Archive by Author | jschwartz25

All about the awesomeness of octopuses!

Dear readers,

Today I will be talking about octopuses!

       Ghostlike octopus! So cute!

1. The first octopus I will be talking about is a coconut octopus.                                                                                                                                  The coconut octopus lives in the coast of Lembeh, an Indonesian island. Are you wondering why it is called a coconut octopus? It’s called a coconut octopus because it likes to hide in empty coconut shells and any big shells. The octopus’s body is a s big as your thumb!An octopus sees a diver as a person who wants to hurt him so they squirt ink at them!

2. The second octopus I will be talking about is an octopus that lived a long time ago. In a museum in Bristol, England there is a fossil with an imprint of a 10 inch octopus on it. The fossil is rare because usually animals with soft bodies leave no trace. It’s is 90 years old and one of the oldest known octopuses!

Octopuses are wonders! If you want to learn more about different types of octopuses you can read the National Geographic magazine called Explorer Pathfinder: Octopus.

Jen?

Breakout EDU!

Dear readers,

Last week my class did something called Breakout Edu! Do you know what Breakout EDU is? Breakout EDU is usually a challenge you do with a group of buddies or anyone you’d like. You have a certain amount of time to get out of a room or rooms that lead to other rooms. Thre are clues hidden around the room and you need to find them all of these clues usually leads to a key or a code that unlocks the door to escape the room.

But, our clsss did something diferent we went to our science room and clues were hidden around the room. We had to break into a box with five locks.              Something our class could have done better is we could have had better teamwork and we could have been more considerate to each other. When I found a big clue my classmates just snatched it out of my hand without asking. I even got scratched when they snatched it out of my hand which actually hurt a lot. Luckily, this week our teacher let us try and do it again we did way better and had much better teamwork.

Inside of the boxes were prizes the first time there were Hershey kisses inside and the second time we got bracelets, erasers, and squishy fake eyeballs.      The first time we did this challenge we still had a couple of minutes left, but the second time the teachers thought we would’t make it, but we made it with one minute left!

You should try this sometime! I thought it was very fun!                                                                                                                                                                      Thanks for reading! Please comment below!

Thanks,

Jen?

 

Felting!

Dear readers,

This week I ordered a felting kit from Amazon! Do you know what felting is? Felting is where you use refined wool from a sheep to make any creation you would like. You do this by poking it lots of times so it gets firm. There is NO substitute for a felting needle because a felting needle has little barbs       ( points ) on it that only felting needles have so don’t use any thing else. There are many felting needle types for example,

                                                     Chart of Uses for Felting Needles – Various Needle Gauges

   NEEDLE    GAUGE     BLADE           STYLE    FIBER TYPE             USE A            USE B             USE C
Coarse 32 triangular     Coarse fibers  Micron count 39-     45 Cotswold,      Karakul,          Wensleydale, Good for beginning stages when working with coarse fiber. Moves a lot of fiber quickly, leaves a large hole.    Good for needling  mohair onto the  heads of cloth dolls.  
Medium 36 triangular Medium fibers

25-38

Romney,            Coopworth

 

  Good for beginning    stages when working    with medium fiber.    Moves a lot of fiber    quickly, leaves a    smaller hole than the     32 gauge needle.  Used for detail            needle when  working with coarse               fibers.  Used for needling       medium fibers onto    heavier fabrics such    as denim or canvas.
Fine 38 triangular Medium-Fine to fine fibers Micron 21-24

Corriedale, Finn, Merino

Good for beginning stages when working with fine fiber. Used for detail needle when working with medium fibers.  Used for needling fine fibers onto a medium weight cloth such as cotton bubble gauze.
Fine Star 38 star Medium fine to fine fibers

Micron 21-24

Corriedale, Finn, Merino

Used for needling fine wool onto a fine cloth base such as silk gauze or habotai. Used as a detail needle for fine fibers.  Leaves a small hole, but is still pretty aggressive at pushing a lot of fiber because it has 4 edges with notches instead of 3.
Extra Fine 40 triangular Fine fibers

Micron 18-20

Merino

 

Can also be used for needling fine wool onto a fine cloth base. Used as a detail needle for fine fibers.  Leaves a small hole, but doesn’t push as much fiber as the 38 star.  Good for finishing the outside “skin” of the felt
Ultra Fine 42 triangular same as above Used for needling onto a very fine cloth base. Used as a final detail needle for very fine fibers. Leaves a very small hole. Used for rooting very fine doll hair.

