Click here to view the embedded video.

You can find more on her website:

http://www.janegoodall.org/

Well, I’ve realized that I haven’t written anything for a while on my blog, so here’s a story I’ve been working on (keep it mind that it’s nowhere near finished):

Open-mouthed

Snakes. I have always hated snakes. They were my worst enemies ever since the time a common garden snake bit me. I was sick for 5 days. I got so frustrated that I threw a fit and they had to stop me from going to the zoo and strangling all the snakes in area. Each time I see one, I remember that moment and get mad. So, whenever I went to the zoo with someone I would say, “I’m sorry, but I’m allergic to snakes. Do you mind if pass this exhibit?” Now, I definitely did not want to be around snakes, but – Murphy’s Law – I was stuck with them in a cage with no one but a huge boa constrictor and several pythons.

You might ask how I got to this point in my very dramatic life. Well, I’ll tell you. I’m thirteen now and my name’s Penelaire. I’ve got dark brown hair and tan skin. I’m quite tall, and I’m really skinny too. I have lived alone for most of my life. No parents, no siblings, and only a few friends here and there. I am a “stray” and an orphan. Or my parents just abandoned me when I was young. Either way, I was put out onto the street and left to rot. Luckily, another stray person took me as her apprentice. I stayed with her until she left and went to find her destiny. I won’t share her story, but I will tell you that it is extremely depressing. Anyway, this person’s name was Jennifer (Jenny for short). She taught me how to find food, how to earn money, and basically how to live as a stray person.

Stray people don’t have nice, luxurious houses, but we’re not exactly homeless either. We stay in shelters for a few months, and then move on to a different shelter. Usually shelters are in the forest and hills or down dark alleys where nobody goes. It’s almost always the first possibility, although sometimes the creepy strays use dark alleys as hideouts. Well, I always stay in the forest because there is plenty of food if you know where to find it.

We also take the odd job here and there. If anyone accepts us as employees, that is. The zoo accepted me as a paid volunteer, which is the reason I’m stuck with the snakes right now. I just feed the animals in the zoo, and today I just had to feed the snakes. I was walking past their cage, hoping to just throw the food to them and fast-walk away, but I just had to trip over the knee-high bar that was protecting me from the snakes. Also, I just had to fall through the net that prevented the snakes from getting out. The exit door automatically locked behind me. Now, I was the stuck with the snakes with no chance of escaping. The cage in which the snakes were in was quite small and I was squeezing myself to the farthest corner from the pythons. Unfortunately, that corner was also the corner where the boa constrictor was. The glass wall where people peered in to look at the snakes was right next to me, so I pounded on it and yelled at the top of my lungs.

“Let me out! Help! Please! I’m allergic to snakes!” No use. There wasn’t anyone out there anyways. I turned around and froze all of a sudden. The boa constrictor and four  

pythons were in front of me. They were advancing slowly and surely, but almost lazily as well, as if they savored the moment of when their victims all of a sudden realized that they were helpless and enjoyed watching them panic. I thought to myself, if they try to bite you, run. So I did. I leapt over the plants that housed the snakes, and I ran to the other side of the cage. I pressed my face against the dirty glass and I pounded on it.

“Help! Let me out of here! Someone!” Behind me, I could hear the snakes hissing. I looked back and saw what I did to the exhibit. I had trampled over the plants and destroyed the few nice parts of the exhibit, such as the log where the snakes lounged every day at noon. I also stepped on the boa constrictor. Oops. I looked around for an exit. The snakes were getting really mad. They hissed and slithered right next to me. I felt one of the pythons circle around my leg. I think it was at that moment that I fainted.

*                *               *

I woke up in a hospital. A hospital where there were no windows, no snakes (thank god) and no people. Except for a chunky nurse sitting next to me. I could feel a lot of pain in my left thigh. I swallowed and looked at the nurse. She could obviously tell that I was awake.

“Hey kiddo. How was your sleep? You got bitten by a big snake right there, I’m guessing it’s a python?” I nodded my head, too tired to say anything. “Don’t worry.” She continued. “We’ve treated it. You would have been a goner if Tasha didn’t find you.” A number of questions flew through my head. Who on earth was Tasha? How did I get here? And most of all, what happened?

