In school we have just finished reading a book called Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances. Auggie does make two close friends: Summer, a girl who actually likes Auggie for who he is, and Jack. Jack started out as Auggie’s “assigned” friend, and when Auggie finds this out, he and Jack have a falling out. However, they patch things up at Christmas, after Jack gets suspended for hitting Julian for badmouthing Auggie.This leads to a “war” among the boys: the popular boys against Auggie and Jack. While nothing more than mean words, in the form of notes in the lockers, fly between the two camps, the tension between the camps culminates in the spring.R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels. Visit R.J. Palacio’s blog at http://rjpalacio.com/index.html.

What I find really interesting is the way she was inspired to write the book. She had experienced what happened to Jack in the book. R.J. Palacio was sitting on a bench outside an ice-cream store with her younger son was 3 while her older son who was 11  went to get them some milkshakes. She looked over her shoulder at the little girl beside her and realized that the little girl  looked as she described August in the book. Then she started to panic not how the girl looked but how her son’s will react.  She thought that her younger son would start crying and her older son when he came out would do something that would hurt the little girl’s feelings. Eventually everything that she was scared at did happen her younger son started to cry and her older son when he came dropped the shakes on the floor. Then the little girl’s mom who saw and heard  everything then she got up and said to the little girl ” Come sweetie It’s time to go “. Then when R.J. Palacio went home she heard Wonder by Natalie Merchant playing on the radio. Then she got the idea to write this book without any outline. I recommend this book for everyone. This book can make you lauge your head off and sometimes it makes you burst into tears.

My favorite web2.0 tool is Animoto. I like Animoto because it allows you to make your own slide shows. I like that you can download any type of music and let it play in the background. I also like how there are different themes that you can use in your slideshow. The thing that I don’t like about Animoto is that there is a word limit for each slide, other than that I love Animoto and I recommend it to anyone who is interested.

Photo Credit: paul (dex) bica via Compfight

Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge. From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie on the Canadian side and the American Falls on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction. Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate. The falls are located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow,and almost four million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average.he Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century.

The elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, she was born in 1926 and became Queen at the age of 25, and has reigned through more than five decades of enormous social change and development. The Queen is married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and has four children and eight grandchildren.

The Queen was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London.  The Princess’s early years were spent at 145 Piccadilly, the London house taken by her parents shortly after her birth, and at White Lodge in Richmond Park. She also spent time at the country homes of her paternal grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother’s parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.

In 1930, Princess Elizabeth gained a sister, with the birth of Princess Margaret Rose. The family of four was very close. When she was six years old, her parents took over Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park as their own country home. In the grounds of Royal Lodge Princess Elizabeth had her own small house, Y Bwthyn Bach (the Little Cottage), which was given to her by the people of Wales in 1932. Princess Elizabeth’s quiet family life came to an end in 1936, when her grandfather, King George V, died. His eldest son came to the throne as King Edward VIII, but, before the end of the year, King Edward VIII had decided to give up the throne in order to marry the woman he loved, Mrs Wallis Simpson.

Upon his abdication, Princess Elizabeth’s father acceded to the throne as King George VI, and in 1937 the two Princesses attended their parents’ coronation in Westminster Abbey. Princess Elizabeth was now first in line to the throne, and a figure of even more intense public interest.  Princess Elizabeth was educated at home with Princess Margaret, her younger sister. After her father succeeded to the throne in 1936 and she became heir presumptive, she started to study constitutional history and law as preparation for her future role.  She received tuition from her father, as well as sessions with Henry Marten, the Vice-Provost of Eton.

She was also instructed in religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Princess Elizabeth also learned French from a number of French and Belgian governesses. It is a skill which has stood The Queen in good stead, as she often has cause to use it when speaking to ambassadors and heads of state from French-speaking countries, and when visiting French-speaking areas of Canada. Princess Elizabeth also studied art and music, learned to ride, and became a strong swimmer. She won the Children’s Challenge Shield at London’s Bath Club when she was thirteen. Princess Elizabeth enrolled as a Girl Guide when she was eleven, and later became a Sea Ranger. In 1940, at the height of the Blitz, the young Princesses were moved for their safety to Windsor Castle, where they spent most of the war years.

The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday on a Saturday in June. Official celebrations to mark Sovereigns’ birthday have often been held on a day other than the actual birthday, particularly when the actual birthday has not been in the summer. King Edward VII, for example, was born on 9 November, but his official birthday was marked throughout his reign in May or June when there was a greater likelihood of good weather for the Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour.

The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but the occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in central London at midday: a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London. In 2006, Her Majesty celebrated her 80th Birthday in 2006 with a walkabout in the streets outside of Windsor Castle to meet well-wishers. On her official birthday, Her Majesty is joined by other members of the Royal Family at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade which moves between Buckingham Palace, The Mall and Horseguards’ Parade. Find out more about Trooping the Color visit this link.

Http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/TroopingtheColour/TroopingtheColour.aspx

In a pastel pink coat and matching hat, Queen Elizabeth II was greeted by children as she and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, left the Easter service at St George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday in Windsor, England. It was nice to see the queen looking so well after recovering from symptoms of gastroenteritis earlier this month. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were joined by granddaughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, both sporting their Easter Sunday best. Their father, the Duke of York, was also at the service, along with Prince Edward’s nine-year-old daughter Louise. Also looking bright and springy was Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Check out her peacock-feathered fascinator.

This one video that I liked is right below, Click on it to see the video.

http://www.biography.com/people/queen-elizabeth-ii-9286165/videos/queen-elizabeth-ii-mini-biography-11190339820

Elizabeth (right) with her grandmother Queen Mary and sister Margaret, 1939

– Princess Diana : How did it feel like to live in royalty ?

– Princess Kate : Is it uncomfortable being watched all the time ?

– Prince Charles : How did you feel when Princess Diana died?

– Queen Elizabeth 1 : Did you and your sister Queen Mary always fight or did you get along?

– Queen Mary : Why is your nick-name Bloody Mary?

Michelle Obama : Is it busy everyday at the White House?

– Selena Gomez : What inspires you to write your songs?

– Talor Swift : Who is your Idol?

– Harry Styles : How long do you think your band will last?

– Christopher Columbus : How does it feel to travel the world and make new discoveries?

Every week me and five of my friends go to dance class. Our dance class is two hours long. It starts at 4:00 and ends at 6:00, when me and my friends come back home its about 7:15 to. 7:45, because me and my friends have to change into different clothes after we danceMy teacher lives in Brampton so its probably about fourth-five minutes away. Our teacher is very famous in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka the President came to all of her dance shows because he is a big fan of our dance teacher. She is one of the most nicest, friendliest people I have ever met. On the Saturday before Halloween my dance teacher gave us a treat because she said that we worked really hard that day. She gave a each a pack of Welch’s candy. Sometimes me and my friends stay a little while after our dance class ends and she gives us something to eat or drink. She is having a dance concert in December unfortunately me and two of my friends can’t perform because we are going on a vacation in December together. I hope my other friends video tape the concert because then me and my friends that are coming with me to Sri Lanka can see what happened. My dance teacher is the best teacher in the world because she never yells at us and because she is always encouraging us to be the best dancer that we can be. I don’t think that I ever meet someone who is more kind than her.