To felt you need to be patient because, if you biaccidentally poke the wrong spot it is rare that you can change it back to the way you like it.                                                                                        I did not like the kit I got. One of the problems it had was that during one of the first couple pokes the needle that came with the kit bent.                      That actually happened a couple of times but I was able to bend it back it always happened again. This shows that the supplies that come from the kit are not good quality! The next prolem kind of depends on you. If you are not patient or if you are a perfectionist (like me) felting is not the best craft for you. I got very stressed when I was working on this kit because it wasn’t going the way I expected it to and also the picture on the cover shows a really amazing felted pig which made it worse for me when I looked at it. Another thing I did not like about this kit is that parts of the pig like the nose did not attach to the main part. Once I finally thought I got the nose to stick on I just had to touch it lightly for it to fall right off.? ?

Overall, I don’t think this kit was very good! And I don’t think felting is a craft for me.

Below I have attached 2 videos one about how to make the kit and another about 10 important things you need to know about felting!

Paddling field trip!!

Dear readers,

I have news for you!♥  This Monday (June 12, 2017) my class went on a bus to the pool!                                                                               How cool is that! It was a really hot day so it was the perfect day to go paddling and Kayaking in the pool. This field trip was a field trip that our Gym teacher organized. We had the whole pool to ourselves because they didn’t let the people who were not in our class go into the pools. When we arrived at the pool there  were stations set up some stations had the same type of Kayak. On top, there was a stand up paddle board!♥

The first station I went to was the stand up paddle board one. It was fun but I was a little wobbly on it. We also had to ride it in a lane, but the stand up paddle board was the only one where you had to go in a lane for.

The second paddle board I went into was called a touring Kayak. It was long and red. I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite.♥

The third kayak I went on was a recreational kayak. It was really cool! But it still wasn’t my favorite!♥ There was only one more station to go to! But, sadly our P.E teacher said that everyone should stop what we’re doing and take off our PDF’s ( personal flotation device ).

Luckily, when I told the P.E teacher that I hadn’t gone to the last station she let me go on the last kayak! It was called a downriver kayak! This was my favorite one!♥?? It was my favorite because it moved so fast in comparison to the other kayak’s! And it also turned so quickly!

Then it was time for free swim everyone got in the pool and swam and played! When we were done, we all went to the changing rooms and changed. Then the bus came and we went back to school.? Over all this was one of the best field trip’s I ever had!

Below I attached videos about my favorite kayak ( the downriver kayak ) and a stand up paddle board.⇓

 

Awesome book review!

The book I am going to review today is called Honey! The author’s name is Sarah Weeks she also wrote other book’s called, Pie and Cheese. The genre of the book is realistic fiction. The book is about a girl named Melody who lives in Royal, Indiana with only her dad and herself. But it doesn’t bother her too much that she doesn’t have a mom since she passed away when she was just a baby. One night she overhears her dad calling someone “Honey”, and thinks her dad has a new girlfriend and is keeping it a secret from her.  Melody is happy that er dad has a new girlfriend (she’d been wishing that for a long time), but is not happy that her dad is keeping it a secret from her. Together with her best friend Nick she they try and figure out who “Honey” is. Meanwhile, a pug named Mo is new to  Royal, Indiana. He doesn’t remember a lot a bout when he was a puppy, but he keeps on having the same dream that always has the same girl in it. He thinks there is something special about the girl.

