april-04-2013-KV

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 3APRIL 2013 WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

TRUMAN’S LETTERHi, Kids!

Did you know that Earth Day is on April 22? We are celebrating Earth Day by talking about plants and soils in this month’s issue. It’s important to manage the Earth’s resources wisely. Plants and the soil in which they grow are just a small part of the many resources the Earth provides. Plants not only clean the air, they also serve as a source of food and even energy.

Plants need water to grow, and most plants get water in the form of rain. Native Americans even have dances that are supposed to bring rain to water the crops. You can read about Native American dances in the “Cultural Connections” section.

While many plants are used as food, not all plants are edible. The head groundkeeper at Disney spends a lot of time caring for and grooming plants to make them beautiful for the many visitors who come to the park each year. Find out more about that in the “What’s It Like to Be…” section.

What is your favorite plant? What do you like about it? That makes me think of one of my favorite rhymes: April showers bring May flowers! Rain is important in ensuring that our crops and our beautiful flowers grow. I really enjoy flowers. I love the way they smell and I love the way they look. About the only thing I don’t like about them is when they make me sneeze!

PAGE 4 - KIDSVILLE NEWS APRIL 2013WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

Connections

Each year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22. The celebration of this day became a reality in 1970, when environmentalists, or someone who works toward protecting nature from pollution, decided to make sure that people know how important it is to protect the Earth’s environment.

At the time, there were not very many laws regu-lating the kinds of gases that were sent into the air by cars or factories. No one really monitored pollution of the water either. That changed a little in 1962, when an American author, Rachel Carson, wrote a book called Silent Spring.

The book called people’s attention to the dangers of not taking care of the Earth and the way that pol-lutants affect living organisms, the environment and the very health of the people.

In 1970, Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, decided that there needed to be an an-nual focus on taking care of our Earth. He looked around and saw how students on college campuses were protesting for peace and decided that the Earth needed that same kind of attention!

He announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the media, and then went about convincing his fellow members of Congress that it was important. After putting together a team to plan the first celebration, he was happy to see that on April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. This happened all across America!

Instead of working alone, all the people who had been trying to bring attention to the dangers of pollution came together to make their voices heard. They no longer just cared about the water or wildlife or plants, they came together to look at the bigger picture of taking care of our environment and they began to work together.

It wasn’t until 1990, that another big Earth Day event was held, and this time, it didn’t just focus on America, it focused on the world. That event brought

together 200 million people from 141 countries to talk about taking care of our planet. From this event came the emphasis on recycling (do you recycle?). Also at this event, President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

which is the highest honor a civilian can be given, for his work on creating Earth Day.

In 2000, another big event was planned, this time the organizers agreed to focus on the effects of global warming and the need for cleaner en-ergy. More than 5,000 groups from 184 countries reached out to let millions of people know about Earth Day.

While in some countries the word about Earth Day was spread by the Internet, a talking drum chain was used to spread the word all across Africa!

Last year the goal for Earth Day was to encourage people all across the world to carry out A Billion Acts of Green®, which saw more than one million trees planted all across the world. Little steps make a big impact in keeping our world safe. In India, Earth Day

organizers have found a small way to help make their part of the world better.

The Earth Day Network-India is sponsoring a Bags for Earth campaign to help turn old clothes and other discarded cloth items into useful bags and provide a green alternative to using plastic bags. Think about all of the plastic bags you bring home from the grocery store. What usually hap-pens to those bags? Do you reuse them? Do you throw them away? Would it surprise you to know that it takes almost 500 years for one of those plastic bags, once thrown away, to break down and disappear from the Earth? That’s a long time and a lot of trash to fill our Earth. So the project in India really makes sense.

Put together by the Rotary Club of Calcutta, the program was first used at a housing complex

in Kolkata.The idea was to: “Bring

us something old; take back something new and useful.” Throughout one weekend, the Earth Day Network organized women to bring their sewing machines to the housing area so that families could bring their discarded clothes and fabric and turn them into Bags for Earth.

Manoj Pasari, the Rotarian who coordinated the event,

said that Bags for Earth was very useful in sup-porting the reduction of plastic use by providing a greener alternative and at the same time develop-ing the concept of reuse. The event was so success-ful, there are plans to take it throughout the city.

