Wednesday, January 27, 2010
My life this week!
This week has been so crazy. I have a long-term subbing job for a 5th/6th split.. very interesting~ I found out one of my students hacked into my password and changed a lot of his grades!! He is only a 5th grader and I couldn't believe he did this... He then proceeded to give all his friends my password. Unbelievable! He got a day suspension plus 2 weeks without his laptop. I've been pretty overwhelmed with grading papers, planing lessons, creating tests, etc. I have learned it's hard to have a decent social life when you are teaching and taking a class :( Hopefully, things calm down soon! Hope everyone has a great weekend :)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Rough draft- The Re-Creation of Hansel and Gretel
*NOTE: I decided to change my re-creation of Rumpelstiltskin to the re-creation of Hansel and Gretel. I forgot about this folktale! It was one of my favorites from when I was younger...
Long ago in a land far away, lived my dysfunctional family who was scraping to get by. The year was 2009 and times were especially tough. The United States was in a deep recession due to the declining economy. Where I came from, people were getting laid off and had to cut back on the luxuries of the finer things in life. My family in particular took a hard hit. My father was laid off from his job and life was just getting worse. We eventually had to move into a little log cabin on the outskirts of West Virginia. Our new home was secluded way up in the mountains. This seclusion was due to my evil stepmother. After my mom left my father, he remarried the meanest lady. The first day he met her, he got suckered into her cruel ways. My stepmother; (we will call her Nagging Nancy), hated being around people and many locals in West Virginia feared her.
Before I go any further, let me take a moment to introduce myself. "My name is Hansel. I will be telling this courageous story of my younger sister, Gretel and I." Ever since our parents divorced and father remarried, our life has been in shambles. It all started with our move from Michigan to West Virginia. We moved from a lovely suburban neighborhood to way up in the mountains. Gretel and myself believe Nancy had something to do with the move. Father would never want to leave the suburbs, however the money was not coming in and something had to be done. So, they made the decision to pack up and head for the wilderness. Gretel and I hated living in the mountains with our crazy stepmother. She was evil and would do anything to get rid of us kids. Our father was a lumberman who made very little money. For the exception of bread and soup, we rarely had anything to eat. Besides not having any food, Nancy did not like having us around. She would do anything for Gretel and I to go live with our mother. Since our real mother abandoned us when she left father, that was not really an option. Our evil stepmother believed if we were gone, then there would be more food for her and father.
Late one summer night, I overheard a conversation that was my worst nightmare. Nancy was doing everything in her power to get us to leave the cabin forever. "Something needs to be done to those whiny kids of yours. I want them gone immediately! "Take them deep into the forest, so I never have to see them again, roared Nagging Nancy." Shivers went down my spine."Would father really do this to us," I thought. I knew that father was terribly scared of what is wife was capable of, but I just did not think he could do something so awful to his own children. I was not prepared for what could happen to Gretel and I.
The next morning, while getting ready for school, I told Gretel what I overheard. "OMG!! cried Gretel. What are we going to do?" Not having a plan, I told Gretel, "We will discuss this when evil stepmother is not around." Since we were home-schooled it was hard to find time away from Nancy. During lunch, we took a walk through the woods to brainstorm what we should do. "Maybe we should just run away, Gretel said." "Absolutely not, I replied." I convinced Gretel that we needed to stick this out, no matter what father chose to do. "Tonight, I will gather colored marbles and we can leave those as a trail. That way we can find our way back home, in case father does leave us in the woods, I stated calmly." Gretel and I trudged home from our walk anxiously awaiting what could happen. Later that evening, I overheard father and Nancy whispering. From what I heard, Nancy had finally convinced him leading Gretel and I into the woods in hope of us never returning. It happend just before dawn. Father woke us up out of a deep sleep. He lied to us and told us that we were going to chop down a tree. Gretel and I could not believe this was happening! Father had been brain-washed by our crazy stepmother. We knew he would never do this on his own. Father led us deep into the forest. As we walked, I comforted my little sister. "I promise we will get home safely, I told Gretel. I have been dropping marbles as father walks ahead. They will be our guide back to the cabin." After a long journey, we arrived in the middle of the forest. All we could hear were birds chirping away going about their happy lives. "I will be back for you soon, said father." Although we had hope, we knew this would not happen unless Nagging Nancy was gone forever. "Good-bye father, we replied solemnly. Darkness feel upon us quickly. Since we did not have shelter or a fire, we huddled together against a tree for warmth.
