Planning a Wedding

Planning a Wedding

While getting engaged and planning a wedding is lots of fun, it is also very stressful. I began planning my wedding in January 2015 and got married in July 2016. It was 18 months of decision making... Something I am not very good at doing. The planning started with trying to figure out the season that we wanted to get married. While we both love the fall, being a teacher made it a bit difficult, so we decided that the summer would be the best time. Once we made that decision we had to find a venue. Having two large families, we needed to find a place that would hold up to 300 people! After many weekends of exploration, we found our place. Once that decision was made, I (being the bride) had to choose a theme. Did I want bright colors? Did I want bold colors? Did I want pastels? This was just the beginning. Well, after much thought went into it, I decided on blush pink and gold. This decision led to bridesmaid dresses, decorations, invitations, seating charts, favors, and the list goes on and on. Once we picked our setting and figured out our theme, we needed to search for vendors. We researched DJ companies, photographers, videographers, limousine companies, florists, places for invitations, etc. After many months of planning and decision-making, I can honestly say, it was all worth it. Our wedding day was better than I ever imagined!

 

Vocabulary:

• venue - the place where an event is held
• exploration - the act of looking into something
• pastel - a soft color
• bridesmaid - a female that is part of a wedding party
• setting - time and place of an event
• vendor - a person or place that sells a specific product or service
• research - to look into the facts about something

Exercise: Complete the word search by finding the vocabulary words.

Grammar Point: Different types of sentences include: statements, commands, interrogative sentences and exclamatory sentences. Statements and commands both require a period (.) at the end of the sentence. This is the most commonly used end mark. Interrogative sentences are questions and require a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence. Exclamatory sentences are sentences that show emotion and require an exclamation mark (!) at the end of the sentence.

Activity: Write 4 statements or commands, 4 interrogative sentences, and 4 exclamatory sentences.

Dinner Time

Dinner Time

Going out to dinner is something my husband and I like to do on Saturday nights because it is something to look forward to after a long week of work and running around. Since we are not the only ones that feel this way, it leaves many restaurants packed on Saturday nights. If we don't feel like waiting we will have to make a reservation. Our favorite restaurant is Ragazzi in Smithtown. This Italian restaurant has so many options that even a picky eater would find something. The ambiance is great and the service is impeccable. Whenever we have out of town guests, this is where we take them. Everyone that we have taken so far seems to love it, and we highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't gone... We are confident that you will be delighted.

 Vocabulary:

• reservation -  saving a specific time so that you don't have to wait
• picky eater - someone who doesn't like to try new food
• ambiance - atmosphere, decorations
• impeccable - perfect
• recommend - to advise or suggest
• confident - having strong belief
• delighted - highly pleased

Exercise:

Write a sentence for each new vocabulary word.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Grammar Point: Nouns are words that identify a person, place, animal, thing, or idea. 

Activity:

See how many nouns you can find in this passage. Write a short composition and underline all of the nouns.

Having a Pet

Having a Pet

Having a pet is one of the greatest decisions my family has ever made, even though it took many years. My brother and I were trying to persuade my parents into getting us a puppy for the longest time. Any time we were at our friends or cousins houses, we would play with their dogs and try to convince our parents that we should get one. My parents would always tell us that dogs are a lot of work because you have to make sure you are home often to walk them, feed them, and give them attention. Well, after many years of begging, we were finally able to convince them to get us a dog. We used the same breeder that my aunts and uncles use whenever they get a dog, which is located in Ohio. Baci was purchased through Facetime and pictures in February of 2012 and we picked him up at the Delta terminal in Laguardia Airport. We immediately fell in love with Baci and from that day on he has been part of our family. Baci is a maltipoo (maltese/poodle) and he is a fluffy, ten pound, energetic dog that loves to be the center of attention. 

 

Vocabulary:

decision - making a choice

persuade - to try to make someone feel the same way as you by giving reasons

convince -  to give reasons why you believe in something

begging - to ask over and over again

breeder - a person who raises animals of a specific type

Facetime -  a way to see something through a live video on a cell phone

Activity:

Complete the word search by finding each of the vocabulary words. 

    

Grammar Point: In the passage, you see two words that have a similar meaning: persuade and convince. These words are called synonyms. Synonyms are two words that have the same or similar meaning. Another example would be big and large.

