The Kindness Project

Laney, all of our friends, and I, recently started yet another project at school, entitled....
(unveils awesome logo)

The Kindness Project.
The whole idea of this is to spread joy and happiness throughout the school- but in secret. We all write down quotes/proverbs ("A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step"), compliments, ("Nice shirt!"), ideas ("Show kindness to a stranger today"), and our own wacky takes on life ("Life is a theme park, you have to figure out which rides are good and which ones are going to make you barf."-CJ). Then, we hide them in lockers, in between the pages of books, on shelves, near water fountains, next to chip bags in the cafeteria, ANYWHERE that we know someone is going to look. It's so fun to hide these and then look 10 minutes later to find them gone. We saw a group of people passing one from table to table during lunch, and later on, we found a boy reading one who was grinning from ear to ear! This is really amazing, and I hope it keeps up!

Blog ya later,
CJ

Can I Have Some Ketchup, Please?

I have not posted here for a really, really long time, so it's time for a..... Ketchup Post! I haven't been posting because of (duh duh duh...) BOOK REPORTS! (Enter Toccata in Fugue and lightning streaks....) OK, it wasn't that bad. So, here's the recap, starting with our trip to Maryland.....

Before we left Maryland, Cousin Studios got a great new section of movies: Webcam! Our cousins have an awesome webcam with all these cool effects like avatars, snow, and the ability to draw on videos. We started a new movie series called The M Show where we disscuss the arts, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, balloon fights, and mysterious indoor blizzards. (Don't ask.) Plus, when we were about to leave, I got loaned Mario Kart! Only the most awesome video game ever! Then we drove home and school started up again......

Although we were pressured with 9 Weeks Tests, quizzes, Book Reports, reading logs, and more, we still found time to start new fads. Eraser City and The Lays Boycott Club died down (stay tuned for the rest of the story!), and in their place sprang up....

The JBBC (Justin Bieber Boycott Club). We all hated this music "star" so much that we decided to boycott him! In between talking about his awfulness, we make up song parodies about him (Justin Bieber has rabies, rabies, rabies, OH!).

Paper Skateboarding. Laney's friend K loves real skateboarding, but after playing with a Post-It in math class, he got an idea to make paper skateboards. We fold Post-Its, draw cool designs on them, and then use everyday objects as half pipes, railings, and obstacle courses. K even has a popular bartering business where he trades skateboards for Mentos, and he is thinking about selling skateboards through the school store.

Flipbooks. Yet another fad involving Post-Its, flipbook making has become an art. It all started with K's friend D, the Post-It guru, and began circling its way around other GT classmates. I have made several, including ones about a marathoner, people crushing Lays bags, and archery practice.

Comics. I wrote a graphic novel about the Lays Boycott Club (the sequel is coming soon!), and this fad was born! Before long, there were comics about everything, from erasers to a typical day at middle school.


Then, there was the GA fundraiser. At the end of the month, I had 7 duckies (not counting the X-Ray duck I lost) and 11 subscriptions- enough to go to the Mega Party and get VIP status! Thank you Mom and Dad for doing Christmas shopping to help our school! Everybody claimed it was a ripoff- but they were wrong. There were 6 inflatables, including an obstacle course, jousting ring, giant-scale game involving a wrecking ball(again,don't ask), and the "sticky wall." Not to mention soda and the opportunity for VIPs to beat the crowds and arrive 25 MINUTES EARLY! WOO WOO!

Also, some good news... I'm going to a forensics competition! I am in the category Serious Poetry and I am  looking forward to competing.

So, that concludes yet another..... Ketchup Post!

Blog Ya Later!

P.S. Thank you, Laney, for spreading the word and getting your friends to read. It was getting quiet around here!