When dawn broke, we set out in hope of finding our marble pathway, but that did us no good. We were truly lost. We decided to trek on a bit further. Just then, appeared a house that was so breathtaking, it was like magic. It glistened in the sun and a surge of hope traveled through us. We bolted straight to the house, praying that the owners were home. Nervously, I knocked on the door. We anxiously waited for someone to come to the door. A wrinkled lady with a cane appeared at the door. "Can I help you children?" "Yesss! We both exclaimed at the same time! Our father has left us in the middle of the forest with no place to go." Our crazy stepmother is such a horrible person and doesn't want us around anymore. Is there anyway you can help us?" After a long pause.... "Your evil stepmother's name wouldn't be Nancy would it?, replied the elderly lady." "Why, yes it is, Gretel and I exclaimed!" The lady did not looked surprised. "You are right, Nancy is a horrific person. I know her from passing her at the local market." Both myself and son think she is just awful. My son knows the woods very well. He will help you through the woods, so you can arrive back home." In a flash, her son (Bob) appeared and off we went. We traveled for quite sometime, but soon we arrived at our log cabin. We opened the door to see Nancy bent over the hot,open oven. Before we knew it, Bob ran and pushed her into the hot coals. You can imagine how it ended.. We never had to deal with her nagging and evilness ever again!!
Father, Gretel, and I finally a happy family again. We felt a huge sense of relieve, now that our horrid stepmother was gone. Father, Gretel and I were beyond ecstatic that we could finally live happily ever after. The End!
Long ago in a land far away, lived my dysfunctional family who was scraping to get by. The year was 2009 and times were especially tough. The United States was in a deep recession due to the declining economy. Where I came from, people were getting laid off and had to cut back on the luxuries of the finer things in life. My family in particular took a hard hit. My father was laid off from his job and life was just getting worse. We eventually had to move into a little log cabin on the outskirts of West Virginia. Our new home was secluded way up in the mountains. This seclusion was due to my evil stepmother. After my mom left my father, he remarried the meanest lady. The first day he met her, he got suckered into her cruel ways. My stepmother; (we will call her Nagging Nancy), hated being around people and many locals in West Virginia feared her.
Before I go any further, let me take a moment to introduce myself. "My name is Hansel. I will be telling this courageous story of my younger sister, Gretel and I." Ever since our parents divorced and father remarried, our life has been in shambles. It all started with our move from Michigan to West Virginia. We moved from a lovely suburban neighborhood to way up in the mountains. Gretel and myself believe Nancy had something to do with the move. Father would never want to leave the suburbs, however the money was not coming in and something had to be done. So, they made the decision to pack up and head for the wilderness. Gretel and I hated living in the mountains with our crazy stepmother. She was evil and would do anything to get rid of us kids. Our father was a lumberman who made very little money. For the exception of bread and soup, we rarely had anything to eat. Besides not having any food, Nancy did not like having us around. She would do anything for Gretel and I to go live with our mother. Since our real mother abandoned us when she left father, that was not really an option. Our evil stepmother believed if we were gone, then there would be more food for her and father.
Late one summer night, I overheard a conversation that was my worst nightmare. Nancy was doing everything in her power to get us to leave the cabin forever. "Something needs to be done to those whiny kids of yours. I want them gone immediately! "Take them deep into the forest, so I never have to see them again, roared Nagging Nancy." Shivers went down my spine."Would father really do this to us," I thought. I knew that father was terribly scared of what is wife was capable of, but I just did not think he could do something so awful to his own children. I was not prepared for what could happen to Gretel and I.
