WON'T YOU TAKE ME TO...FUNKY TOWN!!!!

Go on...I DARE you not to start singing that favorite old disco tune when you hear the name of SL's newest kids-oriented region! Funky Town is on the Paradise Garden sim, and has many attractions that can keep kids busy and happy for hours on end!!! It's the brainchild of Kylei Benoir and Nicole McCallen, and this pair has been working nearly non-stop on the sim for the past week or so.

Rollerjamz is a kewl skating rink that should become a big hang-out. If you don't own a pair of roller skates, no worries--you can easily purchase a pair there. You can pick up a free T-shirt there too. Rollerjamz hosts kids parties, too; ask Kylei for more info on holding a big bash there.

Kidz Helping Kidz is a health clinic to the right of Rollerjamz. Now that the Sickeze HUD is catching on (like a cold!) with SL kids, we all need a place to get better! A staff led by Ms. Vernice Burks sets broken bones, gives cootie shots and offers physical exams. And after you try the Cootie Detector, trust me, you will WANT that inoculation ASAP!!!!

Bumper cars are close to the clinic, and there's a BIG ferris wheel at Funky Town too. A riding trail and an adoption agency are planned as well. There are several stores, including Nicole and Kylei's Troubled Monkey Inc and the return of Dharma's. Aura's, Patchlets and ShiNne'z CrEatiOn'z are there too. A lovely park with picnic tables (and food!), and a playground with SLopoly are in the center of the action.

There are five houses for rent on Funky Town. I live in one of them, and I love this kid-sized home! Two houses are left as I write this; come and check them out! (Paradise Garden 122, 192, 22)

WANT A PARENT? FIND ONE HERE!

There's a new business on the Starlight Starbright sim, and it's dedicated to bringing parents and kids together! Starlight Adoptions is a new adoption agency, and it features the same high quality that makes that sim a real standout in SL. There's a few especially nice things about this place that distinguish it from other agencies:
*The application is the most detailed I've seen in SL; it really seeks to give a prospective parent or son/daughter an idea of what the people in the panels are about. It provides more info than just a handful of questions and a photo. It also asks for the parents' real name, which is cool...you can then look up their profiles and read even more about them!
*Once a child registers at Starlight Adoptions and is invited into that group, he or she can buy a special New Kid Pack for 1L. It features stuffs like skins, hair and clothes, and you know it's got to be stylish and attractive since Babydoll put the package together! There are also some skins and outfits available for 5L each--such a deal!
*There's an arcade in the back of the agency with a Greedy Greedy game. I will repeat that. THERE'S A GREEDY GREEDY GAME AT THE AGENCY!!! This game is so addictive it's sick! Don't take my word for it...ask JoshuaMatthew Rossini and he'll tell you all about it! (Heeheehee!) Kids can hang out there and play Greedy, UNO and other games...it really is a nice new hangout spot for us.
*Orphans with nowhere to go can go sleepies in a treehouse or a moon house on the ground once they have signed up with an agency. You will have a bed of your very own, and be able to set your Home position to that site.
*I work there! I'm a Starlight Helper and will be at the site seven hours a week to help kids and grownups set up panels, answer questions, stuffs like that. Some nice kids are on the staff, so come by and say hello anytime! And if you know reputable grownups who want to adopt a child, or a child who needs a family, tell them to stop by! (Starlight Starbright 100, 226, 23).

SL KIDS ON THE RADIO!

I was camping at Tiny Tykes and met Koffeekid Smalls, who co-hosts a radio show called "The Milk N Kookies Show" with Yuki Eliot. It's at http://radio.slchildren.org, and features news and music by and about kids in SL! Koffeekid and Yuki want this show to bring us SL kids together, and from what I'm hearing right now, it will do just that! Good for you, Koffeekid and Yuki!

Tomorrow's show (April 25) will be broadcast live from Tiny Tykes at 12 noon SLT. Why not go over there and watch Koffeekid and Yuki doing their radio show there?

Koffeekid is standing in this picture, which was taken at Tiny Tykes camping spot. From left to right,Xtreemlycute Pick, DoobieDoobie Dumpling and me are sitting on the benches!

KID SCOUTS CAMP IS OPEN!

