Lexi

Lexi
 
During Kwanzaa they have special symbols and celebrate for 7 days. The symbols are used to celebrate  African American traditions. People start celebrating the day after Christmas.
 
The symbols are used to celebrate African American tradition. The flag is the same pattern as the American flag but is black, red, green. The color green represents hope for the future. The color red represents the blood connects in us all.
 
People start celebrating the day after Christmas. People celebrate Kwanzaa for 7 days. They have a party on the 6th day of Kwanzaa. The color green represents hope for the future. The color red represents the blood connects in us all. The color black represents the African Americans. People wear light and bright colors like yellow, orange and  red.
Did you know there are 7 principles of each candle? The 7 principles are unity, control, cooperation, sharing of profits, creativity and faith. The name in American language of Kiswahil are Umoja, Kujichaguka, Ujlma, Ujamca, Nia, Kuumba and Imani.
 
Did you know there are 3 green candle, 3 red candles and 1 black candle? All of the kids is corn so it can be on a Kwanzaa table. One kid might have a flag and sing Kwanzaa songs. I was surprised to learn that there are 7 principles in Kwanzaa.

Jack

Jack

            How are people wasting energy? People are leaving lights on. Doors open TVs and computers on. They are wasting money and using too many resources. If you don’t do anything about it there can be blackouts. You wouldn’t be able to see at night, stay warm or cool.

            People need to use less energy they can buy solar panels. Solar panels use the sun to create energy. I can save energy by turning lights off when I’m done with them. I am capable of closing doors behind me. These are things I can do now. This is something I would get friends and family to do.

Eleanor

    During a wildfire energy is released which is why fires are so hot and bright. Ash is the form fuel takes after the fire is over.

    Fires now only release heat but they are also caused by heat. A fire can be caused by hot things such as burning match, a flash of lightning or a lumber in a lying camp fire. A whole forest can be set a blaze by a tiny flame no bigger than the flame from a match.

    Many people think that all wildfires are enemies but that’s not true. Wildfires are a fact in the wilderness and lots of plants need them. Many trees are so dependent on wildfires that even wildfires are in their life cycle.

Jack

Jack

            Over 500,000 homes get cut down a year. Trees provide animal homes for over 42 different kinds of animals. Deforestation has many negative effects on our lives in Oregon. Trees provide shelter, food, recreation, oxygen and beauty for our community. If our community ignores this problem then a lot of animal homes will disappear and the air will be less clean.

            Cutting down trees (skipped) losing animal homes is a big problem in Oregon. Some people go paperless to not use up trees, other people plant trees on their property. Our community recycles paper and composts too. Oregon passed laws that will try not to cutdown as many trees. So I plan to plant a tree in my backyard in spring. I hope an animal makes a home there.

Simon

Simon

            50% off fish and seafood is wasted. People waste other foods too. It also makes the Earth not safe for animals. It might not make Oregon not safe for us.

            Don’t buy a lot of food at the store you don't need. Some people might be trying to solve the problem. They might be trying to tell people not to buy a lot at the store. I won’t get a lot of food that I don’t need. This will help because it won’t make the Earth dirty.

Prayer

Prayer

          I am going to make a robot of gold. I will name it T-rex. I will have my robot I will make it to. Where I can get into it will be a unique project.

I will have a good time making the robot when it is finish I will make it into an eagle and put wings on it. I think it will be easy to make the robot. 

Jack

I was in a forest hiking with my Nana and Gary. I felt a soft breeze on my face and I heard birds in the distance. Once we were at the edge of the forest we saw a wide river. The name of the river was The Deschules.

I put my finger in the rive, the water was quite cold. We saw a bridge and went across it to the other side. We saw lots of trees as we walked back a different way then before. 

We took out our map, I was tired so we walked back to our cabin. We were still walking to our cabin when we spotted a raccoon in the trees. It had dozed off to sleep. When we got back to the cabin I dozed of to sleep too!

Elena

Elena

“Cutting down trees”

            Imagine a world without trees and shade. Humans, animals and plants can’t protect themselves from heat. Humans and animals cannot protect themselves for sunburn if there is no more shade. Too much UV can cause a sunburn and a serious skin problem. In central Oregon it is very sunny and dry. Animals such as cows, horses, sheep enjoy shade on the pastures. Also some plants need shade to grow.

            Cutting down trees is a problem in Oregon because there will be less shade to cool down. If nobody cares, animals people and even plants will suffer. Managing and controlling forest growth is a way to make sure that we keep enough trees in Oregon. Trees are a renewable resource so they can be grown, harvested and replanted. 

Mason

Mason

“Wasting food is horrible.”