The next morning, while getting ready for school, I told Gretel what I overheard. "OMG!! cried Gretel. What are we going to do?" Not having a plan, I told Gretel, "We will discuss this when evil stepmother is not around." Since we were home-schooled it was hard to find time away from Nancy. During lunch, we took a walk through the woods to brainstorm what we should do. "Maybe we should just run away, Gretel said." "Absolutely not, I replied." I convinced Gretel that we needed to stick this out, no matter what father chose to do. "Tonight, I will gather colored marbles and we can leave those as a trail. That way we can find our way back home, in case father does leave us in the woods, I stated calmly." Gretel and I trudged home from our walk anxiously awaiting what could happen. Later that evening, I overheard father and Nancy whispering. From what I heard, Nancy had finally convinced him leading Gretel and I into the woods in hope of us never returning. It happend just before dawn. Father woke us up out of a deep sleep. He lied to us and told us that we were going to chop down a tree. Gretel and I could not believe this was happening! Father had been brain-washed by our crazy stepmother. We knew he would never do this on his own. Father led us deep into the forest. As we walked, I comforted my little sister. "I promise we will get home safely, I told Gretel. I have been dropping marbles as father walks ahead. They will be our guide back to the cabin." After a long journey, we arrived in the middle of the forest. All we could hear were birds chirping away going about their happy lives. "I will be back for you soon, said father." Although we had hope, we knew this would not happen unless Nagging Nancy was gone forever. "Good-bye father, we replied solemnly. Darkness feel upon us quickly. Since we did not have shelter or a fire, we huddled together against a tree for warmth.
When dawn broke, we set out in hope of finding our marble pathway, but that did us no good. We were truly lost. We decided to trek on a bit further. Just then, appeared a house that was so breathtaking, it was like magic. It glistened in the sun and a surge of hope traveled through us. We bolted straight to the house, praying that the owners were home. Nervously, I knocked on the door. We anxiously waited for someone to come to the door. A wrinkled lady with a cane appeared at the door. "Can I help you children?" "Yesss! We both exclaimed at the same time! Our father has left us in the middle of the forest with no place to go." Our crazy stepmother is such a horrible person and doesn't want us around anymore. Is there anyway you can help us?" After a long pause.... "Your evil stepmother's name wouldn't be Nancy would it?, replied the elderly lady." "Why, yes it is, Gretel and I exclaimed!" The lady did not looked surprised. "You are right, Nancy is a horrific person. I know her from passing her at the local market." Both myself and son think she is just awful. My son knows the woods very well. He will help you through the woods, so you can arrive back home." In a flash, her son (Bob) appeared and off we went. We traveled for quite sometime, but soon we arrived at our log cabin. We opened the door to see Nancy bent over the hot,open oven. Before we knew it, Bob ran and pushed her into the hot coals. You can imagine how it ended.. We never had to deal with her nagging and evilness ever again!!
Father, Gretel, and I finally a happy family again. We felt a huge sense of relieve, now that our horrid stepmother was gone. Father, Gretel and I were beyond ecstatic that we could finally live happily ever after. The End!
Favorite Folktale
There were many folktales that I enjoyed as a child. Folktales are intriquing because there are many variations of one story. However, if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Rumpelstiltskin. Reading this when I was younger, I thought it was amazing that the little man could spin straw into gold. I also liked this story because I loved the name, Esmerelda. As a child, I never knew how much greed was in Rumpelstiltskin. After reading it again (recently), I realized that there were many selfish/greedy aspects in this folktale. I found it compelling because, The Miller was willing to lie to make himself look better. It didn't seem to matter if Esmerelda's life got put into danger. The trickster (Rumpelstiltskin) was also very demanding on what he got in return for spinning the straw into gold. The ending of Rumpelstiltskin was my favorite. I loved how Esmerelda guesses all the names and she finally guesses "Rumpelstiltskin". He gets so mad that he disappears forever :)
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