Why I Should Have a Birthday Party Before 13

Dear Mommy,

     I know that birthday parties can be crazy, expensive and drain a lot of my parents' energy. I also know that you want me to postpone having parties with several friends until I'm older.However, there are many reasons a birthday party before 13 years old could be appropriate for me. 
     One of the reasons I want a birthday party before thirteen is because I don't want to have to say to one friend, "Hey you get to come to my birthday!" and to the other, "I am sorry; you don't get to come".  It makes me sad to have to tell them that.    The only two friends I can think of that I would want two invite would be: Ethan Ossana and John Taylor.  I really like the idea of playing with two friends on my birthday and letting them meet each other.  These two boys are both very respectful. That  would make it easy to  keep my friends busy.
     Keeping my friends entertained wouldn't be a problem.  My friends and I would play outside the whole time.  We may come inside to get Legos or something, but we would probably take them outside to play with.  We would play safe games like: capture the flag, Nerf war, and water balloon fight.  We wouldn't play any games that were not appropriate.  The house would be peaceful if I had a birthday party.  There would be no kids bouncing off the walls. If we ate a whole bunch of sugar we could eat it at the end of the party and then send everyone home to their families.  If I was wound up to you could just send me to bed (after everyone was gone).  I might also offer to entertain my sisters half the time of the birthday party. None of our entertainment would come at a  high price.
      The party would not be very expensive.  We would play outside the entire time.  I would be willing to work within your budget.  It could end up being a little cheaper than a regular birthday activity.   It wouldn't only be cheep for you but it would be cheap for other people too!  The invitations would say not to bring a present because having fun at the party would be enough of a present for me. I would also clean up after the party, saving your time and effort. Another way I could take responsibility for the work of the party is to make my own invitations.
     I could make the invitations by myself and you wouldn't have to worry about it. The invitations would say no presents, would give strict hours for the length of the party, and would request that they bring quiet entertainment to help keep us busy.
     There are many reasons why I should have a birthday party.  I would entertain my friends the entire time,  keep the party inexpensive, keep the house peaceful, and make the invitations myself.  I hope that you agree that I should have a birthday party before thirteen.  Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Your loving son,
James

Cockroaches

     Cockroaches are interesting bugs.  They live in various places. Some people think cockroaches look scary, however other people think they look amazing.  Cockroaches love food!  Like many creatures cockroaches lay eggs.  Some of them are kept as pets! Usually people think of these bugs as pests. Can you guess how many types of cockroaches are really pests?  

      Cockroaches live in areas where it is heated, dark, and moist.  A lot of them live in walls because inside the walls it is very warm and dark.  Places that have food already available is where they'll want to be. We don't see cockroaches often because they hide in these dark, enclosed spaces. However, some people think they are handsome insects.

American cockroach

     Cockroaches look really neat!  They possess two tiny compound eyes and six legs. Compound eyes are eyes that have numerous  mirror-like lenses that help the insect see in every direction.  Cockroaches are several colors.  In tropical places cockroaches can be red, yellow, and green.  Being bright colors helps them blend in with their environment.  Black and brown are the color of the cockroaches in other areas.  Like turtles cockroaches have a hard shell on their back to help protect them from predators.  The hard shell helps make them hard to kill.  Normally, cockroaches are about 15 millimeters (almost a half an inch) long.  They can grow up to be about an inch long.  Some roaches have wings.  They don't only look neat they eat heaps of food.
     Cockroaches eat a ton! But, they can survive without eating for at least a month.  That is probably why they eat a lot.   Cockroaches like to eat almost everything: cheese, sweets, meat, grease, starch, you name it.  They will eat household items like wood, leather, and book bindings.  Plants and vegetables are another thing they like to eat.  Cockroaches love to eat dead things. Eating is not the only thing they do; like every other creature they reproduce.

nymphs= smallest bugs with stripes on their backs

     Like every other animal on earth cockroaches must reproduce themselves.  Their offspring are called nymphs (nimfs).  Nymphs are born in egg-cases the size of a bean you'd find in chilly.  The egg-cases hold 16 to 50 nymphs.  The nymphs grow up to be adults and lay eggs of their own.  At this rate areas where they live could quickly become infested.

Oriental cockroach

Asian cockroach

    Only Four kinds of cockroaches are pests: the American cockroach, German cockroach, Asian cockroach, and the oriental cockroach are the four  household pests. They'll eat your food and destroy your walls and belongings that are made from natural materials.  They will leave a smelly odor everywhere they go.  Worst of all cockroaches can give you allergies, diseases, and asthma.  Some of the germs that they carry can kill you especially if you are unhealthy already.

American cockroach

     There are 4,000 species of cockroaches!  It's amazing that only 4 kinds of cockroaches are pests.    Most cockroaches live away from people and don't bother us. A small number of Madagascan hissing cockroaches are even pets!  People keep them as pets because the roach will eat leftover food, dead animals, and dead plants.  Most cockroaches live in places where they never encounter people.

German cockroach

      Don't you just love cockroaches?  Encountering these bugs is a little rare because they like to hide.  If you see one take a moment and look at how neat-looking they are.  Once you are done you should keep it as a pet because unlike some other pets it will eat almost anything.  Only keep it if it isn't a pest.  After the cockroach reproduces you can let it go out in the wild again.

Great Wall of China

     The Great Wall of China is an amazing structure!  It is an important part of Chinese history.  It was made of many strong building materials, and is of enormous size.  Many things were lost during and after the construction of the wall. These included people and parts of the wall.

     The Great Wall of China was built to keep intruders out of China.  It was constructed during the Ming dynasty and the reign of emperor Qin Shi Huang (co-chang-she-wan).  The Chinese discontinued building the wall, and intruders soon found out they could go around it into China.  The Chinese saw that the wall was impossible to finish because China is a big country, so they abandoned it.
     In around the 7th century, BC the Great wall was being constructed.  It was made out of stone, brick, dirt, tamped earth, and wood.  Did you know that the Great Wall of China is 5,500 miles long?  It is 15 to 30 feet wide at the base and 16 to 26 feet tall!  It took 276 years to manufacture.  Soldiers, prisoners, slaves, farmers and other civilians helped build the wall.  The Chinese built watch towers on the top, and made a path wide enough for troops or wagons to travel on top. However, all this construction came at terrible price.
     Lots of people were lost before and after they abandoned The Great Wall of China.  Chinese workers were drafted against their will to work on the wall.  It is said that at least one person died for every foot that was built.  At least 3,000,000 people died.  Some of the great wall has disappeared because people have taken pieces from it to use on their own creations. The great age of the wall has caused disintegration because of weather. War also helped destroy the wall.
     The Chinese risked their lives and built the Great Wall of China to save their country and emperors.  Even though lots of people died and intruders still got around the wall and into the city the Chinese still stayed loyal to their country because of the great emperor Qin Shi Huang who had the vision to unify his country.