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Permalink Eleri’s Christmas performance was held on Tuesday, December 7 in the Rittmann Theater at 6:30pm. It was grade 1 & 2 students of Ms Camp’s music classes.
 The advantages of being small is the front row option!
The children performed the “The Songs of Christmas” They sang the following list of songs:
Songs of Christmas
Angels Singing Sweetly
Shepherds Wake
Away in a Manager
Wise Men Traveling
What Can I Give Him?
Eleri had a line to memorize for the performance. The children’s names were drawn from the “hat of fairness”. Eleri spoke slow and clear as she said, “And they could hear the soft voice of a new mother signing her child to sleep”.
End of the performance wave from our beautiful singer.
Ms Shepard’s class after the performance.
Final photos of the night with the Christmas tree in the Phoenix Center Commons.
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 283 user reviews.
Permalink 
The Museum Characters
Emersyn’s 5th Grade class has been studying American Colonial history. As part of their unit, they had to pick a famous character, research them, create costumes, props and speech, and present as a wax museum character. They first presented individually to their class, then the parents where invited to school to see the Wax Museum.
Below is Emersyn’s speech and her wax museum character – can you guess who she is?
Who Am I?
Good day friend. I was born in the Plymouth, Massachusetts colony during a cold, brisk night on December 17, 1760. I am the oldest of three brothers and three sisters. At age five, I was given to my mothers cousin, Ruth Fuller. My mother did this because she was too sick to care for all six of us. My father had gone off to sea and abandoned us.
 Who Am I? Ruth Fuller knew just how to cheer up a sad child. I got my own room, my own bed, new clothes and everything a child could want. Ruth Fuller also thought that all children should learn to read and write. Sadly, three years later Ruth Fuller died. I was eight years old.
I was then given to the Thomas family where I worked as a indentured servant. The Thomas’s had eight boys. At the Thomas residence, I had a small room by the kitchen. I did all the house work chores and I also worked the field. Hard labor developed my physical strength. The Thomas boys also taught me how to use a musket. During the winter, there wasn’t much farm work so I went to school. I worked for the Thomas Family for ten years.
At the age of eighteen, I was old enough to live on my own. I became a school teacher at Middleborough. I was hired as a teacher because of all the schooling I had during the winters. I only had a few girls in my class out of twenty students. I taught these girls everything I taught the boys.
At the age of twenty-one, I joined the army. But you should know from 1782-1783, I kept a secret.
I fought in many battles, walked endless marches and saw thousands of people die. One day, I was injured at West Point, New York. We were in a battle when I felt something warm and oozy, dripping on my neck and then again in my boot. It was blood. Another soldier took me to the nearest hospital on his horse.
At the hospital, the doctor took care of the bullet in my neck then asked if I had any other injures. I did not tell him I still had the bullet in my thigh. If I had told him about my other injury, he would have discovered my secret. After the doctor left the room, I took my pocket knife and dug the bullet out myself painfully. My leg never did heal properly.
When I recovered, General Paterson heard of me and wanted me to be his personal orderly. I did become just that. I served his meals, cleaned his clothes, cleaned his musket, fed his horse and many other duties. Then when I was hospitalized with a fever in Philadelphia, the doctor attending me discovered my secret but never said anything. The doctor arranged for me to deliver a letter to General Washington. When I gave the letter to General Washington, I was so nervous because I knew it was the end of my military career. My secret was out. General Washington handed me my discharge papers and traveling money to return home.
What was my secret? I had joined the army when I wasn’t allowed to under the name of Robert Shurtliff. But I was honorably discharged from the army at West Point on October 25, 1783, by General Henry Knox.
I returned home and married. Together we had three children. Later I adopted Baby Susanna whose mother had died. I again taught in a nearby school.
About nine years from my discharge from the army, I was awarded a lump sum payment of thirty-four pounds by the State of Massachusetts for backpay which the army withheld upon my discharge. Finally in 1804, after Paul Revere sent a letter to Congress of my behalf, I started receiving a U.S. pension in the amount of four dollars a month.
