Box Hill Picnic

We decided on a Box Hill Picnic (based on the novel Emma), instead of the annual Christmas Tea. Dressing up was optional. We prayed for great weather to be outside and we were blessed.

Hannah, Sierra, Celia, Maddy, Sarah, Carrie & Tiffani-Joi

Bill of Fare:
Turkey Pie
Broccoli Cheese Quiche
Roasted Mushroom Quiche
Tomatoes & Cucumbers
Rolls & Butter
Pomegranates, Tangerines & Apples
Cinnamon Butter Pound Cake
Cream Puffs

After enjoying a leisurely lunch and fun conversation, we played The Storyteller game and the Tile Game. We ran out time! We'll have to play the Tile Game again at the January meeting!

While waiting to be picked up we played piano and squeezed in a little more time together!

Tiffani and Hannah play a duet called French Carol.

Tyler and Wiggles LOVE when Katie and Emily come to pick up their sister, Sarah, because they always get some loving!

Emily (in orange) & Wiggles ====>


Katie (in pink) with Tyler

November 2008 Meeting

Happiness is time spent with a friend and looking foward to sharing time with them again.
- Lee Wilkinson



A laugh is a smile that bursts.
~Mary H. Waldrip



Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.
- George Washington (1732 - 1799)

Jane Eyre

Score: 9.71
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Summary Coming Soon!

Very Creative Writing!

I received this in my email Inbox today. Read it and notice the diction, detail, imagery, syntax, and tone!

* * * * *

Sad passing.....

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile

9.64
Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
HISTORICAL FICTION

Take a Quiz!

Summary Coming Soon!

Writers Workshop III

ACTION:

1. Now that you've brainstormed why we write, start making a list of what people write. Think genres and forms and products. Look around your world and write down the places that you see the written word. (I possess a list of 200+ different items. I have a prize for anyone who comes up with an idea that's not on the list!)

2. Listen to and Read the words to the following song written by Carole King ~ You've Got a Friend



When you're down and troubled
And you need some loving care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

Chorus:
You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there

You've got a friend

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door

(Chorus)

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend
When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don't you let them

(Chorus)

After listening & reading...create one of the following...

a. A list of Friendship character qualities & how each quality looks

b. An essay on Friendship

c. A scene of a play displaying Friendship

d. A Friendship greeting card

e. List a few book characters you'd like to have for Friends & why

New Blog Feature: Writing Tip of the Day

Read a new Writing Tip each time you visit Chalk Talkrs! (Found in the margin to the right of the posts.)

Writers Workshop II

ACTION:

1. Print a copy of the Writing/Literary/Publishing Terms (attachment via email) and place them in your WW binder under Tab #3 (Style, Terms & Techniques).

2. Under Tab #4 (Forms of Writing), start making a list titled "Why We Write" ~ bullet format is fine. You may expound on each reason, if you like. Think about all the reasons you write throughout the day, month, year and write them down. Why do others write? Why is writing important to us personally, our families, our community and our world? Take a couple days and think of all the reasons you can on your own first and then ask your parents, siblings, friends (not in B&W Club), and others.

Bless your day!

Writers Workshop I

ACTION:

1. Please prepare a 3-ring binder that you will bring to the Writing Workshop each month.

2. Your binder should start out with 8 tabs and we may add more as we go along. Place about 5 sheets of lined notebook paper after tabs 1-6.

Tab labels should read:
1. Grammar & Mechanics
2. Vocabulary & Word Choice
3. Style, Terms & Techniques
4. Forms of Writing
5. Tools of Learning
6. Checklists
7. Drafts
8. Final Exhibits

3. Place a paper in front of the first tab. Write down topic ideas that come to you and other AHAs about writing on this paper, so you don't forget them.

4. Subscribe to the Grammar Newsletter (link found in the email that was sent to you today). This is a weekly newsletter, I believe. The "TIP of the Week" is always at the very top of the newsletter. Please make sure you understand each tip and write it on a paper that is filed under your Grammar & Mechanics tab. You may read the rest of the newsletter if you'd like, but it is not required.

Summer Reading

Leave a comment and let your fellow Club Members know what you're reading this summer!

Writers Workshop Beginning This Fall

Well, we took a year off writing in 2007-2008 and many of you missed it! We have some incredible writers in this group...poems, songs, short stories, and several of you are working on novels.

In the fall of 2008, a Writers Workshop will be conducted after the regular Book Colloquium & Social time. Watch for more details on this Blog and in your Email Inbox.

Have a wonderful summer!

Book Ratings ~ Fall 2007 to Spring 2008

We rated the books we read this school year on a scale from 1 to 10...10 being the best!

