King Arthur had called on all his knights the morning of March 1st and said, “I will be needing my lost spear this weekend and so I will be sending one of you out to find it.” “This bold knight must go to Penelope’s Lake for I lost it there, you must leave today.” Then Arthur stood from his seat at the Round Table and walked around it until he stood behind Sir Kay. He said, “YOU WILL TAKE THIS QUEST!” Sir Kay then stood and humbly said, “Thank you my lord I will leave this evening.” Then Arthur dismissed the Round Table and Sir Kay went to prepare for the journey.

Sir Kay went to his sleeping quarters, donned his best suit of golden armor and ordered his servants to pack him three days worth of food. Then he saddled up his horse, packed his food, and rode into the sunset. The next morning he reached Penelope Lake. It shimmered in the morning sun like a blue opal. Sir Kay then hopped off his horse and walked to the dock. Suddenly there was a portal glowing in front of him, then he stepped through the mysterious portal.

He woke in an underwater city. He was quite surprised but almost immediately started walking to the nearest house. He knocked on the door and stood back. The creature that was occupying that house opened the door. It was none other than a mermaid! She looked quite surprised to see him but cooly said, “Yes?” Sir Kay said earnestly, “Do you happen to know where the king of this land lives?” The mermaid responded, “It’s just over that little hill there, I live quite close to the castle.” She then shut the door rather rudely. Sir Kay was more than a little ruffled, but he kept his anger to himself. He started to move through the water again but noticed something was off. He looked down and saw a bare muscular chest that faded into blueish-green scales that ended with a wide tail. He reached up and touched his ears and realized they were pointed like all the other sea folk. He had turned into a merman!

As Sir Kay processed that he had turned into a merman, he traveled to the kings castle and requested to see the King, but the guard said he wasn’t available today and that he had to get a room. So Sir Kay paid for his room with a couple of gold coins and waited until morning. The next morning Sir Kay swam to the Throne Room and waited for the king. Some time later the king walked into the room and sat on his throne. He was a red haired merman with golden scales, a crown, and he was holding…… Arthur’s Spear!!!!! Sir Kay kept his temper though and thought to himself, “I will challenge him for it.” The King said, “What is troubling you, citizen of Penelope?” Then Sir Kay said, “I want to challenge you for your spear!” The King replied, “Ohhhh! You’re one of Arthur’s knights, aren’t you?”, Kay exclaimed, “YOU LITTLE SCOUNDREL! I WILL END YOU!!” Kay started to charge the King, but his guards held him back. “Tell you what?”, the King said, “I will fight you for the spear, but you must tell me how you got here.” Then Kay, realizing he was outnumbered said, “I saw a portal over the Penelope Lake.” “Hmmmmm”, the King said and turned to his guards, “One of you must have been slacking, I wonder which one of you it was? The guards looked alarmed but stood their ground. “Anyway, that is an issue for another time. Get me my armor!!” His servants scrambled away and soon the King was donned in his best armor. “Whoever draws first blood wins!”, and without warning the King charged Sir Kay. Kay had been trained well in the art of war but he had never fought as a merman, so it was a bit different. But after a bit of back and forth, he won and took the spear. “All right, off you go!”, and the King sent him back to the round table.

Arthur was waiting when Kay was sent back to his chair. He felt more like himself without a tail and pointed ears. “You’re back! In record time too! You completed the quest in only two days instead of three!!”, Arthur said jubilantly. Arthur continued, “I assume you brought my spear?” “Yes my Lord”, Sir Kay said and held the spear out with his head down. “You have done well”, Arthur said, “so I will reward you with my mansion on the shore of Penelope Lake!” “My Lord you don’t need to give your property to me!” Arthur handed him the key and said, “I insist!”

