Tough one jodyw. I am not familiar with the American grade system but I would guess that you are looking for something fairly general/basic. It is a big subject as you will see from previous entries on this forum and so the job is to pick out a few points and show that you know something about them. If you say that gardens gave warrior lords a place to rest you will then explain that there was a lot of conflict within society. You will probably talk about samurai. You could say that the Japanese garden started as a protected area away from warfare.

just keep in mind that android tablets let you install the kindle app and the nook app so you can have all of those on one device. It really depends on your needs and wants as to what you get. the tablet with the best sound that I have owned was the vizio it had 3 speakers so no matter which direction you held it in you had stereo and the sound was fantastic. Wish more manufacturers would be more interested in the sound quality and take a lesson and put at least 3 or 4 speakers on them. I often struggle hearing with the one small speaker especially on my phone. I love love love my new Asus transformer tf300 10" tablet with dock but it too could use some improvement in the sound and speaker department. My husband still absolutely loves his lookbook in fact he now has his and mine and I am trying to make him transition over to my Vizio tablet so he has more options and can do other things on it. He is fighting me he wants to stick with his lookbook he is not a fan of the touch screen he keeps touching things by accident then I hear swearing lol. He is not a good student is all I have to say LOL That lookbook is extremely light weight you will not likely find any tablet that is that light.

Tricia also posted this a while back (when garden web still had caps in our usernames!) and I saved it... Given her original intro which I also saved (Tricia- I didn't think you'd mind if I re-posted it) it might not be appropriate for school, as she says it should only travel a short distance, but your daughter might find it interesting anyway... Russian Chicken and Dumplings Posted by TriciaE this is gonna sound complicated but it isn't...just takes a while but it's worth the time investment. I make this in a LC Dutch Oven. This is best if you're only going a short distance like to the neighbor's house for din-din... I'm German/Russian...family from Norka, Saratov, Russia...and this is our family's recipe for CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS. OK, first take a deep breathe, relax, and just read through the instructions...you'll see that it's not hard just a lot of process. Here we go... Roasted Chicken 1 (3-pound) whole chicken Salt and fresly ground black pepper 4 Tablespoons butter, softened 1 Lemon, halved and juiced, halves reserved 1/4 Cup fresh MINCED herbs, such as thyme, parsley, sage, and rosemary 1 Spanish onion, halved but not "skinned" 1 Head of garlic, chopped in two pieces (no need to peel) Fresh whole herbs, such as above... Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard or freeze for another use (like gravey anyone?). Rinse chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Wash hand thoroughly. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, lemon juice, and minced herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken, as well as under the skin. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic, and whole herbs inside the chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a Dutch Oven. Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred, discarding the skin and set aside. Reserve the bones for chicken stock. Next Step: Chicken Stock 2 Tablespoons EVOO 2 Carrots, cut in large chunks 2 Celery Stalks, cut in large chunks 1 Onion halved, do not peel 1 Garlic bulb, halved, do not peel Reserved chicken carcass 2 Quarts cold water 3 Sprigs fresh parsley 4 Sprigs fresh thyme 2 Bay leaves To prepare the stock, first place the chicken bones and the vegetables in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with a little EVOO, salt, and pepper. Roast in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Now, when the roasting is done...coat a large stockpot with EVOO and place over medium heat. Add the bones and veggies from the roasting pan, give a few good shakes of salt & pepper and saute everything for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the water and herbs. Simmer for another 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside. ARE WE READY??? Next Step is... Gravy 2 Tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon EVOO 1 Tablespoon AP Flour 1/2 Cup carrot, diced 1/2 Cup celery, diced 2 Cloves garlic, minced 2 Bay leaves 1/4 Cup Flour 6 Cups chicken stock (augment with canned if the above is slightly less but it should be enough) 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish In a Dutch Oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 more minutes to cook the flour and remove the starchy taste. SLOWLY, pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15-20 minutes. Stir in heavy cream. WHEW, ok...don't give up yet...we're almost done and it's smelling good in here... Dumplings 2 Cups AP Flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 Teaspoon salt 2 Eggs 3/4 to 1 Cup Buttermilk To prepare dumplings, sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together, pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like. Set aside. The Chicken...remember the chicken??? Go get the shredded chicken and put it into the simmering sauce. If this cools down the sauce, allow a couple minutes to bring back to a simmer. Finally, the Finishing step: Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be crowded. Let the dumplings poach COVERED for 10 to 15 minutes (DO NOT LIFT LID TO PEEK). They will be firm and puffed up. Season the pot with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving. Take the Dutch Oven directly to the table...remember to use a trivet. Congratulations, you've worked for hours and have burned enough calories to indulge yourself with homemade Chicken & Dumplings Russian Style... Tradition, in my family, is to serve this with smashed tatters. Yes, it's a HEAVY meal, but what the hay...believe me, you won't make this that often! Oh, don't forget to make something green to go with it. *****************

I pre-ordered my Fire when I first heard about it. I have had my K2 for nearly two years and love it. I had a little difficulty at first since I am techie challenged (!). Once I was told about getting a stylus, I went straight out and bought one, and that really made a 100% improvement getting around the Fire-no problems since. I have both my email accts loaded on it and I love seeing all the covers of my books etc. in color-the color on the Fire is really good. For Fire owners they offer an Free APP each day, a really big variety of Apps and 100 Free ones, plus the ones you can purchase. I am hooked on Words With Friends which I play with my DD who lives in another state. I also am hooked on Angry Birds-my family couldn't believe that when I told them, both of these Apps were free. So anyone that is thinking & hesitating about getting the Fire, I do recommend it. I participate in a Kindle forum and have learned so much and also got loads of freebies to read! I know people rave about their Ipads, but it has far more features on it than I would ever use, plus it is so pricey Pat