            It travels to a place called a landfills . There it gets burned in a incinerator  Sometimes when landfill sites are fall they leak and pollutes the earth, land and water. If no one does anything about it we would live in a very polluted city.

            Have you ever heard of composting? Composting is when you take food scraps such as onion peels and  eggshells  and put them into leaves to make soil. You can put scraps in worn bins. You also can feed scraps to chickens. My plan is to compost everyday. 

Esme

Esme

“Help the Hungry”

            Did you know people are throwing away perfect food? Restaurants are throwing left overs away. Some very good food is getting thrown away. Some people need more food but none is given to them. Sometimes restaurants have more food than they need so they just throw it away. So if you feel upset, help the hungry.

            You could give it to the hungry. Donate to schools that need food for the kids. Urban cleaners goes big restaurants and take the leftovers they can’t serve. They take food to ten schools in Portland. They have volunteers that split it up for families who need food. My family gives to them because Extracto can’t sell the food that is two days old. My action plan si to help pack up the food give to urban cleaners.

Violet

Violet

“Cutting down trees”

            If we cut down trees there won’t be enough forest for animals to live in and its bad  for the air we breathe. It is a problem on Oregon because an Oregon lumber is a big business. The bigger the business the more trees get cut down. If all of the trees get cut down the air won’t get clean. If nobody does anything about this problem the animals won’t have any homes. We will lose the big business  and we will have dirty air. Being more responsible and planting more trees will help solve this problem. The Oregon government is working on solving this problem. One government solution is by protecting the forest land. My plan is to try not to use too much paper a day. This is going to help the problem because every single piece of paper is made out of wood I think this is going to help a lot.

Evan

          I love going to Denver! I feel lots of heat and a nice summer breeze. I love jumping on my cousins’ trampoline with cold hose water spraying from the side. I also like my grandmas’ sweet pancakes. I like going to the cold water pool.

          You see people going to and from work. You hear people having conversations and saying hi. When you go to restaurants you taste sweet juice. I love going to Denver!

Livy

          I enjoy having a walk around the lake on a warm sunny day. I saw the big tall oaks and I saw the big stone bridge. The sun was sparkling brightly on the lake. I saw a gray mother peacock and a colorful father peacock and a line of little peacocks to hurry along. The baby peacocks were so cute. The parent peacocks strutted along as if they were king and queen while the little ones hurried to catch up.

          I heard the soft warm breeze as it brushed against my face and I heard the boats zooming across the water on the far side of the lake. I caught salamanders and I even got to hold some!  Hope you come soon.  

Marquis

          I like going to the mountains on a cold day. You only feel a nice breeze on your face. You see skiers and snowboarders going down hills. You see white snow everywhere and a blue sky.

          You hear people saying “woo hoo!” You see snow on top of tall trees. You see a lot of people wearing gear.

          Snow feels the cold on your hands. I throw the snow ball in the air. It looks like little snow flakes. Come join me in a snowball fight. 

Adelle

“Salmon river”

          I love being at the Salmon river on a rainy but not day. The rain feels ice col among the fiery not sun. The river is on the edge of a dark green pine and reddish, green maple tree forest. The forest has a camp ground that I have camped in many times. The river is as loud as six garbage trucks and as cold as a winter frost on a morning of the last day of winter. I have gone across the river and felt the rocks on the other side, the feel as hot as if they were boiled on the hottest burner on the stove.

          All of the things I see are hikers on the hills and some birds with orangish blue feathers. The air smells sweet and salty, sometimes it smells like burnt rubber from the camp fire. When you cook on the fire it tastes better than when you cook food on any stove you might have at your house but sometimes it tastes like ashes and coal. At night it is like a rain cloud is hovering inside your tent pouring on you all night. Come join me at the Salmon river on a rainy but hot day. 

Mason

          I like to go to the forest on a rainy day. You can hear rustling in the trees. You can see salamanders crawling out from their logs. Once in a while you’ll hear a bold eagle or a toad croaking. Though it is quiet is bustling with activity.

          You can smell skunk flower in the swamp. Newts live in the swamp. There are birds chirping in the trees, you can smell pine wood in the distance. Come to me in my forest. 

Simon

          I love going to a park on a fall day. I love looking at the different colored leaves. All the different kinds of birds chirp above me. I smell the fresh air.

          The grass is sometimes damp. I love to play on the swings. At some parks I like to try to touch the leaves with my feet. Sometimes I am scared, I will fall off the swing. The breeze feels great on my face, come to a park with me.

Cory

“The forest”

          A forest is a great example of nature. A forest is where animals live. In a forest you might see a black bear climbing a tree or a fox looking for food. In a forest there are tall trees that have squirrels living in them or bird chirping in the air with the sun shining on them. And the blue sky above the sun. Nature is a beautiful place.

