Field Trip to the Constitution Center

241834_10151268183183236_932932064_oWe woke up early in the morning to leave for the Constitution Center. The drive was long and quite boring. But we still were there earlier than needed. When we finally got there the lady gave us our pamphlets for the tour and gave us some background about it. Then she told us to wait by the Arizona flag for the rest of our group. While we were up there we saw the bronze statues of all of the people who signed the constitution. We decided that we had enough time to take some pictures with them. I took a picture with Benjamin Franklin and even signed the Constitution myself! Ok, it was just a book that said sign the Constitution but still!

After that we took a trip to the White House, virtually. The objective of the trip to the White House presentation was to teach us that behind every good President, there are many other people. We got to see some ad campaigns and everyone in the room really enjoyed the “I like Ike” campaign. Part of the learning process of how a president is selected was having two candidates to run for the two political parties. I was a candidate for one of the parties! My slogan was “My name is Anmol and I’m with team yellow, and our goal is to bring happiness to every American fellow.” The guy for the Orange party, the opposing party’s slogan was “Taste the rainbows.”  Our party lost 14-19. Seriously, I mean really, what is this world coming to?! But, in my defense I do have to say that with the exception of my brother and mother, everybody who was voting was from the same homeschooling group, so I think I did well.

Continue reading

Lucy: Our Oldest Ancestor

"Lucy" Exhibit To Open In Houston Amid ProtestsWhat makes us human? This is a difficult question and has no correct answer. But, by studying events that happened in the past we can find answers. People like Lucy help us discover the answer to this complex question. Lucy is not a human of the 21st century. So, by now you’re wondering, who is Lucy? Lucy is the world’s most famous early human ancestor being 3.2 million years old.

Lucy was a young adult when she died. We were able to tell this from the third molars which are slightly worn. Lucy was found by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray on November 24th, 1974. They couldn’t find any fossils after a long hot day in Ethiopia so they decided to call it a day. While walking back to his vehicle, Johanson saw a bone sticking out of the sand and quickly identified it as a human bone. It was here that the team found Lucy.

Continue reading

King Tut

urlTutankhamen was born in 1341 B.C.E, during the reign of Akhenaten, his probable father, and died c. 1323 B.C. At birth, he was given the name Tutankhaten (the Living Image of Aten). King Tut arrived at the throne with he was nine years old. There is not much information about King Tut’s early life because he died so suddenly. From the information on the walls of Tut’s tomb, we can tell that was forced to take over when his father died.

King Tut’s job as a pharaoh was to make laws and collect taxes. He was also considered the form of Horous, the god of the sky. The pharaoh always carried the crook and flail. The crook looked like a stick with a hook on the end, and the flail looked, somewhat, like a whip. The pharaoh also wore a uraeus which was a symbol of the goddess Wadjet, and was shown as a cobra. Tut’s father Akhenaten only wanted to worship one god. He wanted to break tradition. When he died Tut brought back the tradition of worshipping all gods.

Continue reading

Harry Potter: An Inspirational Character

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

My assignment was to  pick a fictional character that inspires me, I wrote about Harry Potter. 

After reading the Harry Potter books, I could describe the character of Harry Potter as brave, athletic, humble, and loyal. All these traits, in my mind, make him an inspirational person. Harry Potter inspires me because of his bravery. He was the only person who would call Voldemort by his name; everyone else would refer to him as “you-know-who.” Harry also defeated Voldemort despite everything that he went through. Out of the golden trio, Harry Potter was the bravest. He was, also, a humble person. Though he defeated Voldemort he never bragged about it. He also never said that he defeated Voldemort all by himself. He said that he couldn’t do it without his friends.

Harry Potter was also very athletic. He was the best seeker in Quidditch at Hogwarts. He was always trying to do his best on the field. He would do anything to help his team win. He always was a seeker that the team could trust.  Also, Harry Potter was a loyal friend. He cared when one of his friends got hurt. For example, when Hermione was being attacked by the troll, Harry tries to save her. Harry also helped save Buckbeak by giving him to Sirius.

All of these traits make Harry very inspirational to me. Even if he is a fictional character many people look up to him. He is loyal, friendly and brave. He is someone that anyone would love to be friends with, myself included!


My assignment was to write some poems. Enjoy!

These are my twists of the types of poems I studied in class today. Enjoy!


Spring is Here!

Little Butterfly

Dancing over the flowers

Graceful as a swan

Beautiful Duckling

Swimming all around the pond

Looking for some fish

We sit in moonlight

Watching the animals play

Laughing till the night

Moon shines over us

Giving everyone the news

That spring is now here

Continue reading

Letter to Dr. King


I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama…..little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

January 21st, 2013

Dear Dr. King,

A lot has happen over the past fifty years. Segregation is diminishing in the United States. Your birthday has become a national holiday, and your house has become a museum. You have inspired so many people to change the world.  Your speeches and words still lived in our hearts. Thanks to your hard work and determination people of all colors can go to the same schools, eat at the same restaurants and drink at the same water fountains.