Chips That Cheat: The Story of The Lays Boycott Club

Picture this. Your table has been called to get in the lunch line, and after purchasing your meal, your eyes dart toward the chip section. Which yummy Baked Lays snack will it be today? The salty spiced BBQ chips that take you back to grilling season? The Sour Cream and Onion chips with their mouthwatering powder that makes you lick your fingers? The Original flavored chips we all know and love? Or will you settle for a bag of Doritos or Cheetos? You select a tempting bag of BBQ, pay for it, and run the 10 yard dash back to your table. Later, after a disgusting delicious school lunch, you open your barbecue chips, looking forward to another snack of paradise.......

.....and let out a piercing scream.

Why? Because you've been ripped off. There are only about 8 or 9 large chips in the bag. Oh, who will save you from snack sorrows?

And, with an incident like this, the Lays Boycott Club was born (only in this case, Laney, a future blogger, bought BBQ and Vicky, blogger for Vicky's Fun Times, got Original). Everybody agreed to start the protest with a letter to Frito-Lay. But wait! What was their address? Luckily, I found it at the bottom of the package.
One "B Day" and afternoon later- TA-DA! The letter was complete-and typed! Here is the final draft:

September 15, 2010

Dear Frito-Lay,

We could be sending you this letter for many different reasons. We could be complimenting you on your perfectly salted chips. We could be marveling at your commercials. But, unfortunately, this is not a happy letter. This is a letter of complaint.

On the thirteenth of September, some members of our organization opened bags of your chips and gasped in horror. There were only a few large chips in the bag, and everything else was just air. The customers were very unsatisfied. “These chips are a rip-off!” declared Vicky, and everyone agreed. You have a product that tastes good, so can’t you put more of it in the bag and let consumers get their money’s worth of the product?

So basically, it all boils down to this. Make some improvements to your chips, or we will start a boycott and never eat Lays chips again.

Sincerely,

            The Lays Boycott Club

            “Sending letters to Lays so they change their ways”

Pretty impressive for a couple of kids, huh? There were plenty of other plans besides the letter, though. K wanted to set up a Facebook page. I was planning to write about it here. (And here I am now!!) Laney and Vicky decided to make signs and buttons. 

But would it all work?

To Be Continued....

           

Eraser Explosion!

It's Life Science. Everyone is busy working on boring worksheets about lab equipment- that is, except one boy. This boy is the only one left standing after a horrific brainwash of science materials. He starts picking at the pink eraser on his pencil. He picks at it harder. It finally breaks and falls onto the floor. The boy doesn't notice. That's unusual, he thinks, suddenly wondering about the hole at the top of his Dixon pencil. How did it fall off?......

Enter Eraser City.

Because of several incidents such as the one described above(that did not actually happen from what I've seen, but it could), the population in Eraser City has suddenly increased. Between today, yesterday, and the day before, 11 new residents moved into the counties.

Here they are!

Suzuki. Suzuki got her name from a Japanese motor company. She is from Japanese descent. She loves sushi and lives next to Jean-Claude in International County. Because Suzuki was created on an eraser-plus the metal part- broken from a pencil, she gets to wear shimmery "clothes" every day. Suzuki was created by me.

Jean-Claude. Jean- Claude is a French eraser. He was created by me on a strange rubber part found under a desk that appears to be an eraser. There are rumors that Jean-Claude is opening a baguette shop in the new county, CJ County. As you know from the paragraph above, Jean-Claude lives between Suzuki and Luigi. He has a record amongst his neighbors for Biggest Mustache.

Sunshine. Sunshine is an extremely happy eraser. She lives in CJ County and is Sweet Rose's sister. (Their personalities give it away.) Sunshine, just like her name says, is always smiling like the sun and will cheer you up if you're down. She was created by me on a regular orange eraser. Sunshine is also another *tattooed resident, hers is the sun.

Lila Lemon. Lila Lemon is a regular yellow eraser created by me. She carries out a dramatic life in CJ County with her neighbors. She loves acting and started a petition to build the CJ County Playhouse. (Play house, not Playhouse.... you get the point.)  Although her last name is Lemon, Lila Lemon is always in the limelight-that is, when she's not sharing it with her eraser pals!