As Earth Day approaches, think about a simple thing you can do in your home or in your school to recycle and make something old new instead of throwing it away!

In the Connections article, the Rotary Club of Calcutta organized the Bags for Earth campaign. Do you know what a Rotary Club is? Rotary International is service organisation that works to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 34,282 clubs and more than 1.2 million members worldwide. The members of Rotary Clubs are known as Rotariansm, and usually meet once a week. The club’s motto is “Service above Self.” What do you think that means?

On Earth Day Make Something Old New

The Earth Day Network-India sponsors events to turn old clothes into bags.


AR O UND THE W O RLDArbor DayOn Friday, April 26, people all across the United States will join together to celebrate Arbor Day. On Arbor Day, people are encouraged to plant and care for trees. A wide range of events are organized to promote Arbor Day. These include: communal tree planting ceremonies; proclamations by city governments; exhibitions and educational activities about trees and their importance to local communities and the planet as a whole; and fairs, musical performances and open days in garden centers. Schools, just like yours, are encouraged to plan lessons around the theme of trees.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

From April 1- 30, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival celebrates the beauty of tulips! Held in Washington state, thousands of people visit Skagit Valley to enjoy the celebration of spring as millions of tulips burst into bloom. The festi-val encourages people to travel throughout the valley to visit the farmers who raise hundreds of acres of tulips!

Vibrations of AccordionsThe Festival of the Vallenato Legend is one of Colombia’s most important music and folk festivals. Literally, vallenato means ‘born in the valley’. The term now applies to the people of the city of Valledupar and to the generic name for the music of the region. Traditionally, the festival is celebrated between April 26 and 30 in Valledupar, the capital of the department of Cesar. For five days, the city becomes an enor-mous party, full of parades, shows, contests, and good music.

Condors are a type of vulture, which is sometimes called a scavenger. Vultures are large birds — really large. There are two kinds of condors; one of which lives in California, while the other lives in the Andean Mountains. These birds are called New World vultures and are extremely large. Wingspans of up to 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) have been reported for male Andean Condors, and adult California Condors typically reach 2.9 meters (9.5 feet). From beak to tail, the body of each is about 1.2 meters (4 feet) long. Male Andean Condors may weigh up to 15 kg (33 pounds), and female Andean and both sexes of Cali-fornia Condors may reach 11 kg (24 pounds) in weight.

The male Andean Condor is a black bird with grayish-white wing feathers, a white fringe of feathers around the neck and a bare red or pinkish head, neck and crop. Males have a large car-uncle, or a fleshy bulge, on their foreheads and tops of their beaks, with turkey-like neck wattles. The species roams throughout the Andes Mountains of South America, frequenting open country and feeding on dead animals. In Peru and Chile, the condor’s habitat stretches all the way down to the Pacific Coast, where the birds feed on dead marine animals such as seals and fish. Andean

Condors are rare in northern South America but are still common in the southern habitat. They breed every other year unless the baby bird dies. When that happens, the pair breeds again the following year. The young condors are raised on remote ledges and in caves at altitudes above 3,000 meters (10,000 feet), using no nesting material. The white egg of a condor measures about 12 cm (4.5 inches) long.

Adult California Condors are mostly black, with bold white wing linings and bare heads that are colored from red to orange on the head, neck and crop. Young birds have dark heads that gradually become red as they near adulthood. The birds reach full maturity at about the age of 6.

Condors look for food in open country and feed exclusively on already dead animals. California Condors nest in cliffs, under large rocks or in other natural cavities, including holes in redwood trees. This habit is very similar to that of their relatives in South America. The California Condors generally breed every other year, laying a single unmarked greenish-white egg measuring about 11 cm (4 inches) long.

The California Condor is critically endangered, and by 1982, only 20 remained in the wild. The birds are usually killed by hunters and lead poisoning. Many zoos have California Condors to help the species breed; in recent years numbers have increased, but there still are not many California Condors left.

The service that condors provide is very important. All vultures are scavengers, meaning that they eat animals that they find already dead. Sometimes animals are killed by accident or sickness, so vultures eat them to clean it all up.