I still wasn’t ready to settle down so during 1802, I traveled throughout New England and New York giving lectures and speeches about my time in the military. During the lectures and speeches, I wore my military uniform.
I died on April 29, 1827 in Sharon, Massachusetts, at age sixty-seven from yellow fever.
Who am I?
I am Deborah Sampson, The Secret Soldier.
 The Secret Soldier
Emersyn got me (Dad) involved in the project. As she was working through her props, she challenged me to make a musket to be part of the costume – by handing me the picture below. If I was in California, no problem – head out the garage and start making. But in Shanghai, the only power tool I have is a cordless drill.
After some thinking, my idea was to use some foam I had at work and head to the hardware store to find parts. Emersyn and I went to B&Q plus a couple of trips to the “street” hardware shops. It’s amazing what can be done with hot glue and a little creativity. It came out great – looking like a real musket!
 In process
 Trigger and flint lock
 Finished product
Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 299 user reviews.
Permalink Field trip t-shirt…check, clip board…check, pencil…check – ready to go!
This field trip is to the Coca-cola bottling factory. It is only 10 minutes from school for a nice short ride in the bus.
We arrived to watch a short film on the history of Coca-Cola. We learned the Coca-Cola recipe was formulated by John Pemberton at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia. It was sold at soda fountains across America. We learned how Coca-Cola was first bottled. The film was entertaining and interesting.
After the film, we went into the display area. Always a great place to get photos.
Next, we went into the bottling area. No photos were allowed in this area. The children watched as the bottles/cans went through the process. The most interesting was watching the bottles fill and cap. The machine bottles about 1, 500 per minute.
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 300 user reviews.
Permalink We have started this tradition of a Thanksgiving Adventure Trip to Yangshuo. Last year, we had five families to share the adventure. This year, we had SEVEN families. It is the usual gang of the Humes (Mary, John, Kelly & Erin), the Jenkins (Jennifer, Scott, Sean & Sophie) and the Bishops (Faith, Dan, Avery & Riley). This year a few new families are joining us – the Biestervelds (Nani, Dan, Laura & Jack), the Brennans (Judy, Dan, Danielle & Erin) and the Bladows (Jennifer, Dan, Jessica & Jaclyn). We have 27 people in total with 13 kids and 14 adults. Scott had to stay home to take care of the new puppy the Jenkins added to their family a few weeks ago.
Thursday, Day One Adventure – We left Shanghai at 8am to arrive in Yangshuo at 10:20am – on time! We gathered our luggage and piled into the bus. The first stop was a beer stop. Everyone reported is was the worst beer they ever tasted.
We arrived at Mountain Retreat to check-in to our rooms. We had the same beautiful view from our balcony.
The children ran straight for the dam to play. They love digging the seaweed out and piling it on the dam. Now, if we told them this was a job they had to do, it no longer would be fun.
We enjoyed a long lunch on the tables outside while the kids played. It was a warm afternoon to enjoy the beauty of Yangshuo.
After our long lunch, it was time to begin the bamboo raft adventure at 3pm. We piled into the vans to drive up river to the starting point. This year, we needed 14 rafts for this crew. The rafts cost 150rmb ($23) per raft.
Emersyn raft partner was Danielle. Mary purchased water guns for the kids! Oh, they are going to be wet and cold. They were not the best of quality and most were broken by the time we arrived at the Mt. Retreat. The cost of 5rmb ($0.80) might explain the quality issue.
 Emmy & Danielle
 Over the dam – save the seaweed!
This is the first year we have allowed Eleri to go with another kid. In the past, she has gone with Jim on the raft. We figured she was old enough and no one has fallen in river except the first year with a little help from Jim. Eleri was enjoying the adventure with Riley.
