During winter break I want to be able to do a lot of things. One things I have been dying to go do is go ice skating. I love ice skating, and I wanted to go with my mom. I think she would like going ice skating. I want to have fun with her. Another thing I want to go do is shop at the mall for lots of things. I love the mall, the stores have a lot of cute clothes. I like stores like Hollister, Aeropostale, Abercrombie and Fitch, Charlotte Rousse, and Love Culture. Those stores especially have a lot of nice and cute clothes.
       I would also like to go somewhere like the mountains where it snows. I've been to the mountains once while it snowed, but once it snowed we had to leave. I was so disappointed. Over winter break I would like to go to at least one of these places. That would be so fun. Well that is what I hope to do over winter break. What will you do? Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

One thing that Japan borrowed from China is the Chinese language. Japanese nobles women wrote in the Chinese language. They also had confucianism introduced to them from China. Confucianism was a way of thought in China. People in Japan started to follow the rules of confucianism. So far that is only the language and a philosophy that Japan borrowed from China.
   Religion was another thing that Japan also borrowed. The religion they borrowed from China was Buddhism. Japanese nobles especially were Buddhist. They meditated and were very good buddhists as they thought.  Poor people didn't have the time to meditate, so they chanted while they were at work. Those are the things that Japan borrowed from China.     

As I am tending the crops on my field I hear screaming, and loud drums. I am trying to see what is  happening, but I can't because everyone is running away. Then I see it, the Mongols have come to raid our village. My mom tells me to run without them. I will not do this, I must try to save my family. I go to my shack and get the swords Dad has secretly put there. 
   I run out to give my mom, and dad the swords. We are not the only ones fighting for our village some of our neighbors are too. We know that we are no match for the Mongols, so we will try to fight them off as best as we can. I know we will run when we feel we are losing. We have stubborn leaders in this village that will keep fighting forever, but I do not believe that is a wise decision.
   We have just began to run. I am nearly out of breath, and we haven't caught up with the rest of the village. I fear we will never find them. While we are running we meet another tribe. They are nice people, my parents say we might just stay here and become part of the tribe. They have already offered us to stay. So it is settled we will stay. I am just worried that the Mongols will come here next. Well for now I am just happy to be safe.

     I think the two most important Chinese achievements are the magnetic compass, and the abacus. The magnetic compass was important, because it helped people learn where each direction is. If a sailor had to sail north he wouldn't know which direction it is without the magnetic compass. The compass was very handy when it came to traveling. It was so useful that America started to use a compass. I think our compass was inspired by the  Chinese's magnetic compass.
     The abacus was also a good achievement. It was a good accomplishment, because it helped the Chinese do math. They could use the abacus to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. It was also a quicker and easier way to do math. I'm pretty sure our calculator was also inspired by the abacus.

    The griots were very important in Africa, here's why. The griots told people stories from the past, they didn't write it down. Griots talked about great things that happened earlier. They talked about great kings, and great people or warriors. They didn't always talk about great things in the empire, they also talked about tragic things. They told stories about brutal wars.Griots were the mains source of history back then.
     They palyed an important role, because no one would have known about Ghana, Mali, or Songhai if they didn't pass on those stories for generations. They kept the history going for a long time, so that we would know about these empires. They told us a lot about the west African empires. If griots had not done that then would wouldn't have any clue that those empires existed.

      Before the discovery of iron in Africa life was hard. Their tools for farming were made out of wood, but that was a problem because they would break easily. Their weapons were also made out of wood, but that was a problem becuase they couldn't take their weapons out of their enemies, and they couldn't kill their enimies easily.
     So when they discovered iron they used it to improve many things. They improved their weapons by making them out of iron. Since they did that it was much easier to fight. They also made their farming tools out of iron. By making their farming tools out of iron they  lasted longer, and didn't break easily. They also used iron for jewelery. Women would wear fine jewelery.

    There are many thing I like about fall, like the weather. I like the rain in fall, because it always leaves the air smelling fresh. I also like the different color leaves on the trees, that makes the trees look pretty. I also like how the leaves fall of, because when we rake them into a pile we jump into it. When it is cold outside we put a fire inside, or put on our favorite, warm jackets,those are another thing I lik,e about fall. I also like the holidays in fall. I like Halloween and Thanksgiving, and they are the holidays in fall. 
      Fall has a lot of great things to offer. It is a wonderful season, although it is not my favorite season I still like it. I talked to you about all the things I like, now what do you liek about fall? Do you even like fall? Just think about it. There is a lot of great things about fall, and I couldn't possibly just choose just one.

     The most diffucult region to live in I think is the desert. In the desert there is no plants, or water. If you had animals it would be very hard to feed them them. Also it would be very hard for you to live, because you wouldn't have any water to drink or food to eat. I know there is some water, and palnts in oasies, but what if you don't live by one? You could move to one, but I bet you would be very tired and wouldn't want to walk if your dehydrated. 
        That's another thing , in the desert you know its really hot,and if you've hadn't had anything to drink you could easily become dehydrated and die. In the desert it would probably be hard for you to find shelter. I guess youcould build one. I don't think you're going to want to build one when a sandstorm might come and ruin it. Well in my opinion, the desert would provide the most hardships to live in.

September 11th 2001 was a tragic day in America's history. The Twin Towers and the Pentagon were both hit. I don't remember it because I was just a kid.  I watched the news and they were showing the videos of when the Twin Towers went down. I saw people jumping to their deaths and fire fighters arriving trying to help. When I saw those horrific things I felt like crying. It was really sad. I asked my mom about it and she told me that it was a time that America felt that anyone can come and terrorize us like that. After the 9-11 attack, people were trying to help the victims in every  way they could. Some were selling things flags and other thing to raise money for the victim's families, while others donated blood. 9-11 might have been a tragic time , but it was also a time where everyone was helping others. 

 On Friday my Core class did a simulation on the rise and fall of Rome. It was so fun. Now I've been asked to tell what part I would've liked to have and why. I was the Province of Gaul. It was the province that traded wool to Rome for 600 soldiers to protect Gaul. A part I would have liked is the eastern Romans. I wanted that part because they got to survive while everyone else got slaughtered by the barbarians. The simulation as I said in the title was awesome and being Gaul wasn't that bad. Although it wasn't hard to tell what part I would have liked.