketball court. He started to do some tricks. He threw a yellow handkerchief into the air, and when it came down, it was a long black stick. Then, he started juggling with 3 balls, and 1 fruit. As he juggled, he took bites of the fruit. The one I liked the most was the last one. I took off his cap, and when he sneezed, sparks of fire came out. He did all these tricks because he was the NBA entertainer person.

When he finished talking, all the groups went to different courts. We did basketball warm-ups, like chest pass and overthrow. We did that for maybe 30 minutes. Then they gave us some Gatorade, and we sat down again.

We listened to the entertainer again, and he said we had a special surprise. Then, 2 actors came out. One was from Stranger things, and the other was from Blackish. After that, basketball players came out. Stephan Curry came out, and everyone was cheering. Someone from Black Panther came out, too. They asked if anyone had questions, and one kid asked for Stephan Curry's autograph. The kid even had a marker!
That was a fun day, and I'll never forget it.

NBA Day

The NBA field trip was AWESOME!!! I had a lot of fun. I got to see how the basketball players practice, meet some players and actors and got to play basketball. My favorite part was when we met Michael B Jordan who is in the movie Black Panther.

Basketball was fun but for me it was not that easy. It wasn’t that easy because I don’t know how to dribble a ball, I can only dribble from a short distance. If I dribble from a long distance I end up losing control of the ball. But other than that playing basketball was fun.

One thing that was kind of disappointing was that they didn’t allow the children to take anything in, EVEN THEIR CELLPHONES!!!!! So unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures.

For basketball we first did warm ups, they were really fun. Then we practice dribbling the ball all sorts of different ways, then we got to shoot some baskets that was pretty fun too. Lastly we had to practice throwing / passing the ball to one another. Seeing the players practice was cool because we got to see their techniques, which I thought was pretty awesome. So in conclusion my experience for the NBA field trip was awesome