Activity:

Match the synonyms.

big               happy

glad             large

little             silent

sick              small

quiet            ill

leap             save

start             jump

mad             begin

same            angry

keep            alike

Cooking

Cooking

One of my favorite hobbies is watching cooking shows and learning new recipes. While a busy schedule makes it hard to find time to make an elaborate meal every night, I do so whenever I can. There are many steps to following a recipe. The first thing that I will do is either find a recipe online, look through a cooking magazine, or watch how to make something on a cooking show.  Then, I will write down all of the ingredients that I will need and the instructions of how to cook the meal. After that, I will head to the grocery store to get what I need. Next, I will take out all of my ingredients and put them on the counter in my kitchen. I will read the recipe and figure out what I need to do. After I look at all of my steps, I will make the meal. Finally, I will taste what I have made. If I enjoy it, I will add it to my recipe book to make it again. If not, I will toss it in the garbage and find something new to try.

Vocabulary:

• hobby - an activity or interest
• elaborate - with a lot of detail
• recipe - a list of instructions to make something
• ingredient - something used to put in a mixture
• instruction - tells you what to do

Exercise:

Complete the word jumble by using the vocabulary words and definitions.

1. pereic _________

2. byboh _________

3. tnucoirtnis ______________

4. eebrlatoa _____________

5. dnetgineri ____________

Grammar Point: Future tense 

My passage is written in the future tense. The future tense is a verb form that generally marks the event described by the verb that is expected to happen in the future.

For example, I did not make this recipe yet so I wrote: I will write, I will head,  I will read, etc. 

  

Activity: Write a 3 paragraph composition in the future tense. Write about something that you will be doing over the winter break. 

 

Dance Team

Dance Team

Once you get to Middle School, you will have the opportunity to try out for many different sports teams. One of the teams that you will be able to try out for is the dance team. If you enjoy dancing or you are interested in learning something new, you should think about the dance team. While the dance team is a lot of fun, it is also a huge commitment. The dance team is different than many other teams that you can try out for.

Many sports are considered seasonal, and usually only last for one season of the school year. Unlike many sports, the dance team is almost a full year-long commitment. The try out for the dance team will take place in June for the following school year. Once the team is picked in June, they will begin to practice so that the coach can see the members' ability levels. Over the summer, the team will attend sleep away camp where they will learn three routines. One of the routines is used as a football season and homecoming routine. After camp is over, the team will practice two nights a week over the summer, moving to three days a week once the school year starts. Starting in September, they will be ready to perform at all home football games, including the Varsity homecoming half time show. While in football season (September - November), the team is learning their three different competition routines. Once football season ends in November, the competition teams are ready to perform their competition routines for basketball season (December-February). While dancing at basketball games, they are using this time to practice for competitions. The team will attend eight local competitions on Long Island. Competition season is from January-March. The team will have their final team dinner in April, where we recap their journey and look at how far they have come.

While it seems like practicing and performing takes up a lot of time, from the month that the team is picked until January, the team is doing fundraisers. These fundraisers help purchase costumes, music, choreographers, competition and bus fees. The members must make a commitment to take part in all fundraisers in order to receive team funding.

While the dance team is a whole year of fun activities and performances, it requires hard work and dedication if you want to do well. Once you exit middle school, the Varsity Dance Team will be waiting for you at the high school!

Vocabulary:
try out - an interview to see someone's skills.
commitment - being dedicated and responsible to take on a role
seasonal - a short period of time
competition - a contest
recap - look at the entire year from beginning to end
fundraisers - helps the team make money
choreographers - people who teach a dance/routine

Vocabulary Exercise: Put each vocabulary word in a sentence. 
 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. 

Grammar Point: Parenthesis (...)
Parenthesis are used when a word or sentence is inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage. Parenthesis are not necessary because the sentence is complete without it.

Example from passage: While in football season (September - November), the team is learning their three different competition routines.

The parenthesis are used to give an explanation of when football season takes place.

Activity: Write a paragraph about a sport or activity that you enjoy watching or participating in. Use parenthesis at least three times in your paragraph.

Winter Time Fun

Winter

Living in New York, there are four seasons that we go through each year. The four seasons are Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The winter season in New York is from December 21 through March 21. While it is very cold in the winter, there are still many things that we can do to keep busy. 

If you are not a fan of cold weather and the outdoors, you might want to look into something that you can do inside. One trip that you might want to take in the winter is to an art museum. One of New York City's largest and most visited attractions is The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This would be a great day trip to take with your family when it is too cold to be outside. If you are interested in spending the day indoors and enjoy being entertained by a show, going to see a Broadway Show is a great idea! There are so many different shows playing that you will be sure to find one that interests you.