Sources http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/131593/condor

CondorsKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: AvesOrder: CiconiiformesFamily: CathartidaeGenus: Vultur (Andean)

Genus: Gymnogypd (California)

Species: V. Gryphus (Andean)

Species: G. Californianus (California)

California Condor


Where in the World Is...Colombia?

It’s time to get out your globe! You need to know about the imaginary lines on globes and maps. These lines are called lines of latitude and longitude, and they tell a pilot or ship’s captain exactly where in the world a certain place is located. Basically, latitude lines (also called parallels) are the horizontal lines on your map.

Lines of longi-tude (also called meridians) are the vertical lines that run from

the North Pole to the South Pole. This mapping system is written in degrees and uses the symbol °. Get ready to travel the world!

On your globe, locate longitude of 72° W and latitude of 4° N, and you’ll find the South American country of Colombia. Colombia, along with Ecuador and Venezuela, once comprised Gran Colombia, which collapsed in 1830. The capital of Colombia is Bogotá. A little less than twice the size of our state of Texas, Colombia shares borders with Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. It is the only South American country with coast-lines on the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. The terrain varies from flat coastal and eastern lowland plains, where the climate is tropical, to the cooler central highlands and the high Andes Mountains. The country is home to many active volcanoes, including Galeras, Nevado del Ruiz and Nevado del Huila.

Colombia is rich in natural resources such as coal, copper, emeralds, gold, hydropower, iron ore, natural gas and petroleum and nickel.

Because of the presence of volcanoes, Colombia also has a rich soil, which is good for farming and grazing cattle. However, the country now faces unwelcome environmental problems as a result of

not protecting the soil and the forests: soil erosion, deforestation and endangered wildlife species. Forests cover about 45 percent of the country, but for years, the number of trees removed for farming and lumber exceeded the number of trees re-planted. The loss of vegetation — or plants and trees — and heavy rainfall contribute to soil erosion. Without the plants holding the soil in place, water from heavy rains can carry the soil away. Additionally, the overuse of pesticides has hurt the quality of the soil as well as the water. And when the soil is lost or damaged or when habitats, like forests, are removed, wildlife species become threatened. By 2001, an estimated 429 plant species out of 51,000 were classi-fied as endangered. As a result, the government has started

many programs to protect the environment, including the National Environmen-tal Education Plan for 1991–94, which introduced environmental issues in the elementary schools.

Sources: “Colombia,” The CIA World Factbook, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/co.html; “Colombia – Environment,” www.nationsency-clopedia.com/Americas/Colombia-ENVIRONMENT.html.

Galeras (pictured above) is just one of several active volcanoes in Colombia.

Math-A-Museby Evelyn B. Christensen, Ed.D.

More puzzles are available at www.evelynchristensen.com.

Addition SquareFind the missing numbers. In each row, the fourth number is the sum of the first 3. The same is true of each column.

Coin CaperWhat 5 U.S. coins are worth 50 cents?

Find 2 solutions

6 2

2 3 9

3 2

8 23

Look for Math-A-Muse Answers on the Puzzleville Answers page.

Road Riddle

Put operation signs in the squares so that doing each

operation along the road will bring you to the last number.

©© 2013 2013 Evelyn B. ChristensenEvelyn B. Christensen

If you enjoy this puzzle, you may also enjoy

Math Path Puzzles Level B published by MindWare.

5

9 4

3

7

SUBTRACTIONSUBTRACTION SUDOKU SUDOKU

Solve the problems. Then fSolve the problems. Then f illil l in the squares so that in the squares so that

each row, column, and 2x3 rectangle has the numbers 1each row, column, and 2x3 rectangle has the numbers 1 --6.6.

1515 –– 9 9

==

1111 –– 6 6

==

88 –– 55 = =

1111 –– 8 8

==

99 –– 5 = 5 = 12 12 –– 7 7

==

1313 –– 8 8

==

77 –– 4 4 = = 33 –– 2 = 2 = 1414 –– 8 8

==

5 5 –– 2 2 = = 99 –– 7 = 7 = 10 10 –– 4 4

==

1313 –– 9 9

==

8 8 –– 6 = 6 = 1414 –– 9 9

==

1212 –– 6 6

==

6 6 –– 5 = 5 =

99 –– 8 = 8 = 11 11 –– 9 9

==


What’s It Like to Be...A Horticulturist?