I'm so glad I could be at the opening of Kid Scouts Camp on April 1 at 4 pm...I usually miss all the funs these days! Ms. Beth Brokken and Mr. Alex Turner have made a nice camp for us kids with cabins and plenty of room to play. The cabins have really comfy beddies, and I especially love the argyle bedspread on some of them.

Every day we're going to work towards patches, which we'll then put on our special camp vests. Yesterday was storytelling, as we sat around a big campfire and scared each other with tales, and today is cave exploration. Weekends will have Cabin Wars, including trivia and other funs things.

Much to my surprise, I was named the cabin leader of Cabin Two! That meant I had to make a totem pole to stand in front of our cabin. I just had to add a special touch...Hello Kitty, the patron saint of SL kids!!! See if you can find her in the picture! She's especially good to have as part of the totem pole cause one of the other scouts in our cabin is a Neko, and her name is Kittie!!!

I love being with other SL kids in a camping situation, so this is going to be a great month! You can leave the camp as you wish, but you have to spend at least eight hours a week here. I've almost done that in the first two days! I think being here a lot will give me time to update this blog, which is long overdue...a lot has been going on and I intend on telling you allll about it!!!

BABYSITTING IS FUN!

Lately I've been spending some time babysitting a sweet little prim baby. Miley Hannah is a good baby and I love being with her. She lets me know when it's time to feed her, change her (p-hew!) or when she's bored, and she giggles and coos when I sing her a lullaby or kiss her sweet little face. I made a bassinet for her to go sleepies in too, although she's happiest when I hold her and rock her in my arms.

Miley Hannah's first home was the Child Avatar Center in the Grimes sim (8, 204, 57) and I'm so glad I found her!

There's also a dancing studio there, with plenty of ballet moves. I love pretending I'm a ballerina, I'm so girly-girl that way! *giggle*

LITTLE RASCALS HAS VANISHED!

The Little Rascals shopping center for kids has vanished! There is only land where my store used to be. Those of us in the group received a group notice that the woman who ran the center was busy in RL, and would try to get it sorted out ASAP. But for now, it's gone.

The rents at Little Rascals were reasonable by SL standards--64L a month for 50 prims! I loved my spacious store. It also had a cute playground where I took great pictures of myself and a large pool. What a shame that it's closed. :-(

IRISHY GOODNESS INDEED!

St. Patrick's Day was two days ago as I write this, but you can get that Irish spirit year-round at a wonderful store I've discovered, Pocket Pfeffer. It's on the Goremoor sim (151, 157, 96) and has lots of Irish textures for things like Celtic crosses, foods and even a package of Irish potato crisps (chips)! There are also gorgeous gowns and casual dresses that would look really pretty on your grown-up alts and templates for making outfits on an application like Photoshop.

There is also a small thatched cottage on the grounds of Pocket Pfeffer. It's called The Cottage of Irishy Goodness and holds stuffs like signs, posters and an Irish teddy bear who is holding a glass of Guinness, which we're too young to drink yet! *giggle*

Pocket is also one of the very sweetest people I've met in SL. I belong in her group now and saw how she was trying to help someone use her templates--she couldn't have been nicer. I really like her AND her store!!!

MAKING AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND

Today I came home from exploring when I found a lady in my future home for kids, Chez Sleepies! I was scared at first, because I was all by myself and you never know if a grownup is going to be mean to you cause you're a kid. But I was so lucky...she turned out to be a very sweet, nice woman who just likes exploring and happened to come upon my house in the Scotia sim. She'd lived in SL for 6 months, but she never met a little kid avi before!!!

It's this kind of unexpected meeting that really makes SL a special place. She lives 1,000 miles from me in RL, and here we were, talking to each other. It was a special meeting, and a nice way to end a LONG work day in RL.

The picture here is of me and another visitor, Abigail. She's a prim baby who likes to stop by from time to time.

LET'S BUILD SOMETHING!!!

Kids in SL love to build things, and that's to be expected--the use of prims makes making stuff soooo easy! There's some fun options for those of us who want to learn how to become better builders. Alexandra Daikon is going to teach an elective building class at HardKnock Elementary on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays after the morning classes and before the evening classes, and its emphasis will be on building things YOU want to make. The class size is limited to 25 HKE students, so if you want to be part of this program, you need to sign up now.