As we are floating down the river, I hear Faith, “Oh, Eleri fell in, Riley help her” (in a southern accent). We didn’t see it because we were ahead of them. Faith said she fell in head first and bopped right back up. She climbed on the raft and was ready to go. Luckily, I had brought jackets for the girls since it can be cool at this time of the year. We stripped Eleri of her wet t-shirt and put her dry jacket on.
 Eleri & Riley
 Over the dam
 The view along the river
At the end of our trip down the river, the men pull the rafts up to the Mt. Retreat banks. By the time we got home, the warm sun was setting and I was cold. Eleri was very cold from sitting in her wet shorts all afternoon. We went up to the rooms for a long hot shower for the girls.
We had Thanksgiving dinner at 7pm. The staff set up the private dinning area for our gang to enjoy our feast. We enjoyed a delicious meal of turkey, beans, potatoes and pumpkin cheesecake. The potatoes were a bit disappointing and I love my mashed potatoes. We all brought wine to compliment our dinner for a lovely evening shared with friends. After the dinner, the gang of kids (14) were busy playing hiding and seek in the dark. They all have one rule after dark, no one is allowed down by the river.
Friday, Day Two Adventure – The Dads and kids were going on a bike ride while the Moms went shopping. We were off to explore a new village, Xing Ping. Xing ping was quiet and quaint. I picked up a couple of table clothes, a scarf and some cute hair ribbons for Elle. Since Nani and I are the room Moms for Ms Shepard’s class, we purchased the Christmas gifts for the children. We found these cute fish bags for 6rmb ($0.88). We added some silly bands and a candy cane – done.
After Xing Ping, we drove back to Yangshuo to West Street, the main shopping street. Xing Ping is about an hour away. After leaving the quiet village, West Street was too commercial. No one purchased much as it was the same goods at more cost.
We all enjoyed this sign. Mei You (pronounced Mayo) means “no have”. It is a word Chinese use all the time, especially when you walk into a store and ask for something. It is a shopkeepers automatic initial response.
From the report I got from Jim, the bike ride was fun. The three younger girls were done after a short ride while the older two were hungry. Elle was in the basket again this year…one day she will out grow the basket. Jim took Sophie, Erin, Riley, Kelly, Emmy and Elle home for lunch and a play down by the river. The remaining gang pedaled on. About an hour later, half came back and half rode all the way to the Dragon bridge (over 100 years old). They hiched a ride back in a Chinese truck.
Photos Jim took on the bike ride…no Mom – no kid photos!
Our dinner tonight was at Luna at the Village Guest House. The Guest House is a sister hotel to the Mt. Retreat. We had a delicious meal of more food than one person could possible eat. They seated the kids on one side and the adults on the other of the roof top restaurant. We preordered our food with this many people. I had ordered a side of garlic mash potatoes. My side came with no main. So I slowly ate a very large side order of garlic mash potatoes as they were getting cold…then, my chicken came with more potatoes. They were really good and made up for the potatoes last night!! We ordered 18 appetizers, 14 salads/soups for the adults, 26 main courses, 20 desserts along with about 10 bottles of wine. Our bill for the night was 445rmb ($65) per family. I was amazed how much we ate for such a little cost.
Saturday, Day Three Adventure – Jim had organized an adult ride to the bridge and back. He didn’t get to ride far yesterday since he was on kid duty. A group of about 9 adults left at 9am for the ride. The kids enjoyed a slow morning of playing at the Retreat. The adult riders pulled in at 12:20. We were leaving for rock climbing at 12:30. We climb with a group called China Climb. It cost us 225rmb ($34) per person for about 4 hours at the Rock.
 The Rock
This is Emersyn’s second year to rock climb so she was ready to attack “The Rock”. We had five ropes available to our group. The hard part for the kids was waiting for everyone to have a turn before climbing again. Emersyn got in two climbs this day. She climbed one easy and one hard rope. On the hard climbs, the kids are on the rock for about 45 minutes working their way to the top. It is amazing watching them all climb as they are so determine to get to the top. When they get down, they are exhausted!