We still struggle with race issues in the United States, but people of all colors are allowed to take part in conversions. People are inspired by the choices you made. You were willing to go to jail so many times just to prove your point. You knew that life could be better than what is was when you were protesting. The world has become a happier place and we have learned to work together.

You have become an important part of our history. A lot of people look up at you as a role model. Your speeches are very inspirational to all people, regardless of their background. You have let the world know that one person can make a difference. Thank you for persistence and will power.



Charles Dickens: His Life Story

Charles DickensHave you heard of A Christmas Carol? Do you know who wrote it? The author of the story is Charles Dickens. Charles was a popular author, but two of his most famous novels were: A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist. He was a descriptive writer.

Charles Dickens was born February 7th, 1812, in Portsmouth England. He was the second of eight children. He was also the oldest son and was a part of six of the Dickens’ children who survived to be an adult. Charles’ father was very close to him. They would always go on walks. On one walk his father, John Dickens, showed Charles a beautiful house and told him he could buy it someday if he worked hard. Charles never forgot that house and in 1856 he bought the house: Gad’s Hill Place in Higham, Kent.

Gad's Hill Place

Photograph of Gad’s Hill Place

Charles’ father worked at a mill and got little money. When Charles and his family moved to London his father was put in debtor’s prison because he couldn’t pay his debt of 40 pounds. Everyone – but Charles – moved to the prison with Mr Dickens.

Charles instead began working at a shoe polishing factory sticking labels on jars. The money he earned was used to pay for staying in a boarding house. After eight months, John Dickens was able to leave the prison and move in the boarding house where Charles was living thanks to Charles securing the money owed. Charles was able to go back to school.

Charles’ first book was called Sketches by Boz. Boz was Charles’ pen name. Sketches by Boz were a series of short stories. This book was an instant success. People loved Charles’ style of writing.  This inspired Charles to write more stories. His next book was the Pickwick Papers. This was Charles’ first novel. After this story came Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist was probably inspired by Charles’ own experiences. Oliver was put to work at a young age; similarly, Charles started working in a factory days after turning twelve. Life just got better and better for Charles as his writing continued. On December 19th, 1843 he published the most famous Christmas story of all time: A Christmas Carol.

In his personal life, Charles married Catherine Hogarth and had ten children. In 1842, Charles and Catherine visited the United States. He was not very fond of the country because of the issue of slavery and his opinion on the American Government. Charles’ then traveled to Italy and Switzerland.

In 1857, Charles’ hired professional actress Ellen Ternan to work on his play The Frozen Deep. He fell in love with her and in 1858 he divorced Catherine.  On June 9th, 1865 while returning from Paris with Ternan, Charles’ was involved in a train crash. Before rescuers arrived, Charles tended and comforted the wounded and dying.  Before leaving the train, he returned to his carriage to retrieve the final part of Our Mutual Friend.  Exactly, five years after the train accident, Charles Dickens died in his sleep from stroke at his home in Gad’s Hill Place.

Although, Charles died a long time, his stories still live with us today. People marvel at his style of writing. For example, take the Christmas Carol it has been used as inspiration in many stories including Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”  The character of the Grinch can be compared to the character of Scrooge. Another example is the character of Oliver Twist that can be compared to Harry Potter. Both were orphans who had to struggle. I believe that Charles Dickens is a popular author because he is able to catch the reader’s attention.


Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870).” BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
Hotten, John Camden. Charles Dickens, The Story of His Life. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1870. Print.
Michael Slater, ‘Dickens, Charles John Huffam (1812–1870)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011. 19 Jan 2013

Nile River Valley Civilization

Nile River ValleyThe Nile River is the longest river in the world; however, it is not the length that makes it important to the region. The name Nile comes from the Greek word “neilos” which means valley. The Nile River played an important part of the civilization in the African-Egypt region. The Nile River was vital to the area of Egypt.  The river was used to transfer goods from one place to another. The river was also used for food: fishing, farming and hippo hunting are examples of this. But, out of these examples, farming was the most important to the Egyptians. Every year between June to September the river floods, and when the water recedes it creates a layer of “mineral-rich” soil called silt which allowed the Egyptians to farm.  The flooding occurred because of the melting snow and heavy summer rain in the Ethiopian Mountains.

The Egyptian farmers could not farm year round due to the land getting flooded; thus, during that period of time they would have to find another job.  They traded in their farming skills to help build the pyramids.  The pyramids were burial tombs for the pharaohs, or leaders, of Egypt and since such importance was placed on them it was essential to them to have workers.

The people of the Nile River Valley buried their people to the west of the Nile River because they believed that the “Goddess of the West”, Amentet, would receive the dead in the afterlife. The pharaoh would also be buried near the river so the river god, Hapi, could protect them.The pharaohs, because they were believed to be close to God, were the only ones buried in pyramids. It was a general belief that if the pharaohs were unhappy the Nile would not rise and there would not be a good farming season.