Charmed Tech School is a new school for SL kids with an emphasis on building. Students must own Photoshop or a similar program to attend, which is why I couldn't go there. :-(

Of course, there's always TUi classes too! Right now Reno Katscher has a great class that teaches how to make a vanity table with a pose, and a hairbrush included...you can brush your hair in front of a mirror! Lizzyox Allen has lots of fun classes on making unique avatars, like a shamrock avatar and a snowman avatar. Then there's me...I am currently teaching a Child's Toy Box and Activity Rug class and will hold a session on Saturday, March 15 at 4 am.

Update: I was reading through the Events Calendar and found a listing for a class at Auburn Hills Estates. It's at 11:30 am on Monday, March 17 and will teach kids how to make sculptie mary janes and ballet slippers. The cost is 50L. I would so be there, but RL work...phooey!!!

HKE UPDATE

Hardknock Elementary certainly is a busy place! Kids are joining lots of fun clubs, and practices are in full swing.

Today was the first meeting of the Ballet/Equestrian Club. Dancers are going to put on at least one show before the end of the school year, and possibly a performance during graduation. The equestrian club will feature lots of horseback riding!

The Fencing Club is also going now, and I'm glad. I got a sword and a HUD today and I can't wait to start poking at people with it!!! *giggle*

PINBALL PRINCESS!

I went to Bratz & Angels Adoption Agency to see if they'd included the hat I made for their Blue Flower Girl outfit in their girls freebie box (they did!), and no one was playing their pinball machine. Of course, I just had to start playing!!! It's another cute camping pad, and it's fun to use. There's also an easel on the playground where you can create an art masterpiece and make moneys too!

Speaking of moneys, Bratz & Angels is hiring counselors, including kids! You can pick up an application at their front desk.

CHANGES AFOOT AT LITTLE JEWELS

Members of the Little Jewels group received several group notices on the evening of March 11 telling of changes at the shopping center. All vendors were to be evicted, and the rents were to be raised from the extremely low 2L a week. The notices mentioned that "we will not keep sitting back and be used and bad mouthed either by the kids who rent from us and do not bother to show up here to know or care what happens here." Vendors who visited Little Jewels often and who became friends of the family due to these visits would be warmly welcomed back into the revamped shopping area.

I had a cute little shop area at Little Jewels, and they did try hard to have events for us kids. I got my picture taken for free at their photo studio, and I really appreciate that they did this for me. There was also a snowball fight that was supposedly lots of fun, and a home where kids with no mommies and daddies could go sleepies.

Then again, there are only so many hours in a day, and there are more and more places for kids to hang out. And when shopkeepers have several locations, it can be tough to divide your time among all of them. I know there are weeks I can't visit my stores because I am just too busy!

It will be interesting to see the new Little Jewels when the renovations are done.

Update: Little Jewels will now charge 25L per week for a selling spot, which is still reasonable by SL standards. There will be separate areas for clothing and toys, and if you wish to sell both clothing and toys, you need to rent spaces in both places.

HUNTING FOR FREEBIES AT GINGERBREAD VILLAGE MALL

There's an Easter Egg Hunt going on at the Gingerbread Village Mall on the Isle of You sim, and there are plenty of wonderful freebies inside those little eggs. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress that was inside an egg at the Angelic Visions of Love store--soooo pretty!!! Eggs are located outside as well as inside the stores, and some stores have more than one egg. I need to go back there and hunt some more.

If you haven't been to Gingerbread Village Mall in a while, you're in for a treat! The booths have been replaced by individual stores, and there is a lovely playground with a fairy theme in a central area. There's also a choo-choo train that goes around the mall and the surrounding area. It really looks great and will be especially lovely at Christmastime!

The Easter Egg Hunt will take place until March 24. Happy hunting!!!

THANKIES MARIANNE!!!

We're famous!!! We're famous!!! Marianne McCann mentioned this blog in an article about new kids blogs in an article in the Metaverse Messenger! Thankies, Marianne! I especially liked that the paper used a picture of Justine Colville's blog, and it had a picture of me on it! *giggle*

Hmm...maybe I can make some moneys by signing autographs! *belly laugh*

SAFE HAVEN IS GONE

I was looking through the Search ads and saw that Safe Haven Adoption Agency had a "Peer Gynt" shopping center listed as the location. Uh ohs. That usually means another business has taken over that part of the sim. I TPed over, and sure enough, there was a shopping center where Safe Haven used to be.