I love flowers — in fact, I am already working on my veggie garden plan to plant when spring arrives. While I was planning my garden, I wondered what it would be like to work in a place surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants — a place like Disney World!

When the Magic Kingdom first opened in 1971, Heather Will-Brown was 17 and eager to help the first park guests seeking a treat at Coke Corner on Main Street, U.S.A. Soon, Heather’s wish came true when she turned her passion for gardening into a job on Disney’s horticulture team. She was, in fact, the first female gardener on staff.

“It was like a miracle,” Will-Browne says. “This company has given me so much experi-ence.”

During her career, Will-Browne has run forklifts, led a landscaping crew, co-managed greenhouses and managed test gardens. She even appeared on TV with home and garden guru Martha Stewart. Now, she works as a Horticulture Area Manager, co-managing the Walt Disney World Nursery in plant production and the support of special events. In this role, she specializes in the scheduling and selection of bedding plants, containers, hanging baskets and the coordination of the Walt Disney World Bedding Plant Trail Program. She also oversees ordering and transport-ing of hundreds of thousands of plants each year for the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, happen-ing March 6 to May 19. This festival features 30 million multi-hued blooms, 1,000 native butterflies and 100-plus whimsical topiaries!

Truman: What does it take to become a profes-sional horticulturist (an expert in the science of culti-vating plants)?

Will-Browne: My first thought is — and it sounds silly — that you have to love plants. That’s the key. Education is a huge bonus. A lot of people get degrees in agriculture or horticulture. Education is great but you need to have experience too, experience growing plants — sometimes that kind of learning process is bet-ter than education. You have to love plants and love working with them. Here at Disney we have internships in the horticulture and land department.

Truman: When, and why, did you first become inter-ested in this profession?

Will-Browne: It was in my blood. It is amazing how many people I’ve met over the years that say that. People give credit to their grandmother or their mother, or someone in their family who loved growing plants and took them around plants. In my life it was my grandfather. He grew orchids in south Florida — he bred orchids and even named an orchid after me. He would take me out to the green house and let me pull out the baby orchid plants. To this day, I’ll smell an orchid and my memories go back to that time.

Truman: What do you do every day? Describe a typi-cal day on the job.

Will-Browne: I start my day by going through one of the parks. Part of my responsibility is to have the right flowers in the right places, so I go through and check

that everything is in place. That’s one of the nicest parts of my job — to drive through the park when it’s quiet and no one is around. I co-manage the nursery and we have a crew that helps produce all of the neat things you see out there in the park and for the festival. I also

spend a lot of the day doing nurs-ery work. That might be anything from helping someone plant some-thing to doing payroll. I help with the scheduling of all of the bed-ding plants — we use more than 3 million a year. We schedule and grow all of the hanging baskets. Part of my time is management, part working in the field and part working in the parks. I have a busy day. And a huge part of the job is theming — different plants are used to go with the theme of a par-ticular park or resort. Plants are different at the Wilderness Lodge than at the Polynesian Resort. For instance, tropical plants go

to the Polynesian, but they certainly wouldn’t belong on Main Street. The nice part is that I have the ability to make decisions. If I don’t like the way something looks, I get to help change it. But I’m also a helper — we all work together.

Truman: What’s the hardest part of your job?Will-Browne: Keeping track of all the things we do.

It’s difficult to tell you how multifaceted we are. We run a greens operation here, too. So not only do we produce plants here and for the festival, we have the greens operation, too, that handles greenery and inte-rior plants for special events. Just keeping track of it all can be a challenge. For instance, right now we are scheduling September 2013 through February 2014, trying to have the schedule to our vendors [companies that sell the plants] six months in advance. We can select plants that are very unusual, so we have to make sure the vendors have time to get what we want. Every garden bed that you see, within the 40 square miles of Disney parks and resorts, every plant in that bed has a specific name and number. We go through all of the schedules, input into the computer, and place the orders for the plants that we want. It’s easy to make mistakes, so you have to get it right.

Truman: What’s the best part of your job?Will-Browne: Knowing that I did the best I could

when I go home at the end of the day. Looking at something, having a project like the Flower Festival — and standing back opening morning and knowing that you did good. Seeing how much the guests love it, and how much we love it. Sometimes in life to get the reward at the end it takes a long time. With plants there are many times that you get a quick reward, like when the seed sprouts or that flower blooms. I think that’s why I like horticulture — it’s always changing and you do get those rewards. People get excited about the miracle of it all.

