Monday, October 31, 2016
Reading Notes: Down the Rabbit-Hole
This week I am going to talk about Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Instead of falling down the rabbit hole, I am going to make it a secret door in her house. It will be full of things already inside of her house, but in a dimension she has never been in. Everything looks the same, but it is filled with crazy things from Alice in Wonderland.
Bibliography: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, link to online reading.
image: Secret garden door from Flickr.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Story: The Plant That Grows in Trees
Birds have been around since the beginning of time. They
collect all of the seeds and berries throughout the year so they have enough
food to last them in the winter. It is rumored that when a bird is little, its
mom teaches the skills the bird needs to survive. There was one bird who had a
bit of a different story though. This bird, named Nate, did not have a mom. In
fact, he did not have any family at all. His egg fell from the tree before he
was born, so his mother assumed he died. Nate was raised by a few different
birds who happened to see him along their way.
He eventually grew up to witness his first winter. White
stuff was falling like crazy from the sky, but when Nate realized he was
hungry, he could not find food anywhere. He hid up at the top of the tree to
get a better look at where some food may be.
After a few hours, he noticed a few birds gathering around a bush not to
far away. Nate figured it could not hurt to see what all of the commotion was.
Suddenly, birds from every corner were swooping in to see this plant. Nate flew
faster to get to it. When he arrived, he noticed that it was a small green
plant in the middle of winter. Everything else around it was brown and dead.
The white berries on the plant were huge and it definitely had enough to feed
all of the birds for a while. So Nate
decided to be brave and try a berry. He was amazed! But the plant started to
talk to him. “Please eat as much as you want! I am slowly dying because of the
birds. I am so sorry if I am not here tomorrow.” Nate was shocked! Usually when
the plants talked they were rude and said to get away. This one was kind and
giving up his entire life! Nate watched the plant get swarmed by birds who are
not prepared for the winter. For hours he watched thousands of birds peck off a
berry and be on their merry way. Suddenly, Nate had a great idea. “What if we
move you up to the trees? We can hide you there. People will still be able to
eat from your plant, but you will not die because of the tree! You will be
sheltered from the cold and snow, but also can use the trees water.”
The plant seemed hesitant. He thought about it for a little
bit and then decided it was worth a shot. He already knew he was going to die
if he stayed here, so why not try. Nate picked up part of the plant and put him
on a tree. He pecked out part of a branch so the roots of the plant were
wrapped around the trees branch. It worked! The plant, now called mistletoe, is
around on many trees!
Author's Note:
The original story talks about a thunderbird during the winter who decides to bring the dying mistletoe up to the tree. I wanted to keep that same theme but give the bird more of a personality and make the story more vivid.
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indians Legends; link to the online reading.
Image: Bird from Wikipedia.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Reading Notes: The Plant That Grows in Trees
Mistletoe has always been associated with winter and Christmas time. This story is going to talk about a starving bird who only eats berries and meets the mistletoe plant on the ground. I am going to talk about the bird and the mistletoe and how their friendship has lasted over many years.
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indians Legends; link to the online reading.
Image: Mistletoe from Wiki Commons.
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indians Legends; link to the online reading.
Image: Mistletoe from Wiki Commons.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Story: When the Rainbow Was Torn
When the wind blows, seeds are scattered all around. One
particular seed named Timothy flew away and was all alone. He found a spot in
the dirt and after a bit of rain, became a beautiful white flower. But
something was not quite right. Timothy was alone and missed having a family
desperately. His best friends were the clouds that rolled by, but they could
never stay for long. One day, a few mean clouds were overhead. They were
fighting and angry, so naturally lightning was flying everywhere. Timothy was a
little scared and politely yelled for the clouds to leave. Of course, this only
made them angrier. The wind picked up as a result and seeds started flying
everywhere. This actually made Timothy a little excited because he may get new
friends!
Once the clouds finally decided to leave, all was calm again. Suddenly, Timothy saw a pink light up in the sky. A rainbow! Timothy had heard a thing or two about the friendly rainbows from the clouds. “Hello!” Boomed the cloud. Timothy looked around. There was literally only one person he could be talking to, and it was definitely Timothy. “…Hello?” He responded. The rainbow and the little flower talked for a long time until they got to a very sensitive subject. Timothy had always been ashamed that he was a white flower. White flowers were fine, but it was an honor to be a colorful flower. Only certain flowers were special enough to be a color. The rainbow listened and reached down to give his new friend a hug. Little did the two know, but a simple hug gave Timothy a million colors. It looked as if a rainbow had melted right onto his petals. When the two drew back from the embrace, they noticed Timothy’s new beautiful petals. They were so excited! The two new friends said their goodbyes and promised they would see each other again soon.
Once the clouds finally decided to leave, all was calm again. Suddenly, Timothy saw a pink light up in the sky. A rainbow! Timothy had heard a thing or two about the friendly rainbows from the clouds. “Hello!” Boomed the cloud. Timothy looked around. There was literally only one person he could be talking to, and it was definitely Timothy. “…Hello?” He responded. The rainbow and the little flower talked for a long time until they got to a very sensitive subject. Timothy had always been ashamed that he was a white flower. White flowers were fine, but it was an honor to be a colorful flower. Only certain flowers were special enough to be a color. The rainbow listened and reached down to give his new friend a hug. Little did the two know, but a simple hug gave Timothy a million colors. It looked as if a rainbow had melted right onto his petals. When the two drew back from the embrace, they noticed Timothy’s new beautiful petals. They were so excited! The two new friends said their goodbyes and promised they would see each other again soon.
