INTRODUCTION

Corie Luhrman is my grandmother and in Dutch a grandmother is called oma. So bring out those Dutch dictionaries!  Corey grew up in the Netherlands, and she told me about her childhood.  So have a good read, and I hope you can imagine everything from being scared in the flood of 1953 to living in her comfy little house.


HOUSE

 Her house was small, but she liked it. She had to share a bedroom with her two sisters.  One of the beds would go under the double-decker bed during the day. The house had a little yard and they had some chickens.  She'll never forget the comfortable house she used to live in.

HER PARENTS
 Her mom and dad both had a job. Her dad worked in a bakery, and then he worked in a factory that produced margarine.  Sometimes he worked at night and was asleep most of the day.  The kids had to tiptoe around him! Her mom stayed home to take care of the kids. She would clean the house and do the laundry by hand. Now aren't you glad for the washing machine that you only have to load up!? The both like their work.

Her parents did a lot of fun stuff with her.  They rode their bikes and played cards.  they read books and played other games. She went to watch soccer with her dad.  Corie and her family would go on trips for a few days, but they always stayed in the Netherlands. What would you prefer those games or the games that you play now?

ANIMALS

Corie grew up with a lot of animals. She had goldfish and a guinea pig, and she loved them both. The most colorful pet of all was the parakeet.  Her favorite pet thought, was the goldfish because she didn't have to do a lot of chores with it.  Outside she had some chickens. There weren't any farms nearby. Even though she was living in the city he had lots of pets around her!

FRIENDS

There were friends nearby that she would play games with. There was always a kid around.  Outside they would jump rope and play with a ball. There was this one man who didn't like them playing with the ball. If he was walking down the street, and the ball came too close to him, he'd take it away.  Another thing they did was that they tied a rope to a lamp post and made a swing! They played baseball on the street (there weren't a lot of cars) and they used the drains as bases! She also played marbles. She didn't have a Smart Phone to play video games on all day!

Corie also played in doors. She and her friends would play things such as board games or cards, but the house was so small, they'd rather be outside. Would you want to be Corie with those games back then?

CLUBS

Corie was in some clubs. She'd go scouting and to a group that did arts and crafts. She also was in a club that would sing.  Her favorite one was the singing group. She remembers there were some silly songs! Her friends went to some of the same clubs...She had a lot of fun at all the meetings.


HOLIDAYS

 She enjoyed many holidays. One of them was Sinterclaus where you put out your shoe and Sinterclaus fills it up during the night. You sing songs and eat candy. He has a white horse that he rides. There's also a holiday called Queen's Day and they have Easter.  They celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day.  There's a holiday called Animal Day that's October 4.  They celebrate Christmas, but not as much as the United States. Throughout the year there are many holidays for kids and adults to enjoy!

CHORES

Corie had some chores around the house, but she didn't have to do too much work. She and her sisters had to clean up their own things because the house was so small you wouldn't be able to walk if you didn't.  On Mondays she didn't want to come home from school because it was wash day, and she and her mom had to do the laundry by hand.  The other day that she didn't want to go home was Fridays when they'd clean the whole house. Would you want to do any chores?

PLAY AND HOBBIES

 Even though there was always work to be done around the house, there was still time to play. She played ball and Legos with her sister. She also had roller skates. Her favorite thing was the roller skates! There weren't any parks nearby because she was living in the city. She always had something fun to do.

She had many other things that she would do for fun. She'd knit and read books. She'd do jigsaw puzzles on the table and if they were eating they'd eat right on it.  Many things she did then, we still do now.

SCHOOL

She loved school! She and her sisters went to school in the neighborhood. She like her teachers. There might have been a few bullies, but they didn't bully her.  She loved all the subjects, but her favorites were math and reading.  School was big part of her life.

MUSIC

She like to make music and listen to it.  She'd play a recorder. It was hard to learn. There was a special music school for kids that she was in.  She liked classical music and easy listening music. When she was a little older, she had a lot of fun at her dancing lessons. She did a lot of things involving music.

EXTENDED FAMILY

Corie had extended family nearby, but they didn't live with her. One of her grandparents lived five minutes away.  The rest of the family was living in the same town. 

She went to her grandparents all the time. They had a lot of kids that were older than her, and she'd sometimes sleep there with all the big guys and girls!  Her other grandparents lived on the other side of the city and she and her dad would bike there. She had some great family.
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THE FLOOD OF 1953
 It was the spring tide and there was a big storm in 1953.  The dikes broke! Dikes are manmade hills that keep the water out.  About half of the land of the Netherlands is under sea level.