 “Star Fish” coming down
This was Eleri’s first time to climb and the youngest climber in our group. She put on her special harness and was ready to go. She looked so tiny on the rock. She climbed three different times to about half way up…good enough for her.
 “Star Fish” coming down
Jim attacked the toughest climb first. It had an amazing view from the top. Jim was able to get in four climbs this day.
I climbed one of the harder, long climbs to the top. I picked it because I knew I was only climbing once today. Next year, I would like to get in more, but I enjoy watching the kids have so much fun.
After rock climbing, we went back to the Mt. Retreat for showers and dinner. We grabbed the fire place spot before dinner and we were unwilling to give it up. Jennifer brought marshmallows, Mary brought chocolates and I hand-carried the graham crackers for our smore treat. Chris, the owner of the Retreat, and his wife Nam were in town this weekend, also. It was nice for Jim to be able to catchup with Chris again this year. Jim and Dan staked out the fire place area with Chris and Nam. We ate our dinner in the private dinning area. Faith and I bought food to Jim and Dan with strict orders to not leave the fire place. Mt. Retreat serves very good Chinese food.
After dinner, we all enjoyed the smore treat. Nam had never had a smore since it is an American thing. I forgot to get a photo of the smore assembly line!
Emersyn at the fireplace in her Aunt Nancy hat she wore all weekend.
Sunday, Day Three Adventure – Our last morning to enjoy the fun & beauty of Yangshuo. We had breakfast at the fireplace. We have enough early birds in our group that we have had breakfast every morning at the fireplace.
The gang of trouble, the last photo before boarding the bus back to the Guilin airport.
Another fun Thanksgiving Adventure in Yangshuo. Everyone enjoys the adventure, the outdoors and the fun of sharing it with friends.
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 272 user reviews.
Permalink Tuesday was Thanksgiving lunch for the 1-2 community (Grades 1 & 2). Parents from each class organize to bring in an appetizer or a main or a side or a dessert to be shared. This year we had our feast in the hallway to enjoy a picnic Thanksgiving lunch.
When I arrived, I was greeted by my little pilgrim.
Elle and I rolled out our picnic blanket and she brought out her place mat she made for this meal.
 Each feather states “I am thankful for…”
Eleri and I filled our plates with the yummy food set out for the Thanksgiving feast. It looks more like a Chinese Thanksgiving with spring rolls.
Before I left, Eleri changed from a pilgrim to an Indian.
Recess is right after lunch. Elle was busy playing on the bikes (her favorite) with her friends.
 Callie, Elle & Kennedy
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 193 user reviews.
Permalink The children are studying “goods and service” for Economics. A field trip to the local Carrefour Supermarket to look for goods and service. I avoid the Carrefour as much as possible. It is a large Supermarket filled with too many people. There is always a loud speaker (very loud) shouting in Chinese. It is easy to avoid living in Lujiazui as I get all my fruits and vegetables at the local wet market.
Elle was very excited to wear her new “field trip” t-shirt. This is the first field trip of the year.
The class walked to the Carrefour Supermarket – about three blocks. The children had fun along the way as they were full of energy.
The Carrefour Supermarket is on the second floor. We were only visiting the first floor small shops to find goods and services. We need to mark if the goods/service was a need or a want. We were looking for natural and human resources along with recycle.
 Elle with her clip board ready to work
 Goods
 Doris & Elle
Lunch was at the pizza stop, Sbarro. Our pizza was a need while our soda was a want. We enjoyed a slice of pizza with Doris and her Mother, Mei.
I avoid Carrefour so well I have not realized how many new shops were downstairs. There were a few new bakery’s with fresh bread, a tupperware shop (not good to know as I love my tupperware) and a Dunkin Donuts. Elle and I purchased 18 sugar donuts to take back for the class to share. The donuts were 80rmb ($12).
 Eleri’s class
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 228 user reviews.
Permalink A letter from a Sailor by Emersyn Lyon.
