Yesterday, we had a water day. We did two contests, one where you squirt water into a cup. The other one you keep a ball as people squirt you. All of them ended up in a water war.

J.S.

In inventor's workshop and we used simple machines to get Mark (the stuffed animal llama) across the room. Me, Alison and Sammy made a rubber band zipline which made Mark "fly" with force and tension. The second experiment we used the bucket which used pulleys. The last one is a rubber band car which used rubber bands. 

J.G.

I did an awesome experiment with a medal electric conductor. I zapped my hand and lightning came out of my hair! It worked by the electricity going through my hair! Then it went through my body and lightning came through my hand. I looked like the emperor from Star Wars. I could actually see it.

Q.V.

I am in Inventor's Workshop. Yesterday, we studied electricity. Van de Graff is a machine that's electrical. My hair was floating and sticking onto the machine. I also got zapped! It was fun.

A.L.

We used simple machines to make a toy move from one place to another.

H.K.

My favorite part about Ivy is that I learned all of the presidents in under 17 seconds. I also liked learning about static electricity. I had a great week at Ivy!

E.I.

This week in Inventor Science we invented stuff. My favorite invention was when I made Mark the llama travel to work on the other side of the hallway.

W.G.

The things we did in Fashion were great! We got to make a t-shirt and tomorrow we get to make a skirt. Before that the teacher gave us a practice sheet so we can learn to do a fringe, applique, sew on buttons and make stitches. On Friday, the last day of Fashion, we get to do a fashion show in front of our parents and some counselors.

C.T.

Inventor's Workshop - Counselor Post

We had a very exciting day in Inventor's workshop today. First, the students learned about the six types of simple machines: wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, lever and screw. Next they built catapults and had a launching contest! Later the students received a challenge. Using a variety of materials, students must use what they learned about machines to build a machine that will transport a small stuffed animal across the hallway. There were lots of different designs which looked very promising. I can't wait until they test out these experiments tomorrow!

- Rebecca

I like International Ivy because the staff is nice and they make the summer camp more fun by 10x. In class they help you and outside they give you free food! In brain training, they do mini golf memory cards and the presidents. When we have snack we either play capture the flag, relay races, minute-to-win-it and so much more. I think International Ivy is the best camp I have ever been to!

L.D.

I think that Brain Training is a fun class to take. It's nice to use your brain in ways you never knew you could. My favorite thing is our memory testing. For example, studying the presidents through pictures.

M.S.

International Ivy is a fun and experiencing camp.  My favorites class, Brain Training is  fund and challenging class including hard work, memorization, and using your brain.  Sometimes, we play matches with brain cards, and have to find patterns in color, shape, size and direction.  This activity makes you strain your eyes and brain to find matches faster than your opponents.  We also use tanagrams which are different shapes and you have to find a way to make something (ie square) using all the shapes.  Another fun memory activity are the memory cards, where they have numbers in an imaginary tic-tac-toe board and you have to memorize the card (and blind spots) and recite the numbers and blank spots in order. The cards go from three numbers to four, to five and so on.  A fun memory/guessing game is the the golf game where you have "holes" and you have to memorize the the route  and draw the line to every hole.  There are also dark spots that you have to avoid, and if you got through them, you get a point.  Your goal is to get the least amount of points as possible, like real golf.  The more tries you get to go to a hole, the more points you get.  Lastly, and most fun activity is learning the presidents in order, using pictures that give hints/clues.  They make it SO easy to remember all 44 Presidents.  Try to say them as fast as possible!  Its a real challenge!  Brain Training is a fun course that is worth doing!

--JS

I liked International Ivy  Summer Camp.  I went to RANDD and Brain Training  I learned all of the presidents from George Washington all the way up to Barack Obama!  It was a series of pictures.  Some of them were kind of funny.  We also did braincards, memory digit cards and visualization golf.  There were also Ivy points.  You have to do something good to get Ivy points.  Gets 50 points (each slip is 10 points) and you get something from the treasure chest.  I want to come back next year.  I loved International Ivy.

----JV

I've had so much FUN so far this week! Having Jaimee as my counselor, doing the commercials, doing a movie type  thing, and having Ms. Brothers as my teacher! It been so much FUN!!!

K.R.

I think acting class is awesome. I like it and I learned that a close-up is only of your head!