          When you go to the forest there are dangerous animals there. Like bears, foxes, dingos and other animals like that. You don’t want to be near them because they’re dangerous. Dangerous animals can hurt you really bad and they can send you to the house(skipped). And you will be in pain very much, you want like going to the house(skipped). 

Daisy

          I love the beach on a summer days. All I see is white sand, blue water and a light blue sky. And all I smell is blue water. I love the smell, I see the kids playing by the waves. The sun is hot like a stove. Come on go to the beach, I will see you there. 

Max

Max

          I love to go camping in a cabin when its 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometimes I get permission to go in the forest with my cousins. We investigate a familiar Indian ancient leaves. We also try to find a way back to our home cabin.

          Discovering new things is so much fun. There’s lot of cool discoveries you could find in the woods. You can dig into the dirt and find some wiggly worms. You might find bugs in the air flying around or in their homes. You might see colorful plants while you’re walking in logs. Come join me in the forest!

Eleanor

          I love taking a walk in the forest on a beautiful spring day. I hear branches rustling above my head and I see spring flowers blowing. As I walk toward the cool, rushing creek. Dry crackly twigs snap beneath my feet I feel the dull green leaves brush against my sides and I glimpse the creek through the lush undergrowth. Beautiful bird song floats through the cool breezy air. This forest is a truly special place for me. 

Lily

Lily

            My topic is on wasting paper. When you want to make paper, you always need fiber but you should not make a lot of paper because if you do you will soon waste all the trees and air or oxygen and that is not good for the environment. Each office uses 25 pounds of paper each week and 150 pounds of recoverable white office paper a year. The ingredients you need are: scrap paper torn into one by one pieces, paper towels and then of course you need fiber. Mix thoroughly until the ingredients evenly dissolve. Wasting paper is a big deal and my personal action plan is that you erase or turn the paper over. I like not wasting paper because it is cool.

            I think wasting paper is a big deal. People waste too much paper. I have a couple of ideas for you. One is to erase but if you do not have an eraser just turn over the paper. Another idea is to stop making paper and recycle more which is good for the world. My personal action plan is to recycle. 

Marquis

Marquis

            This summer we went 80 days without rain. Hot water wastes electricity. Using cold water saves electricity. People are washing there hands with cold water so you won’t be wasting a lot of water.

            People who uses less water will solve the problem. The green team will solve the problem in Oregon. To tell everyone to use cold water. Make some posters and put them on the corner. My action plan is to put posters by my school. 

Daisy

Daisy

“Water pollution”

            Water pollution kills 4,500 kids every year. Water pollution happens when you wash your car and the soap ends up in the ocean. And it also happens when people throw trash into rivers, seas and oceans. The water that we drink is going to get sick of your tummy and we will get so sick. And the another thing when factories do not want anything they just throw the food that is another way that pollution comes from.

            I think that to solve the problem you need all the people to solve the problem. And to tell the people to not throw trash into the ocean and that is another thing to solve the problem. Help all the world so the world can be clean. To tell all the people to stop throw trash in the ocean. 

Eleanor

Eleanor

            What is plastic in water doing? Once an animal dies the plastic is freed back into the ocean to go on killing other wildlife. More than million sea birds and 100,000 mammals and sea turtles are killed by plastic in water per year. 50% of sea animals are killed by plastic in water each year. A single drinking bottle could break down into enough tiny pieces to put on every mile of beach in the entire world.

            What are people doing to solve the problem of plastic in water? People are building recycling clubs. Animals are found and rescued by a vet. At one of the ocean conservancy international coastal cleanups they cleaned up than 1 million plastic bags. Two things you can do to help prevent plastic in water is you can bring your own bags to stores and you can buy items that have less packaging.

De'Corey

De’corey

            There are 25 million trees cut down each year. This is a problem in Oregon because we need oxygen. We would not have clean air, animals can be affected by the dirty air because the trees get cut. Without air we cannot breath. If nothing changes we will die. Do you know what you can do to help trees? You can save the world and the air by planting tree. First you need seeds to put in the soil. Next you water it then you let it grow. If you cut down one you should plant another.

            Trees give animals food which makes paper but if you cut down too many, trees give us oxygen my action plan is to plant more trees in the woods or wherever people are cutting them down. And if you plant another tree. That will help the world. If they are not cutting down then you could plant 3 more plants. If there is no more trees then there is no more boxes, shelves, books, paper, tables and doors. Help our world by planting more trees in your garden backyard or park wherever you are you can plant trees. 

