"Hi, I'm Sahara! Yes, like the desert..."

This weekend my sister found out she is having another daughter (yay!). Maybe I should suggest the name Sahara...

When we first started reading Sahara Special I didn't quite know what to expect. I suppose that's how it goes with most books you read out loud in a classroom - you put your full faith and hope in the teacher and her book choices. Thankfully, this is quality.

I like the basic idea to the story - Sahara is "special needs," but we hear the story from her point of view. I love Sahara's voice. She is an interesting girl filled with attitude living her life.

To begin, I can relate to this story because I am SURE Sahara has heard many jokes about her name. Do you know how many times people have asked me if I'm "Reel"?

More seriously, Sahara wants to be a writer and doesn't understand everything that has happened in her life (Why did her dad leave? Why does she have to sit in the hallway with the special needs teacher?). I can relate to that sentence. As has been mentioned probably too many times in the blog already, I have always found interest in writing. Also, probably like everyone else in this world, I don't understand everything that has happened to me in my life.

I am predicting that Sahara makes friends with the girl from the library, and maybe her writings in the library are discovered. Although, I'm not going to lie, I would be disappointed if her secret notebook was revealed to the rest of the world - I like the idea that it doesn't come out until she is in college or older. I also fear that the story with "Peaches" may not be over - I don't know if Sahara will be put back in the program or if there will be some other sort of encounter, but I think there is more to come.

I'm looking forward to reading more in the story. =)

I really can't think of a create title...

Yes, I will go ahead and say that I was honestly surprised that there were six language arts. I understand that arts has an "s" at the end and all, but I always considered language arts to be one subject. The fact that this subject contained six whole parts shocked me. I suppose if I had really sat down and thought about it (because apparently it's harder to think while standing) I would have come to the conclusion that there were many parts to my language arts classes, but that never happened and I was surprised.

Now that I'm over the shock of the separate categories of language arts, I will say that viewing and visually representing are different, but important parts of language arts. What people have been saying is true - the times are changing and technology is increasingly becoming more important in our society. If language arts is defined by the study of modes of language, it is essential to place visual representation and viewing in this list. I actually just realized - what am I doing right now? I am using technology to visual represent my thoughts on language arts. Right now you are viewing and reading my visual representation of language arts. That may be a little complicated. The point I'm trying to make is that visual representation and viewing are inevitable parts of understanding language.

I'll try to be less confusing in this paragraph. I do have experience with all six of the language arts. However, as I expressed just a post ago, my best experience is with writing. I remember in first grade we were required to write a story a day - guess what my favorite time of class was. I suppose I liked writing so much because I was good at it, but it was also a good release for me as I got older. I have many journals at home that are fun to go back and re-read. It's also really fun to find the stories I would type on my computer at home. Like the one about a girl named Angel who saved her teacher's life. One of my lame childhood dreams was to make a journal entry of every day of school one year. I was then going to do some editing and turn my journal into a novel. That never happened. Okay, I got off track. I've always gotten good comments and feedback on my writing, and it always felt good to be writing, so I've always enjoyed writing. Since I've felt the same since I was fairly young, I'm not sure if this will ever change. I hope this blog isn't working against me. I don't claim to be the best writer out there by any means, but I do believe it will always be my favorite on the language arts list.

I've Never Been a Fan of Titles...

I've always wanted to be a writer. In the 3rd grade I got accepted into this school of the arts as a creative writing focus student - I thought I was hot stuff. Of course, funding for 4th graders vanished into thin air. Therefore, I could not attend the school. I was promised a spot at the school in 5th grade, but would you guess it - my family moved that year. Yes, that was a pointless story - if there was a point it was to prove my ever existing interest in writing. I think this blog will be a good experience for me.

So since this is a free post and all, I do believe I will finish with a joke:
What do you call an illegally parked frog?
Toad.

Let's hope that is the last corny joke ever posted on this thing.
=)