The water was a meter high in the city of Rotterdam where Corie lived. She had to go upstairs to their neighbors house for ten days. Her sister was only three weeks old at the time, and had not clue what was going on.

About 1300 people died in the Netherlands.  Her family was ok.  A lot of the housed and farms were destroyed and many animals died.
All the people got help, neighbors and friends offered to help clean up and rebuild. To prevent the land from flooding again they started the Delta Works.  the Delta Works included higher dikes and moveable barriers. I'm glad I wasn't around in the Netherlands then!

CONCLUSION

Corie is a wonderful grandmother and she had an amazing childhood.  Could you imagine yourself in her little house tiptoeing around her dad to let him sleep?  Or maybe taking care of her pets and going out with her friends to some of the clubs?  Did you also put yourself in her place playing games, eating on puzzles and learning music?  Could you understand what it was like to be terrified int he flood of 1953?

I'd want to travel backward to the time of Corie's childhood . I'd come back to 2016 when it came to the flood. Don't you think she had a remarkable childhood?

In a swimming pool
water that's 
above my head
I want to float
in it

                                                      Romulus, Age 6
                                                 New Scotland Elementary

I went to my friend's house. I had fun. I had a sleepover. I had a Star Wars theater. We dressed up. I hope I go there again.

​Melanie, Age 6

I sent to Long Island.  I slept over at my cousin's house.  Next I made a  new friend.  He did not tell us his name.  Last I went to Friendly's.  I got ice cream. I got a monster mash. I hope I go there again because it is fun.

Rhiannon, Age 6

First Will and I went to Great Escape. Next we went to the rides. My favorite ride was the roller coaster, and Will's favorite ride was the cars.  Then we got popcorn and cotton candy.  Last we went back home, and we had a sleepover. I hope Will and I go again.

Elizabeth, Age 6

I went to a special place. I went to my cousin Ethan's house.  First we played PS 4 in his room. Next we played Minecraft.  Last we played hide and go seek.  I hope I go there next time because I miss him.  He is my best cousin.

Matteo, Age 6


I went to Emerald Isle. It was a special place. First I went to a coffee shop. Next I went to the beach and saw a shark. Last I went go-carting. My car was fast. I hope I can go next year. I had a great time at Emerald Isle.

​Finian, Age 6

​

Chapter 1


In the year 3000, in Syracuse, New York Hubba Bubba, a fifth grader at OBJ school was working in the science lab.  Bubba, Bubba was the football star because his arm was at top speed, with perfect aim. Hubba Bubba was also brilliant at science related studies. These days, science experiments were on aliens that were captured a century ago and on zombies that were captured 50 years ago. Dissections were an everyday thing.

Chapter 2

One day, he was dissecting zombie blood and it accidentally spilled into the alien's mouth. Bubba Bubba didn't think anything of it, so he went home. the next day Hubba Bubba was so surprised to find a weird species of Al-Zombs playing six on six  football outside the science window on the OBJ school ground.  Will the Al-zombs be nice or killers? Hubba Bubba went on to the field. They chased him with weird sound effects. They were so loud it shook the earth! They looked like they wanted to eat him instead of play with him. He threw a football high into the air to see if the zombies would go after it. After all they ran after the football and ate it. The next day, he contacted Todd Ryan, the QB coach, and asked to meet him at the Carrier Dome. Todd Ryan said, "I'll be there at 3:39 PM." When Hubba Bubba got there, Todd Ryan set up a course with cardboard Al-zomb faces. He threw footballs at all the Al-Zomb faces at 99mph. Then Todd Ryan said, "Go kill those Al-zombs."

Chapter 3

The next day at the Carrier Dome,  he gathered a ton of footballs and threw them at high speeds at the Al-zombs heads.  Even after he knocked down twenty of their heads off, they were re-growing and the Al-zombs were not dying! They became just as loud and violent! There were only two ways to get rid of the evil, killing them or replacing their heads with footballs to make them friendly.  He had to figure it out with his science teacher, Tom Belichick.  Tom Belichick said, "there is only one way to kill them for good.We can fly them in the air and drop them to the ground, but they would eat us alive in the plane."

Chapter 4

Hubba Bubba brought one of the Al-zombs heads into the lab to study it.  He took a football and replaced the Al-zombs' brains because that's how tom Belichick said to get rid of the evil. Bubba had to throw footballs at high speeds to knock them all out.  Then he carried one by one into his science lab to cut their brains and replace them with footballs. Would this make them friendly and less violent?