Shimmer. Shimmer is a yellow sparkly pencil grip with a face scribbled on who was created by Laney. She is another cousin of Sweet Rose. Her house is located in another new county, Laney County. Some of Shimmer's best talents include whipping up tasty smoothies and playing the piano. She owns Shimmer's Smoothies on an intersection in Laney County.

Tic Tac. Tic Tac is a red eraser broken from a pencil made by Laney and me. He got his name because we thought we had found an eraser on the floor, but it was a REAL Tic Tac! Tic Tac says if he had a flavor, it would be cherry. He lives in CJ County with Sunshine, Lila Lemon,Super Small Seth, and Waffle Willie.

Waffle Willie. Waffle Willie was named by K and created by me on a broken green regular eraser. He has curly hair and lives in CJ County. Waffle Willie became Cranky Christopher's friend because of their love for waffles. He owns a new restaurant (Wondrous Waffles) in CJ County as well. Waffle Willie even has a waffle tattoo! It says, in rebus form, "I Love Waffles."

Snowy. Snowy is one of Frosty Phillip's cousins. He was created by me on a white eraser broken from a pencil. Snowy lives very close to Frosty Phillip's Island on a nearby island called Freezing Warm Island, which is half cold and half hot. He is a champion at making snow angels.

The Guardian Angel. The Guardian Angel was given to me from Laney as a present. In reality, she serves as a paper clip holder. She lives in CJ County and creates happiness for all the erasers. The Guardian Angel's house is surrounded by a river and a garden and is in the center of the county.

Princess Pink. Princess Pink is Sweet Rose's cousin. She was created by me on a broken pink regular eraser. Princess Pink enjoys researching medieval times and playing dress up. She lives in the old castle in Laney County. Princess Pink, like her other cousins, shows excellent kindness and manners!

Super Small Seth. Super Small Seth is a distant cousin of Tiny Tim and Miniscule Millie. Like his cousins, he was created on a tiny scrap of a red eraser broken from a pencil. He lives in CJ County and loves music and art. The three of them even have their own song!

Stay tuned for more eraser madness.... BLOG YA LATER!

Next Time, On Claire's Creative Days... The true story of the Lays Boycott Club! The first eraser heritage chart! Plus, popular dance moves at the school dance! All this and more on the next blog posts...

*If you are a parent and have been reading about the tattoos (my mom was), THEY ARE FAKE! They are just washable. :):)=)

Intresting Islands and Honey Badger Madness

Eraser City, as you may know, has two major islands outside the mainland. I have never gone into them in depth, so here goes....

Badger Island is the perfect getaway when searching for a warm, sunny spot to live out your vacation dreams. There are bamboo cabins, a smoothie and souvenir shack, and awesome party spaces on the docks! If you like studying the science of the ocean rather than surfing in it, there is an observation deck, underwater museum, and a field full of honey badgers to study. Unfortunately, as convicts leaving the jail in Chaotic County using the secret passage found out, there's an underwater prison, too. Spy Bob often heads here for relaxation after chasing down erasers who rap about anchovies (hint, hint).
Frosty Phillip's Island is where you should go if you're searching for something that is the exact opposite of Badger Island! It is FREEZING and snows every day year round. The population is ten: erasers one, polar bears nine. That doesn't mean you can't have fun, though! Frosty Phillip is happy to let tourists into his home to hold sledding contests, make snowmen, and buy snow globes. If you want to buy hot chocolate and other groceries or chow down on a lemon-lime icee, make sure to check the convenience store and slushie shack. If your feet are sinking in snow, you can get snowshoes for free at the local shop. And if you just want to get out before you become an ice cube, stop by Freezin' Flights Travel Agency!

