- May 15, 2025
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When the Observer received a letter from the classroom of a third grader in Virginia, requesting first-hand information on Florida for his project, the Observer decided to have some students in the local area offer their responses.
Dear James,
Hi! My name is Sofia. I’m 9 years old. I live in Florida because it doesn’t get too cold here and it’s sunny most of the time. Also, spring and summer are great seasons to go to the beach or to the pool. My family moved to Florida because my cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunts live there.
My mom was an employee at Sarasota Memorial Hospital but now she graduated to be a medical coder. My dad makes podcasts on Spotify and Youtube. Florida has many trees outside in nature, and many beaches, since Florida is kind of surrounded by water. When I’m inside my house, I like to play tag or hide and seek, but when I’m outside, I like to look at the different flowers and trees. In Florida, there are a lot of animals like eagles, dolphins, and reptiles! Foods that my family likes are New York strip steak, chicken nuggets and fries, and pasta. Music that I like to listen to is rock and country music. I don’t have a favorite Florida athletic team. A geographic feature in Florida is that it has flat land and is known for being the flattest state in the country. Another feature in Florida is the Everglades. The Everglades is a slow-moving river of water which has many alligators and crocodiles living there.
From,
Sofia
Dear James,
Hi! my name is Ximeha Bermeo-Orea and I’m a third grade student at Alta Vista Elementary. I’m 9 years old too. The reason I live here in Florida is because I was born here. The reason my mom and dad are here in Florida was because they wanted to experience it here in Florida. My dad makes money by working his job. He makes food for people. He works in two restaurants and one cafe. What I do for fun here is I draw in my drawing book, go to the pool, and play my favorite game, Roblox. But I have a question for you too. What is one popular band in northern Virginia?
Some animals that live here are a Florida black bear, bobcat, bald eagle, Florida panther, eastern chipmunk and a Burmese python. A food that I like to eat is tacos, yum! How it is here in Florida… it is hot and sunny, but sometimes warm, and we also have two seasons here which are (dry and wet). One thing that I like here in Florida is an ice cream place that I live right next to called “La Michoacana.” One ice cream that’s my favorite there is lemon ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. But here’s another question again. What candy do you like there in northern Virginia? One candy I like is a sour candy called Warheads. Do you like the same candy? Songs I like are Birds of a Feather, Sunroof, and Chipi Chipi Chapa.
Sincerely,
Ximena B.
Dear James,
Hi! Name is Leah Gomez. The school I go to is called Alta Vista Elementary. I live in Florida because my mom wanted me to have my life here. I grew up here for my whole life, but the rest of my family grew up in Mexico. My mom works at a bank called MidFlorida. My dad works at Ryder. For fun, I like to go to Dave and Buster’s video arcade with my siblings. The animals that live here are bobcats, alligators, crocodiles, blue jays and flamingos. Our state is flat land. A food I like to eat is Menudo. Menudo is a Mexican food that I love. My favorite singer is Selena Quintanilla. I don’t have a favorite Florida athletic team. What foods do you like? What do you do for fun?
Sincerely, Leah G.
Dear James,
Hi! I am Clarissa. I am 9 years old. My mom’s job is a nurse. My dad’s job is a manager for a construction company called Valcourt. My state, Florida, is very pretty. Let me tell you about it.
First, it is sunny and humid. I like the very very pretty beaches and sunsets.
Florida has a lot of fun places and things to do. Let me tell you some places. My favorite is the Ringling Museum. It has a lot of different parts, like art, plants and history.
Next, Sky Zone. It is really fun. I love the obstacle courses.
Another one is Livingston’s. It is the most fun arcade ever!
Florida also has a lot of cool animals. My favorite are flamingos, snakes, bald eagles, alligators, and crocodiles.
My favorite music is Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, which is pop music.
I don’t like sports, and I don’t have a favorite team.
I don’t know any geographic features.