A.L.

Miss Brothers said I should think about my favorite food so my commercial would be better. I can't wait to see m dad. I love my acting class!!!

A.B.

This class is really fun. I learned about a lot of different camera angles and film terms like close-up and objectives. The commercials are really funny and interesting. They are pretty easy to memorize and sound real! I am learning a lot. I am looking forward to the film and TV clip acting.

K.C.

I love camp. It is so much fun. I love the different things that you get to do here. One of the best parts is kickball. During break, I love the different games we do. Camp is really cool. I personally think that whoever comes here will love it.

N.M.

In inventor science we learned that things never pull, they push. We also made an invention using pressure. One thing that was really cool was we lit a match in a pan with water and put a valve thing on top and some of the water in the pan rose up. It rose up because the air was limited and there was too much CO2 so the water got pushed up.

My favorite part about Ivy Science is learning about pressure. I learned about gas, solid and liquid. I love break. You get to play with friends. I love to play dodgeball and kickball.

E.I.

I am in Inventor's Workshop. Today we did 2 ping pong ball activities. We used pressure to do them. We blew ping pong balls out of a cup. We also tried to keep the ball on top of a straw by blowing. It was fun.

A.L.

Today I did a party trick that you fill a water bottle with 1/3 parts water and it has a balloon on the tip of the bottle. When you flip the bottle over, the water doesn't go into the balloon, but it creates a vacuum and after a while it goes completely inside.

Q.V.

Today, we played Capture the Flag and Inventor's Workshop. We learned about air pressure with cool demos and created a machine that corresponded with the lesson. Inventor's workshop is so fun. I love it. The teacher is great and the activities are extremely fun!

J.S.

Singing Sensation- Week 5 AM- Counselor post

Today was the last day of singing sensation. It has been such an incredible week! I was so lucky to have worked with such talented kids who will all be famous one day! They finished their recordings today and everyone's parents came in to watch them perform what they have worked on all week. It was so successful and each child did so well! I was so proud of how far they had come from Monday.I will miss them all so much and hope to see them next summer!!




Jaimee

My game is going to be about some miners who found an ancient burial chamber underground.  So one of the greedy miners took some gold so the skeletons come to life and try to get their gold back.  So once the skeletons get their gold they are going to punish the humans by destroying the human race and keeping who surrenders as slaves. 

P.C.

Wow, singing is fun!  I just finished recording my first song with Tonya Carmen, backup singer for Debbie Gibson.  Every day we write our song.  Tonya let us pair up, so I have a backup singer.  On Friday we're performing for our parents.  I also just got my 50th Ivy Point - I can get a prize tomorrow!  I'm having lots of fun, and can't wait until the song is complete.  It needs music and editing. 

-TVB

Video Game Blog

My game will be about a character going to a village that was destroyed.  The character encounters ghosts while looking through rubble.  The character knows that he isn't going to escape without a fight.  The objective is to escape.  There are warps to bring you to the next room.  However, the warps only appear when the enemies are defeated.  Some rooms are just bonus rooms filled with coins to add to your score.  You will have a certain amount of health and lives.  And, your character will throw ninja stars by pressing space.  This is what my game will be about. 


-K.L.

I love singing camp because you get to do a lot of cool things like getting to record your own personal song that you write.  Another thing I like about singing camp is you get ivy points and when you get a prize for 50 ivy points.  Another thing I like are the counselors are very nice too and they are funny.  The only counselor I know is Jaimee because she writes the ivy points for my class and she stays in our room a lot.  I want to come to this camp again because it is super super fun.  
**F.F.** 

A Post From our International Student

One of our international students in the singing class wrote a post.  We are going to miss her terribly!

These days I took two lessons of singing class.  We learned a lot.  And I learned a lot of kinds of music.  Then we should write songs and we are going to sing it.  It's hard for me.  I can't even write a song.  Maybe it's different in the class than from what I imagine.  But it's ok.  I think when I come back to China I will tell m friends about this singing class.  It's so cool!  And I will go back to China on Friday.  And I must be very sad and I will miss here a lot and miss the summer camp a lot. 


**F.C.

I am in singing sensation.  We are having a show.  We are also recording.  I love this class.  We learned about different types of music, and we got to dance with our friends.  