Aaron

Aaron

            I think the law will make them stop littering. In Oregon the fines are up to $6,250 then a year in jail. It’s against the law to litter in Oregon. I will not walk away because I don't what to pick it up. I’m going to pick up. I’m going to pick up any trash that is on the street, lawns, parks and highway. I will not let some litter stop me from doing what I am supposed to do. I’m one person who cares about what the Earth looks like! I am going to get other people to help me clean the Earth.

            I will not let litter be an okay thing to do because its really a bad thing. I’m not the person who doesn't care what they are doing to the Earth. I am going to not litter in Oregon because it is not going to be good. I will tap people on the shoulder and say “Can you put that in the trash can?” I am going to talk with other people to help me clean the Earth.

Ella

Ella

            Jingle the black nosed earthworm had a very black nose. 

And if you ever caught him, you would even say he blows. 

All of the other earthworms used to laugh and call him names. 

They wouldn't let poor jingle join in any earthworm games. 

Than one dirty earthworm days.

            “Jingle the black nosed earthworm” the king worm said. 

Won’t you come and ride tonight? 

Then all the other earthworms came and shouted out with glee, 

Jingle the black nosed earthworm, you’ll go down in earthwormy!

Olivia

Olivia

            One time I wanted to buy a laptop for $900! I looked in my piggy bank and I only had $200! I had to earn the money by doing chores. First, I raked the leaves for $2 and swept the house floors for another $2. Now I looked in my piggy bank and I had $600. So I did some more chores for $300. I had enough money now.

            With my computer, I would do many things. First, I would show my friends, Next, I would download some games, I would be proud of myself because I saved up the money to buy it.

(This is a pretend story)

Livy

Livy

“Plastic bags”

            My personal action plan is to pick up plastic bags. About 100, 1000 animals get killed by plastic bags such as penguins, dolphins, sea turtles, and whales. Plastic bags can kill animals by getting on their mouths. Plastic bags get into the ocean by people throwing there into the sea, they can kill all kinds of animals.

            Plastic bags affect animals when they get on animals mouths.

Zaidee

Zaidee

“Great wolf lodge”

            I went to Great wolf lodge with my friend Yendora and her family. My mom gave us 20 dollars to give her a souvenir. Because her birthday I had missed so I decided to get her a present. But you had to pay tax, so I needed to pay more money. I found a great chore to do.

             We had a few parties there, so if I cleaned them all up by myself I’d probably earn 20 dollars! I cleaned up popped balloons. What do you know! I had enough money to get her a souvenir! I bought her two chubby stuffed wolf puppies. She loved them so much, she sleeps with it every single night. The end. (this is a pretend story)

Alma

Alma

            To save electricity and money you should use more efficient light bulbs. CFI bulbs use 90 percent less energy. Incandescent bulb burn out quickly. Incandescent  bulb get very hot  and it wastes 75 percent energy.

            Turning off lights when they are not in use is a good way to save energy. You could use solar panels on your house. Workers make houses that when they sense people are not around they turn off all their lights. The energy trust of Oregon does home energy audits. There are several solar panel manufacturers in Oregon. My personal action plan  is turn off all the lights in my house.

Adelle

Adelle

“Pollution effects on animals”

            Do you know why marine lie is dying? It is caused by us. Water pollution is in Oregon because it is all around the world, in most ever lake and river. If nobody does something about it we may not have clean water or any sea animals again. Two-thirds of marine life is endangered because of these things: toxic waste, boating pollution (skipped) vehicles, (skipped) waste water and agriculture. There are many people working to help sea animals.

            Some sea animals like birds eat fish with undigested plastic parts in the fish’s body so the birds suffocate with all that plastic. Some birds and other animals are found open with plastic parts in them, most turtles think the plastic is food then they are most likely to choke on the plastic. The heads of a lot of fish can get stuck in soda cans or bottles. Baby turtles can have the same thing happen to them. Most pollution comes from motor boats and garbage boats.

            There are many ways to solve this problem. One way I know of is a beach clean up organization called Solve. The group in 2012 have picked up estimated over 60,483 pounds of trash. Common trash found is bottlecaps, ires and bags. The most common trash is bite sized palstic parts. I hope I can help clean the beach with the Solve group sometime.

Prayer

Hey did you know if we all start doing compost it will cut down on a lot of our land-fill problems? The major waste management. The people who live in our state will compost if we put flyers on my house we compost to help our state and our land-fills. I will ask others to do the same.

My action plan is to go around and ask people compost. We have so many people in Oregon that are land-fills are overflowing with trash because no one compost. If no one does anything are state will be full of trash. If no one compost the trash in your house, it will get fall faster than when you compost. It will make the plant more better and clear.