October 25, 1495
Dear King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella,
It was very generous of your royal highness to give us a royal charter. But alas now all I wish is to go home and see my family again. Every morning I wake up from my dreams with my mother in it and just wish I could sleep forever. Each day I remember all the hard work we must do. Then I remember our little house by the sea and that salty smell. Now all I wish is to get off the sea and the smell. Every morning I see seagulls flying around our ship and I think of my family. Some nights I cannot sleep because of the boat swaying back and forth, left and right. I am so sorrowful that I cry myself to sleep some nights. I can not explain my sadness in this letter, for it was very hard for me to part from my family for such a long period of time.
My crew mates and I have been at sea for 12 long weeks. We all wish to return to Spain after this long and hard journey. We have encountered many dangers and hardships, but luckily have all survived.
Life is challenging when you have this many men cooped up on a sailing ship. We have had a thief among our ranks. This thief has been stealing food and water from our supplies. At first, I thought the thief was Napoleon. He has been sneaking around the ship from time to time and is always busy. I have been keeping a close watch on his every move, just in case.
Another problem was we were caught in a Dull Drums. We were stuck, stranded and bored. We were stranded for 2-3 days. For fun, we had cockroach fights and rat hunting. Not only was the rat hunting a way to pass time but also a way to get rid of those disease carrying rodents. Finally the wind picked up again.
The crew has talking about mutiny! The crew is unhappy because we have been at sea for 6 weeks and have found no land. Also our supplies are running low. I don’t know how long the crew will hold. I hope we find land soon so we can re-stock on food. The crew has become so hungry that we were hunting rats for food. The long time as sea has lowered everyone’s moral. I pray we find land soon before a mutiny begins!
The rats aboard ship have nowhere to go so they have been attacking back and getting vicious. They are biting people and scratching too. We were so bored and losing hope. Our crews moral is very low that many want to give up.
A mast also broke in a horrible storm. There was thunder, lightning and rain which just kept beating down on us. We weren’t able to get to the mast, it snapped and almost sunk the ship. Luckily, Marco, Napoleon and I got it fixed. Immediately after the repair, we were able to set sail.
In addition, we had a kitchen fire. During a rough wave, the cook was cooking lunch when we hit the wave. The stove and pots fell over and hit the wooden boat which sent up a fire. We were all so alarmed by this fire. We also had fear the boat might sink. Cortes was smart during the commotion. He sent a bucket tied to rope over the rail of the boat into the water and quickly put the fire out before it could do any major damage. There was small damage though, the floor was burnt.
Finally, Napoleon has spotted land! The crew is over joyed. Napoleon was the one to spot land therefore, he received a big reward. He gave the crew each 1, 000 of his 10, 000 reward, but I told him to keep my share. I do not think that Napoleon is the thief anymore. It might have been some one else, but what I know now is that the thief had stopped stealing our food and water.
Once we set foot onto land, we noticed eyes were following us as we climbed ashore. Then three or four natives jumped out from a bush. We all drew our swords. The three natives slowly walked back at the sight of our swards, but one walked forward curiously and touched the end of our captain’s sword. Blood dripped from his hand from the cut the sword left. He started to back up slowly but our surgeon stopped him and repaired his hand. The natives were thankful and gave us fresh food and water. We had enough food for the journey back home. We stayed the night on the island until the next morning when we packed up to go home.
As we started sail aboard the Saint Danilo, I heard a faint weeping. I looked around and saw that it was a native. Our captain thought that it was a good idea to bring a few natives back to Spain to “civilize†them. I watched him with his hands out to the island. I believe he is going to miss home just as I have. I am longing to go home and see my family again. My heart was sad for the native who was being taken away from his home.
In the beginning of our journey home, we had one of our biggest problems. We saw a big coral reef sucking everything within it’s range. One of our men spotted it and warned. We had all hands on deck. We got into the outer rim of the coral reef but the captain was able to steer us out of it. During this rough voyage, I realized that we were so lucky that no life was lost. I thought about this for a while as we sailed home. I was very eager to see my family there with open hands.