I awoke to sun streaming in from my window. I roll over with a groan. I kick off my covers and wander to my dresser. I pull up my long brown hair and select a clean pair of bell-bottoms, a t-shirt that says “Nashville”,and a jacket. I walk out of my room and say good morning to my family, my brother, my mom, and dad. Then I get to work making breakfast. I cook a sunny side up egg, and toast a piece of bread. I then put the egg on top of my toast and eat while I read the book that currently holds my attention. It is book three of the Gifting Series. After I have finished, I start on my school. I have to do a math test today and I get an A+. I used to not be good at math but I have learned to understand it better now. Then I start the lunch that me and my family are eating. Rice with saffron chicken breast. As I am making this I realize I need to do a bit of skin-care and clean my room. I am for a while running back and forth from my room to the kitchen until my mom takes over the lunch and I finish up cleaning my room. I have lunch and get ready for dance. I put on a clean leotard and tan tights, then layer on shorts, jeans, and a baggy sweater over top. When I get to my dance studio I put on my tap shoes and talk to my classmates. Once my shoes are on I go to tap class and learn more of my tap recital dance. After tap I have hiphop, which is with the same teacher! Lastly,I go to acro, which is gymnastics mixed with dance, and we finally start our recital dance! It should have already been started but my teacher is very behind. After those three classes I go home and eat some dinner. Then I take a shower. Once I take my shower I finally go to bed and wait for sleep to take me.

Today I will be talking about the most interesting worldviews, in my opinion, that I learned about this week.

First, is Theism. Theism is a belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially a god who created the world and who acts to influence events. I support Theism because I am a Christian and I believe there is one god, and that he is the creator of the universe.

Second, is Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the belief that there is some good in every person and that divinity pervades all humanity. I believe this because I believe we are fallen angels and we were born with goodness in our hearts.

Lastly, is Humanism. Humanism declares that man is the center of all things. That man made all things possible. Unlike the previous two I think that Lord is the center of all things and that man is secondary.

In my opinion I think these worldviews were very interesting and I hope to learn more about them in the future!

I am going to review what I have learned this year thus far. I am going to review all five of the Literature Analysis Points which are: Plot, Setting, Character Development, Theme, and the Author’s Style.

First is the Plot. The five different parts of a plot are: the Exposition, the Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution. The exposition is the intro to the story. It gets you prepared to read the actual story. It usually introduces you to the main character, and where the story is going to take place. It also tells you what the main problem or issue is, and takes you on to the next point, the Rising Action. The Rising Action starts to develop the tension in the story and gets the readers on their toes a bit. This leads into the high point in the story, the Climax!! This is where the main character faces the problem head on! It is the part that is the most exciting for the reader and takes center stage of the story! Next, the story winds down which is called the Falling Action, where everything starts coming together. Lastly, is the Resolution. This is where all the problems and issues come to an end, and the story wraps up! The Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution are the 5 parts of the Plot, and the most important part of a story!

Second is the Setting. Setting is like the backdrop in the story. It tells where the story begins and ends. It can also effect the mood of the story. Setting can also have something called a juxtaposition. Juxtaposition is when two different things can exist together without contrasting effect. Another very important part of part of the Setting is the Milieu. Milieu is the social environment in which any character is in. It can be the character’s friends, family, or even pets. This social environment can effect the character and sets the Tone for the story.

Third is Character development. Character development really does depend on the Tone to shape the character. The Tone is the emotional aspect of the story. This varies from book to book, but the two main categories are joyful and sad Tone. This can effect the way in which the people do things in the story. Character development can also be influenced by Customs. Customs can vary, but it refers to the traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time. Customs can shape how the character is accepted into their environment. Protagonists and antagonists inspire character development. Protagonists and antagonists are the villains and the heroes in our story! Protagonists are the “heroes” and the antagonists are the “villains”. They are usually the main characters in the story and represent good and evil. They are the ones that the readers are watching the most and waiting to see what is going to happen next!!

