Category Archives: Summer Learning

Books I’ve Read This Summer

Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume

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Tiger Eyes Annotations

For my annotations I decided to list character traits of Davey, Bitsy, Walter, Mom, and Jason. I backed up each character trait with quotes from the book.

DAVEY

risky

“As soon as I am out on Diamond Drive I stop and take off the helmet, shoving it into the canvas bike bag.” (pg. 42)

adventurous

“I decided to climb down anyway. I don’t know whether to go backwards, hanging on to rocks or to try walking down frontwards. I combine the two methods and get going.” (pg. 45)

angry

“‘You’re the one making the bombs. You’re the one who’s figuring out how to blow up the whole world. But you won’t let me take Driver’s Ed. A person can get killed crossing the street. A person can get killed minding his own store. Did you ever think of that?’ I kick the wall and stomp out of the room. I am crying hard and my throat feels sore.” (pg.161)

BITSY

nervous/protective

“‘Besides,’ Bitsy says, ‘we know a family whose daughter was on the ski team and she crashed into a tree, head first, and wound up a vegetable in an Albuquerque hospital. They visit her every Sunday but she doesn’t recognize them. You don’t want to wind up a vegetable, do you?'” (pg.138-139)

family oriented

“‘I think Bitsy will be terribly disappointed. She’s always wanted a family and now that she’s got one it’s going to be hard for her to give us up.'” (pg. 206)

WALTER

nervous/protective

“Walter says ‘Statistics show that accidents, especially automobile accidents, are the leading cause of death among young people.'” (pg.160)

abusive/angry

“‘Your mother is another example of a wasted life.’ ‘What?’ I say. ‘What did you say about my mother?’ ‘Pregnant in high school and destitute at thirty-four.’ ‘Shut up…just shut up…’ I rush toward him, calling him every name in the book, and pound on his chest with my fists. He grabs me by the wrist and slaps me. Hard. Right across the face.” (pg. 174)

MOM

fearless

“‘But Atlantic City…it’s not safe…you, of all people should realize that Gwen.’ ‘I can’t let safety and security become the focus of my life,’ Mom says” (pg. 210)

dependent on others decision making

“I look over at my mom for support. ‘I’m sure Walter knows much more about skiing than we do, Davey,’ she says. ‘But he doesn’t ski,’ I argue. ‘Maybe not,’ Mom says, ‘but he knows about it.'” (pg. 138)

confident

“I can’t believe how sure of herself my mother sounds. I want to stand up and cheer for her” (pg. 211)

JASON

adaptable

“For the rest of the day I get the feeling that now that Jason knows we’re going home he is preparing himself. He seems to be drawing closer to Mom and to me, and pulling back from Walter and Bitsy. Little kids are amazing. They seem able to adjust to anything.” (pg. 209)

Nerve, by Jeanne Ryan

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The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne

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The House On Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros

Summer Reflection

This summer I realized that you can learn even when you’re not sitting in a classroom. I learned how to do many new things, including: being responsible for myself and others, how to make friends more quickly, and how to entertain myself with no electronic devices.

This summer I saw a lot of things. The most interesting things I saw were fish swimming underneath me in Bermuda. The most scary thing I saw was the edge of The Leap Of Faith, a really steep waterside in the Bahamas. The best things I saw were friends that I haven’t seen in a long time.

This summer I discovered bunch of new things. I discovered a new restaurant called Snow Days. They sell this thing that is kind of like a snow cone and kind of like ice cream. I discovered what it is like to be away from home for a long time.

This summer I built many new things. I built strong relationships with new people. I built my skills in squash, art, dance, gaga, and lots of other things. I built my ideas of the world. I built new emotions.

This summer I visited two different countries. I went to the Bahamas with my whole family. That includes my aunts, uncles, cousins, my grandpa, and my mom. It was really fun to be with everyone all at once because I don’t get to see everyone at once very often. I went to Bermuda with my mom for two days. I really enjoyed spending some quality time with my mom because before I went to Bermuda I hadn’t really had any of that.

This summer I experienced learning, seeing, discovering, building, and visiting. I experienced climbing up and down a cliff. It was like life, there are high points and low points. I experienced making new friends. I experienced climbing a rock wall at camp. I experienced trying oysters for the first time.

While I did all these thing this summer I felt lots of different emotions. I felt older when I learned to be responsible for myself and others. I felt scared when I looked off the edge of the Leap Of Faith. I felt excited when I built new relationships. I felt really happy when I saw my whole family together. I felt strong when I climbed up a cliff. I felt bitter sweet when I realized summer was pretty much over.

Brigantine, NJ

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This is a video of me and Daniella dancing to a song called Stitches by Shawn Mendes. (To watch the video click on the link and your computer should download the file. Open the download and watch the video.)

This is a picture of me and Daniella at a Greek restaurant.

This is a picture of Daniella and my feet on the beach.

I recently went to Brigantine, NJ with a camp friend named Daniella. She invited me to join her and her family at a beach house they rented for a week. I stayed at her house from Sunday to Thursday. It was really fun because I got to know her and her family better. I also got to go to the beach everyday with her.

Summer Reading

The Bahamas

This is a picture of all of my cousins and I chilling in the Bahamas.

This is a picture of my cousin, Jordan and I jumping into a pool in the Bahamas.

This is a picture of my cousin, Jordan and I with a statue after dinner in the Bahamas.

This is a picture of my cousin, Jordan and I making a heart with our hands in front of the ocean in the Bahamas.

I recently went to the Bahamas with my whole family. All three of my cousins came. There names are Eva, Christopher and Jordan. Both of my Aunts came. There names are Erin, and Cindy. Both of my Uncles came. There names are Chris, and Adam. My Grandpa came. His name is Richard. Last, but not least my Mom came. Her name is Kim.

My mom and I go to the Bahamas a lot because my mom used to go there when she was little so now it is kind of a tradition for us. We always go to a resort called Atlantis. At Atlantis there are eight different water slides. The scariest one is called The Leap of Faith. It goes pretty much straight down. Then it goes through a shark tank (in a tube of course.) My favorite slide is called the Abyss. It is pretty much the same as the Leap of Faith but it is in the dark and you don’t go through a shark tank.

I really like the way the people sing happy birthday at Atlantis so every single dinner Uncle Adam and Aunt Erin would tell the people who work at the restaurant that it is my mom’s birthday even though it wasn’t. It was really funny because my mom didn’t know it was coming. Then at the end of the trip we all compared all the different birthday songs. My favorite was a the song from the Chinese restaurant called Chopstix (with a x).

I had a really fun time and i hope i can spend time with my whole family again soon.

Campus Kids NJ

This is me at a summer camp called Campus Kids. This is my second summer at this camp. The camp is in Blairstown, NJ. It is on the campus of a boarding school called Blair Academy. In this picture a counselor is helping me make a unicorn head out of beads.