I recently spoke to Kiara Hudson via IM, and she said that yes, Safe Haven is gone. That's sad. The people who worked at Safe Haven, like Kiara and Brittany Barry, were personally very kind to me. They also took your personality into account when they matched you up with parents. They cared--you weren't just a picture on a wall. So I'm personally sorry to see Safe Haven go. Kiara would like to reopen it some time in the future, which would be great for the homeless kids and prospective parents in SL.

This picture was taken of me at Safe Haven during one of my visits there.

LAG MONSTER STALKS SL STUDENTS!!!

So, it looks like the opening of HardKnock Elementary was successful, except that the lag was terrible! As Marianne McCann told me, "School was tons of fun, but kinda laggy too." I've heard from other kids that this problem was especially bad during lunchtime, and made it hard to get around.

Ms. Jill Caldera sent out a group notice mentioning the lag problem, and said that school hours would be extended from 5 pm to 8 pm SLT.

And it appears that HKE students have lots of school spirit! Sixteen students have signed up for cheerleading already, while 24 want to join the theater club! Fifteen want to be on the swim team, while eight want to join the fencing club and seven want to be on the soccer team. Go HKE!!!

KID SCOUTS HAS A BLOG, TOO!

I was going to write about Kid Scouts one of these days, but our troop leader Ms. Beth beat me to it!!! She started a blog, http://kidscouts.blogspot.com. You can read all about this week's meetings (which I missed for TUi classes), what you need to do to get badges and more!This picture shows meeting postings at the Kid Scouts meeting place.

I love Kid Scouts, and am very proud that I'm a Junior Scout. It's a great opportunity to meet other kids in SL, especially since not all kids go to school.

BYE CLOWNTOWN! HELLO TINY TYKES!!!

Clowntown is now Tiny Tykes. I visited Tiny Tykes yesterday, and I liked it! The aging summer resort town look of the place has been changed to a cartooony appearance. Just about every store has big googly eyes on it and some have a ramp that looks like a tongue! It looks like something you'd see at a circus and I think it's cute!

When you first TP into Tiny Tykes, there is a playground area that includes a really fun monkey swing. There are also plenty of toys for tinies, including a drum kit. I always get weirded out when I try a tinies toy, because it shrinks my arms and legs and I lose my hands and feet! But if you're a tinie, it would be lots of funs for you.

There are plenty of shops at Tiny Tykes. I especially liked Timeless Creations, which has many pretty clothes. Robin (Sojourner) Wood has a store with her lovely shapes, skins and clothes, and Marianne McCann has a booth here with her homemade toys. There are still some openings for stores if you'd like to become a shopkeeper.

Tiny Tykes has an adoption agency with really neat things in it, like a fun train and a coloring/computer table. It also has beddies for kids who are registered with the agency.

The BEST thing about Tiny Tykes is the puppet show that YOU put on. You click a booth and it gives you two bear puppets. You wear the puppets, sit in the booth and put on a show. Now I can add "Puppeteer" to my ever-growing SL resume. What makes it even better is you get moneys for making this show or for watching it! The animations for audience members are soooo cute too, as you laugh and clap for the show. It's the funnest camping set-up I've ever seen.

The people I met at Tiny Tykes are really nice, too. Love Brokken, who runs the adoption agency, is really sweet and the kids who hang out there seem full of fun. Good luck to her and this sim!

Update: There is going to be a talent show at Tiny Tykes on Saturday, March 8, at 5 pm SLT. Those in it will get four minutes to perform, and everyone in it will get a trophy for appearing, not just the winners. The winner will get 200L and a 300L gift card. The second place prize is a 200L gift card and third place is a 150L gift card. IM Love Brokken for more info on what should be a very fun night--wish I could go! (RL work, phooey!)

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Well, today is the first day of HardKnock Elementary. I'm not there, because us 3H kids don't start until March 18! And I was going to go down there, but I realized that the sim is going to be soooo crowded because it is the first day, that my spot should go to someone who actually has class today! I asked Ms. Jill and a friend to let me know how it goes, and I'll write about it then.

I HAVE snuck into my 3H classroom a couple of times, though! (Shhh, it's a secret!) Here I am writing on a chalkboard. It's a really nice room that captures the spirit of our little red schoolhouse.

GREAT GIFTS FOR MOMMIE!