-A.L.

The things we did in singing were great.  WE got to learn more things about singing.  We get to record a song.  We can do it with someone or just do it ourselves.  Then we can perform it in front of our parents.  But we have to record our songs and then we're going to do a group song.  

~C.T.

I take singing lessons at this camp.  Out teacher is Tania.  I love working with her.  We are recording ourselves and making a CD.  We are also having a concert for our parents.  We also wrote our own song!  It has been great over the days at International Ivy camp.  If you love to sing, take the singing class!  I assure you that you're going to love it!


By,
A.F.

I love singing sensation.  I get to make a song and record it.  We sing for fun.  e even put on a show.  I learned a few songs that are super cool.  Everyone's songs were so cool.  

**S.C.**

Week 5 counselor post- Singing Sensation

This week I am the counselor for singing sensation! There are about nine kids in class and they are all very talented! We have a variety of ages and abilities and they are all really enjoying. Their teacher Tania is very experienced and making sure they are all learning while having fun. They are each working on either a solo performance or a duet they want to perform on Friday for their friends and family who come to see them perform. They each will be able to take home a professional CD that the teacher will help them record. They all seem to be having a great time and learning a lot! I am enjoying listening to the kids grow as I can already see improvements in just two days! I will post some pictures of them in class and plan on uploading videos of some of their songs to the you tube channel! Keep an eye out for both of those! 


Jaimee 

Counselor Post #12 - Video Game Creation Class

This week at International Ivy I am the counselor for the Video Game Creation Class in the morning.  I have not been in this class before, and I am very impressed with what the students are able to learn and start doing so quickly.  Here are some things that the teacher taught the students before they began programming:

• The computer is only as smart as you make it.
• The computer only does what you tell it to do, so if you tell it something incorrectly you must go back and fix it.  
• For popular video games, it can take many people up to several years to create one game.  In our class, each student has one week to make a game.  

The students are able to make different rooms (which will eventually be like different levels), enemies which will attack the player, portals, bonuses, and weapons to attack the enemy.  Our students are a wide range of ages and skills, yet they are enthusiastically helping each other and learning some new things at the same time.    The class time is divided into direct instruction (where the students are able to learn the procedure from the teacher) and the rest is testing their game, designing it, and adding in new things on their own.  On Friday, they are able to play each others games and take them all home!  

Pictures will be up shortly! 

~Kalyna~

I am in Advanced Video Game Creation.  It's really fun.  I have a dragon and it's really cute.  It's blue and tiny and my friend has an exact copy of it but just in red!  I really like Advanced Video Game creation and I can't wait to come back to camp next year.  


~G.B.

Advanced Video Game Creation

I love Video Game Creation.  I just made a cute little baby dragon... with an axe!  It is Alison Awesome.  Also, I have a twin ragon.  It's m friend!  I'm red and she's blue. 

**A.L.**

Week 5 Robotics Class

My favorite thing about this class is making the robot do things.  I like to make it cry and talk a I like the styles it moves.  This is one of the best camps I've ever been to! 


By: A.H. 

Counselor Post #11

Week 5 got off to a great start yesterday! I was able to help out in our Advanced Video Game Design class and the kids have started designing really great fantasy games. It was fun to see them all design their characters and the "rooms" in which the game will take place. Although everyone's first room shared the same theme, wilderness, they were all different because each kid added his or her own personal touches. I can't wait to see what they come up with today!

- Rebecca

Today we learned that spiders and scorpions are arachnids.  And we made the bee attractor.  We're going to make fake snow and flip books next.  I think this is the best class that's at this camp!  It is amazing!  

~S.W.

Today in my opinion was the 2nd best day of Weird & Amazing science camp because we played dodgeball and I was the last one standing in my team.    I dodged all the balls the other team threw, then I threw a ball at the other team.  But someone caught it.  After that we played again and had water.  One of the leaders poured water all over me, then we hunted for our circles.  After that we did a few more things.  Then we made flip books.  Weird & Amazing Science was a great, fun, amazing camp.  But was made it super good was I made nice new friends, like E.B., A.L., my teacher Amanda and my counselor Stephanie.  I had so much fun. 

By: M.W.

