Staying at home

This is my first free write and during a free write you can't stop writing for 
however many minutes you have a timer set for. You can either write about 
anything you want or you can awnser a question. Mine was a question, What 
is it like to stay at home by your self?
The first time you stay at home by your self it's a little scary, but 
then you get used to it. My two favorite parts are watching TV 
and surprising mom with all the chores I did. The only time I 
don't like it is in the morning because mom isn't home to do 
school with me. It's usually fun to be alone but sometimes it 
gets lonely. I don't like to play video games so I watch TV. 
Recently I watched "Summer Eleven". It was about four girls 
named Jess, Lizzie, Amanda, and Perry, they are all eleven and 
this is the summer they go to middle school, just like me!

The Donkey and His Driver

A donkey was being driven down a mountainside.
Seeing his stall at the foot of the mountain, he
decided to take a short cut home. It seemed to the
donkey that the quickest way down was over
the edge of the cliff. Just as he was about to leap
his master grabbed his tail and tried to pull him
back. The donkey was so stubborn that he pulled
with all his might. "Very well", said his master,
go your own way you silly beast and see where
it leads you. So his master let go and the foolish
donkey fell off the mountain tumbling head over heels.

Easter

Easter
A flower
Spring
Tulips
Egg
Rabbit

Desert Animals

Tortoise

Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles in the order Testudines. Like their marine relatives, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell.

Greater Roadrunner 

The Greater Roadrunner, taxonomically classified as Geococcyx californianus, meaning "Californian Earth-cuckoo," is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. 

 Coyote

The coyote, also known as the American jackal, brush wolf, or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States, and Canada.  

                            

Kangaroo rat 

Kangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form: as they hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, although they are not related. 

Sandgrouse 

Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclididae, a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pteroclidiformes. They are traditionally placed in two genera. 

Horned lizard 

Horned lizards are a genus of lizards which are the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The horned lizard is popularly called a "horned toad", "horny toad", or "horned frog", but it is neither a toad nor a frog. 

 

Oysters

Bivalves are marine animals. They have two shells,
 one on the top and one on the bottom. Oysters are
the most valuable of all Bivalves. They are common
in shallow and warmer waters all over the world.
Female Oysters produce five to fifty-thousand eggs
in one year, but few will mature. Their shell forms
a couple of days after fertilization. Oysters will
start swimming a few days after they hatch. After
swimming a few days, Oysters will attach to a rock
or a submerged object, where they will live for the
remains of their lives. Once full grown, they are
two to ten inches long.

Desert Tarantula

The Desert Tarantula is the largest spider in the world.
They are portrayed in movies as dangerous, but are not
really dangerous to humans. The Desert Tarantula
spends most of their lives underground in burrows.
They eat by sitting at the entrance of their burrows
at night and wait for insects or small animals to wander
to close. The Desert Tarantulas are most often seen
when mating , because they come out of their burrows
looking for adult females. Males live to be ten to
eleven years old. Females live to be twenty-five
years old and older. The females lay eggs several
times during their lives.

The Boy and The Nuts

A young boy who saw a pitcher full of nuts reached
in to get some. He greedily grabbed the nuts then
tried to pull his hand out. His fist was bulging with
nuts so he couldn't get it out. Unwilling to let go
of the nuts, he was unable to get his hand out. He
burst into tears. Then a man nearby said "If you
would be satisfied with fewer nuts you could get
your hand out." The moral is sometimes you have
to give a little to get what you want.

Sea Snakes

Sea Snakes are the most venomous snakes in the
world. Scientists think the Sea Snakes venom is fifty
times more powerful than the King Cobras. Sea
Snakes don't always inject venom when they bite,
Nobody really knows why. Its venom has slow effect
but is fatal twenty-five percent of the time. Fisherman
are most likely to become victims either by stepping
on or handling them carelessly.