If you love the outdoors, even in the cold weather, you may want to go ice skating! The Rink at Rockefeller Center is a landmark in the big city. This would be a great place for you to go to have fun with friends and family. It is so popular with tourists that you should probably expect a wait. If it is snowing outside or there was a big snow storm, you might want to go sledding. New York City is a relatively flat city, but you can find a great sledding opportunity at Pilgrim Hill, near Central Park. 

Vocabulary:

seasons - a period of the year that is characterized by different weather conditions

museum - a place where works of art are kept and displayed for people to see

day trip - to travel for the day but go back home at night

Broadway Show - a play/theatrical performance

landmark - a famous location that everyone knows about

tourists - a person who is traveling

sledding -  sliding down a hill that is covered in snow

Fill in the blank:

1. I bought tickets to see a  _________ titled, "Grease."

2. My family is going to take a __________ to an amusement park.

3. My favorite _________ is summer.
4. Would you like to go __________ down the big hill by the school?
5. There are so many __________ that visit New York City.
6. The Empire State Building is a ___________.
7. I enjoy art work so I would like to visit a ________ one day.

Grammar Point:
While you were reading, I am sure you noticed that this blog consisted of many nouns. A noun is a word that is used to identify people, places or things. A noun can also be a proper noun which means that it is naming a particular noun. Example of a proper noun: Empire State Building

Activity: Write a short paragraph about what you would like to do in New York City, this winter. Underline all of the nouns in your paragraph. If it is a proper noun, identify it by writing "proper noun."

Swimming with Dolphins

This past summer was by far the best one yet. I have experienced many celebrations in my twenty-four years of life, but never have I experienced one quite like this. On July 29, 2016, I became a Mrs! Our wedding day was everything that I ever dreamt it would be, and more. From start to finish everything was perfect and I would relive it one million more times if I could. While our wedding day was the best day of my life thus far, I experienced something absolutely amazing just a few days later.

My husband and I left for our honeymoon just two days after our wedding. We set sail onto a cruise ship where we left from Miami, Florida, and traveled to the Western and Southern Caribbean. We docked in Honduras on our fourth day, where we had an excursion planned. We took our vouchers and walked off the ship to look for the sign that said, “Swim with the Dolphins!” Once we located it, we stood on line and waited for our tour guide to shuttle us to our location. As we pulled into St. Nick’s Resort, I immediately thought this was the best experience of my life. Looking out into the ocean I saw a designated area for swimming with the dolphins, where there were tons of dolphins swimming around and jumping out of the water. We took a mini boat to the designated area, where my experience began.

The excursion began with a trainer explaining to us what we were going to do. Once we got into the water, it was something I have never experienced. We had dolphins swimming all around us for about an hour. The trainer had the dolphin, Tilly, do some tricks, make some noises and swim right next to us. We were able to pet Tilly as she swam next to us and the trainer was constantly feeding Tilly as she was showing off for us. At one point, the trainer fed Tilly, but gave her a command not to eat the fish. He explained that Tilly would come over to one person, and that he/she would take the fish out of Tilly’s mouth and throw it to her to catch. Once he gave Tilly the command, she came right to me! I was so excited that I was able to experience this. Tilly swam up to me and opened her mouth wide. I took the fish out of her mouth and tossed it in the air. Tilly lifted her head and caught the fish right in front of me. It was one of the coolest experiences, ever. We were then able to touch Tilly’s teeth and swim with her! After sixty minutes of fun and laughter, we were headed back to the resort, where we purchased tons of pictures of us with Tilly. I am so glad that I bought these pictures because it allows me to look back and remember this amazing experience that I had on my honeymoon.

Vocabulary

• Summer - the season during the months of June, July and August
• Honeymoon - a first vacation you take as husband & wife after you get married
• Excursion - a short trip or outing
• Voucher - a piece of paper to show that you paid for something
• Dolphin - a mammal that lives in the ocean
• Trainer - a person who teaches

Fill in the correct word.

1. The man collected our ___________ before letting us get on the bus.

2. My favorite season is ________ because it is hot outside.

3. The __________ works with the dolphin to teach him new tricks.

4. We went on a fun _________ while we were on vacation.

5. We left for our __________ the day after our wedding. 

6. We swam with a ______________ named Tilly.
Adjectives - words that describe other words to make your writing more specific. Using adjectives helps a reader or listener imagine what you are speaking about.
Activity: Make a poster and put a family member or friend in the center. Surround that person with adjectives to describe him/her.