Tell us about your family.
“My brother Jonathan is almost 12. My sister Trishna is 13. My name is Elijah and I’m 11. My dad Steve works for an organization called Love146 that helps kids. My mom Jamie is a writer and she wrote this book called Give Your Child the World.” ~ Elijah Martin
Tell us about where you live and how long you’ve lived there.
See the Statue of Liberty in the background?
“We live in Newtown, Connecticut, USA. We’ve lived here for almost five years. Connecticut is in the northeast of America, close to New York City.” ~ Jonathan Martin
What do you think is unique and special about living where you do?
“I love the delicious ice cream from a place here called The Creamery. They make their own ice cream and I love their coffee ice cream. I also love going to Edmond Town Hall. It used to be a town hall and now it has been turned into a movie theater, and I love watching my favorite movies there.” ~ Trishna Martin
“The board game Scrabble was invented in Newtown, and we also have several famous writers who live here like Suzanne Collins of Gregor the Overlander and The Hunger Games and Joanna Cole of The Magic School Bus series.” ~ Jamie Martin
What languages are spoken there?
“In Connecticut we speak English. But I’m learning a new language called Spanish and it’s really fun to learn. Our babysitter is teaching us.” ~ Elijah
What are some traditional foods there?
“We have orchards here that grow peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and pears. Our traditional fruit dessert is peach upside down cake and it is sugary and awesome. We have our own garden in our yard that has tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, kale, spinach, and pumpkins.” ~ Trishna
“This summer we’ve had a lot of cookouts with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. One interesting fact: The first hamburger was made in New Haven, Connecticut (not far from here!) at a place called Louie’s Lunch.” ~ Jonathan
“One thing I love about where we live is that every year at the end of winter we can tap our trees and make our own maple syrup! It’s a tradition that I look forward to.” ~ Jamie
Tell us about the climate where you live.
“Normally our winters are snowy and very cold. Our summers are dry and hot, although we do get a lot of thunderstorms. Some years, though, we have mild winters and cooler summers. This year it was a mild winter and there was not a ton of snow, only about one foot over the whole winter. Generally we have three feet, so that was a lot less.” ~ Jonathan
What does school look like for the majority of kids where you live?
“Most kids get on the school bus and the driver takes them to school. Mothers and fathers can take them and pick them up, too. Elementary school starts around 9 o’clock and ends around 3:30 in the afternoon. They have recess and do lessons inside. Sometimes the little kids have show and tell.” ~ Elijah
What does school look like for your family?
“We homeschool, so our day looks a lot different to most families in our area. You can check out some of what our homeschool days look like here.” ~ Jamie
Are there any special festivals or traditions you’d like to tell us about related to where you live?
“On Labor Day in September Newtown does a parade, and almost every year we go and watch it. I love watching the fire trucks and the martial arts. People throw out candy from the parade floats.” ~ Trishna
If you ever had to move away from where you live, what do you think you’d miss most?
“I’d miss my friends. I would miss the library, Starbucks, and Panera Bread. I would miss our house and our yard and the town hall. We have a phrase here that we say: It’s nicer in Newtown.” ~ Elijah
Do you have a favorite book that takes place in your region/country?
Here are a few books that take place in New England/Connecticut:
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Connecticut)
- Farmer Boy (New York State)
- Poetry of Robert Frost (New England)
- The Courage of Sarah Noble (Connecticut)
Thanks for visiting Connecticut with us! It’s a beautiful place to live.