On September 5th, ten-year-old American Mimi Melton began "Year 5" at a primary school for students aged 5 to 11 years in Essex, a county in southeastern England. The following excerpts are from her journal.

Mimi's Journal (September 27 - October 6, 2000)

September 27

My birthday was a few days ago. I turned "double digits" in England! I got a lot of stuff: a scooter, a roll-up calculator, hair things, pictures, and a cool box. I got money, too, almost £50! I got lots of cards. I made up a poem that I'm writing in my thank-you notes to people in California. Here it is:

Over the moon and under the stars,
We answer your call, please answer ours.
We wait to return very soon,
Under the stars and over the moon.

October 2

I have been going to school for a while now. In school, we get sweets if we're good, and I'm not sure what happens if we're bad!

Today a boy named Ian was playing football. He's a 6th-year with a bad temper. I was standing near a goal and he went around me and shot. When he missed, he seemed to think it was my fault and called me a stupid Yankee. I didn't mind (I don't think being a Yankee is an insult) so I didn't do anything. He didn't like that so he started punching me. I kicked and punched him back and he ran away. He's a school bully. Bullies are always scared of kids their own size. He never beats up tall boys!

October 6

I'm enjoying school these days. My teacher, Mrs. Hillman, is very good. I like to play soccer at break, and I have a lot of friends: Katie, Abby, Rosie, and more. My favorite subjects are maths and English. I am okay at maths, and I love English.

It's very cold in the mornings here and it warms up by noon.

I'm in a club called Girl Guides. It's like Girl Scouts at home. I'm not sure if we sell cookies, but we do go on lots of hikes. We went on a night walk to an old castle and we brought flashlights. Some people tried to surprise us by barking like dogs and jumping out of bushes. We had a lot of fun. Next week we're going swimming.

At school we have a week called Harvest Week. You bring in canned food to give to poor people. We have a school donations piggy bank that's called "Hungry Horace." He's a hippo, and he wears a school tie (like the ones we wear).

Well, that's it for today!

Mimi's prior journal entries

PearsonAtSchool Products
Writing Journals
You'll find advice on how to use learning logs, reader response journals, and writers' notebooks.

Journals as Frameworks for Change
This book shows you how to guide teachers and school community groups through change.

Lesson Plans
An Immigrant's Story – Grades: 6-12, Language Arts, Social Studies

Web Resources
Reading Matters
Read about Zlata's experiences in war-torn Sarajevo in the book Zlata's Diary.
http://www.readingmatters.co.uk/books/zlata.htm