Each island also has mini islands. Badger Island has Little Badger Island and Mini Badger Island, and Frosty Phillip's Island has The Island Of The Wild Polar Bears.

Now......on to the honey badgers.

When Eraser City was still springing up, all of the buildings were being named after stuff Laney, K, and I were obsessed with. Laney and I are crazy about zebras, and K loves honey badgers. It's very random, but what can I say, he loves honey badgers! If you counted how many things in Eraser City were named after honey badgers, you'd be surprised....
*The Honey Badger Blast at the amusement park.
*Honey Island at the water park.
*Badger Island.
*Honey Badger resturant.
*The Honey Badger Hotel.
*Annnnnd....there was that dance Laney and I made up about Lays bags, zebras, and slow dancing that had honey badgers in it........
So, in other words, a lot, not counting the stuff I missed! I guess this is going to be another one of our quirks this year.

BLOG YA LATER!

Next Time, On Claire's Creative Days....Jean-Claude moves to International County! Reasons why Keyboarding should be illegal! Plus, the story of the Lays Boycott Club! All this and more in the next few posts....

Eraser City Goes Global

If you read the breaking news at the bottom of the post about ducks, limo rides, and subscriptions, you may know that this post is about Eraser City going global, which is exactly what has happened thanks to International County. International County hosts a variety of cultural eateries (including another restaurant by Cranky Christopher: IHOW! The International House of Waffles), the library, the My Little Pony Song Writing Headquarters (Don't ask), the Zebra Peace Gardens, and two new residents from around the world. Introducing......

Josephina Paper. Josephina is Mexican and is (gasp) not actually an eraser. Because we were having an eraser shortage, we drew her face on a scrap of notebook paper. Josephina was created by me and is bilingual. She loves tacos and will probably become friends with Hot Tamale after meeting him. (They are both big taco lovers!)

Luigi. Luigi is not a Mario character in this case, but a white eraser (again) broken from a pencil created by me. He loves Italy so much that he got a tattoo of the Italian flag on his back! A big pizza lover, Luigi lives two houses down from Josephina. The house in the middle is for my duck. (Yes, I made my GA duck a house in Eraser City!)

I promised Mom that I'd play Othello after snack. So until next time.... Blog ya later!

P.S. Breaking Eraser News! Learn about the chain of islands and their islands! Find out some weird facts about the importance of badgers in the eraser world! All this and more in the next blog post....

Subscriptions and DUCKS!

So, here I am in History, about to go to some assembly about a magazine subscription sale our school does for fundraising, sponsored by Great American Opportunities. I'm thinking....Yawn.

That is, until I actually got there!

When I did, they were playing Hey Soul Sister (catchy!!). And that was just the beginning! Apparently, now by doing magazine sales, we can help out our school and do fun things, too. The more magazines we sell, the more cool prizes we can win, including....
*An inflatables party in our gym!
* A stretch limo ride to Cici's.(drool...pizza with meatless sauce....unlike the cafeteria....)
* A speaker that lets us play our Mp3 music out loud. (Handy when watching Chopped with cousins!)
*.....and last, but certainly not least.....

DUCKS!!!!!

The mailman duck I won already for turning in some letters for relatives about our sale. He came with a bag of Warheads so I could "feed" him. Most of them ended up in my stomach, though. When I make my first sale on GA's (Great American's) website, then I'll win the duck with the laptop. There are a few other ducks up for grabs, but I couldn't find images for them. Boo hoo. :(

I'll post more about the sale in the future, but for now, I have to say....Blog Ya Later!

P.S. ERASER NEWS FLASH! Eraser City goes global! Meet Josefina and Luigi! All this and more in the next blog post....