I must have looked quite confused because the nurse spoke again. I think she had a bit of a southern accent, but I’m not sure. I couldn’t see her face behind her mask, but I was guessing she was a black woman, judging by her dark brown hands. “See, Tasha found you when she heard you yell. She came running and saw you in that cage with the big snakes. She managed to open the door that was the exit to the cage. I guess you didn’t find it, huh?”

I shook my head. “I fell through it and it locked behind me.” I managed to whisper. “I was feeding the snakes.”

“You’ve got a job already? Young girl like you should finish Grade 10 first.” The nurse said. She sounded quite casual, and I wondered how no one had found out that I was a stray yet. See, strays don’t go to school, and we don’t wait until we become fourteen to get a job. I realized that I had to pick my words extremely carefully if I wanted no one to find out who I was. In Long Island, strays don’t usually have a free get-away every time we get caught.

“It was an easy job. I like most animals, but I hate snakes. How long before I can leave the hospital?” I asked.

“Quite a long time. Perhaps a week. Yeah, I know no one wants to stay in the hospital, but if you want to get better, you’d better stay in here.” She went on. “Where are your parents, by the way? Where’s home?”

Uh oh. I couldn’t spill anything right now otherwise I’d probably be put into foster care. I would rather die than let that happen. I pitied all the kids without a home, just moving from one house to another like pieces of trash.

“My parents are on a business trip right now. And my home is, um, a few blocks away from the library. I can’t tell you the exact address, because I’m not supposed to tell strangers, am I?” I told her. Hopefully she believed me.

“Well, you’re gonna have to tell me sooner or later. By the way, my name’s Marion. Oh, and Tasha is coming in a few minutes. You’d probably like to meet her, wouldn’t you?”

“I sure hope so. And I’m already here.” A tall girl, maybe about fifteen walked in. She had long blonde hair that fell below her shoulders. She was wearing a plain t-shirt and blue shorts. She also had olive-colored skin and she spoke in very delicate accent, but she didn’t look very fragile. Instead, she looked quite strong, but still pretty. “What were you doing in a cage full of snakes when I saw you?” She asked with a hint of accusation.

“Um… I was trying to feed them but I fell into the cage and I screamed and no one came and I think one of the snakes bit me.” I spoke extremely quickly. I didn’t want anyone to think that I was a stray. I was also in awe of this girl. She seemed very strong and full of character. I was afraid that she could figure out who I was if I spilled anything.

“You think that a snake bit you?” she smiled. “Take a look at your leg. Still think that a snake bit you?”

I looked down. There was a huge red mark near my left ankle. The edges were slightly black as well. I swallowed nervously and said, “No, I know that a snake bit me.” I decided to play the freaked-out, concerned, scared girl who had no idea what was going on.

“Well, now we’re going to need your address and your parents’ phone number, as well as your age so we can send you back as soon as you feel better. And when you can walk.” Tasha said.

“I live just a few blocks down from the library, on Sharmaine road. My parents are on a business trip in – uh – London so I don’t know their phone number right now.”

“How about your age?” she asked. She looked quite suspicious.

“15.” I lied. I was tall enough to make it look that way.

“Alright then. We still don’t know your name, though. Would you mind telling us?” Tasha said. She was still staring at me intently. I was getting a little nervous now.

“Penelaire.” I didn’t like lying. Anyway, I didn’t have any last name, so that didn’t matter.

Suddenly, Marion jumped up and gasped. “Oh no! I didn’t realize it was noon already! I‘ve got to treat the other patients! Tasha, could you keep an eye on Penelaire? Thanks!” She didn’t wait for an answer before she raced out of the room and slammed it behind her.

“That took a while.” Tasha murmured. She turned to me and smiled. Right now, she seemed a bit like a vampire waiting for the kill. Then, just as suddenly as Marion, she gripped my arm and leaned in closer.