It's not too early to think about Mother's Day presents! My friend from Camp HardKnock, Mahja Aja, is selling these pretty vases near her home. Prices range from 25L to 100L--similar vases can cost up to 250L!!! I especially like the one with the pink pattern and the one with the child's hands pattern--that's perfect for a mommie!

You can find Mahja's vases at Sunflower Island (198, 75, 24).

And if you're a kid involved in a project like making pretty vases, be sure to let SL STAR FOR KIDS know all about it!

SPEAKING OF STUPIDHEADS...

...my Yahoo mail account is not working right! I can't get into it!!! This keeps happening with them, but I have to keep trying, otherwise I'm going to have to make this whole blog all over again!!!

If you want to reach me, please IM me inworld or post a comment in this blog. Thankies.

DON'T GIVE UP!

An editorial by StellaStarr Soderstrom

It can be heartbreaking to be an SL kid. Too many of my friends have left this place. Maybe they've created new avies, or maybe they've left altogether. All I know is, they're gone, and I miss them.

I've nearly left too. I've almost grown myself up and stopped being a kid a couple of times. Late July/early August was NOT a good time for me here. The picture in this column was taken at that time. I left Camp HardKnock early because a couple of girls were mean to me. My then-mommie and I had a big falling out, with my aunt/alt and RL lady both getting involved and--wow, would we all do things differently now!!! The place where my aunt and I stayed turned out to be real poopieheads about kids living on the sim, which also made me feel unwelcome in SL. Then, I had a sad experience with a prospective mommie and daddie--they liked another girl more than me, someone they met after me, and when I didn't want to be her sissy they didn't want me anymore! My heart was so broken!

But I couldn't stay away from this place for more than a couple of days. I went to classes at TUi and went to Happy Days and explored SL like I love to do. And one day, I went to a class at TUi to learn how to make a caramel apple. The teacher was a student teacher, and she was sooooo nice to me. And that teacher, Kimber, is now my best friend/mommie/guardian/cool big sister in SL!!! I chose her over a couple of families that decided they wanted to adopt me at MAW...I went from no one wanting me to everyone wanting me!!!

So you see, things can change for the better. It's like RL...you never know what wonderful thing can happen, right around the corner. When things seem tough, it could be very much worth it to stick it out.

And if anyone reading this ever feels really sads, and needs someone to talk to...I'm here, and I'll listen.

I want to turn this over to our readers. Have you ever felt really sads and wanted to leave SL? What made you stay? Remember, people who write in can choose two items from my With Love from StellaStarr stores as a thankies for being published here!

Hugs to all the sad kids. It will get better, you'll see!

Love,
StellaStarr

WHAT A PRETTY FREEBIE!

I'm not going to post about fashion much in this blog. Justine Colville has a blog about kids fashion, and Maxi Rehula (YAAAAY Maxi!) has a blog that mentions kids stores, so I'd rather leave that talk to them. But I just had to let everyone know about this pretty freebie I found in a Girls Starter Kit at Bratz and Angels Adoption Agency! It's called Blue Flower Girl, and doesn't it look nice! I made the hat and sent a copy of it to the person who put the kit together; I hope she includes it in the box. If anyone reading this wants a copy of this hat free, IM me on line or respond to this blog post and I'll send one to you!!!

I've changed my hair AGAIN, if only for a little while! It's by Calla, and it's called Purple Lilacs. It's in their discounted styles area, and only cost 100L! I think it's very cute, and being a redhead is a new thing for me! *giggle* And you can't tell from this picture, but it has two ponytails going down the back. I love it!

IT ISN'T FAIR!

An Editorial by StellaStarr Soderstrom

Has this ever happened to you?

You need to make a few Lindens to upload a texture or buy a present for your mommie, daddie or a friend. You go somewhere that kids can camp safely like Playtime or Cutie Patootie. But when you finally get to that camping rug or bench, there's no room for you to park yourself for a while. GROWNUPS are taking up ALLLLL the camping spots, and you can't make any moneys!!!!

So, you go to another camping place...and another...and another. Kid at Heart Mall...Angelina's Little Girls Clothes...MAW. The scene's the same there, and There, and THERE. Big people hogging all the spaces, and some don't even look human...they're zombie-like avis who look really gross and are keeping you from making any moneys!

It's not fair!!! It's hard for a kid to make moneys in SL. Camping is just about the only way if you're not a model, a teacher or a shopkeeper. We can't camp just anywhere...we have to make sure it's a place where there's no bad stuffs and/or grownups won't be mean. And when these older peoples take spots at stores that cater to US, SL kids, well...that's just plain wrong!