Chapter 5

The next next morning, he went to the lab to take the bandages off the Al-zombs.  He could not believe his eyes! They were all missing. They were gone, or were they?  Then he looked on the OBJ football field, but they were not there either.  He thought they could have traveled back to space in a spaceship.  Todd Ryan called Hubba Bubba and said he needed to come to the Carrier Dome immediately.  When he got there, he saw the entire group of Al-zombs

Start of the Trip
We packed my favorite toys, books and our dresses. Me, my mom, and my dad went to Boston.  It took three and a half hours. In our travel time I ate yellow rice and slept.   We saw different places. At night we stayed in my family friend's house. My favorite part was the Whale Watch!!!!!

Whale Watch
​
I loved the Whale Watch.  It was four hours trip in the steamer. It was totally in the sea. The steamer went so fast I could see the water splash. It was wonderful.

After we traveled one a half hour, we started to see whales.  I took pictures, especially their tails.  It comes out and splashes the water as it goes into the water. They migrate in winter.  They go to the South Atlantic Ocean and they come back in summer.

We saw young whales. They were born in the South Atlantic Ocean.  Their mother teaches them how to swim. I am so happy to see this.

New England Aquarium

It was awesome. I saw seals, different kinds of fish, penguins, eel, seahorse, makes and different kinds of frogs.

The seals were trained to act like human beings.  The trainers fed them food. They treated them like kids.

The colors of the fish were beautiful. I saw all sizes of the fish.  When they let go, breath bubbles come in the water.

The penguins looked pretty. They waddled when they need to get somewhere.  We learned how the eel produces electricity. I did an experiment near the eel. 

Science Museum

I was excited before going into the Science Museum! We learned about how each part of the human body works.  I saw how the pig lungs work the same as our lungs. I touched the pig lungs.  We saw how the brain reacts when we see something.

In one experiment we saw how electricity generates in different ways. Electricity can generate with water, wind and solar power.  

We learned about gravity power.  We saw how much time it takes for a ball to come down.  We did an experiment with a weighing scale.  I saw different kinds of weighing scales.

I love the Solar System. I saw how astronauts go into space. I saw a rock that was brought from the moon. They collected stores and rocks from different countries. 

I saw different kinds of engines that were used in the olden days. Finally, we saw the butterfly garden. That was awesome.

Child Museum

I played a lot.  I climbed something that was like a puzzle. I bicycled. I pulled a thread.I made giant bubbles. I measured water, played basketball, rock climbing, and learned how the boat sinks.

We saw all the characters in Arthur. I enjoy Arthur books and Arthur movies.  I danced.  We took pictures of me with Arthur. We saw and airplane in Arthur World. We saw Arthur's kitchen. 

Skywalk Observatory

We saw Boston city from he 50th floor of the Prudential Tower.  It was a wonderful view.  We took pictures of the city. We saw a movie of the Boston history in that how the immigrants came to Boston and started war.

Legoland

​In Legoland first we went on a ride, then we went to the computers where I got to build my own lego people. I had so much fun. I built a house and a car in my own creation.  I raced the car in the race track. In legos, they build the whole Boston city, and they built a rocket that could launch in the space center.

We saw a 4D movie that water sprayed on us. It was so fun. I played in a dark puzzle room and the playground.

Harvard University

The Harvard University is so big. It was my first time I ever saw a University!!!!
In Harvard University, we saw Natural History Museum. In the Natural History Museum, we saw part of animals that died,(specimen) parts of human beings, animals from every continent and plants.

We saw a voice about how the planets were created. They explained the color and size of each planet.
They displayed all kinds of metals, stones and rocks.  We saw some things that were used in the olden days because of those we learned history.
They put an audio message everywhere, so it was easy to learn.

Road Trip

We went on a trolley tour.  We saw Boston Colonies, harbor, Boston Tea Party, Quincy Market and Leonard P. Zakin Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.  On the way the driver explained to us the history of these things.

Home at Last

On the third day we started back to home.  It took three and a half hours. I slept the whole time because I was tired. 

It was the "BEST TRIP EVER!!!!!"

Geethika, Age 8
Guilderland Elementary School

I love ghosts and Boo.
I love pumpkins.
Halloween
is the best, Boo.
Bobbing for apples.

Cora, Age 6
​Doane Stuart

I love Halloween. I am being Evil Elmo. It is fun. I like walking the sidewalk holding a basket. Boo!

Cricket, Age 6
​Doane Stuart