Fourth is Theme. Theme is important because it makes you understand the story a bit better. For example, if you are reading a book that is based in a forest, you know what might be in that forest like bugs, animals, logs, cabins, trees, etc. You know this because you are familiar with forests and you know what might be there, which makes a story based on a forest much easier to understand. Genre can have a great deal to do with this and how you know the story is going to go. Genre has a quality of making the reader know what they are reading about like horror, fiction, nonfiction, romance, and so many more!! Therefore, if you happen to pick up a book that is about nature, you know there is a good chance that you are going to read about forests in them too.

Lastly, is the Author’s Style. The Author’s Style is the type book an author wants to write about. They could be interested in writing a novel, a short story, drama, or even a poem! A novel is a fictional work. A short story is just what it sounds like, a work of fiction or nonfiction in a short amount of pages. Drama is a work written to be acted out for a performance, not just to be read on it’s own. A poem is a written work of rhyming. It is usually read in a singsong sort of fashion.

These are the Five Parts of Literature Analysis: The Plot, The Setting, Theme, and Author’s Style. These are the five points to look for when analyzing a piece of literature. I think this is a very fascinating topic, and I hope to learn more in the second semester of this school year!!

Today I will be explaining what genre is and some of my favorite genres.

Genre is the style of a music, art, or in our case, literature. Literature can take on many genres. Such as fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, science, romance and historical fiction. Although genres are not always precisely definable, genre considerations are one of the most important factors in determining what a person will see or read. The classification properties of genre can attract or repel potential users, depending on the individuals understanding of a genre. Genre also creates an expectation. It is the readers judgement if that expectation is met or not. Many genres have a built in audience and corresponding publications to support them, such as magazines and websites. Conversely, audiences may call out for a change in an antecedent genre and create and entirely new genre. My favorite romance genre novel is the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. My favorite historical fiction books are the Mark of the Thief, Rise of the Wolf, and Wrath of the Storm by Jennifer A. Nelsen. My favorite fantasy book is the Blue Djinn at Babylon.

My favorite breakfast is pancakes. I will be telling you how to make pancakes and what my favorite toppings are!

            My favorite type of pancake is gluten free, so there is no flour involved in the recipe. I use baking powder, almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, salt, coconut sugar, egg, almond milk, vanilla extract, olive oil, and lemon juice. Once all those ingredients are mixed together I put butter on a pan and start cooking the pancakes. While those are cooking I start preparing the toppings. These can range from apples, blueberries, strawberries, banana, and pears. After the pancakes are done then I have to set the table. I put down plates, forks, butter, maple syrup, and all of the toppings that I prepared. Then I can eat the most delicious breakfast ever!

            Pancakes are my favorite because of how sweet and beautiful they are.

The story of Robin Hood and his merry men has been very enjoyable for me. Today I will be walking you through the first half of the story.

The story begins as Robin being an outcast with his merry men. It has been a while since Robin went out looking for adventure. While on this expedition he encounters Little John. Robin Hood asks Little John to join his band and Little John becomes an important part of the story. At this point Robin Hood has broken quite a number of laws like shooting the Kings deer, stealing gold from the government officials, and stealing away some of his men. The King decides to tell his Sheriff to kill Robin. The Sheriff, after some thought, decides to catch Robin Hood at a shooting match to which the prize is a golden arrow. Robin goes to this match in disguise and wins the arrow right under the Sheriff’s nose. As Robin and his men are leaving the match, Little John gets captured. The band tries to rescue him the same day but end up failing. The next day they hear that Little John is set to be hanged and rush to the rescue. They finally successfully rescue Little John. After the rescue Little John is given an offer to join the Sheriff’s men in disguise to get revenge. Little John accepts the offer and joins. Little John after a while gets restless, and decides he should leave. In the process of leaving, he gets the king’s cook to join Robin Hood and his band. Robin is very happy when Little John returns with the cook, and they have a feast on the king’s dishes. A few days later Robin Hood sees a shortage of new Lincoln green clothes (which are the uniform for Robin and his men) and sends Little John to buy them. Along the way to the shop, Little John stops at a hotel and indulges in the money that Robin gave him there. Robin finds out and is vexed. He finds Little John, but on the way home, they find two more men to join (one of whom being his nephew) Robin’s band. Robin is not angry any more and forgives Little John.

