Chess Camp
This week I went to Chess Camp at Adelphi University.
There were about 35 kids.
It was three days long; 7 hours each day.
I played 2 tournament games each day, but on the last day, there was a speed tournament.
Each game lasted five minutes and you could take the king.
At the end of the camp, I came in 3rd place overall in my division and I won a trophy!
Lost a Tooth!
2 days ago I lost my first tooth! I lost it in WildWood, New Jersey. I was eating my dinner and it popped out. It was in my dinner(it was Fried shrimp, so I wouldn’t loose it. If it was pasta I would’ve lost it.), I thought I swallowed it. My dad put it in his pocket. The day after the next day I put under my pillow.The Tooth Fairy gave me $7!
Chess Tournament
This is a picture of my first chess tournament.
The tournament was yesterday.
I won two games, I lost 1 game, and I drew one game.
The tournament was 3rd – 5th grade, but I sneaked in even though I am technically only a 2nd grader. But remember, I’m homeschooled , so we don’t have grades.
The winners – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place – each got a trophy. I think I came in 4th or 5th place.
Next year I really want to get one….but I’m going have to keep practicing.
Weekend Getaway
This weekend we went to Southampton which is 70 miles away from our house.
I saw some of my friends who were also there for the weekend.
I went swimming in my grandmother’s pool and my mom started teaching me the backstroke.
It was my mom’s birthday and we went to a Mexican restaurant to celebrate. She also went to a very expensive yoga class!
I went to the local farm and saw several animals.
I went with my mom, my dad, and my sister.
I also started reading a new series called Edgar and Ellen
I played a new board game with my mom and my sister – Clue: The Great Museum Caper
Beach Park
A little while ago I went to Caumsett State Park.
I went with my friends, my Dad, and my sister.
We were going to bring scooters but they wouldn’t let us. So we had to walk to the beach. IT was 2.5 miles away and it was hot!
When we got to the beach we played for a little and ate lunch and walked 2.5 miles to the parking lot. I felt happy, hot, tired, and thirsty.
How to Swing a Baseball Bat
In order to hit a baseball far, you have to have a have a good stance.
The first thing you make sure, is that you point your feet to second base – just like in golf.
The next thing you make sure, is that your bat is in the right spot.
The right spot is by your ear. Keep your eye on the ball.
When the ball comes, step and swing. Run to first base!
Honeybees
Yesterday I went to a honeybee class in Queens.
Honeybees go from flower to flower getting a little pollen and some nectar and every time they stop they drop off some pollen. This helps flowers and trees grow.
When they return to the hive they make some honey out of the nectar. I don’t know how but check out this site to see how.
Pollen is also food for honeybees.
There are three types honeybees:
The queen, the workers, and the drones.
The queen only has one job: laying eggs.
The workers have lots of jobs.
The drones help the queen lay eggs.
And that last picture is me looking at a honeycomb.
Honeycomb is puked-up nectar and is always built in a hexagonal pattern.
Crabs
Yesterday I did a science class on horseshoe crabs:
Here’s what I learned:
I saw 5 horseshoe crabs. All of the alive ones were mating. There was one dead one.
Horseshoe crabs species are shrinking because people are using them to test if drugs are safe.
Horseshoe crabs have blue blood because their blood is based on copper. Our blood is based on iron.
Algebra, Done!
I just finished all of algebra!
The last thing I did in algebra
In conics we learned how to graph ellipses, hyperbolas, circles, and parabolas.
This a line:
y = x + 5
Parabola:
y = -3x2 – 6x – 1
Circle:
(x – 2)2 + (y + 3)2 = 9
Ellipse:
(x2/6) + (y2/16) = 1
Hyperbola:
x2 – y2 = 39
A parabola is U-shaped. But it can open up or down.
An ellipse is an oval.
Hyperbola is like two parabolas.
You can tell what shape an equation is just by looking at it.
If one variable either ,x or y, is squared it is a parabola.
If both variables are squared then the graph might be a circle, an ellipse, or a hyperbola.
If the coefficients of x2 and y2 are the same sign AND equal, the equation represents a circle.
If the coefficients of x2 and y2 are the same sign BUT different, you have an ellipse.
If the coefficients of x2 and y2 have different signs(one positive and one negative), then the graph will be a hyperbola.
I did this with my dad:
Now I’m exited to start calculus and advanced geometry.
A Milestone!
I have reached 10000 hits!
It took me a year and a quarter to get this many hits!
Thanks to everyone visiting!
