The Weekly Write-Up #16
Welcome to the Weekly Write-Up #16! This week I’m not posting from Indiana because I’m in the middle of the Caribbean. This is because I am on the Disney Wish cruise ship! It was interesting with the quick turn-around this week because I had to finish this newsletter by Wednesday (hence why it is slightly shorter than normal). It is a good thing that you can schedule newsletters to post at a certain time with Substack because I probably won’t have internet access on the boat. But, I won’t say any more about the ship because I will definitely do a full review on this remarkable cruise ship next week. With that being said, enjoy this newsletter!
In this newsletter…
A series that I would totally read again!
My favorite “horror” movies!
The best app of 2022, full review!
Another great board game about national parks!
Something I Read
BENJAMIN PRATT AND THE KEEPERS OF THE SCHOOL
Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School is a series written by Andrew Clements, whom you may recognize as the author of Frindle. In my opinion, I don’t really like Frindle (this can be discussed another time if necessary), but I do really like this series! I’ll be honest, I read this series a few years ago, and only vaguely remember it. From what I do recall, I remember really enjoying this series! It was exciting, intriguing, and interesting.
Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School is about Benjamin Pratt and his friends as they are attempting to save their school from being destroyed. They must find clues within the school and solve mysteries to prove the school’s importance before time runs out. The book series is fascinating and will keep you on your toes! The books are pretty simple to read and get better with each book. I really enjoyed trying to solve the mysteries along with the kids as they attempted to save their school. The countless twists and turns surprised me, and many times I didn’t know what was happening next!
Overall, I loved reading this series! I would completely recommend it to ages 8-12 (or older because I would definitely read it again, and I’m older than 12). It is a great series and one that many kids and tweens would enjoy reading! You can buy the series at Amazon by clicking here.
Something I Watched
JURASSIC PARK AND JURASSIC WORLD
Earlier this year, Jurassic World Dominioncame out, ending the series. Last week, in my rankings, 2 Jurassic movies made it into my top 5. Going along with that, I would like to do a full review on the whole Jurassic Park and Jurassic World saga.
The first movie, Jurassic Park, came out in June 1993, starting the Jurassic Parkphenomenon. To me, this is one of the best Jurassic movies, mostly just because it is the original! All the other movies seem to just copy or slightly change the plot line of the original movie. Jurassic Park 2 is okay at best, and Jurassic Park 3 is not much better. Jurassic World, though, which came out in June 2015, introduces new characters and changes up the series a bit. From my personal perspective, this movie is THE BEST Jurassic movie of them all! I say that because it had the best plot and was put together the best. The original movie is a very close second, though. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is okay, but not the best. Finally, Jurassic World: Dominion is fun because it combines the characters from all the other movies.
What I like about the Jurassic movies is that they are both funny and scary at the same time. I usually don’t like horror movies, but these movies are just fun and have a few jumps thrown in. While the plots of the first Jurassic Park and the first Jurassic World are good, the rest just seem to basically repeat this same basic plot line found in the first movies. Nonetheless, each movie is a bit different and poses something unique from the other movies.
The Jurassic series is great, and I really enjoyed watching it this year. They are a little scary, have good plot lines, and are pretty funny. I would highly recommend these to older kids, tweens, teens, and adults, as they are great movies! If you would like to watch these, you can stream them on Prime Video, buy them on DVD, or find them on various other streaming services.
Tech Thoughts
GOODNOTES 5
Last week, I posted the first annual app ratings for 2022. Spoiler alert if you didn’t read: This app, GoodNotes 5, won first place! As promised, here is my full Hreview on GoodNotes 5! GoodNotes 5 is a note-taking app that is primarily built around the Apple Pencil. This app is FANTASTIC for note-taking and so much more! When thinking about GoodNotes, three amazing pros that the app presents come to my mind.
First, flexibility is significant when it comes to an app. GoodNotes 5 is a very flexible app because you can do so much with it. You can annotate files, scan documents, and choose from templates to write or draw on. GoodNotes 5 also allows you to pay to download other templates like planners, calendar, and additional notebook covers. I use this app in so many cases, including taking notes for History class, completing my math homework digitally, and scanning assignments to submit online. This is easily the best addition to my school lineup of apps this year. When working on a document, there are many pens to choose from, as well as highlighters, text, stickers, and so much more!
When talking about flexibility, some people may wonder about complexity. If an app is too complex, then people won’t want to use it. That is the thing about GoodNotes, though; it isn’t complex at all. It is easy for anyone to use. It seamlessly pairs with your Apple Pencil, so you can start writing or drawing. It is easy to create a document, write, erase, highlight, or do anything else you might need to do. It is easy to use for people of all ages, and I would recommend it mostly to students, but also to anyone else who has an Apple Pencil and wants a note-taking app.
Finally, you require a place to organize all these documents. Luckily, organizability is one of GoodNotes’ strong suits. You can organize everything into notebooks, folders, and documents. Everything goes where it needs to be and is easy to find when needed. You can star important files and search for something to find it quickly. Also, you can choose from a selective array of beautiful covers for your notebooks, which is really nice. I have a notebook for each class, and each of these are in a separate folder, so I can store other documents from that class if needed. It is effortless to store and organize anything you create in GoodNotes 5.
Overall, GoodNotes 5 is an outstanding app, and I don’t regret giving it first place last week! It continues to get better with each update, and I’m excited to see what they add to it in the future. I would actually rather use the Apple Pencil in GoodNotes 5 than in Apple Notes. This app is an absolute essential if you have an Apple Pencil. I’m so glad I discovered this app, and I will definitely continue to use this app!
Wild Card
TREKKING THE NATIONAL PARKS: THE BOARD GAME
In my first-ever newsletter, I shared the Parks board game and posted my full review on it. Today I’m going to review a board game with the same theme. This game is titled Trekking the National Parks and is for 2–5 players, ages 8+. Similar to Parks, the goal of the game is to earn points by claiming parks and collecting stones. Game play is very different from Parks, though. Players use cards to move around the board, collecting stones as they land on certain spaces. Players can also use cards to visit regular and special parks, earning points. The game is pretty simple to play, but not too easy. My family and I kept comparing it to Ticket to Ride in the way that it plays, but it is actually a little different in certain respects.
This game is one that I definitely enjoy playing. I’ve played it both with two players and with four players, and both went well. I think this game can be fantastic, no matter how many players you play it with. It will just be longer if you add more players. Something I like about this game is how beautiful it is. The cards, pieces, and tokens are all very well put-together. My family and I agreed that the board was a little lackluster compared to some other games we have played, but it isn’t bad by any means!
Seriously, this is a pretty great game. Although it is similar to some I’ve played before (like Ticket to Ride and others), it is still a really solid game that I enjoy playing! You should absolutely check it out on Amazon.
Thanks for reading! I am sending warm weather from Nassau, Bahamas! Please share this newsletter with anyone you think would enjoy the kind of content I’m writing about!
I have that board game and love it!!!