I AM

Sometimes while sitting in the classes that I attend with my students, I do the assignments that they are working on, just for kicks and giggles.

This assignment happens to be an 8th grade Language Arts assignment. It was fun!! I keep making changes to my poem when I think of something else, or another memory is triggered.

Below my poem I will enter the assignment instructions so you can try it yourself. Leave me a copy in the comments section.

Lara Rogers Tampas


I am from the smell of leather, cotton, springs, and books.
I am from a loving, active, laughing home.
I am from Russian Olives, Irises, leaves, thunder storms, the smell of the earth right after rain, and stars.
I am from Candlelight Soup Suppers, Forced Family Fun, Half a Rogers & Half a Fox, and now a Tampas.
I am from immovable; know what they want and what they believe, and being a perfectionist.
I am from “Be Good, Have Fun, Learn a Lot”, “Charley Chickety is going to sit on your lip", "'There's no crying in baseball'", and Service.
I am from a Love of Heavenly Father, a Faith in Jesus Christ, an education is important, and FAMILY is everything.
I am from green, earthy Iowa, the oasis of an otherwise brown Idaho, salty lakes of Utah, Europe, Scandinavia, and strong Pioneer stock. Roast Beef on Sundays, Corn Beef and cabbage, potatoes, and corn you eat like a typewriter.
I am from traveling in an Old Model T from Iowa City to Salt Lake City, a listening ear, surviving the Queens, UFO’s in Ogallala, Nebraska, and miles and miles of road traveled, back and forth across the Plaines.
I am from pictures, boots, clocks, and Lilliput Lane. But more importantly, I’m from compassion, determination, generosity, grace, quiet dignity, and learned minds.


Instructions:

I am from ________(specific, ordinary item), from _______________(specific, ordinary item-or brand name), and _____________ (an item you really love).

I am from the ___________________ (home description...adjective, sensory detail.)

I am from ______________ (plant, flower, natural item), the ____________ (plant, flower, natural detail).

I am from __________ (family tradition) and ____(family trait), from __________ (name of family member) and ______(another family name), and _____________ (family name).

I am from the ______ (description of a family personaliy traid) and _______
(another family personality trait).

I am from ________ (something you were told as a child) and _________ (another thing your were told as a child).

I am from ________________ (something you really believe in), from ___________________ (further description, if possible).

I'm from ___________ (place of birth and family ancestry), from ________ and _____________(two food items representing your family).

From the _____________________(specific family story about a specific person and detail), the __________(another detail), and the __________________(another detail about another family member).

I am from ____ (description of family pictures, mementos, archinves and several more lines indicating the worth of these).


Try it, it's fun!
Happy writing!
Lara

Greenhurst Elementary School Choir

May

May starts out with May day of course... Each year the kids and I have taken the first cuttings off our Lilac bush, and place little baskets of flowers on the door handles of the family and dear friends.



Ash's pinky finger got caught in her shovel while she was helping Paul weed.
She was so hysterical I had to get a picture. Literally two seconds after I snapped this picture she pulled her finger out



This is a picture of Byron Yankee, an old friend of our family, and mom's first principal in Nampa. This is at the opening of the Time Capsaul that was put into the wall of the cafeteria at the end of the first year that Greenhurst was open. I bet none of us thought that any of our children would go to Greenhurst when it was opened.

My kids fall asleep in the strangest positions sometimes!!!

Paul came home from work to find Brennen sleeping like this...

A typical day in the Life of Addie

April


Reading books with big Sis...


Eating whatever my sibs leave within my reach...Thanks Brenn.


Chill'n with my mohawk...


Crawling in between any small creavice I can find...

Utahraptor

April
When it comes to anything science related, mom isn't good enough... We have to go to the family expert on science-granilani-, or that's Ash's thinking. She needed to do research on a dinosaur of her choice, and since we Rogers/Tampas Women never do anything the easy way, mom looked up a dinosaur none of us have heard of. Mom and Ash decided to do a to "scale" model of one of its claws. Ashlynn read several short paragraphs for information, and was able to answer questions mom asked her about them. We then put all those question together this Q&A peek-a-boo tri-fold. Ash recieved an E++ on it, and it was very different from all the other dioramas that the other students did. Mrs. Fred. even asked to have it for an example for next year. Ashlynn was so excited!!!

There's NO Crying in Baseball

March/April/May

One of dad's favorite quotes is from a League of Their Own, and Tom Hanks' Character is yelling at the girls and he says,"Are you crying, There's No Crying in Baseball.
On the morning of the leagues Jamboree, our team had to be there at 7:30 am for Pictures and an 8:30 game. We all know how unpredictable Idaho weather can be. One year we got sunburns at the Jamboree, because it was nearly 90. But it was so cold the kids were crying and didn't want to play.





Ash was on the Lookouts this year. Her coach, Steve Green, was in mom and dad's ward.
The team spent a lot of time practicing hitting, and not so much on fielding. It's interesting, you can tell what the different teams coach's emphasised during practices when it came to the games. There was really only two teams in the league that had the whole package, but they were also the teams that had had little to no changes from last year, and had been together for the two year age bracket.
Ash had fun, but still had ants in her pants while waiting for the beep, beep, beep of the pitching machine. There were a total 5 girls in the league this year. The girls softball league called us several times trying to recruit her, but Ash is adamant, she doesn't want to play with the girls.











Ash was introduced to sunflower seeds this season. That is what she is trying to dig out of her back pocket, while she was playing second. Second base was the position where she made the most outs. She was also one of three kids on her team that could make the throw from third to first.



She had a fun season, and is always sad to see it end.