One solution could be to only allow camping by members of a group that you'd have to join. Some adults could sneak in, but the group administrator can check profiles to make sure that only child avis could stay in the group. One bad thing about that is that most of us are maxxed out on our groups already, especially those of us who own stores in several places!

In the meantime, I have one piece of advice for the grownups who are taking our camping spots:

GET A JOB!!!!

SCIENCE CAN BE FUNS!

The Abyss Museum of Ocean Science

I took a trip to the Abyss Museum of Ocean Science and learned some things about sea life. Did you know there are five zones to the ocean? They are, from top to bottom:

The Sunlight or Epipelagic Zone
The Twilight or Mesopelagic Zone
The Midnight or Bathypelagic Zone
The Abyssal or Abyssopelagic Zone
The Hadeoplegic Zone

As the zones progress towards the bottom, the sea creatures get more fantastical-looking. The temperature drops and pressure increases. By the time you get close to the sea floor, you find creatures like starfish and tube worms.

The Museum allows you to "visit" the various layers of the ocean. I even got to "stand" on the ocean floor and see a creature that looks like a sea spider!

There are above-ground exhibits that discuss concerns like pollution and rising sea temperatures. I especially liked this billboard that told interesting facts. Did you know that less than 10 percent of the ocean has been explored by man? Or, like the picture says, oceans make up 99 percent of the living space on the planet?

I gathered plenty of notecards of facts that I want to read soon. I also picked up some free souvenirs like a wearable bathysphere, which is very silly when you're standing in your house! *giggle*

StellaStarr Soderstrom

LET'S GO THERE!

A Site Review
RACHELVILLE

I love reading, and I love visiting Rachelville. This site, which is on Imagination Island, has lots of reviews of children's books and plenty of places to explore. It's lots of funs to go there!

Rachelville is a tribute to a little girl with a vivid imagination. She made up stories about a fantasy world starring her favorite stuffed animals. Many of the tales that the girl made up were her way of making sense of her reality, in which she was being treated for acute myeloid leukemia. Rachel died shortly before her eighth birthday, which is very sad, and now her parents are honoring her memory with this site.

There are notecard reviews of childrens books written by librarians all over Rachelville. You will also find fanciful builds like the Dragon's Maze and a garden in the style of The Secret Garden, which was one of Rachel's favorite books. One of my favorites was the Castle of Dreams, which holds information about medieval times.

One time I visited Rachelville, there was a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King in the tp spot of Balance Point Plaza. Visitors were encouraged to learn more about his dream and work via weblinks.

Another time, our class visited a Children of Africa exhibit at Rachelville on Feb. 13. I was very surprised to be tped there, because I had left school early to see this exhibit the day before! I even got to meet Bono Vox, lead singer of the U2 in SL group; the real and SL Bonos both are sooo much into African causes.

The exhibit featured photographs taken by students in Namibian and Zambian orphanages. The pictures were so wonderful--the kids had the most beautiful faces you could imagine. I wanted to meet them all and be their friend!

CAMP HARDKNOCK WINTER SESSION: WE HAD A (SNOW) BALL!

By StellaStarr Soderstrom

Camp HardKnock held the third of its seasonal sessions from January 24 to February 3, and by all accounts it was a huge success. The theme of the session was "Kumbaya", as campers made new friends and abandoned the cliques that had made some kids uncomfortable during the first two sessions.

During the first couple of days of camp, campers stuck close to their friends and pulled pranks on other cabins. Head counselors Jill Caldera and her husband, Gattz Gilman didn't like the goings-on, and decided that everyone was going to live in one big cabin. Plenty of activities were held that made campers meet new-to-them people. The happy result? Lots of campers made new friends, and they soon were allowed to return to their cabins and well-decorated bunks!

The campsite had so much to do, it was hard to choose what to do next! So many activities, and so little time to enjoy them! I especially liked the sit-up mat in the exercise room and the ice fishing game.

I caught so many fish, I've had them for dinner night after night and should be growing gills by now! There were also plenty of building classes, a talent show, a skiing contest and more.