The New Residents

Sorry about all the eraser bios, it's just that I have big news, which I am talking about in this post. Eraser City is BOOMING and is now divided up into (so far) 2 counties:

Chaotic County is very large and busy. There are lots of schools, homes, and businesses, including the Lays Boycott Organization! (To be explained in another post....) Zeke\Zoey, Hot Tamale, Minuscule Millie, Tiny Tim, and Spy Bob all live here.
Calm County is used for fun and recreation. There is a water park and amusement park, arcade, dollar store, shark infested pond(or at least that's what the rumors say..), and candy store here. There was only one resident here- Candy Cathy, owner of the candy store on C Crossing-except she hadn't moved in yet, so the place was as good as empty.

That is, until enough erasers arrived that we had to create a new subdivision! Introducing.....

Cranky Christopher. Cranky Christopher was created by L\Laney on a red eraser. As his name suggests, he has a very negative outlook on life. He owns the restaurant Cranky Cooks on C Crossing. Hardheaded as he is, Cranky Christopher has one weakness.....waffles...

Mrs.Plaid. Mrs.Plaid was created by me on a pink eraser. She is an elderly eraser who wears plaid every day. Her house is in Criss Cross Forest, right next to Plaid Creek. Even though she lives alone, Mrs.Plaid's friends stop by every day. She was inspired by L\Laney's love for all things plaid.

Sweet Rose. Sweet Rose was created by me on the back of another pink eraser- this one the color of a rose, unlike Mrs.Plaid's hot pink. Unlike Cranky Christopher, Sweet Rose is always very cheerful and excited about the world around her. Ironically, the two of them are next door neighbors! They have personality clashes most  of the time.

Well, I have to go fry some bacon(that's dinner at our house!), file some papers, and practice for Keyboarding (ew....) but I'll be back soon. Blog Ya Later and Happy 102nd Post!

Meet Hot Tamale!

You heard right, folks! Hot Tamale mysteriously turned up claiming to be Frosty Phillip's long lost cousin. He is bright red and was drawn on the back of another eraser broken from a pencil. Created by L\Laney, Hot Tamale lives in a house by the airport so he can visit his cousin. He loves Mexican food! Hot Tamale also revealed that Frosty Phillip lives on a remote snowy island north of Badger Island (population 10). Now his friends can visit- after buying snowshoes.:):)

Oh yeah, and thanks to L\Laney for posting a comment! It was getting lonely around here.
Blog ya later!

Eraser Invasion!

6th grade not only brings new friends(like L, who may be reading my blog. Hi!), more homework (groan), and another year of Destination Imagination (YESSSSS! *dances around the room in sheer joy**dreams about challenge*), but certain "fads from the past". Such as eraser buddies.

Introducing our new erasers!

Zeke and Zoey Zebra. These two were created on opposite sides of a Pink Pearl eraser by me and are brother and sister. They were inspired by L's love for zebras. As you can probably tell by their last name, Zeke and Zoey love zebras, too. They wear stripey clothing, own a house called "Zebra Mansion" and teach at the Zebra School in Eraser City. Zeke and Zoey love rapping and often get arrested for singing about anchovies and disturbing the peace. (????)

Spy Bob. Spy Bob was made by L's friend K. He was drawn on the eraser at the top of a pen cap (K has an erasable pen!) and patrols the city, often arresting Zeke and Zoey for anchovy related crimes. Spy Bob owns several buildings in Eraser City, including his house, the air base, and "Area 51." He likes flying over to Badger Island (K likes honey badgers) and renting a hut for vacationing.

Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim is tiny. He was made by L out of a broken eraser from a pencil. He loves hanging out around his tiny house and visiting Badger Island's underwater aquarium. Tiny Tim has a sister named Miniscule Millie and is friends with Zeke and Zoey.

Frosty Phillip. Also created by L, Frosty Phillip doesn't live in Eraser City. He lives in an igloo in the middle of nowhere, complete with a garden of icicles and sled slopes, snowglobe rooms, and Christmas rooms! His friends have not visited yet....it's very cold up there.....

I will be updating on the chaos of middle school soon (if I can survive Keyboarding first....). So, BLOG YA LATER!

