Slice of Life Challenge 3/31/18

       We walked into the Racine Bakery, the smell of freshly baked bread hitting my face. There were crowds of people everywhere so we had to dodge and duck many people, just to get to the front counter. We waited in line for a few minutes, as I looked around the room admiring the cakes, cookies, and other treats laid out in front of us. I just stood behind my dad, breathing in the wonderful scent of freshly baked goods. Once it was our turn, my dad ordered a dozen bacon buns and four paczkis, which are basically buns filled with cream. While my dad waited to get the order, my mom, brother, and I went to entrance to wait for him. Once he came, with treats in hand, we pulled the heavy door and walked out. We were headed to watch trains and eat paczis.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/30/18

       I sat on my knees on the carpeted floor of my bedroom. My friend, Ava, sat across from me. In between us there was a huge coloring book. It was a color by number coloring book, where you colored a hexagon a certain color, according to the number that was in it. We had no idea what the picture would be, there was just a couple hundred hexagons, with different numbers in them. I looked at the line of different colored markers we had sprawled out on the carpeted floor. I randomly chose a red colored marker and pulled off the cap. I carefully balanced it on the other page of the book and started coloring in the first shapes. We both just colored and talked for at least another hour.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/29/18

       I carefully took the spoon out of the paint container. I brought it over to the sink in art class and washed the black paint off of it. As the water rushed out of the sink and hit the spoon, the paint slowly washed away. Once I did this spoon, and the spoon from the white paint container, I put the lids back on the paints carefully, trying not to get paint on my hands. I did get my hands covered with paint, though, so I walked back over to the sink and washed my hands with hot water and soap. Once my hands were washed and dried, I walked back to my seat and stacked all my things neatly on top of each other. Then, I put my iPad bag, with the iPad in it, over my shoulder and picked up my accordion, book, and pencil case. Finally, I stood behind my seat and waited for my table to be called to go.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/28/18

        I sat on the couch for just a few minutes before heading upstairs to bed. I sat there, with the iPad rested on my lap. I heard the soft music of the the iPad my brother, Isaac, was playing with. He sat on the other side of the couch, next to to my piles and piles of school stuff. In between us, I saw my bright pink accordion, pencil case, backpack, and a bunch of papers. Right in front of me, there was a high, wooden table with a book and pencils on it. I was leaning on a soft, beige pillow with the guinea pigs on my lap. The iPad on my lap was leaning on the pillow and my leg, so I could easily see the screen. The top of the iPad screen said, “blogger.com” and the blogger page was pulled up. I tapped the white space in the middle of the screen and started typing.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/27/18

         I sat on the couch in my backroom, my dad sitting next to me with the computer on his lap. My brother, Isaac, was laying on the floor in front of me with his legs up on the coffee table. My two guinea pigs were laying down next to me and in my lap. As I pet them, they made a soft humming noise, which was them purring. They both faced the TV, as if they were watching it. I too watched the flashing colors of the television. Every once in a while, one of them would move around or look at me as if to say, “do you have any food for me?”  When they did that, I just smiled at them and looked back at the TV. This is how my family and I spent our Tuesday afternoon.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/26/18

       I heard my mom call my name from the kitchen. I stood up from where I was sitting in front of the computer and headed into the kitchen. I saw my mom standing there with the glass of juice in her hand that I had asked for. I ran over and took the glass from her. I said thanks and dashed back to the living room. The computer screen had turned black so I had to tap the buttons a few times to get it started up again. The screen I had been on was still up, though. I quickly pushed some buttons and started typing.With an idea finally, I sipped on my juice and wrote my slice of life.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/25/18

       I heard the faint "click" as the heater kicked in. A few minutes later, warm air was blowing on my face. I was no longer cold but my face was burning up. I turned around and went on to my stomach. I then pulled my markers from underneath me and started drawing again. I was getting the perfect amount of heat now and I didn't want to move. So, I put down the drawing materials I held and just enjoyed the heat. My house had been getting very cold and I was glad when the heater finally turned on. I calmly just laid there and slowly fell asleep.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/24/18