Love,
Clarissa
Dear James,
Hi! my name is Sofia and I am 8 years old! I live here because I used to live in Romania and it is very cold there, and it is very hot here so I moved here because I want heat. My dad works at a building company, DCI, my mom works at Macy’s, and my big brother works at a golf company. My state has palm trees, it’s hot here (most of the time) and there are a lot of pools here. My hobby is to draw and make crafts. Birds live here, alligators, and a lot of them… bugs. What people like to eat here is chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and fish. YUMMY!
People like to listen to pop, rock and modern. What does your state have?
Sincerely,
Sofia-C ♡
Dear James,
Hi! My name is Dylan-Amador. I am in third grade and I am 9 years old. My school’s name is Alta Vista Elementary. My family moved to FL because my parents needed jobs. My dad’s job is landscaping and my mom’s job is cleaning houses. Here we have humid weather and our land is flat. We have (a dry season and a wet season). I love to go to Livingston's. It is an arcade and it has a food court. My dad and I like to play the basketball games. Once me and my dad got 500 tickets on one game. We have animals like alligators, killer whales, great white sharks, and eagles. People like to eat foods like pizza, tacos and tamales. I listen to rap music. It is so fast, you can barely hear what they are saying. What is your favorite type of music? My favorite team is the FL Gators. Their team is so good. My state has palm trees and swamps, also flat land.
Your friend,
Dylan
Dear James,
Hi! my name is Wilshere. I am 9 years old. I live here because of the palm trees and the breeze. My dad makes money by working in landscape. Our state looks like a lot of palm trees. What I do for fun is go to Sky Zone. Sky Zone is a place where you can jump. The animals that live here are flamingos, bald eagles, and bobcats. The foods that I like to eat are tacos and pizza. The music that I listen to is Xavi. I don’t really care about athletic teams, so I don’t have a favorite team. I don’t know geographic features about this so I can’t tell you about it.
From,
Wilshere
Dear James,
Hello. My name is Axell Jusino. I’m 9 years old. My favorite band is Big Bang. I am Dominican American. I moved from Pennsylvania. In Florida there is a lot to see. Sometimes you can see alligators crossing the road!
There is a place called the Everglades, the only place in America that alligators and crocodiles live together. The oldest city in America is St. Augustine. It has the Spanish Castillo De San Marcos Fort National Monument. There was never a war that the fort lost! In Florida, there are a lot of palm trees. It is very humid and hot. People called "snowbirds" come from the north for the warm winter. My favorite sport is soccer. My favorite soccer team is Miami. Foods people eat are a lot of Spanish food like Mexican food, Dominican food, Argentinian food, Puerto Rican food, and Colombian food. My favorite foods are empanadas, white rice, tacos, and cheese quesadillas. My favorite video games are Geometry Dash, Minecraft, Roblox, and Gorilla Tag. I have seven siblings. My mom works for a company called J.L. Bainbridge. My stepdad works for a company called PODS. My favorite songs are Bang Bang Bang, Fantastic Baby, Thick of It, Doom Dada, and Lucid Dreams. My favorite candies are Freeze Dried Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Toxic Waste, and Warheads Extreme Sour. Do you like the same candies?
From,
Axell
Dear James,
My name is Shanaia and I'm a fourth-grade student at Innovation Academy. I received your letter and would love to help you with your project. I am going to answer your questions one at a time.
1. I live in Florida because my parents wanted to leave Cuba because of the economy and COVID so we could have a better life.
2. My dad works as a construction worker and my mom is a housewife.
3. Florida is in the shape of a pan.
4. Because the weather is always warm and sunny, we do lots of stuff like going jetskiing, go to amusement parks, and boating.
5. Some of the animals in Florida are: alligators, dolphins and turtles.
6. We eat a lot of seafood down here, for example: stone crabs, oysters, groupers, and, of course, oranges.
7. I like to listen to Sza, and Billie.
8. My favorite Florida team is the Tampa Bay Bucs.
9. Because Florida is a peninsula, 3/4 of our sides are coastlines. We are at sea level. That is why we can't have basements or they would flood. We also have swamps and wetlands.