Truman: What is one accomplishment in your career of which you are most proud?

Will-Browne: I think probably I am most proud of the fact that I was the first woman in Disney’s horticulture department. At that time (in the 1970s) things weren’t as diverse and women weren’t allowed to be in horticulture — it was “man’s work.” But I convinced them that I could do the job. So the fact that I was the first woman makes me feel pretty proud.

Truman: What advice would you give to kids who are interested in pursuing a career as a horticulturist?

Will-Browne: I think advice for any career would be to keep plugging along. If you love something, maybe you aren’t going to be good at it in the beginning, but keep plugging along. When I started, I loved plants, but I didn’t know everything, so I kept learning. I didn’t get a degree and was told I would never get promoted. But I kept learning, and working hard, and here I am in management. In horticulture it tends to be a small industry, and a friendly industry. You need to get out there and start meeting people. Visit trade shows, meet people, and visit nurseries. Grow your own garden at home. If gardening is one of your passions and you think it could be a career, use that talent as often as you can, like for sci-ence projects. Try to volunteer or get a summer job at a nursery.

Truman: And you do an awesome job! Thanks for talking with me. I can’t wait to see all the amazing flow-ers. It sounds very cool!

If you go...• 30 million blooms blanket the park throughout

the festival, which runs 75 colorful days.• More than 500,000 plants, trees and shrubs are

planted for the festival; 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed for the festival.

• 400 Walt Disney World horticulturists are needed to install the festival landscape, topiaries and many exhibits; 100 Epcot horticulturists maintain topiaries and other festival displays.

• One dozen brand-new garden marketplaces sur-round the World Showcase Lagoon offering festival taste. Each marketplace will feature a produce and herb garden to represent the more than 50 market-place beverage choices and more than 30 food items featured at the marketplaces.

• The festival’s front-entrance Party with Mickey & Friends topiary scene comprises six topiaries — Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Goofy — and more than 15 varieties of flowers, plants, and other garden materials.

• Guest information for the 20th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available at EpcotInSpring.com or at 407/W-DISNEY.

Heather Will-Browne, Horticulture Area Manager, Walt Disney World Resort. Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World Resort


PUZZLEVILLE!

E L L I V S B

N Y A L P U I

A K S W I M R

M I D D S M T

U E I P V E H

R A K E I R D

T D A E R L A

L D A Y A M Y

F L O W E R E

A H T A M P R

G A M E S I L

P A R K O O B

C A M P O O L

Birthday Kids Pool Ville

Book Math Rake

Camp May Read

Day Park Summer

Flower Play Swim

Games Pie Truman

Circle the words above in the puzzle. Use remaining letters to find the secret words

Hint: The answer is two words. One is 8 letters long, the other is 5 letters long.

Circle-A-Word Puzzleby Regina Bator

Germinate: to begin to grow: sprouttttttttttttttttttttttt

How they say that in ...

English: flowerSpanish: florItalian: fioreFrench: fleurGerman: fleur

The Bigger PictureWhat’s in this picture?


Tru-Truman Truman’s Tricky Picture Find these

items! Be sure to fi nd Truman’s hat! For more puzzles and games, visit www.kidsvillenews.com.

Tru-Truman Truman’s Tricky Picture Find these

items! Be sure to fi nd Truman’s hat! For more puzzles and games, visit www.kidsvillenews.com.


Kids Across1. In the Old West, he was

the top cop who wore a cool hat

5. The ___ Hatter was an interesting character in "Alice in Wonderland"

9. A rodeo rider in a western hat

10. An expert cook in a tall, white hat

11. It's the right time to wear a sunhat

12. The top of a trash can (It's also an old-fashioned slang word for hat)

14. It's what's stuck in the hat of Puss In Boots

17. The edge that runs around a big straw hat

18. The right hat can keep your hair ___dry when

it's raining19. Hold on to your hat:

You could easily lose it when you're riding in a convertible ____ with the top down

20. Lovely people who might wear pretty hats to church on Sunday

21. A captain wears a white hat as he sails this across the sea

Parents Down2. The fashionable know

it's a word for "chapeau"3. Iconic hue of a

firefighter's helmet4. Hollywood style:

Bogart's stylish topper5. Parker Brothers game

known for its portly mogul who wears a top

hat that doubles as a game piece

6. Disney's Goofy character who dons a green hat

7. You've got to have heart: Black hat-topped crew member bound for Oz

8. Che Guevera's French-inspired, revolutionary fashion statement

11. Chaplin's choice of hats13. Little guys in hats who

were part of a clique with a fairy tale girlfriend

15. Oh, the magic of three: It's the hat trick sport

16. Cauldron-stirring woman in a black hat

19. Davy Crockett's coonskin accessory

This Week’s Solution

© 2012 KAPD, LLC12/16/[email protected] KAPD ebooks now available on www.kapd.com

™

The Original Crossword Puzzle for Kids and Their Favorite Adults™

The across clues are for kids and the down clues are for grown-ups!

Head Toppers

By Jan Buckner Walker


Kindness Is Contagious…

Catch It!*by Barbara Gilmour

Ms. Gilmour welcomed Stephen, Carmen, Rudy, Tanner, Nicole and Truman the Dragon to the “Cool Kind Kid” class. Everyone greeted her in return. She asked what they remembered about their kindness talk from the last class.

Stephen said, “I remember that taking time to listen to others shows kindness.”

All the kids agreed.Nicole added, “I think being kind is giving praise to someone when earned.”

Truman added to that. “Everyone likes to be told they did a good job.” Rudy looked sad as he said, “I remember that kindness is about forgiving

someone who hurts you.” Truman said, “You said your brothers tease you all the time. How’s that going?” Rudy smiled and said, “I told them it hurt when they teased me, but that I forgive

them.” Everyone cheered for Rudy. “Then they apologized,” added Rudy. Everyone cheered again!

Ms. Gilmour added, “Apologizing for something you’ve done wrong works. You forgive and forget and are friends again.”

Carmen hugged Nicole and said, “Then give hugs!”“What would a kind person do when someone is in need?” Ms. Gilmour asked. Nicole replied, “Help them!’Tanner added, “If a friend asks for a favor, do it if you can.” Stephen said, “My neighbor had surgery and couldn’t take the trash cans back to

his garage, so I did it for him.” “That’s great, Stephen,” said Ms. Gilmour. “So doing a favor for someone in need

is a good way to show kindness.” “Now,” Ms. Gilmour continued, “Let’s look at two more and see what you think.

Compromise — don’t start a fight, and negotiate — don’t blame.” Tanner said, “I think if we want to have friends and all get along, we have to

compromise. We have to let someone else go first, play with our favorite toy or do what they want to do.”

Stephen added, “I see kids picking a fight for silly reasons. Why can’t everyone just get along?”

Carmen added, “Taking turns, sharing and things like that are really negotiating. Everyone decides things together, like who does what or how to play a game. Don’t blame someone else if things don’t go your way. If you did something wrong, own up. Don’t blame someone else for what you did.”

“It sounds to me as though you are problem solving, which is the next tip for being kind. It also says don’t tease,” said Ms. Gilmour.

Truman looked puzzled. “At first I wasn’t sure why problem solving had ‘don’t tease’ with it. But if kids are arguing about a problem, they will probably pick on, tease or argue with the others to get their way.”

Rudy added, “That makes sense, Truman.”“The last thing on the kindness list is Empathize — don’t gossip. That means

thinking about how someone else feels.” Nicole shared, “Like walking in someone else’s shoes.” Truman added, “If we stop and think about how

someone else would feel, we won’t gossip.” Everyone agreed. Ms. Gilmour laughed as the

class ended and she watched the kids trading shoes and trying to walk in them.

© Cool Kind Kid*Paraphrased with permission from: Stop Violence Coalition

Barbara Gilmour, Tanner’s grandmom, is the creator and developer of the “Cool Kind Kid” Social Skills, Character Values and Anti-Bullying educational materials and the award-winning “Cool Kind Kid” Audio CD. She also writes the Children’s Manners Blog, offering tips for teaching your children manners and social skills. www.CoolKindKid.com.© Cool Kind Kid

Showing kindness is one way to stop bullying and build friendships.


