October 2010 Summary

Butterfly

• 91 hours
• Community Service 3 hours
• Attitude 82%

FigNewTon

• 94 hours
• Community Service 8 1/2 hours
• Attitude 45 %

The girls really had a good month. Both girls had a better attitude than the previous month. They did their school work willingly most days. We had a few science days, where we did science experiments for the entire school day. This seemed to work well. An entire unit can often be done in one or two days. On the 27th, they flew to OH. This was their first time on a plane as well as the longest period of time they have ever been away from me. I sent some of their easier subjects with them. Most of what I sent was assignments they could do with only the instruction given in the book. I did not send Math, Science or Health as these are subjects that I have to put quite a bit of effort into teaching them. They were also responsible for keeping up with co-op assignments while they were gone and communicating with those teachers as necessary. Autumn did a great job keeping up with the hours of school that they put in as well as giving any help they needed. They were able to celebrate Halloween not once, but twice while they were there and they went to a corn maze. They also had the opportunity to carve a pumpkin.

The Wish List

The Wish List is by Eoin Colfer
The Wish List is about a girl who has made a lot of wrong decisions. When she dies, her bad and good marks are completely even. She must return to earth and right her wrongs in order to get into heaven. The devil wants her soul and sends a soulman to mess her up and get her into hell. Will she be able to complete the tasks and go to heaven or not?

Martin the Warrior - By Brian Jacues

Martin the Warrior is the tale of a young mouse named Martin. having been captured and enslaved by an evil searat, Martin sets out to free himself and his friends. Most people would enjoy this book.

Mattimeo - By Brian Jacues

Mattimeo is an epic tale of woodland creatures trying to rescue their loved ones. This tale takes place in Mossflower woods and the surrounding countryside. It is a really good book.

Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
Stormbreaker is an Alex Rider adventure. The first in a series of six. In this book, Alex Rider must find out what Herod Sayle is up to and why his Uncle was shot. This book is a thrilling adventure with tons of twists and turns.

Storm Thief

Storm Thief by Chris Wooding
The Storm Thief is about two teens working to save their island of Oskos. They must battle through Probability Storms and past the leaders of the community. This book is wonderfully written and you can lose yourself in the story. Feeling their sense of betrayal, victory, and love.

Storm Thief - By Chris Wooding

Storm Thief is about two teenagers in the city of Orokos. This city is famous for its "probability storms".

Sabotoged

Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Sabotaged is the third book in the Missing Series. In this book, Katherine, her brother, and Andrea are sent back in time. Andrea messes with the eulicdator and they end up in the wrong time. This was set up by Second. Seconds goal is to "fix" time. In the end, Second succeeds and the author sets it up for another book, because now Jonah and the rest of them must stop the time ripple.

Deeper - By Roderick Gordon

Deeper is the sequel to Tunnels. In Deeper, Will and his friends continue their search for Will's dad, moving down to the Deeps. Down there, they encounter many dangers.

Why Tom Robinson Was Doomed

Report for Literature class
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Even when Atticus proved that the charges against Tom Robinson were false, Tom was still doomed because it was a white man’s word against a black man’s word. Tom’s only chance was having Atticus Finch for an attorney. I think Tom Robinson would have been doomed even if they had made it to county court. Mayella Ewell had to erase the “sins” she had committed, no matter what she had to do.

Atticus showed that the Ewell’s claims were false, but that didn’t mean that everybody believed him. Back when this book is set, Tom Robinson could have been a criminal, or he could have been the President. The only reason that Tom was doomed is because he was black, and Bob and Mayella Ewell were white. It didn’t matter if Tom Robison was telling the truth, because nobody believed him. Because the Ewells said that Tom had raped Mayella, no-one would listen to Tom when he tried to tell his side of the story.

I think Judge Taylor chose Atticus Finch on purpose, because he knew that Atticus would do his best to defend him and get Tom an acquittal. Someone other than Atticus Finch might have done a bad job of defending Tom Robinson. If Atticus hadn’t chosen to defend Tom, then he almost definitely would have gotten the death penalty. As it was, the jury said that Tom was guilty, but it took them a long time to reach their verdict. If Mr. Ewell had been telling the truth, it would have taken a lot less time for the jury to decide on their verdict.