After this exchange, things around Timothy started changing
for the better. Because of the wind and rain, the new seeds had all sprouted
into beautiful flowers. Each of them had their own personality. The six new
flowers quickly became Timothy’s family. He was known as the father of the
group because of his wise advice and beautiful colors. After all, only the
wisest of flowers were special enough to have colors. Timothy eventually became
a powerful leader in this new flower colony. He told the stories of the clouds
and the rainbow. The other flowers absolutely could not believe that he spent
so long alone. He inspired all of the flowers to be nice to the clouds. He
taught them that even through a rainstorm, there is something at the end of the
tunnel!
Timothy went down in history as boldest colorful
flower. After his death, his seeds blew
away in the wind and more colorful flowers just like him were planted. Now
whenever someone see’s a bold flower, they think of the lonely flower named
Timothy.
Author's Note: I created this story because I love how the flower got his colors! In the original, he was on a cactus and the rainbow got stuck in the thorns. I did not like that mental picture, so I wanted to give it a more friendly approach. Having the rainbow hug the flower meant the flower could still get his colors. I also wanted to emphasize the power of niceness and how alone Timothy was.
Image: Flower from Flickr.
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends by Florence Stratton. Link to online reading.
Reading Notes: When the Rainbow Was Torn
I think I may start talking about a flower who was blown
away from his family and lives alone on a cactus. His name would be Timothy and
he longs to be colorful and fit in with the other flowers. His white petals are boring and show that he hasn’t
grown up yet. The point of this story would be that the rainbow wants to be his
friend. When the rainbow reaches down to give Timothy a hug, Timothy catches
some of the rainbows color.
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends by Florence Stratton. Link to online reading.
Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends by Florence Stratton. Link to online reading.
Image: Cactus from Flower Meaning.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Week 8 Growth Mindset
I think a weakness that I have for this class is definitely playing it safe. I feel like I have some creative thoughts, but for readers, it would not come across the way I meant it too. My biggest concern is confusing someone, or someone not seeing it from my perspective. I think I am going to try and write a wacky post. Although the comments on the story might be kind of scary, I want to be as creative as I can!
Image: Flowers from Floret Flower.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Week 8 Reflections

Image: Flowers from the Floret Flower.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Story: Why Dog and Cat Are Enemies
Long ago, the dog and the cat were the best of friends. They
lived comfortably together with their owners and they were happy. They spent
all of their days together. Little did they know their lives were about to be
flipped upside down. Their owners, Jim and Marie, were struggling to make ends
meet. They were able to have food on the table for every meal, but they were
not able to buy new clothes. They were barely making ends meet. Marie decided
her wedding ring was worth more than anything else they had, so it would be a
good idea to sell it.
So the next day, Marie headed down to the market to sell her
most prized possession. This ring was not an ordinary ring though. The second
she sold it, she immediately felt a change of pace. Something was not quite right
anymore. This ring had magical powers that made sure families were always well
fed and had the bills paid. It helped families stay afloat and they did not
even know it. The only ones that knew of
this power were animals. The dog and the cat knew the family was going through
hard times, but they had no idea what was about to hit them.
Marie sold her ring and was so excited. She knew they were
going to have money that would last them for weeks. But when she arrived home,
Jim had lost his job. Their only source of income was Jim’s job since Marie had
to stay home with the kids. Without his job, they were completely lost. The cat
and the dog overheard this conversation and immediately started
brainstorming. “How can we possibly get
this back, Cat?” The dog questioned.
First, they had to find out who bought the ring.
The cat and the dog hurried out of their house and hoped
their owners would not notice they were gone. They went down to the market and
saw the shiny gold ring shimmering in the window.
The next step was getting it out of the store. The cat had
an idea to get a mouse to grab it for them. The only possible creature that
could fit into the crack would be a mouse. Cat walked down the street and
looked for the first mouse she could find. After a small chat about how she
would kill it if he didn’t get the ring, he agreed to sneak it.
The mouse worked his magic and successfully got the ring.
There was only one small drawback: the alarm. Almost like a scene from Indiana
Jones, the alarm went off the second he picked up the ring from its spot. The
mouse grabbed the ring and sprinted back out the door. The three animals ran as
fast as they could back home. Mouse and cat easily made it back to their house,
but the dog was not so lucky. The dog tripped while running and broke his leg.
He limped all the way home, to find the cat getting all of the praise from the
owners. Jim and Marie realized how much
impact the ring had on their lives. They
were sadly mistaken though because they thought the cat had done this all by
herself. The dog was so betrayed by the cat that he swore they would never be
friends again. The cat took all the credit while the dog was left in the dust.
And that’s why the cat and the dog can never be friends.
Author's Note: This weeks story was a little difficult for me to get creative with. In the original, it is based a long time ago. I wanted to give it a more modern twist. It gets a little confusing trying to tell the difference between each character, but I tried my best! For the ending, the dog got stuck behind the house and the cat climbed the roof, thats how she beat him home. I thought that was a little too confusing though, so I gave the dog an injury instead.
Image: Golden Retriever from Pinterest.
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm, link to Why Dog and Cat are enemies.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Reading Notes: The Two Little Cats
The Two Little Cats is a story about two cats who run into a rabid Handre. It would be interesting to write about the village they live in and how scary a Handre is. I am going to talk about how the Handre's took over their land and only a few animals remain. The land is overrun by these cruel Handres, but I am going to talk about how the innocent animals took back their land.
Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton, link to the Two Little Cats.
Image: Cartoon Town from Google Sites.
Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton, link to the Two Little Cats.
Image: Cartoon Town from Google Sites.
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