“I know who you are, Penelaire. You’re a stray. You’ve lived in the forest ever since you were born and lived with that ridiculous Jennifer until she left. Your parents abandoned you. You took the job of feeding animals at the zoo, which is how you got into this mess. And you’re not 15, you’re 13. And now, you have me to deal with.” She smiled again, but this time with her teeth showing.

Uh oh. I was busted. Who was Tasha really? How did she know? Was she my enemy? She could see the fear in my eyes.

She let go of my arm all at once when her mobile rang. She picked it up and answered it.

“Hello? Yeah, it’s me. Yup, I’ve got the girl. How’s Jenny? Still keeping her mouth shut? Oh well, she’s going to open soon now.” She was definitely my enemy. She spoke in a tone like someone speaking cutie-language to a kitten, only she was way more menacing. They wanted to kidnap me? What was wrong with Jenny? I had to get out of here.

She was still occupied on her phone. I got to the end of the bed without making a sound. I leaped out of it and ran for the door. Tasha was on my right and the door was on my left. I had a chance. I ran for the door. I opened it and used my remaining strength to get to the elevator. I whipped around, and saw Tasha cursing as she tried to catch me. I reached the elevator. Only then was I aware of the pain in my leg. I screamed out. Luckily, the elevator was already here. I slithered in and pressed the close button.

I was safe for now. But what did they want with me? And what was wrong with Jenny? I was too worried to think. I sat down and waited.

A moment later, the elevator arrived at the lobby of the hospital. I got out and reached the help desk. The hospital lobby was huge, and the walls and floors were all white. There were patients all over the room. There was another nurse at the help desk. Her name tag said Holly.

“Um, excuse me, but I’m looking for some painkillers for my sister. She cut her leg badly yesterday and it hurts a lot. Do you mind if I buy some?” I lied. The desk was too tall for her to see the snake’s bite on my thigh.

“Sure! Which brand do you want? Excel or Paranol?” Holly replied.

“The better one.” I told her. She smiled.

“It’ll be three-fifty for a box.” she said. I gave her the money that was still in my pocket from my latest salary at the job at the zoo. Thank god they didn’t take away my clothes! She gave the painkiller medicine. I put it in my p

ocket and headed for the bathroom around the corner. The elevator on my right suddenly opened. It was Tasha! Luckily, I turned the corner before she saw me. I headed towards the other exit. I pushed the door open onto the parking lot behind the hospital. Just behind me, I heard the door slam and close. I ran straight past the road without waiting for the stoplight to the nearest bus stop with my spare change. After the bus picked me up and we were off, I relaxed.

I headed towards my shelter in the south of the forest when the bus dropped me off. I crashed through the branches, taking the path that no one had used since a year ago, judging by the trash left around. I was still wondering why Tasha wanted me. It was odd that a girl like her would want a stray like me. But then, if it had something to do with Jenny…. I was still pondering this when I got back to my shelter. I almost didn’t notice how destroyed it was.

  *                *               *

Ok, I think it’s time I told you Jenny’s story. She used to have a nice life. Rich parents, good friends and good grades. But when she was seven, her parents divorced. Two years later they died. They just so happened to be on the same plane the time it crashed in Bolivia. When Jenny heard the news, she couldn’t bear it. About six months later, in complete depression, she decided to run away. She was 10 at the time. She’d been living by herself during that time, and she’d been escaping visits from foster care homes and guardians. She didn’t want anyone taking care of her that wasn’t her parents. She ran away and met up with another gang of strays that lived where I lived now. She learnt to live and survive. About three months later – when she was still ten – she found me. She brought me up and taught all that she had learned. By that time, the gang of girl strays had moved on, but Jenny had to take care of me. That’s basically how the strays survive. They come, they learn, they teach and then they leave.

Then, on her nineteenth birthday, she decided to leave. She wanted to find her destiny, she told me, and find a home and a family – something she had longed for since her parents had died. The only time I’ve heard from her was when she sent me a letter. The letter said that she had found a better place to live. It was super short, but when I checked the stamps on the back of the page, I found all sorts of them. I’m not a stamp collector, but it had been all over the world; Russia, Germany, China, England, Holland, Greenland, U.S., Australia, and then back here. I’ve kept this letter with me since I got it the first time. But other than that, I know nothing.