The guards killed Tom Robinson while he was trying to escape from prison. But, Tom almost definitely would’ve gotten the death sentence when the appeal came up anyway. Back then, almost everyone was prejudiced against black people. This showed through in the courthouse, where the black people had to sit in the balcony, and how they had to live in their own community, apart from everyone else. Some still had black servants for cooking and cleaning, and most asked Negroes to do their “heavy” work, such as lifting, hauling, and chopping.

When Mayella Ewell saw Tom Robinson, she liked him. Mayella knew that dating Tom Robinson, even secretly, was considered wrong, but she gave in anyway. About a year later, she had the chance to show her love because the kids were gone and the house was empty. Then she and her father had to come up with a story that would make Mayella look like a victim, and Tom like a criminal. No matter what Tom Robinson’s profession was, he still would have been doomed.

If both parties had been white, or both black, they both would have gotten a fair judgment, because the situation would be different. But even someone with as little social status as the Ewells could win against a black man. Bottom line, I think Tom Robinson would have been doomed even with the best of attorneys, just because he was black. A lot has changed since that time period, and I’m glad of that.

Why Atticus Is Respected In Maycomb

Report for Literature Class
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Atticus is respected in Maycomb because of several reasons. These include, his honesty, that he is actually defending Tom Robinson, and that he is kind to everybody, not just people who are kind to him.

Atticus is very honest. He is honest to his children when discussing matters, including when he discusses Tom Robinson’s case and what others are saying. He is honest to Tom Robinson when he tells him that he has a chance, but Atticus does not tell Tom that they are going to win the case. He is also very honest with the people in Maycomb. He gives them his reasons for defending Tom and when the people in Maycomb want to criticize him, he does not fight back or get mad at them.

The town criticizes Atticus for actually defending Tom Robinson. At the same time, they respect Atticus for defending Tom to the best of his ability. They respect that Atticus is willing to fight for Tom and are glad he was the one chosen to do the job. Most of them don’t like that a black man would automatically be called guilty even if it is obvious that he is not guilty, but they won’t do anything about it. Therefore, they respect Atticus because he is trying to do something about the injustice of it all. Atticus is doing the right thing by defending Tom, not what would be considered normal in his time.

Another thing is that Atticus is very kind. He is kind to Mrs. Dubose who says mean things to him, and he is kind to Mr. Ewell when he spits in his face. Even while Atticus is being criticized, he has kind and calm words to say; never does Atticus have harsh or loud words to say while he is being criticized. The town of Maycomb respects that he can keep calm, even when the situation is difficult.

So the town of Maycomb respects Atticus for his honesty, his willingness to do what is right, and that he is kind to everybody. I would respect Atticus too.

Our Moon

Today our family did a really cool science experiment to show how the moon moves around the earth. To do this, my sister stood still while I moved around her in a circle. We learned that there are 8 different phases in a lunar month. As the position of the moon in relation to the sun changes, we see different amounts of its day side. It takes 27 days for the moon to spin on its axis, and it also takes 27 days for it to revolve around the earth, so we always see the same side of the moon. The lunar month is 29 days long because both the earth and the moon are spinning as the moon revolves around the earth.

We also learned about how the moon affects tides on earth. The moon's gravity pulls water towards itself, causing high and low tides. When the moon and sun are both pulling the same way, very high tides are made. These are also called spring tides. When they are at a 90 degree angle to each other, it makes a very small tide.

The Spinning Earth

Today we learned about how the earth spins. One of the experiments we did was to make a pendulum. We filled a two liter soda bottle with sand and hung it on a tree branch. When we swung it, it did not go just straight. It changed directions slightly on every swing. Another thing is that while it was swinging, it went in small circles. The earth is like the pendulum, it rotates and spins.

Another thing we did to learn about the earth is we went to the darkest room in the house. One of us held a rubber ball and spun it counter clockwise, while the other one shone a flashlight on it. This was to represent the sun and earth. Only half of the "earth" was hit by the flashlight at a time. All of the experiments we did were really cool.