Idaho History Day

I love reading kids' writing! I took a job reading standardized tests one summer after finishing college and read some of the most hilarious essays. I have a friend that every year goes to Boise to grade the Direct Writing Assessment and blogs about the awesomeness of 7th and 8th grade essays. I love reading about all the great observations the kids make. After experiencing so much joy from children's point of view, I figured I'd share this year's gems from the 4th grade essays of Idaho History Day.

The Cassia County Museum goes all out for Idaho History Day! They have 15 stations and the kids make it to at least 10 of them. There's the presentation at the school house where they learns such interesting facts like the teachers weren't allowed to marry or date and couldn't wear any colors. There's the Black Powder demonstration about trappers and Indians. There's both a cheese making station and a butter making station. They pan for gold/ pyrite, watch a movie about irrigation in a old train caboose, and eat chili and Dutch oven cornbread for lunch.

I've been volunteering-slash- roped into being on the reading committee for the past several years, and I've love the mixed nuts hour d'oeuvres, translating 10 and 11 year old handwriting and their inventive spelling, debating which kids are the best, and every wooden chair bum-numbing minute of it! I figured it was time to share some of the love :).

THE PROMPT:

On September 16th the fourth grade attended the Cassia County Fairgrounds to participate in Idaho History Day. Think of two stations that you enjoyed the most and write a short personal narrative on why you admired them. Include important information and details so that the reader feels like he/she is experiencing it firsthand. Your narrative should be no more than one page front and back.

• "faveret stashon"
• "On the bus ride it was really long. We had to sit by a boy."
• "Idaho is my favorite state because it is famous for it potatoes and [I] love potatoes."
• "[The homemade cheese on crackers] was so good.  I had 10 of them.  My teacher din't believe me that I had that much. It' was really yummy."

• "On September 16, 2011 it was Odaho Histery in Burly on the fair grounds."
• (For his 2nd paragraph) "Hey guys! Its me agin Boy! This stations make you say wiky tidy did list."
• (For her conclusion) "You guy put together a really good day of Idaho history."

• "Next I am going to tell you How people lived back than in the ninteen hundred in Brooklen were pore peaple married pore peaple and rich peaple married rich peaple at fancy wedingings with a big cake and a yard for the weding and all the gess and brothers and sisters and that is all."
• "I also learned the children had to eat out of the same bucket of food."
• "I liked looking in the classroom and wondering if it looked a little newer back then."