Now you know all about Florida. I wish you best of luck on your project.
Your Friend Shanaia
Dear James,
My name is Taniyah and I am a fourth-grade student at Innovation Academy. I received your letter and would love to help you with your project. I am going to answer your questions one at a time.
1. I live in Florida because my dad wanted to be closer to family.
2. My mom has two jobs, working from home and healthcare. My dad cleans the house.
3. Florida is in a shape of a pan.
4. Because the weather is always warm and sunny, we do a lot of activities outside. I like to go swimming, paddle boarding, and visit Disney World.
5. Some of the animals we have in Florida are: dolphins, alligators and manatees.
6. We eat a lot of seafood down here. Examples include stone crabs, crawfish, oysters and, of course, oranges as well.
7. I like to listen to Beyonce, SZA and Michael Jackson.
8. My favorite Florida teams are Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Gators. (Softball team.)
9. Because Florida is a peninsula, 3/4 of our sides are coastline. We are at sea level, which is why we can't have basements or they would flood. We also have swamps or wetlands.
Now you know all about Florida. Best of luck on your project.
Your friend, Taniyah
Hi James
I am a fifth-grade student in Sarasota, Florida. Today our class will be answering your questions. I live in Florida because it’s really good out here, and there’s really good people out here. What first brought my family here is that it really looks cool out here. My family makes money by working hard. My mom works at McDonald's. The stuff I do for fun is that I hang out with my friends, and that I play soccer with my friends. The animals that live here are eagles, lizards. People like to eat burgers, pizza, and many other things. Sometimes people like to listen to XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, NLE Choppa, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Billie Eillish, and Lady Gaga, sometime Drake.
No, I don’t have a Florida athletic team. Some interesting geographic features of Florida are coastal plains, wetlands and uneven karst landscape.
Sincerely,
Dilan
Dear James,
Hi! I am a fifth grader in Sarasota, Florida. I will be happy to inform you on the Sunshine State Florida!
I live in Florida because of the beaches, weather and friends. My family was brought to Florida for the same reason.
My dad makes money from working as a video producer.
Florida looks sunny, crowded and sometimes dry.
I like to go to the beach, the UTC mall, or hangout with friends for fun.
Some animals that live in Florida are alligators, dolphins, and wildcats.
Music is everywhere, but from my experience, most likely country or rap.
As of right now, I do not have a favorite athletic team.
Some interesting geographic features in Florida are the Everglades, karst, and Lake Wales ridge.
Sincerely,
Katerina
Dear James,
I am a fifth-grade student from Florida and today I am going to be answering your questions about Florida. I live in my state because it is warm and less cold in the winter. My parents came here from New York because it is too cold in New York, and it is less crowded. My family makes money by teaching college students and selling screens. My parents' jobs are an entrepreneur and a teacher. Florida is green but not for long because it's very polluted. We play video games and sports for fun. Some animals that live here are rattlesnakes, dolphins, eagles, and tortoises. People like to eat pizza, pasta, and fried chicken. People like to listen to rap music, pop music and country music. Florida's most popular sport is football and our most popular football team is the Eagles. Some geographic features of islands are barrier islands, manmade lagoons, coastal plains and karst landscape.
From: Charlie
Dear James,
Hi! I'm a fifth grader in Sarasota, Florida. I'm glad your class is learning about my state, and I'm happy to answer your questions.
I live in my state because when my family lived in Mexico they had other family here in Florida. My mom makes money by either working six, twelve or seventeen-hour shifts as a nurse. My dad makes money by working two jobs.
My state has a lot of trees, especially palm trees, others have fruit. Usually I have fun by hanging out with my friend Luna and going to the pool. The common animals I see are cardinals, pigeons, and uncommonly, foxes. I like to eat all types of pasta and fast food. Most people I know like pop or rap. My favorite team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Some geographic features Florida may contain are flat coastal plains.
Sincerely,
Leyla