Today is the last day of Weird & Amazing Science.  We learned about camouflage by using paper dots to camouflage to different place.  Now we're learning about motion pictures.  It is very fun.  We're also making fake snow.  It looks like snow, but it feels weird. 

-A.L.

The tricks we did in magic were great!  Why?  Because we learned different ways to use them.  But out of all of them my favorite was Dice Prediction.  I really enjoy the class a lot.  Now I have learned more tricks that I can show my mom, dad, and my sister who is coming home very soon!! :) 

By, 

C.T. 

Today in Hocus Pocus Magic we learned two tricks.  At the end of the day we're having a magic show!  We are going to perform 1 or 2 tricks!  We got to pick what tricks we wanted to do yesterday!  I'm excited for the magic show today!  

- S.P.

Today in Hocus Pocus Magic we have a magic show.  I am so excited.  My two tricks are a card trick with my friend Bob, and a dice prediction.  I think we are playing dodgeball at break time.  I hope today will be fun.  

*M.S.

I loved being in race car video game design. Race car video game class was very challenging and fun. This class has taught me a lot of designing. I can't wait until next year!

R.T.

I really loved my experience at International Ivy Camp. In video game design which was the class I took, my teacher, peers and counselor were nice an my video game was fun to make! The camp facilities were nice and was just right. Also during break time, we played many fun games and it is a delightful time. I really recommend this camp and class to you and hope you come! Thanks!

M.K.

I loved video game creation. I loved it because it's fun to learn how to program video games. After you're done programming you get to play! This class is great and a fun learning experience!

E.W.

Counselor Post #10

Today in International Ivy we had a very busy day.  The children were so excited about all of their activities, and the teachers were definitely keeping them busy.  During chess they were learning new advanced terminology for the moves they were doing, such as "skewers". 

In Reading and Study Skills, the students were talking today about time management.  The teacher told them how important it is to find their best time to study instead of doing what someone else might think is best. 

In Race Car Video Game Design, they were decorating the tracks that they made.  I was surprised at how advanced the program was and how interesting it was all turning out to be.  Tomorrow they get to take home their finished games!

In movie making, the final group was filming their movie with one of their teachers.  A second teacher was with the remaining students.  They did warmup acting exercises, then read monologues, and finally got to learn how different takes of a movie get edited and how long it takes to make the final product. 

In Brain Training, they were continuing on with their challenging games, where they have to follow different patterns and make different associations based on what the instructor tells them.  During class, our counselor Jaimee was interviewing some of the students as well to see what their opinions were of their different classes. 

Please remember to wear your International Ivy shirts tomorrow!

Today in movie making we are filming our movies.  We practiced so many times!  I had fun!  We went to a lot of places on the campus for the film.  We did a school scene where girls ignore a girl.  You'll have to see the movie to know what happens!  

*S.P.*

Today in Hocus Pocus Magic we learned four more tricks.  My favorite trick is the three card monte!  **S.P.

Post from Film Class

Today in movie making we practiced scripts we.  We practiced today because tomorrow we're making our movie.  You have to practice every day! 

~S.P.

Camp Pictures

Hello everyone!  As you are aware, we take plenty of pictures and videos throughout the day to make keepsakes and lasting memories of the International Ivy camp experience.  The videos are being uploaded weekly to our Youtube channel, and we also recently created a shutterfly account in order to upload the pictures we have taken.  You all will receive emails of the link and to our pictures very soon!  

I am in Weird & Amazing Science.  We are making catapults and learn about simple machines.  We are also having catapult contests.  I love Weird & Amazing science because of the cool take-homes (a catapult) & projects (dissecting a diaper).

By: A.L.

In Weird & Amazing Science we did lots of fun things.  We made bouncy balls, learned magic tricks and made marshmallow structures.  We learned about friction and different simple machine!  This was one of my best classes! 

-S.B.

In weird and amazing science we learned many things - from magic tricks to building structures with marshmallows and toothpicks.  Every day we did fun activities and experiments. 

-E.B.

Today we did four magic tricks in magic camp.  One of them was ripping a Jack and putting it back to normal.

- N.N.

Today is Hocus Pocus Magic.  We learned 4 more magic tricks!  We showed a lot of them too.  I think everybody got Ivy Points because everyone is very good at their tricks.  We made a lot of videos to put on the blog.  I had fun in class today.  