Go outside when the Moon is full. Look up and imagine you see two Moons instead

of one. Some scientists think that long ago, Earth may have had two Moons.

When Earth was very, very young, scientists are pretty sure it did not have a moon at all. Then

along came a huge object — perhaps the size of Mars. This object slammed into Earth and knocked a

huge amount of rocks, rubble and dust into space. Earth’s gravity kept this stuff from traveling far, though. Instead, the rubble went into orbit around Earth. Before long, the rubble started to glom together into larger and larger chunks.

So, here’s the question. Did the pieces just naturally all come to-gether into one big piece, which is now our Moon? Or was there more than one Moon for a while?

The reason we might wonder is that the Moon has some weird features that scientists can’t yet explain. The side of the Moon that faces Earth (always the same side) is low and flat. The other side that faces away from Earth is high and mountainous, with a much thicker crust. Some scientists think two different moons may have formed at first. They think that may-be the smaller moon began to drift slowly toward the larger moon. The two moons finally collided in a low-speed “splat.” The smaller moon spread out sort of like a pancake on the larger moon’s surface and became the highlands and thicker crust now on the far side of our Moon.

A NASA mission called GRAIL sent two spacecraft to make a grav-ity map of the Moon. A gravity map shows which parts of an object are denser than other parts. Denser materials have stronger gravity, and that is what these spacecraft measured. So far, the data from the GRAIL mission do not support the two-moon idea. However, the GRAIL data did reveal that the Moon’s crust was battered by meteor impacts much more severely than previously thought.

Science is very good at discovering the history and nature of the universe. In only a few thousand years of recorded history, we humans have found ways to investigate how our Moon formed more than 4.5 billion years ago.

Visit The Space Place website to find out more about our Moon and do a fun Moon phases activity using Oreos. Go to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/oreo-moon.

This article was written by Diane K. Fisher and provided through the courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Good Night Moons?

by Diane K. Fisher

The GRAIL mission made this gravity map of the side of the Moon that faces Earth. Red shows areas with higher local gravity, and blue show areas of lower local gravity. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MIT / GSFC


In Native-American cultures, games were used for many reasons. Some games were used as a form of worship, some helped warriors train for war and some taught children important things like dances, but some were played just for the fun of it. Every Native-American tribe had its own special games, but some games were so popular that many tribes played them.

One game played by many Native Americans is the double ball game. The Native Americans had a legend that the moon gave this game to Native-American women, and traditionally, it is played only by women, but anybody can play.

The things that you need for the game are one double ball, enough sticks for each player, two teams with the same number of players and a way to tell the two teams apart. A double ball is actually two balls connected by a string. The sticks are used to sling the double ball during the game. The sticks should be around 32-inches long and rather light. When the Na-tive Americans played this game, they had sticks with curved ends. Having a stick with a curved end helps to sling the double ball, but the game can be played with straight sticks, too.

The Native Americans used to make double balls by connecting two stuffed pouches or pieces of wood together with braided leather that they sewed to the pouches. You can make a double ball by taking two tennis balls and tying them together with a thick, strong string. So that the double ball doesn’t

break, the string should be wrapped around the ten-nis ball several times and tied tightly. There should also be goals marked at either side of the field, one for each team. Ideally, the

goals should be two poles with a cross bar across the top; something like a football field goal would work as well. The game should have an umpire or referee for the game.

The rules of the game are simple. To start, each team lines up facing the other. The umpire will throw the double ball into the air, and the players try to catch the ball by hooking their stick on the connect-ing strings. The players then pass the ball and try to score a goal by hooking the ball on the goal posts by the middle cord. If the player makes the goal, then that team gets four points. The other way to score points is not to let the ball touch the ground. The team that lets the ball fall loses one point, and the team that keeps the ball up all the way to the wicket gets two points.

Playing these Native-American games is the perfect way to learn about a new culture. Native

Americans have a rich history, and by playing their games, you can learn about how they lived a long time ago. These games are also a great way to stay active and have fun with friends. Playing in a public

field could even allow you to make new friends.

Come out and PlayNative American Games

Centuries ago Native Americans used sticks and leather pouches sewed together to play the double ball game. The game is still played today.

PUZZLEVILLE!