No camp would be complete without a little drama! The first night of camp, severe snows and possible avalanches were forecast. Kids and counselors were hurried into a bunker, where we all waited out the storm. Some kids cried, others considered it a big adventure, one even had an "accident" in the hallway! After about an hour, the avalanche warnings were lifted and we all went back to our cabins.

Camp HardKnock was so enjoyable that some campers protested when it was time to go home! They even tied themselves to trees and refused to leave! They finally were persuaded to go when they were assured there would be another session in the springtime.

KIDS SPEAK UP!

We Asked...You Answered!
The reopening of HardKnock Elementary School made the SL STAR FOR KIDS wonder what kids thought of the schools they'd attended. So, we asked what was their favorite school and why:

Ipamt Jewell: "Happy Days, cause the teachers were so nice and helpful too. Though some of the kids did not behave it was fun and we had a playground on the roof. I miss Happy Days."

Katie Lehmann: "Tu Amor HardKnock hands down—best staff and kids in SL."

Lovley Day: "HKE. It totally rocks!"

Danni Ohara: "HardKnock Elementary, because it was the best run of the ones I've been to."

Carly Bombacci: "HardKnock WOOT!"

Emiko Morigi: "So far 3H, cause Mr. Jace is cool, HKE was cools but new memories forget the old one heehee."

StellaStarr Soderstrom: "I loved Happy Days because I loved my class and my teachers, and I also love 3H because Mr. Jace is awesome!"

Aline Athens: "The school of life, the streets, the life."

HARDKNOCK ELEMENTARY IS BACK!

Happy Days. Rosebud Academy. Unique Carter Elementary. Sunshine Elementary. All of these schools have come and gone since HardKnock Elementary closed in the summer of 2007. Many of its former students wished that this school had stayed around instead.

Well, sometimes wishes come true! HardKnock Elementary is back, bigger and better than ever! HKE Principal Jill Caldera and her husband, Gattz Gilman, had spent their time running Camp Hardknock. But many kids, most notably Chelsea Gregg, persuaded them to reopen the school. Abby Callisto, owner of Abby Lane kids furniture store, kindly donated land to rebuild the school and it looks beautiful!

There are MANY MANY kids who want to come to HKE. The open house was so packed, people couldn't get into the sim! Ms. Jill introduced the staff, including popular teacher Ms. Ava Breyer and nurse Fatima Lycra, and said that the school would have a 9am to 11am (SLT) session and a 5:30 to 7:30 pm (SLT) session. Hours are still being decided for European students who can't miss their sleepies to go to school!

HKE is going to have several clubs and activities, like swimming, cheerleading, theater, soccer and fencing. The gym is really cool and has exercise machines! There's a BIIIG playground too!

When the reopening of HKE was announced, kids who go to 3H Academy were scared that they would lose their school—rumors were flying! What is happening is that kids who were in Mr. Jace's class are following him to HKE! They will have their own classroom, but the style of teaching will stay the same...more studying things that YOU want to learn!!!

One adjustment for 3H kids will be wearing a uniform. It is in the school's colors, blue and gold, and actually is kinda nice! 3H kids will start school on March 13; the rest of the school starts on March 3.
—StellaStarr Soderstrom

A NEW BLOG JUST FOR US!

SL STAR FOR KIDS!
For Those Who Act Young
Vol. 1, No. 1
February/March 2008

Hi everybody!!! I'm StellaStarr Soderstrom, and this is the first blogpost of the SL STAR FOR KIDS! I want this blog to be full of information that children in SL can use and enjoy. I love to write and want to tell peoples about what's going on in our world. The stories will be available in notecard form in-world too.

I wrote the stories in this first issue, but I want other kids to help me! I need news stories about what's going on in school or your sims, reviews of new stores, editorials about things that make you happy or sad--anything you want to write, really, as long as it's something interesting to kids. You can write about good things that happened to you, too! Because I don't have much moneys, I can't pay for articles. :-) BUT I can give you two items of your choice from my With Love From StellaStarr stores! You can pick from the outfits, hats, and playground equipment I sell.

I'd also like to thank my teacher/principal at 3H Academy, Mr. Jace Corvale, for inspiring me to finally put this blog together. Mr. Jace, you are awesome and I love being your student. And while I'll miss our cute red schoolhouse, I'm so glad we'll all be together at HKE!!!

Thankies for reading this, and I hope to hear from YOU!

Love,
StellaStarr Soderstrom
Editor/Publisher, SL STAR FOR KIDS