**S.P.**

Today in magic, we learned a few new tricks.  I had a lot of fun.  At break time we had different relay races.  Today was a fun day.  

~M.S.

This is Lily, the Program Director.  I have awesome news to report.

Dr. Hemant Kairam

• Yesterday, we were visited by a representative of the American Camping Association as part of the accreditation process and it looks highly likely we will be accredited for next year!!!  Elaine, our Assistant Director, and the team were flawless.  YEAH! - It feels like swinging on ropes in the jungle Tarzan-style.
• Also, we welcome Summit Pediatrics to the team!  They are our "on call" physicians.  We are so incredibly lucky because these pediatricians are wonderful - I know first hand.  Dr. Hemant Kairam was recognized as one of America’s Top Pediatricians (2004-2007) and awarded the Clinical Excellence in Pediatrics Award (2012). Dr. John Vigorita was just awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Pediatrics!    

Counselor Post #9

The past two days at International Ivy, the students have really been getting into the swing of things.  The films are coming along great - one group even finished filming today!  We had some great relay races during break, and the kids are starting to make friends.  We have welcomed our new international students - a set of twins from China - and it is fun to see the children all interacting with each other.  I love seeing such a diverse group of learners and so many cultures mixing together into one group. 

Tomorrow we are filming another video, and Thursday our final group is going to shoot their movie.  Our brain trainers are working hard again this week.  At the end of last week, our students received the results from their IQ test.  Some of them had learning skills of students 5-8 years older than them! This is a great way to keep from getting bored during the summer. 

Tomorrow is Halloween!  Please stay posted for pictures of our Halloween costumes! 

**Kalyna

Today in movie making we rehearsed our parts in our film.  It was sort of tiring.  At snack we had sack races.  They were fun.  We also had a race where we put a ball in between two people's hips.  That was fun.  Today was fun.

**M.S.

Movie Making

Today we practiced our lines for the movie.  It's very tiring.  But it is super fun!  At snack we did sack races.  I had fun!

~S.P. 

Learning Film Terminology

Practicing our lines

Counselor Post #8

Today, during break, we had an exciting competition.  Campers were divided into three teams and they competed in sack races.  After they got good at that, they even tried it backwards!  My favorite part was seeing the campers cheer on their teammates! 

~Rebecca

Counselor Post #7

This week in race car video game design the campers are very excited to begin creating their track.  They have each chosen different unique details so that no games are the same.  They are very focused and working hard!  At the end of the week they will be able to take a CD home that has their game as well as their classmates' games on it.  This will allow them to play an of these finished games outside of class.

This week in hocus pocus magic, the campers are transforming into magicians!  On Monday they learned a few great tricks and had time to practice with their classmates!  They were able to take the supplies home in order to show their family and friends what they have learned!  They are also looking forward to a class Magic show on Friday that we hope the parents will come watch!  Until then, they will continue to learn new magic tricks and master the ones they have learned.  

Hocus Pocus Magic

Practicing and Performing Tricks

Race Car Video Game Design

Jaimee

In movie-making, my group is making a video about a kid who goes missing.  Four girls then go to find her.  they find her and ask her why she hid.  She just wanted some attention!  Everybody was ignoring her!  It teaches you never to bully.

~S.B.

Writing Class Poem

Here is a poem from our writing class.  The assignment was to use slang terms from the English language to write a poem.  

I am Fresh

Sup yo, I got swag

I am so fresh, you got nothing on me

I ain't gonna hurt you, so don't back up, sheesh.

Hola, I got a cool name.

Don't look at me like that, I'm not lame. 

Ayo das  one for calling me out

I didn't steal that food so don't shout.

Now that you know that I got swag

No need to sulk, don't be a drag.

Adios, I need to go, 

This is so fresh, nice seeing you bro.

Here is another entry from the same author.

The broski drew a knife and gripped the blade as if to throw it.

"You ain't gonna get me with that," Death said triumphantly.

"Ayo, shuddup," the broski replied, and threw it.

It flew right between death's legs.

"Ayo das one for trying to kill me," Death shouted.  He punched the broski in the forehead and stomach.

As the man crum[pled to the ground, he whispered,

"Adios, bro," and walked away.  The next thing he knew, he had woke up in his cardboard box.  It had all been a dream.