Well, it did mention one more thing. It said on the back that, if and only if I needed help I could go to Gnathafisan. Who on earth was that? And what a weird name too. I decided to find Gnathafisan. Someone had to know her, right?

              *                *               *

Turns out I was wrong. No one knew her. I went out of hiding for an hour and asked all the strays around me. No point. I’m pretty sure Tasha was still following me, so I whispered and I made sure no one could see me. Better safe than sorry. I started walking out of the -

“Hey you! Girl! Whatcha doing there behind the bushes?” I turned around and saw an old man of about sixty-five with a vendor cart. Some strays sell to make a living. This was one of them. I looked at the man’s face and smiled. I knew who it was.

“Hey! Gorwhin, come over here!” I yelled. This man might be the end to my problems. Gorwhin shuffled over with his cart.

“Quiet down Penelaire! If my customers find out that I’m a stray, they won’t buy!” he huffed. Gorwhin was a notorious stray. Not very many people knew him or saw him. When he was young, he was the leader of the pack. The pack being strays, of course. Then, one day he disappeared. And he turned into Gorwhin. He knew all sorts of techniques to stay out of sight. And he knew all sorts of people.

“Gorwhin, have you ever heard of Gnathafisan?” I whispered. He turned around and shouted, “No, why should I know?” He also has hearing problems.

“Keep your voice down!” I said. “I’m on the run!” he smiled. That was all it took to convince him that I was on his side. After quite a while of debating behind his vending cart, we came to a conclusion. He was going to dress up like Elvis Presley (or a hippie, either one worked), and look for Tasha, while I would stay here and wait for events. I wanted to go see the action, but he forced me to stay behind with some force. The hippie outfit was just so that Tasha thought he was vain, stupid and well, stupid. Oh and by the way, he’s not sixty five, he’s forty.

About three hours later, he came back with some news. He’d found Tasha, except she went under the name Cynthia. Liar, I thought. Well, maybe not because I didn’t know if Tasha was her real name anyways. Anyways, Gorwhin told me that she was looking for a young lady who fit my description. She was also whispering things into people’s ears. Now that got me worried. It’s hard getting money as a stray. You do what you can, but most of the time you have to forage and hunt for things to eat. And most of time the stuff you can eat is disgusting. So, if people start bribing you, you take it. Well, most people would easily. Which meant that soon I would probably have a dozen people on my trail and Tasha right behind them. Which meant I had to run. NOW.

I grabbed the stuff I had managed to find in my ruined shelter, and bolted with Gorwhin at my side. He still didn’t know who Gnathafisan was, or what, but he was still useful in the long run. I made a split-second decision and ran. It was raining cats and dogs, and we were drenched in water, but we still ran. It didn’t stop us. Gorwhin had no idea where we were going, but I did. To the pier.

The pier is a huge area with docks and a sheltered hallway that leads to where all the boats are. I was planning to get on one of those boats before they could chase us. I kept running, running until I got onto one of those little motor boat docks. It costed 20 dollars for a ride. I had 100. I turned around to see if Gorwhin was still following me. He wasn’t. I searched the crowd, looking for him. And then I saw her. Tasha. Right there, in the middle of the crowd, staring at me. I froze in fear. She was holding Gorwhin, and he had stopped struggling. And no, he wasn’t dead. He just stared at me, and mouthed one word – run. And I did.

I leapt through all the people on the crowded dock to cries of shock, and jumped onto one of the big motor boats that could fit eight people if it wanted. Then, – and don’t ask me how I did it, I just knew – I started the boat up. Jenny had said my parents were probably poor fishermen. These days, boats were so expensive that they couldn’t buy one and continue their profession if they were going to take care of me. So they chose to abandon me. I never really believed it, but when I started up the throttle of the boat, I’m pretty sure it was true. I had the skill. Amazingly, the boat started driving away, and I could no longer see Tasha.