Pearls

Oysters are useful for food and the production of
pearls they give. Pearls begin to form by a parasite
or a grain of sand getting into the mantle of the oyster.
 Its presence causes an irritation for the oyster.
The oyster secretes its mother-of-pearl-forming-substance
 around the object which stops the irritation. Over
time many layers of the substance are made and
the pearl is formed. The Japanese discovered a way
to encourage the oysters to make pearls artificially.
It takes three to four years for a pearl to form.

Pill Bugs

Pill bugs are common backyard inhabitants around
the world. When disturbed the will roll into a ball
that looks like an old-fashioned pill. The Sow bug
is a close relative. The Sow bug is similar but flatter
and can't roll into a ball. The Pill bug is a Crustacean
just like Crabs and Lobsters. Like underwater animals
they breathe with gills instead of lungs. The gills are
located on the underside of the Pill bug and must be
kept moist, Which is why they are found in damp places.

Saint Patrick

Born in England arguably in the late 4th century A.D., St. Patrick was captured by pirates as a child and brought to Ireland. During his enslavement, he was called to Christianity and escaped his captors after six years. He returned to Ireland as a missionary, and in his teachings, combined Irish pagan beliefs with Christian sacrament, devising the Celtic Cross. He is annually honored on March 17.
                                                          

Rachels Poem

First name : Rachel

Describing words : Smart, Hardworking, kind

Things like : Chocolate, Art, Music

Things I don't like : Squash, Snakes, Spiders

Movies watched : Pinocchio, Ice age;continental drift, Pollyanna

Feared things : Being away from mom, Black widows, Poisonous snakes

Favorite subjects in school : Music, Art, Bible, History, Geography

Goals : Learn to sing, Become a famous musician

Places I want to visit : Illinois, Ohio, Washington state, Hawaii

Last name : Hoefner

Australia Animal Facts

Dingo

The dingo is a free-roaming dog mainly found on the continent of Australia. A dingo's natural habitat can range from deserts, to grasslands and on the verge of forests.

Lyrebird

A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, that form the genus, Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment.

Kangaroo

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae. In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, red kangaroo, antilopine ...

Wombat

Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials, native to Australia, approximately 1 metre in length with a short, stubby tail.

Wallaby

Mammal. The rock wallaby is a small kangaroo. There are 15 species of rock wallaby. They live exclusively on rocky terrain and can leap up to 4 meters (13 feet) but cannot climb trees. During hot weather, they spend most of the day in the shade, searching for grass in the early morning  and evening. On cooler days, they spend much of their time  eating. Wallabies communicate a warning to others by thumping  once or twice on the ground with their feet. A female wallaby  can produce two different kinds of milk at the same time, one  for her baby and another, richer blend, for her older offspring!

Platypus

The platypus is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth.

Peter the Great

In the eighteenth century Russia was the largest nation
on earth. It spread from Europe on the West to the
Pacific Ocean on the East. Everywhere in Europe
wonderful things were happening. Scientists, Explorers,
Painters, Musicians, and Writers were changing the
world. But the Russians didn't want to change. Then
came Peter Alexeevich, who was the star of Russia.
He was born in 1672 and he new Russia needed
change. After a trip to Europe he learned many things,
Peter brought great change to his country. That is one
reason he is called Peter the Great.

The Cocks and the Eagle

Once there were two cocks living at the same farmyard.
They hated each other and one day flew up to fight, using
beak and claw. After a terrible fight , the one beaten
ran to a corner to hide. The cock that won the
battle flew to the top of the hen house , flapping his
wings and crowing to let everyone know of his victory.
An eagle was circling over head and heard the cock crowing.
So the eagle swooped down and carried the cock off to his nest.
The rival cock saw the deed, came out from hiding, and
took his place as master of the farmyard.

Starfish

Starfish live in all the world's oceans. There are over two thousand
kindsof starfish.They eat oysters and clams. Most of them have five
armsbut some have ten, twenty, or even forty. Every time a starfish
losesan arm it can grow another. They can even grow a body from
an arm,which can happen, because they have important organs in their
arms instead of in their body. Starfish are not really fish which is why
scientists try to encourage the name Sea stars.