"Well, at least I am fresh and still got my swag," he concluded.

The End

D.G.

Magic Class

In magic class we did two magic tricks.  One we made something disappear and second we made rainbow dice appear.  

N.N.

Robotics Post From 7/19

This class is awesome!! :)  We did soooo muccchhh stuffff! Like designing a plow and learning the ultrasonic sensor. This class is the best.  

S.S.

It is very fun in lego robotics.  I'm having fun programming and building my robot.   I worked on the ultrasonic sensor.  It is a sensor that makes sure the robot doesn't fall.  

B.R.

Today was wet day.  In Morning Break, we went outside and had snack. Then we chose to fill up our guns and shoot each other.  People made teams and fought each other.  I liked it a lot!  We got really wet. 

R.G.

 Today in Robotics, we learned how to use the ultrasonic sensor to detect distance.  We put our robots on a table and they were supposed to stay on.  I made mine stay on using the programming system.  This is awesome! 

R.G.

Hello Everyone,

Week four has just begun and there is another family here from China! They just arrived yesterday and already have an action packed schedule. The parents are doctors and are meeting with local doctors in the area to learn how medicine is different here than in China. Their children are already gaining experience making movies in our film making class and interacting with other international students in English class. During English class, they are learning about American culture through reading, student-teacher interaction and watching famous American films such as The Blind Side. That is not all, for the two weeks they are here they will be experiencing many famous American cities including New York City, Boston, and Washington D.C. More updates and pictures to come!

Erin
International Ivy ESL teacher

Counselor Post #6

Hello everyone!!  This is the beginning of our fourth week at International Ivy.  Last week finished strong, with a really wonderful group going home having learned all new things.  Our students had an amazing time, an we had so many return for this week!  We also have two new international students, and there will be posts from them and their teacher throughout the week about their trips.


Here are our classes in the morning:

• Movie Making
• Race Car Video Game Creation
• Reading an Study Skills
• Chess
• Brain Training

Our afternoon classes are:

• Hocus Pocus Magic
• Advanced Video Game Creation
• Weird and Amazing Science

We have already made some interesting videos and we took some great pictures, so please keep checking back!  You can read the blog posts from our film class students today, and there is one more poem from our writing class last week that is going to be posted! 

Here are some things that you can do to help us out the next few weeks:

• Take the student/parent survey
• Take the polls on the side of the blog
• Comment on our posts
• View our videos on our Youtube Channel

Our schedule of events for the week are:

• Tuesday - T-shirts go home
• Wednesday - Halloween in July > wear a Halloween Costume! 
• Thursday - Wet Day.  We will have a water balloon fight, so please have your child bring an extra shirt and a towel.  A complete change of clothes is also a good option just in case. 
• Friday - Wear your International Ivy Shirt.  We would like to take class pictures on Friday will all the children in their shirts.  

Thank you!  Please check back again tomorrow. 

Santa Trap

I am in movie making camp.  I am making a fake commercial advertising a product I made up with L.Z and O.P. called Santa Trap.  It is really funny and cheesy.


L.C. 

Movie Making

I'm in movie making and today we started a short.  It was great the teacher said you could do anything as your topic.  Our topic was great so take movie making and start making movies.  


L.Z.

Week 4 Day 1

Hi, my name is L.C.  I go to movie making camp at Ivy.  I really like break because we get free snacks.  We also get to play with the frisbees and balls for 30 minutes.  


L.C.

Movie Class

I would like to finish my movie.  It would be cool to add cool effects.  I like Movie-making!


O.P.

Pictures From the Past Few Days

Playing Minute to Win It

The Winning Team

Playing Face the Cookie

Wet Day!

Playing hangman in writing class.

Writing Class with Teacher Rob

Lunch!

Students eating in the dining hall

Here are some Parent Comments and Suggestions!

International Ivy asked our students and families this week to fill out a survey about our program.  Here are some comments we would like to share:

Thank you so much for a fabulous summer camp/enrichment experience!  

Everyone was welcoming and warm.  B.R. has enjoyed his two weeks.  Thanks.

Different factors were important for my children.  This camp was a good balance for their different personalities.  
 

Writing Class Assignment

This is an assignment that was written by a student in writing class.  They were asked to write DURING class to write an essay compared to two poems.  This is something that would be asked of a much higher grade level because of the short amount of time, and the students did a magnificent job.