       I pulled open the garage door and ran outside. I rushed to the backdoor and waited while my dad and brother caught up with me. My dad pushed the key into the keyhole of the door and turned the door knob as the door opened. I walked up the stairs to see my mom waiting for us. The taste of ice cream was still in my mouth and I wished the nice time my dad, brother, and I were having wouldn't have ended. As soon as walked into the kitchen, I remembered instantly what I needed to do tonight. I ran into the living room and pulled out our computer. Unfortunately, it said the battery was running low so I had to quickly find the charger and plug it in. Once it was charged enough, I pulled up my blogger and started my slice of life for the day.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/23/18

              I walked into the huge band room to finish make up PARCC testing. I followed the other people also taking make up tests and sat down. I had never been in the band room before and it was a lot bigger than I imagined. Huge lockers covered the walls with instruments inside, outside, and on top of them. One of the walls had a big pile of guitars stacked high and scattered everywhere. The other wall was filled with instruments cases, probably with instruments inside them. I would estimate that there were a couple hundred instruments in this room. In the front of the room, there was a big whiteboard with a bunch of desks facing it. Like the other kids, I sat in one of the desks and took out my iPad. Once I had my testing ticket, I got on TestNav and started the test.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/22/18

       
      I walked up to the front of the room where we were getting our new iPad cases. I tossed my old iPad bag on the floor under the table like everyone else was doing and took the small wrapped package from my teacher. I headed back to my seat and sat down. I slowly pulled the clear packaging of the bag. The first thing I noticed was that it was extremely small. It was almost the same size as the iPad itself. I unlatched it and opened it to find a piece of paper inside and one of those tiny packs that say "do not eat" on them. This was immediately collected by my teacher and thrown away. The inside was very soft and didn't make it easy to slide the iPad inside. But I managed to slide it in and watched as all my classmates got used to their own cases too.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/21/18

       I sat down on the rug next to our old wooden coffee table. Not knowing what to do, I started examining our living room. To the right of me, there was a long, short table that held hundreds of Legos making up a city my brother had begun to build. There were Legos all over that area. I saw them underneath the table, on the chairs, and even across the room. Next to that table was a huge, fancy doorway leading to our front door. I turned my head to the other side of me and saw the old, high couch with a bunch of pictures of my family over it. There were lamps on both sides of the couch, one slightly shorter than the other. On the wall behind me, there was a big game cupboard with games spilling out on all sides. Finally, there was another doorway leading to our dining room. After this short look on my living room, I turned my head back to the front of me and started on my Slice of Life post for the day.

slice of Life Challenge 3/20/18

       I ran down the stairs and dove into our newly bought couch. It was freezing down here in the basement so I pulled the blanket that my mom had on her over me too. My brother was on the other side of her with the blankets over him and earphones on  his head looking at his iPad. Everything down here looked red because of the old OPEN sign my mom had gotten my dad for his birthday. It was hanging right above the couch we were sitting in.  We all looked at my dad as he called our attention. He had just set up his old turntable and he wanted to play some records for us. We watched as he carefully put the record into place and music started filling the room. My dad walked to the front and pretended to play the drums with the beat of the music. I sat there wondering if this would become a regular thing for our family, which actually might not be such a bad thing.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/19/18

        I sat on the couch in the living room with a computer on my lap. I looked down and saw the intricate pattern of the couch fabric and the huge rip that had been worn away from the many years of people sitting on it. I took my finger and traced the lines of the pattern, trying to take my mind off of things. I quickly let my head fall back and slam against the backboard of the couch in frustration. My head was full of ideas of what to write about, but none seemed right. I stared at the empty screen of the computer, wondering why I was having so much trouble tonight thinking of what to write. I thought of the last few weeks and all the things my family and I had done. I just couldn't put any of these stories into words at the moment. Suddenly, I recalled back to things my teacher had told us about writing our slice of lifes. I quickly wrote my slice of life in which you are reading now.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/18/18