I have very much enjoyed this story so far, and I hope you will get a chance to read it.

My hobby is dance. I will be telling you about my life in a week of dance, and why I love dance so much.

A week of dance for me usually starts on a Tuesday. I have my team class, which is an hour. This is the class that takes me to competitions! Then right after team I have ballet on flat, which is an hour and thirty minutes. This class is just classical ballet. Then I have my favorite class of the day, pointe one! This is my first year on pointe but it really isn’t that bad. I love Tuesdays so much! Wednesdays are my really hard and tiring day. First, I have tap for an hour, then I have hip hop for an hour (which are both taught by the same teacher). Lastly, I have acro for an hour. I am usually pretty tired by the end of Wednesday from dancing three hours straight.

Thursdays are easier which is nice because after Wednesdays I am tired, so it gives me a little break. I only have jazz for an hour and ballet for an hour and a half. The teacher for my ballet on this day is tough but I still like her. That is what a week of dance looks like for me!

I love dance because number one, I have friends there. Since I don’t go to public school, I don’t have school friends, so all my friends are at the dance studio. Number two, I love dancing to music and it’s good exercise. Number three, I love learning new things. I am constantly learning new choreography, tricks, and techniques. These are three reasons why I love to dance.

Dance is something very special to me and I think after reading this you might want to give dance a try too!

Today we will be comparing and contrasting the two great authors, Jack London and Mark Twain.

These two authors both wrote many great works like Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Tom Sawyer.

I am going to compare and contrast the setting, narration, and theme of White Fang and A Connecticut Yankee. The setting description in White Fang by Jack London is developmental. You see him building the story line all the way from White Fang’s parents. Where as in A Connecticut Yankee, the setting description is pretty brief before we actually get into the story. The narration style of White Fang is Jack London telling the thoughts of the animal while he is in the story. This is very different from Mark Twain’s style. Mark Twain makes you feel like you are sitting down with him, and he is telling you the story. The theme in White Fang is about the wild because Jack London loved animals. Where as in A Connecticut Yankee, Mark Twain shows his love for civilization.

Jack London and Mark Twain both have very different styles of writing, but are loved by everyone!

Wulf the Saxon was a very courageous and loyal Saxon. We will be looking at his character development and the summary of the story.

Wulf starts out in the story as a young easily angered page at the French castle. He bumps into another page named Walter Fitz Urse, and they have an argument that gets Walter fired. Wulf then rises in rank to a captain and is advisor to the Earl named Harold. Wulf is involved in politics and finds there are more Normans ruling than English Saxons. Wulf then rushes to tell Harold that this is the case, and the Earl tells Wulf that if he sees anything else he should tell the king. We see Wulf’s maturity already. Sadly the king falls ill and is prayed for by the people. Eventually he wakes up and tells his wife (who was watching over him), that his successor will be Harold the Earl, and then sadly passes away. Harold is crowned and his wife Edith tells him he must marry the Norman princess to improve relations. He agrees and there is a painful parting between the two. Throughout the story, Wulf carries letters to the both of them and visits Edith often. Wulf now starts hearing rumors about an attempt on Harold’s life and hired a poor child spy to tell him about any suspicious activity. The child notices four suspicious figures talking about an invasion of the castle at night. Wulf warns the king and shares his suspicions of Walter Fitz Urse. He stands guard over the door that night. The four people, one of whom being Fitz Urse, come in and are killed by Wulf and his companions. However, Wulf is severely injured, and the people are angry. A war breaks out and both sides are injured, but in the end Wulf’s side wins.

I think Wulf was a very brave warrior and definitely matures over the course of the story. He