 Two Poems

By: R.G.

          These two poems, "Marvellous Travel" by Joshua Fernandez and "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, are very enthralling.  "Marvellous Travel" is about a writer who travels different places and with different things.  "The Road Not taken" is about a person who has to choose which road to take and by choosing the road less traveled by, he discovered something new.  I like :The Road Not Taken: more because the poet has to make a choice, he discovered something new, the poetic format, and the fact that he traveled through his home state. 

          There are many extra similarities between the two home state poems.  First, in both poems, the poet travels somewhere.  "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood."  According to this quite, Robert Frost is traveling on two roads in a yellow wood.  In "Marvellouis Travel" the poet travels to different continents.  Next, they both discover something in their travels.  "Watching those silently cry, Asking themselves the question why, someone left them without saying goodbye."  According to the quote, Joshua Fernandez discovers that man people are in pain and are sad.  Finally, they both are written in first person.  Accordingly, there are many similarities.  

          There are also many differences between the two poems.  First of all, "Marvellous Travel" is way longer than "The Road Not Taken" with 22 lines.  "The Road Not Taken" only has 16 lines.  Next, the author of "Marvellous Travel" would be very happy to go traveling again.  Robert Frost, author of "The Road Not Taken" would rather not go back to the worn out field.  Finally, they travel to different places.  Fernandez travels around the world in Asia, America, or Europe.  Frost stays in the yellow wood of Massachusetts.  Though in his home state, he discovered something he'd never ever seen.  As you can see there are also man differences. 

          I like "The Road Not Taken" more because of the poetic format, the fact that the poet has to make a choice, the fact that the poet discovered something new, and the fact that he traveled through his home state.  First, I like that he made his poem four lines per stanza and included a rhyme scheme.  A rhyme scheme makes this poem sound good.  Second, the poet had to make a choice.  I like when people have to make a chouce because it makes a poem or a story more suspenseful on what would happen if he chose a certain one.  Third, I like that he discovered something new by taking a different path.  Though it was worn out and he'd never come back, it's always better when you do something different.  Finally I like that he traveled through his home state an found places that he's never seen before.  It's great because you get to explore places you've never seen before vecause you always want to see the world, not your home state.  Now you know why I really like this poem.  

          I like "The Road Not Taken" more because the poet has freedom.  He has freedom to add suspense, change the poetic format, create a discovery and set the story in his home state.  I think that Frost write great poems that has imagery, suspense, and poetic format.  I learned a lot from this great poem.  

Today, we made something that looked like snow.  We used sodium polyacrylate, and water.  It was cool.  It rose a bit, and felt mushy.


Sincerely, 
N.N.

Today in Mad Science, we made fake snow.  It was soft, and you could not eat it.  We also made sound effects with different things like chains, coconuts, gloves, shoes, wooden boards, and rainsticks.  Today mad science was fun. 

Today we learned about insects.  That was really gross.  There were a lot of cool facts.  We just made some snow.  And now we are making sound effects that they use in movies.  They use them because the footsteps or anything isn't loud enough for the microphone.  They have to use different props for each sound!  I had fun! 

**S.P. 

My Week at International Ivy

My week at International Ivy was so fun,
Now it's hard to believe that it is done.
The classes were cook and the breaks were awesome,
Now I will tell you all about them. 


I had writing from nine to twelve thirty
But don't worry, I'm not that nerdy.
I wrote essays, stories, and many poems.
I am sure to share them at my home.


I had video game creation until five, 
It was a blast, and a jive.
I get to take home twelve games, 
I only get to play them cause they're far from lame. 


I had two breaks during the whole day,
I just had one so I'm like "yay"!
We did a lot of stuff like minute to win it, 
Because the counselors have so many wits.


Now that you know that camp was a blast, 
I hope next summer comes really fast.


D.G.

International Ivy

The week at Ivy 
Has been fun
With lots of lively stuff!
We had wet-day and 
Friday, and now the 
Week is done.


We played dodgeball,
Capture the flag,  and
Even duck, duck, goose!
We made new friends
but kept the old. 


We wrote short stories, 
and did study skills. 
There was rain and there was sun.
We'll never forget the fun we had
At International Ivy! 


S.B.