Summer?!

Summertime.

People, please do not completely fall for the projected images of summer i.e:

• Swimming a lot
• Being carefree
• Relaxing vacation

There are others, but I'm focusing on these right now.

REALITY CHECK! ALL SCHOOLKIDS, ATTENTION PLEASE!

Summer also means:

• Holiday homework (mainly for students grades 5 and up)
• Well, your parents may not get long leave...
• If you're not out of town the WHOLE vacation, beware...it is crazy hot outside and the chances of you being allowed outside in the morning or afternoon are quite slim

So. What exactly are you going to DO?

Especially holiday homework. I mean, seriously, how many projects and worksheets have you been given to be submitted (completed, I mean) at the end of summer?
I'm convinced that at least 75%, though it's probably more like all, of the kids in my class are groaning about holiday homework. I also think that teachers are dreading correcting, roughly, fifty projects or worksheets from each grade they teach. If not more.

Look, I'm not saying summer's a terrible time..  It's when you're supposed to have a break...but how is it a break if you've got assignments to bother you? Do I sound irritated? Probably because I am.
This is something you've probably heard at least twenty times before, but try to get your holiday homework finished ASAP. It's going to be hard...believe me, it's taking me about a week to convince myself to start on my assignments.

All that said, good luck.
And have a great time!
                                                     
                                                    

Quotes

Here are some quotes I like. I got these quotes from goodreads

'Common sense is not so common.'
                                                          -Voltaire

'Just because we've never done it doesn't mean we can't do it.'
                                                          -Eva Ibbotson in The Dragonfly Pool

'We have no water and still less soap. We have no city, but lots of hope.'
                                                          -Mary Pope Osborne in Earthquake in the Early Morning

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'
                                                          -J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'
                                                         -Mahatma Gandhi

'You cannot stop the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can stop them nesting in your hair.'
                                                         -Eva Ibbotson in The Dragonfly Pool

'"My truffles? You took them? That's just mean!"'
                                                        -Eoin Colfer in Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

If you like these quotes and want to find more, you can do one of the following:

1.)Read the books I mentioned or others
2.)Search the site I mentioned at the beginning of this post. (It's a hyperlink. If you click on it and get to the page, scroll down. There are several sections, and one of them is 'Quotes'. Underneath, it says, 'More quotes'. Click on that and enjoy yourself)

You can choose which option you'd like to follow. I think you'll come across some quotes you can't help liking!

'Everybody' is such a vague word! I wrote this poem in November 2011.

Everybody

A while ago, someone told me

"Have you heard the latest? You see,

xyz is the best to listen to."

Immediately, I replied, "Says who?"

"Why, everybody!" the friend replied

Looking very much surprised

"Everybody? Oh, I see," 

I said, looking up thoughtfully

I mused, 'Who is this Everybody?

A group of people, or a somebody?

And hey, by the way, what does Somebody mean?

Might as well think the matter through clean.'

Suddenly the conductor gave a shout,

"Hey miss! Here's your stop. Go on, get out."

I grabbed my bag and descended into the fray

I'd save 'Everybody' for another day

It's still a vague word to me. What does it mean?

What do you think?

Cartwheels in the Rain...

It began in second grade.
I don't recall exactly, but I had to write something for school. The last four words : "cartwheels in the rain". That has stuck in my mind ever since.

Cartwheels are an acrobatic move I'm pretty familiar with. You lunge (a posture used to begin various moves) then kick off onto your hands. You put one foot down and come upright once you bring the other one down. Not a very good description, but it's hard to describe. And of course, it's fun.

Cartwheels, I knew. Rain, I knew. But together...? I'd never done it.
Until I was in fifth grade, I didn't know how it would be. Then suddenly I was caught in a downpour in a grassy area. It was too tempting to resist. I sprang off onto my hands, though at the time I couldn't do two in a row. I'd do one, stop for barely three seconds, then do another. I must have turned more than ten cartwheels. I stopped finally and told my friend, who was screaming and running through the rain in delight (normal behaviour for both of us and the other kids in the place), "I like this. This is what I've always wanted to do." Then I gave a high-pitched scream and began running through the rain.

Cartwheels in the rain. Perfect name for a blog, I decided.
And I think it is.