When I got out in the open sea where I couldn’t see land, it finally occurred to me that there was probably an old boatman who wanted his boat back. And that he had called the police. And that the police might be on my trail right now. Oops. Well, that was bad thinking on my part. Oh well. How would they catch me in the middle of the ocean? I started going faster, pointing towards the south. I didn’t really know where I was going. After about another half an hour, I’m pretty sure I fell asleep on the boat.

By the time I woke up, the rain had stopped and the sky was getting dark. I stared off the side of the boat. The water was murky green. The boat had kept going once I fell asleep, and because there were definitely no rocks or any land anywhere, I wasn’t afraid. But I had never felt this alone in my life. I checked the boat’s GPS. Wow. Around a hundred miles away from any shore. For once, I felt like I had the lead. Now, all I had to do was find Jenny. And I wouldn’t stop until I found her. At the moment, I felt like I could keep going forever.

            *                *               *

The boat spluttered to a stop five hours later. In the middle of the ocean. I had run out of gas. There was no land to be seen for miles. I checked the GPS. The nearest island that had people was about a day’s swim. I sighed. I was going to lose my head start. At least they didn’t know where I was. But I didn’t know how to start. Swim the whole way dragging the boat behind me? Nah, too tiring. Probably impossible too. Plus I didn’t have any food.

I decided to paddle the whole way. I tried to find something suitable. The rudder? A stick? I decided to settle for the rudder. It’s broad end made it easy to paddle the boat forward if you used it like a canoe. I looked around for something to eat. Aha! Yes! The owner had left some snacks inside the tiny cabin. I devoured most of it. I needed some more gas. I wondered how much gas would cost. Maybe I’d have to use up the whole of my one hundred dollars. Not a good day.

After another ten minutes, the first cargo ship I had seen in quite a while passed by. It honked like a freight train, only a hundred times louder. I covered my ears and dived under the tarpaulin. That was noisy.

Well, a month ago, we had Exhibition. (dun dun dun) It may have seemed like a long time ago, but it has happened. Exhibition is perhaps the best, the worst, the hardest and the funnest project, unit or investigation you can do during this year. Like a variable, your emotions between vary. So do your thoughts and feelings. And a bunch of other “stuff” (for lack of a better word).

You get stuck in groups for the Exhibition of maybe 3 or four. You pick a Topic of Focus, and then you start Tuning In. There’s a cycle that we used called the Kath Murdoch Cycle. (Look for another post like it on my blog.) Then, we use the Chain of Inquiry. (Also included on that other post.)

My Exhibition:

I was put into a group of three, so two other boys and me. I hope I’m not exaggerating when I say this, but they were possibly one of or the most horrible group I’ve ever had to work with. For me, Exhibition was mainly centered on my group. One of them was alright, but slightly annoying (but that didn’t bother us much), and the second was purely irritating, annoying, bossy, the opposite of open-minded, and the opposite of logical. I won’t gossip too much about these boys, so let’s move onto my work.

Work-wise, we did pretty well. In Exhibition, you have to set up a booth at the very end and people come over to see what you’ve learned, and you explain it to them. So basically, you have to know all about your topic and your research. Which means a lot of hard working time for research and sorting it out. For the last two weeks, we get a collapsed schedule, which means you get to work just on Exhibition. My topic was politics. Politics was something I was interested in at the time, so I chose it just to see how it would go. It worked out alright work-wise, but like I said before, my group was another matter. We ended up having a horrible booth though, because – guess what? – my group members wouldn’t let me staple anything up. Just a little unfair. Just a little. Compared to everything else, that was minor.

If you’re doing the Exhibition soon, here are some hints:

1. Cooperate with your group. I didn’t, and guess what happened? We didn’t do as well as we could have.

2. Do all your work and come prepared. If not, you’re in serious trouble with your group and your mentor.

3. Don’t forget to do daily reflections! In this unit, daily reflections are mandatory. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T FORGET TO DO THEM! (Unless it conflicts with hint one or two)

4. Don’t quit anything for Exhibition. Remember, Exhibition is not your life! It’s only going to last – for what? – two months.

Well, these are just “hints”. I hope that you have a memorable experience and do well on your Exhibition! Good luck!