       I walked into the dark living room. I flipped on the light switch and saw as the whole room lit up. Then, I quickly turned it back off, not wanting to ruin the peace and quiet. I walked over to the rocking chair next to the window and sat down. I sat there, looking out the window to the night sky. I saw a row of houses, some with their porch light on, some with it off. The moon light made everything look eerie. The street lamps shone down on the grass and street. There were cars parked on all sides of the street, making the scene look even more creepy. I sat there in silence, watching the still scene in front of me. I saw nothing move except the slow rock of the chair I was sitting on. After a few minutes, I went back to the kitchen, glad to see another living being again.

slice of Life Challenge 3/17/18

       Our car zoomed down the highway. I could feel the cool air hitting my face through the open window. I watched as we drove past businesses. I saw people walking, trees blowing, and everything swaying peacefully with the wind. The loud music from our car pounded in my ears. My mom slept in the front seat, next to my dad who was driving. Every few minutes, my dad would start singing along to the song that was playing. I just sat there, my eyes closed, absorbing everything I could in this calm drive. Though I didn't want it to end, I was glad when we finally stopped the car at the restaurant we were eating at tonight. We all got out of the car and walked in. It was finally time for dinner.

Slice of Life challenge- 3/16/18

       I watched the flashing lights on the screen, making the images of the movie I was watching. I heard my mom call my name to tell me my dinner was ready. I walked over to the kitchen and took my plate from my mom. There was a bowl of Curry from last nights dinner in a bowl balancing on the plate. There was also a bean burrito that my mom had just cooked. I poured myself some water and balanced everything on my plate as I walked to the backroom. I sat down on the couch and balanced my plate on my lap. My dad and brother sat next to me, also watching TV.  Finally being able to settle in, I took my fork, and started eating.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/15/18

       I saw the garage door slide open as my mom hit the button on our car. She drove slowly into the garage and parked the car. I carefully pulled the handle on my car door to open it. I slid on my backpack and jumped out of the car. Then, I walked around the car to the door that led to our backyard. I pushed it open and walked outside, followed by my mom and brother. Once I was outside, I ran to the backdoor of my house and waited there until my mom came with the keys. I watched as she slid the key into the keyhole and turned. Then she turned the handle and opened up the door. My brother and I pushed our ways inside and walked up the steps leading to our kitchen. I pulled off my coat and backpack and hung them by the stairs. Then I sat at the kitchen table and got myself a snack. This is how almost everyday ended on a school day in my house.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/14/18

        I hurried past groups of kids; talking and getting ready to go into class. I rushed to the line going into science, my first block. I followed as they started making their way into Ms.Coalson’s room. I took my seat and unloaded all my things. I watched as everyone filed in, going to their seats. Once everyone was in, Ms.Coalson walked to the front of the room and started giving us directions. All we had to do was finish the project we had been working on. I was done with that, so I got some free time.  I pulled out my book and went back to reading it, which I had spent almost all of excel doing. It felt like I was only reading for about five minutes, when she called our attention again. I walked to the turn in bin to turn in my project. Once everyone got back to their seats, we started our lesson. I couldn’t wait until my next block (ELA), where I could read some more.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/13/18

       I walked into my excel, ready for the day. I carried my empty IPad bag on my shoulder and accordion, pencil case, and book in hand. I walked over to where I sit and put all my stuff down. I rested my iPad bag against the table leg and stacked my other stuff on the table. No one else was at my table yet so I pulled down all the chairs at the table. Then, I walked over to the iPad cart and took out my iPad and slid it into the case. Finally, I took a seat at my table. I opened the book I was reading and read that until breakfast was called. But, I kept reading while eating the NutriGrain bar and drinking the milk. This is how I spent the rest of excel, reading and eating. Once it was time to leave, I threw away my garbage and headed out the door to first block.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/12/18