This is Honey but she also            wrote Pie & Cheese

I think Melody is very cool because she doesn’t care about what other people think about her. I know this because on page 3 it says, ” I don’t care what people think.” and on page 3 her neighbor- Teeny -says,”How come your hair’s so short?” and Melody replies,” ‘Cause I like it that way.” I think Melody changed from the beginning to the end because in the beginning she didn’t want to go to the beehive- The salon -and at the end she actually liked going to the salon.

The book takes place in Royal, Indiana during May. They sometimes use the setting to show the mood of the day like, on page 105 it says,”Sunday morning when Melody woke up, the sky was an ominous gray and the raindrops were pelting the windowpanes like spitballs.” This makes the mood feel sad and gloomy (dreary). Also on page 113 it says,”Mo hated rain and he hated thunder and lightning even more.” and, “The ground was muddy and Mo stepped carefully around the puddles.” This makes me feel dismal.

Overall, I think Honey is a great book. In the beginning the book is not that happy, but if you read ’till the end then it gets happier and happier. So if you are up for a book that makes you feel happy and makes you feel joyful and want to smile, then you should read Honey!

Thanks,                                                                                                                                                                                                            Jen  🙂

Mother’s day art!

Dear readers,

Next week is Mother’s day and I wanted to make something special for my grandmother and send it to her!  I was looking online when I saw a beautiful sunset! Then I saw a different picture and I had the perfect idea! I painted a black tree with a sunset behind it! For my mom, I drew the shape of a heart with a black sharpie and painted a rainbow inside of it. Then I bent the paper so I could cut MOM inside and put plastic wrap on the back, which looked very cool! 🙂 I also went on pinterest and found lots of nice phrases for mother’s day and I put them all on one card with a picture beside each one, which also looked nice. I also like making little things out of clay, so I might make some other creation but I haven’t thought of anything yet. If you have any ideas of what I can make out of clay, please let me know! Pictures of what I made will be added soon.

Thanks,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Jen?

Most spectacular restaurant!

CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) is the best place to eat out with your family or friends!                                                         It’s located on Central Avenue, Scarsdale NY. The street it is on is very busy, but it doesn’t matter once you try the food. It’s not any specific type of restaurant- like Italian or Greek.  On some days, it’s very busy and on others, it’s pretty calm. There are all sorts of foods there and it’s good because each family member or friend can eat the type of food they like. Their operating hours are from 11 am until 10 pm

They offer small plates, appetizers, main meals, lunch duos, beverages, and desserts.                                                     They have an adult & kids menu! They serve gluten free and vegetarian. The price range is from $3.10 – $18.49.

When I go there, I either get the Sedona Tortilla Soup or the Kid’s Barbecue Pizza. I would recommend both! I once got the Kid’s Crispy Mac & Cheese, but I didn’t really like it and I only ate half of it. The problem with it is that it is so much to eat and after a while it get’s boring and dull because it only has one taste. I wouldn’t really recommend it!

All of the servers and hosts are very polite and kind. My family’s favorite waitress’s name is Maria and whenever she can, she somehow arranges that she will serve our table. In general, all of the servers and hosts never forget to say thank you and never forget to say good-bye. The waiting time for the food is almost always reasonable. If it is your birthday the waiter/waitress always sings the happy birthday song for you when you blow out the candle!

It can be loud, but usually it’s not. At least my grandma can take it. (And she has very sensitive hearing:) )  It is kid-friendly and cozy when you get a couch seat. It’s not not fancy, but it isn’t fancy-fancy. The decor is pretty cool/awesome and they have outdoor seating. And only the outdoor seating has very tall chairs and tables, which make me feel even more tall than I am. Inside they also have a bar for the grown ups.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant for any type of occasion, except maybe not for a fancy occasion. So if you are looking for a great place to eat out, go to California Pizza Kitchen (CPK)!