The Nile River Valley community consisted of a pharaoh, nobles, scribes, and villagers. Scribes were responsible for writing down the life and culture of the Egypt. The Egyptians believed that it was important for them to write down their culture and beliefs. Nobles were the wealthy Egyptians that lived in more comfortable places then the villagers. The villagers were the workers of the group. They farmed and built tombs. The pharaoh was the leader of the group. They were the ones who gave made orders and told people what to do.

The Nile River is a big part of Egypt’s past life. If the Nile River didn’t exist the people of the region would not have stayed. With rainfall being pretty much non-existent, the floods from the river were the only reason the people were able to sustain crops. Without the Nile River, Egypt would have been an endless desert. The Nile River gave the region a reason to grow and flourish. It allowed the Egyptians an opportunity to create a civilization that we look to even today.




Ferris, Julie, Sue Nicholson, Jonathan Stroud, and Sally Tagholm. Everyday Life in the Ancient World. New York: Kingfisher Publications, 2002. Print.

Hindley, Judy, Tony Allen, Anne Civardi, James Graham-Campbell, Heather Amery, and Patricia Vanags. The Usborne Time Traveler. Tulsa, OK: EDC Pub., 1998. Print.

Browder, Anthony T. Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization. Washington, D.C.: Institure of Karmic Guidance, 2009. Print.

Egyptian Civilization Power Point

The Taste of Chocolate-Chip Cookies

When I bite into a chocolate-chip cookie…

The taste of chocolate-chip cookies always reminds me of when we got cookies for dessert at my old school. The woman who gave the cookies out was, well, crabby. “Two cookies only!” she would say with so much force it would make us take the cookies and get out of her way. If you forgot the cookies for even a good reason, you could forget about getting them. My friends and I always pictured her as a crab, and just as you never want to get in a way of a crab, you should never get in her way.

This very day, one of the kids in my class was fed up with the crabby lunch lady. He got a bunch of kids – mostly boys – to take three cookies instead of two. To do this, they would take the two cookies like every other day. Then they would take the tongs and drag it across the platform, grabbing an extra cookie with it and put it on their tray. I thought this was quite a clever idea, but the lunch lady didn’t.  It made her angry! So, instead, she would have two cookies ready on a plate for us so we couldn’t get three. We quickly realized this was war.

Then the same kid, whose name was Jason, got an apple and asked for it to be cut in super thin slices. I didn’t know what he was going to do, but with that mischievous grin plastered on his face, I knew he was up to no good. I asked my best friend, Kate, if the crabby lunch lady disliked thin apple slices. She looked at me real funny but said that she thought so. I told her what I had seen and she exclaimed, “I knew something was going on!” So, Kate and I hid behind a crate and watched from a distance as Jason went to give the apple slices to the lunch lady. Kate and I looked at each other and smiled. We had done many crazy things in our time together, but none was as crazy as what Jason was about to do.

“No, Jason No!” I heard from the kitchen.  It was Mrs. Crabby as our lunch lady was known by most people in the school. “Just try one,” Jason said looking straight in the lunch lady’s eyes holding up a green apple slice, “I know that you would like it if you gave it a try.”

“Go away, Jason!” said the lunch lady. She was raising her voice now. This was the time to pack your suitcase and move as fast as a gazelle all the way to Africa. “Come on, just one!” Jason urged. He had drawn a crowd now, but Kate and I were smart enough to stay hidden.

“Jason, LEAVE NOW!” The lunch lady was practically yelling. Now, this was the time to move like a cheetah and go for eternity to Antarctica and make friends with the penguins. Jason held his ground and held his head up high. “Just one and we will all leave you.” Honestly, I still don’t know what the fuss was for; I mean, it was just a thin apple slice. I looked to my left and saw half the crowd backing away, and the other half running off to their seats, silently eating. I carefully looked over the top of the crate and saw the lunch lady. She looked like a bull ready to charge at Jason’s red hair.

“Jason, leave or I will tell your teacher.” said the lunch lady, but her voice was lower and she sounded just a little defeated but, that totally disappeared over the sound of her anger. I think she knew that she had lost. Still, she looked so angry it made me want to cower away like a dog during a lightning storm. She snatched the apple from Jason’s hand, and next to me Kate muttered, “Rude!” I kept my eyes glued to her like a hawk watches his prey. Then the apple came up to her mouth. CHOMP! The sound echoed through the entire room and even the kids who had cowered away looked up. Jason gave a satisfied grin and he and everyone else went back to their seats.

Kate wanted to test the lunch lady and before I could stop her she was standing in front of her. “Can I have extra cookies?”

“No,” she started but then stared at the half eaten apple in her hand. “Umm…sure.” Then, she turned and walked away and threw the apple away in the trash can. I still do not know why the lunch lady didn’t like apples. Maybe it was because she didn’t like the flavor of them. So, whenever I bite into the soft, chewy chocolate-chip cookies, it reminds me of this fiasco.