       I turned the dial this way and that, unlocking the lock on my locker. I heard the quiet “click” and opened my locker. I took off my backpack and set it on the floor in front of my locker. Then, I unzipped my jacket and hung it on the hook in my locker. After that, I unlatched my backpack and pulled out my accordion. I held it at my side while I also pulled out my pencil case and book. I balanced those on my accordion while I set my backpack at the bottom of my locker, I put my iPad bag over my shoulder, and closed my locker. Finally, I slid my lock back onto my locker, and clicked it shut. That is when I head to my first room of the day.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/11/18

       I heard the floorboards creak as I walked to the living room. I had just finished the game of Chess with my dad and my mom and brother were playing the boardgame Allowance. They were sitting on the floor by the heater, halfway through a game. I sat next to them to watch. The board was filled with bright colors, almost neon. One at a time, they rolled the die, then moved their piece. There were huge stacks of fake money. Every turn, they either took form their pile of money, or added to it. This went on and on until my mom won. Then, I went upstairs and went to bed.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/10/18

      As our car drove,into the forest preserve, I could already see how muddy the path that we would take was. We piled out of the car and stepped onto the hard gravel. As soon as I took my first steps on the path, I knew how this walk was going to be. My shoe completely sunk into the deep mud. I took a few more steps and heard the “squish-squash”ing of my Converse shoes falling through the mud. That made me decide to walk on the side of the path, surrounded by the trees. I had to trust and turn in all directions to keep from getting poked and scratched by the thorns and branches. This was a pretty small but fun adventure for a normal Saturday.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/9/18

       I pushed open the heavy door and walked inside. I saw a bunch of kids who were also trying out for the Sound Of Music musical my school was putting on. My audition was supposed to be in five minutes, and there were about forty kids in line to go into the gym for auditions. There was a lunch table pulled in front of the Emerson gym doors. Two teachers sat there, calling people for auditions and taking their paperwork. Some of the kids in line were practicing for their auditions. Some were just talking. I took a seat next to my friend who was also trying out. We practiced our lines while waiting to be called up. 

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/8/18

        I rushed out the door, hoping not to miss the bus. I was already minutes late, and I really didn’t want to miss this bus. I could feel the air rushing past me. I was only about half way across the alley and I was already running out of breath. I could hear dogs barking and jumping up to see who was running. I ran with all my might and as I turned the corner, as the bus pulled in. I slowed my pace to a speed walk, knowing that I would be there by the time the last person got on the bus. I made it there just as they were about to leave, out of breath and tired. Since I was the last person on the bus, I had to sit in the middle, between two seats. I was tired, but at least I made the bus, and was on my way to school.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/7/18

       I sat on my couch and looked out the window to our backyard. I saw a squirrel sitting on our fence staring at me through the window. I recognized this squirrel because of its bright orange stomach. This was the squirrel that had run to our door and scratched on it until we opened and gave him some nuts and apples for days and days. As soon as I saw it, I rushed to the kitchen, cut a slice of apple and grabbed a pile of walnuts. Then, without even putting on a coat, I rushed out the door to see him sitting there, his eager eyes staring at me. He stood in his hind legs, begging for food. I kneeled next to him and gave him a walnut. He excitedly grabbed it and strated munching on it. I couldn’t believe this squirrel actually trusted us enough to let me practically feed it out of my hand. After he ate all the walnuts, I gave him the apple. This was his favorite treat. He snatched it up and ran around the corner of our deck. I rushed back in the house to get some more food for him and went back to wait for him to come back for more. A few minutes later, he rushed back up to me, almost coming into the house. I had to throw the nuts farther away so he wouldn't come into the house. I wish we could have let it in the house, but we didn’t know what it would do in there. After all, it was like we had a pet squirrel.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/6/18