9.13
The Hiding Place
by Corrie ten Boom
CHR/BIO

8.71*
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
ADV

8.71*
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
ADV

8.33
Pride & Prejudice
by Jane Austen
ROM

7.78
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
ADV

7.00
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne
ADV

1.33
The Pearl
by John Steinbeck
ADV

* Yes, these books tied.

ADV - Adventure
BIO - Biographical
CHR - Christian
HIS - Historical
ROM - Romance (as per Webster's 1828 Dictionary definition)

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

The Hiding Place is an exceptional book set in Holland during World War II. The author, Corrie ten Boom is a strong, God-fearing woman, who tells about how she survived during the War. Truly, a watchmaker and two daughters could never be more interesting, for they are in the middle of a secret underground operation to hide the sought-out Jews. Its special themes are loyalty, betrayal, and generosity of human nature.

As Corrie and her family hide Jews in their home in Switzerland they are soon confronted by the danger that lurks around every corner. The plot goes well, until one day a man comes and begs for help for his wife, who’s been arrested for hiding Jews. Corrie gives him the money he needs; but just a little bit later, the enemy is banging at the door, and now the family must survive the terrors of the camps.

During her long stay at concentration camps, Corrie suffered many trials and tribulations and even learned how to be thankful for fleas.

Written & submitted by: Sierra & Carrie

13th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Was anyone from our group able to attend this event??

If so, please write a comment about it!

April 26-27, 2008
Welcome to the 13th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the country’s largest celebration of the written word. Join us for a weekend of book spotting.

For one weekend in April, people who love books will gather with people who love to write, publish and sell books. And, there’s nothing like it anywhere.

140,000 attendees
450+ authors
300+ exhibitors
900+ volunteers
100+ author panels
6 outdoor stages
2 children’s areas

For more literary fun and surprises, join us on Friday, April 25 for the 28th Annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. This special evening will honor some of the finest books of 2007 and their writers, and kicks off the Festival of Books on Friday, April 25.

For more information, click here.
Don’t miss the next exciting chapters of two extraordinary 2008 literary events — the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.
~ Los Angeles Times

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

8.33
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
PERIOD ROMANCE / BRITISH LITERATURE


Summary coming soon!

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

The Pearl is one of John Steinbeck's shortest books and I have to say not one of his best. Frankly not one of the girls in our club had one good thing to say about it. Although I think that is was very interesting about the music in the book. The main character Kino talks about having music in his blood.

The book first starts out with him hearing music and thinking about music. But not as a musician; no more as someone who's whole life just is music. There is a song he hears when he finds something. There is a song of the pearl. There is even a time when hearing a song in his head warns him of danger.

The rest of the book shows all the problems that occur after Kino finds a "pearl of great price". Greedy traders who try to cheat Kino out of a good deal, a wicked doctor who charges his patients so much that they can't even afford to see him, and a tragic ending where we see that not all books have a happy ending and sometimes even the most innocent get hurt unjustly.

All of the girls agreed that the trouble with the book was the message it was portraying. Mr. Steinbeck made everyone in the village where Kino lived believe that the pearl was the cause for all his trouble. When really it was the greed in the village that was causing the problems.

Even though no one liked the book...(not even me the writer of this review), I think it showed us something about the world. We might not appreciate it now, but I think as we get older we will see more of the problems that we saw in this book.

Now that I think of it, maybe it wasn't the authors fault for writing something that didn't portray the morals we believe in. Maybe we were just so used to the classics, and the "Happily Ever After's" that we forgot that fictional books, doesn't always mean fairy tales. After all, he was just writing about the world, the world who blames their problems on other people, things, and circumstances, or in this case a pearl.

In the end to just get rid of the one thing that might have made things better for you if you just had just removed yourself from the presence of the people who were bringing you down. But lucky for us, we get second chances to recognize where we went wrong and (if we can), but if we can't, at least we'll know what to do next time. We aren't condemed by our author as Kino was...on the contrary, He is the one who gives us the second, third, 100th chances that we need.

Thank you for reading.



Written & Submitted by: Tiffani-Joi

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

If you like books with action, suspense, romance, peril, and revenge then The Count of Monte Cristo is definitely for you!!

When Edmund Dantes is unjustly sentenced to prison, he vows to take revenge upon the people who plotted against him. After going too far with one of his plots, he realizes revenge isn't always the best path to take. In the midst of his despair, his old love, Mercedes, shows up making things more difficult for the Count as well as reminding him of his past.

By the end of the book, a twist so interesting takes place that proves that this is one of the most ingenious storylines ever written.

Written and submitted by: Hannah & Tiffani