Here is another Math Menu activity, this time though, it’s just a recording. Please enjoy!

To everyone across the world, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Have a nice holiday and best of luck to the new year! A warm welcome to 2013, year of the snake (my birth year!!!) !!! 

Happy Holidays!!!

We’ve started another math menu again. This time, it’s based on fractions, decimals and percentages. This is my second task. Below is my auditory task itself, a video I made to teach others how to simplify and add fractions. Please enjoy!

Questions for G6 Blogs from Mr. Steiner

Students are to write in their own words or video themselves (using their laptops) answers to the following questions related to our central idea for team games – “Success in games depends on skills, rules, strategies and sportsmanship.” Students need to post these answers on their blog.  Students are encouraged to comment on each other’s answers in a positive/constructive manner.

What does sportsmanship mean to you/look like to you? Give some examples.

Sportsmanship to me is cooperation, teamwork and just helping each other out on the field. For example, if someone passed to someone else on his or her team and yelled “You can do it! Score a goal!” that would be sportsmanship to me because they were cooperating on the field and passing to one another in order to help their team. Also, after a game, if the two teams hi-five or congratulate each other, that would be sportsmanship too because no only are they communicating to their own team, but with others as well.

Why is it important to follow the rules of a game?

It is important to follow the rules of games because if you don’t, you won’t be able to play a fair match and you’ll be denying what sports is all about. But if you do follow the rules of the game, you’ll be able to play a fair match and have fun as well, without people nagging you about cheating. However, if we don’t follow the rules, what type of game is it if anyone can score or cheat to win?

Why are good team strategies important to success in team games? Give examples of strategies for team handball?  How would you create and/or deny space in team handball?

What is a strategy you/your team used in “Capture the Flag” to be more successful?

Team strategies are important because they are your plan that you run with and take action with. It also is important because with team strategies, everyone knows what to do, how to do it, who to pass to, who to mark, and how to beat the opposing team. That way, there’s no confusion and it’s very simple to score or win the match. One good strategy for any game really, is to spread out along the field first, and then pass to one another until you reach the goal, and there you can score. If the players mark you and deny space, then you move closer to your team player and pass the ball to them and the sequence continues as you try to move closer to the goal. One handball strategy is to pass the ball across the field to different people and move according to how the game is going. The person nearest to the goal shoots and tries to score. A capture the flag strategy would be different. A capture the flag strategy could be where a little less than three quarters of the team stay on defense (for tagging runners who try to steal the ball or people who defend the jail) or as people to save others from jail if they get caught, while the rest run and try to “capture the flag”.

You create space by moving around and away from other people, as well as running in a different direction or turning around to an unoccupied space where you can then move into. You deny space by pushing up against the opposing player, or marking them, and surrounding them so that they can’t find space to pass or score.

Describe why having strong skills helps your team be more successful. Give some examples of skills with a specific team sport in mind.

Having strong skills are important because with these skills you can specialize at scoring goals, staying on defense or passing to one another. Also, if you have strong skills then it’s easier to devise a strategy where you can contribute your skills and win the match. However, if you don’t have good skills, then you are most likely to lose the match because you haven’t practiced or couldn’t contribute anything to the game.

In Capture the Flag it is important to be good at the following skills:

-       Running (for obvious reasons)

-       Stealth (if you’re trying to steal the flag, it’s best to be stealthy because other people don’t notice you as much)

-       Alert (if you’re on defense, it’s best to be alert in case anybody tries to sneak in to your side of the field)

Why does a team that is very physically fit have an advantage over a team that is not fit?

The team that is physically fit has an advantage because they can tower over the weaker team and take the opportunities to score. (Opportunities such as skills, power, stamina and accuracy). The weaker team will not have these advantages, and will not be able to score any goals or win the match if the stronger team can beat them easily at all of these. Also, the unfit team will run out of energy perhaps halfway through the game because they don’t have the endurance to keep going, letting the stronger team have even more chances at winning the match.