       I walked to the living room to get my backpack. I looked inside it to find my I.D that I hadn’t been able to find before. I put the I.D on and brought my backpack to the kitchen. I rested it on one of our kitchen chairs while I packed it. I picked up my huge, heavy accordion folder which had all my school papers and notebooks in it. I struggled to slide it into my backpack, but once I got it in, there was a lot more space. Then, I put in my pencil case, which was full of the new colored pencils I got this weekend. Then, I carefully slid in the artwork I had been working on the night before, which was due today. The last time I did this, the artwork slid out of my backpack, and I never found it. I didn’t want that to happen to this one, so I carefully secured it in my backpack. Once I got everything in it, I  latched it, and put it on the stairs, next to my iPad bag and iPad. Finally, I put on my coat, backpack, and iPad bag. I was at last ready to leave for school.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/4/18

        I headed upstairs stop get pajamas on. My dad had just gotten a movie in the mail and he couldn’t wait for my family and I to watch it with him. Once I came back downstairs, I thought they would be all ready,  but they weren’t. My brother and my dad were having an argument about which music was the best and my mom was busy folding laundry. I headed to the back room to get the movie started. My mom had pulled out the mattress that was usually under my brothers bed so we could have more space to settle in. My dad went downstairs to finish what he was doing and my mom, brother, and I settled in to the movie. Once my dad came up, we started the movie. This was a great way to end the day.

Slice of Life Challenge 3/5/18

       I looked at all the work I still had to do on my art project as I cleared off the table to work. I piled up the dishes and all at once, dumped them into the sink with the rest of the dishes. Then, I piled up all the papers on the table, which was the majority of the things on the table. I put those on one of the table chairs and scooped up the rest of the things on the table and put them on the countertop. Then I washed off the table so, my artwork would get last nights’s dinner on it. Now, I was ready to finally get started on this drawing. I took out all my supplies, metallic colored pencils, erases, markers, paint.    I took out the first color pencil and started drawing a design. Even though I love doing art, I couldn’t wait to finish this and get on to something else.

Slice of Life Challenge-3/3/18

My brother and I walked around the corner to the toy store. My mom had sent the two of us in with our money so we would be more independent. It was afternoon and the sun was shining brightly in our faces. We walked around the store until we found the door. We opened it and I heard the little jingling noise of the bells on the door. As soon as we got in, my brother ran to the toy Lamborghini he had been waiting and waiting to get. He quickly chose the color he wanted and paid for it, before I could even start looking for what I wanted. I saw my brother go over to a stack of hand puppets and started trying them out. I walked to the lego isle to see if there was anything there I wanted. My brother was starting to get restless so I just picked out a five dollar set and told him I was ready. I paid and we started heading out the door, just as my mom came to meet us. I heard the little bells on the door jingle as we walked out to the car.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/2/18

       I sat anxiously in my chair in ELA, waiting for the end of the day, when I would see the cast list for The Sound Of Music. I remember two days before, when I had my audition for the musical.  Did I do well? Do I have a chance to get in? These questions go through my head over and over. I have a hard time to concentrate on anything else. I can almost feel the butterflies in my stomach. I look around and see my classmates writing their Slice of Life. I look around the room, trying to get my mind off the musical and cast list. I see all the signs and books in the room, which I had seen hundreds of times. I think of all the work that is due today, and how I need to get started. For now, my mind was off the musical. But, I still couldn’t wait until the end of the school day.

Slice of Life Challenge- 3/1/18

        I heard the clip, clop of the rain falling on our roof as I walked down the back steps to our door. I couldn’t find an umbrella so I would have to run as fast as I could to get to the garage and open the door. I looked to the side of me and saw my friend who we were driving to school today. On the count of three, we ran out. As I ran, I could feel the rain hitting my head and running down my back. My glasses were all fogged up and I could barely see a thing. We ran and ran and what was probably 30 seconds, felt like an hour. As soon as we reached the garage door, I pulled out the key and started trying to unlock it. It unlocked right away and we jumped into the garage, thankful for the nice, dry space. I hit the two buttons to make the trunk and the doors open. We got in the car and relaxed for a few minutes while waiting for my mom and brother to meet us. At least we were dry for now, until we got out to go in the school.