I am very proud to serve my country in this voyage. I have missed my family greatly but it is my duty to serve my country, king and queen. Thank you, your highness, for giving me this royal charter to sail. Also, for giving me the adventure as well as experience.
Your loyal servant,
John
Boatswain of the Saint Danilo
Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 159 user reviews.
Permalink Eleri came home with a turkey project due November 23. She was so excited, we did it right away. The project was to use various materials to decorate the turkey. Crayons and markers were not allowed. We had fun making this turkey together.
Our turkey materials:
the body – pink glitter
eyes – goggle eyes
nose & mouth – foam material
eye brow – pipe cleaner
feet – foam material
feathers – rice krispies, piece of red material, marshmallows, colored feathers, two large pom poms, pipe cleaners (folded) and rice
Since Elle rides the bus, I took her turkey to school with me on Friday. She was the first one to hand it in. Ms Shepard show the class her turkey which made Elle very proud.
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 182 user reviews.
Permalink Emersyn’s teacher, Ms Torgerson, has a passion for writing. She assigns writing assignments at the end of each study. This is Emersyn’s newspaper article for 1499.
News Flash!! Update On Discovery!
Emersyn Lyon
Here we are on December 31, 1499 and it’s been a exciting last century! Portugal and Spain have been sending out expeditions and reaching far beyond their shores. This reporter would name it “The Age of Discovery.†Both countries have been establishing new trade routes and extended the reach of their empires.
These national powers are reaching out as a result of the Turks shutting down the overland trade routes to Asia. The trade routes have been reported to have gold, silver, spices, trinkets and perfumes. Spices, trinkets and perfumes are all very expensive. In addition, these countries want to set up settlements to extend their empires.
Portugal has really taken the lead with Prince Henry and his navigation school for sailors. Spain is not far behind. Although Portugal has the better trained sailors, Spain had the better charts, supplies and maps. Of course, not wanting to follow each other, each empire has taken a different route. Spain went West while Portugal went East. Portugal got ahead when Vasco de Gama sailed South and East around the tip of Africa to India. When Columbus sailed West to find the “New Worldâ€, he kept records of each navigation move, then brought it back to Spain. Who knows which empire will become more powerful as time goes on.
With Spain and Portugal establishing new trade routes, it is an opportunity for the merchants to benefit. They have the chance to set up trade settlements. These merchants make good money from selling traded things because they take the price and double it. They sometimes even triple the price!
During Spain and Portugal’s voyages, of course, they have encountered natives. Both countries are mostly Catholic, so they have set up missions in the settlements. As a tribute to God, they have also sent priests try to convert the natives. There have been reports of killings when natives refuse to convert.
Now here’s the big question, how did these countries get to these far away places if the Turk shut down the land routes? By sea of course! Travel by sea can have its up’s and down’s. It is hard to travel by sea because the food quickly turns bad, people get sick and die, and there are a lot of germs and bugs on the ship. The good part about sea is that you don’t ever have to worry about crossing land, heat or drop of temperature, a bumpy road and so on. (They did get rough waves and storms sometimes.)
Sea travel does have another challenge – navigation. With no land marks, sailors use the stars and a compass to navigate. A compass is a little circle that has the points North, South, East and West. The needle always points North so you can find your way.
As time goes on, I wonder which country will take the lead in this exploration. Next century, we’ll have another News Flash on “The Age of Discovery!â€
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 280 user reviews.
Permalink The girls have a candy tradition of laying the candy out and counting the pieces. This year, Emersyn had 82 pieces.
Eleri had 61 pieces.
As per tradition, each girl picked 10 pieces (more than the 6 pieces from last year) to not share. Then, the remaining 123 pieces are but into one bin for sharing. This sharing system works beautifully as everyone is happy!
Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 207 user reviews.
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