I’m doing another Math Menu task for tessellations and transformations. Since this is an auditory task, I had to write a song about tessellations and transformations and upload it to Youtube. If you would like to hear it, you can watch the video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Last week, the whole of Grade 6 (plus the teachers) went to Zhao Qing, China for our annual camp. Dragonfly, a team that organizes camps around Asia, hosted the camp. We stayed in China for four days and three nights. Over the three days that we were free (on the fourth day we had to leave), we had to do four activities per group. Our grade was divided into five colour groups. I was in the Yellow Group, and we had a lot of fun. Originally, we were supposed to do five activities, but we came later then planned on the first day, so we skipped an activity and did the one we missed instead. We did the Great Race, Ink Stones, Cableway Hiking and Chinese Painting. Each activity was a lot of fun, but the main challenge and disappointment were the bus rides.

To get to China we had to take a seven or eight hour bus ride. It isn’t that bad if you have something to do, but it takes a while. Going through immigrations is also a pain. It takes quite a while, and you wait in the line for ages. Anyways, as soon as we got there, we (me and my roommates) went up to our rooms and dropped our bags off. My roommates were Sara and Carolyn. After that, we met below the reception with our Dragonfly camp leader, Basha. She is from Poland, so she has a strong Polish accent that makes it a bit hard to understand her. We went up to a place in the hills and played a few team-building games, such as “retrieve the tank of oxygen without letting go of each other’s hands”.

In my opinion, the food was the second worst bit of camp. I don’t think it was very healthy, but I was starving so I didn’t really care at the time. The worst bit of camp for me was the Great Race. This was because we got lost twice, and we ended up in a cave that was out-of-bounds. The cave was pretty interesting though, with lots of Chinese characters painted on the wall. Other than that, the rest of the camp was really fun and enjoyable. My favorite part of camp was the cableway hiking because we got to walk all over the hills and on cables. I personally enjoy thrills the best, so this was the most fun for me.

Overall, camp gives us the experience we need to live the rest of our lives. It also helps us participate with people we don’t know, and we can learn some new skills, which (I think) is the whole purpose of camp. However, it also gives us the thrills of life and adventure, as well as a chance to be away from home for a few days.

Over the past few weeks, we have been completing a Math Menu. A Math Menu is a math activity with several categories and a few activities for each category. Right now, I am working in the “Understand the relationships between area and perimeter, between area” category and the kinesthetic activity. For this activity, I have to practice finding the area and perimeter for rectangles at this website: http://www.mathplayground.com/area_perimeter.html

Then, we have to make our own shape using pattern blocks and then measure the perimeter and area of this shape and explain how to calculate the area and perimeter in a blog post, which is what I am doing right now.

So, first, let’s measure the perimeter. Perimeter is the distance around a shape. To calculate the perimeter of a rectangle, first you calculate one edge of the rectangle. Times it by two, then calculate the edge right next to the one you just calculate. Times that edge by two and add it to the sum of the other edge and you get the perimeter. Now for this shape, I’ll give you the answer right now, and then I’ll tell you how to measure it. The perimeter is 47 kinks. Kinks is a made-up unit since in these pattern blocks you can divide the blocks into squares. One of those squares is 1 kink square. One kink is 2.3 centimeters, which is much harder to calculate so I called it a kink. To calculate the perimeter, you can either count along the edges (which is what I did), or subdivide it into rectangles and count only the edges that stick out. In my opinion, counting along the edges is a lot faster but less organized. So to do this, you should count the edges that stick out in groups, and make sure you have a starting point. In the end, your perimeter is 47 kinks.

Now, the area is a little bit more difficult. Area is the amount of space inside of a shape. For a normal rectangle, calculating the area isn’t that hard. All you have to do is take one edge of the rectangle and the edge not parallel to it, but connected to it (like last time) and calculate both of them. After that, take the calculations and times them by each other. To calculate the area for this kind of shape (an irregular shape), you have to subdivide the blocks into equal rectangles. Keep in mind that you will probably have one squared rectangles. Then, count the squares of the rectangles and add them all up. Remember to add a small 2 or square at the end of the number. For this shape, the area is 35 kinks square. That is how to calculate the area and perimeter of a rectangular based shape.