The Fads Return

Ah, 5th grade is here and everybody is trying to make the most of it with some FADS! Here are some of the clubs, media, fake products, etc. so far...

1. Paper Punch World. Paper Punch World was a land of notebook paper folded shops, where paper punched people, animals, and food lived. There were tourist signs that decked our desks, encouraging kids classwide to be creative!
2. Eraser Hotels. It has become a very popular trend in Mrs. C's class for kids to organize their desks and decorate them with beads, posters, bottle caps, and paper accessories so they look like hotels. And on Fridays, if your erasers are taking up space in your desk, you can send them to these hotels for a weekend stay and they'll get returned on Monday!
3. Magical Llama Beans. This product was fake, but it raised a lot of attention! Two girls made up a fake product that turned you into a llama, and before long, the class went crazy! A few kids made up their own products, like Taco Balls and Magic Fries.
4. The Secret Spy Society. My friends Soso, J, and I made a club that took place at the top of the playground slide, where we watched the happenings of recess. If there was too much gossip or a dodge ball fight, the Secret Spies would investigate!
5. The Playground Olympics. During the last week of September, lots of kids got together to sign up for unique, crazy, invented sports contests. If you didn't want to play sports, you could always broadcast the game!
6. The Home Run Derby. We have invented a new sport. It's kind of like a home run derby. L and C shag balls, E and S pitch, S also catches, and I keep score!
7. The C Chronicle. Our class started a student- run class newspaper. Anyone can drop an article in the box hanging from my desk as long as it's appropriate. So far we have an advice column, games, sports, class news, comics, Soso's Local column, and just plain stories! I can't wait for it to come out!
So anyways,
(in newspaper font...)
Blog Ya Later!

I Love To Paper Punch

Lately, I've been doing a fun craft- paper punching! I paper punch animals, food, and other things and add them to the growing city on my group's desk at school.
I sit at a table at school with 4 other nice girls. Together we have constructed a place called Paper Punch World. Here are all the cool features:
1. An announcement board.
2. The sidewalk.
3. SC's Pets. This is a store that sells paper punch animals.
4. LF's Food Store. A food store that we're still making food for!
5. The Jackpot Toy Store. This store sells paper punch animals, toys, and food.
6. The Eraser Hotel. A bed and breakfast inn you can send your erasers to. It features tables made from bottle caps, beds made from erasers, and hippie posters hanging from the wall...
7. The Tourist Center. Still under construction....
8. The Recycling Bin! When we have old math worksheets, old spelling papers, etc. we put them in the Ziploc bag hanging from SW's desk and they later get used as building materials. This feature makes our little world 100% GREEN!
Got any other ideas?

Class Fads

I love school, so I was really sad when summer came. Even though I am having fun, I can't wait to be back in a classroom again!! One of my favorite things that I like to do to help me remember my class is to pull out all the homeade magazines we made. Fourth grade was a creative year with all the fads, buisnesses, media, and clubs there were! Here's a list of some of my favorites:

Recently. Recently was a magazine I started. Some of the topics it covered were interviews, games, class news, fake elections, stories, poetry, and sports.
Kid94. Started by a group of classmates, this pretend radio station interviewed people, shared news, played music, and made up hilarious commercials!
Deskworld. A friend and I started this fun buisness. It sold fun desk toys, such as Desk Buddies and Desk Scrolls. Due to its lack of customers, it eventually closed.
Chalkworld. A group of friends and I were drawing our dream rooms on the sidewalk. This sidewalk of rooms soon had a greenhouse, a public graffiti board, shops, police, court, and a constitution. Chalkworld was born.
The Apples to Apples Club. Do you like playing Apples to Apples? I do! My classmates did, too. We played Apples to Apples together every chance we got!
Poster Boards. A lot of girls and I hung personalized posters and graffiti boards from our desks. Our desks looked awesome with all the decorations we hung from them!

Who ever knew that our class was so creative?