COIN CAPER ANSWERS DDDDD, QDNNN

ADDITION SQUARE ANSWER1, 9, 4, 0, 5, 8, 7

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Birthday Kids Pool Ville

Book Math Rake

Camp May Read

Day Park Summer

Flower Play Swim

Games Pie Truman

Secret Word with left over letters Answer: Kidsville April

Circle-A-Word PuzzleAnswer

ANSWERS


Children’s DVDsKnuckleball —Available April 2

Young baseball fans will enjoy learning about the most mysterious pitch in all of baseball; it’s called the “knuckleball,” and only a very few pitchers can throw it. It’s a crazy pitch that makes the baseball move all over the place so that the batter can’t hit it. The movie follows the story of the 37-year-old Major League pitcher R.A. Dickey. Just last year, the talented R.A. Dickey became the first knuckleball pitcher to win the famous Cy Young Award — for his spectacular season pitching for the New York Mets in 2012. If you’ve ever played catch or wondered about the different kinds of pitches (fastballs, splitters and others), you’ll like learning about R.A. Dickey’s rise to fame as the best Knuckleballer in Major League Baseball.

Not Rated. 93 mins. (Filmbuff)

A Monster In Paris – Available April 16

The year is 1910. The place is Paris, France. In this cross between The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast and King Kong, Francoeur — a giant flea with a lovely singing voice — charms Lucille (voiced by Vanessa Paradis), a talented singer in her own right. The seven-foot

tall flea wears a sharp-looking Zoot suit disguise that makes him seem not so bug-like. He also wears a mask. It doesn’t hurt that Francoeur can play guitar, too, even if his conversation skills are missing. Raoul, an inventor, and Emile a cinema projectionist, accidentally created Francoeur when they got a little too imaginative while visiting a scientist’s home. Full of lush vivid animation, A Monster In Paris is a delightful musical movie that kids will want to watch over and over. See if you can spot the Eiffel Tower.

Not Rated. 87 mins. (Shout! Factory)

Looney Tunes Super Stars: Sylvester & Hippety Hopper – Marsupial Mayhem — Available April 23

Here’s some really fun proof that they just don’t make great cartoons as they did back in the good old days. Straight out of the Warner Brothers vaults comes that famous red-nosed black-and-white tabby kitty cat Sylvester and Hippety, a “king-sized mouse” — hint: he’s really a baby kangaroo. If Sylvester has a hard time with his regular little mice pals Tom and Jerry, he really has his paws full with Hippety. Did you know kangaroos really can punch just like boxers? The DVD includes 18 classic cartoons with titles like Hoppy-Go-Lucky (1952), Lighthouse Mouse (1955) and Too Hop to Handle (1956). These cartoons come from the same group of artists who made the famous Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Roadrunner cartoons. Moms and dads will enjoy watching these great classics just as much as their children will

Not Rated. (Warner Home Video)

Little Red Wagon — Available April 30

The effects of Tampa, Florida’s Hurricane Charlie (in 2004) inspires eight-year-old Zach Bonner to put his red wagon to good use. He uses his little red hand truck to deliver water to homeless hurricane victims in need of water. The joy of helping people in need leads Zach to start his own charity — The Little Red Wagon Foundation. Zach wants to make and deliver “Zach Packs,” backpacks containing basic supplies, to the homeless. However, not everyone is as excited about Zach’s successful new mission in life and the praise it brings him. Little Red Wagon is a family drama for older kids and their parents to

share. Don’t worry if the movie makes you cry a little; it’s supposed to do that. Mom and dad might shed a few tears, too.

Rated PG. 104 mins. (Phase 4 Films)

Cole Smithey, also known as “the smartest film critic in the world,” has been a film critic for 11 years and writes for over 50 publications, in print and on-line. Truman loves to watch movies and has the highest appreciation for great popcorn.


Exploring Nature!

People make a lot of garbage. If the following 13 items were left out in the weather, how long, according to scientists’ estimates, would they take to decompose? Draw a line from the garbage to its decomposition time. (Two items on the list share the same decomposition rate.)

Golden Lion Tamarin Leontopithecus rosalia

The golden lion tamarin is a very small monkey about the size of a squirrel. They have golden-reddish fur that frills around their bare faces like a lion’s mane. They eat insects, fruit, small reptiles and plants. They can be found onlyin three small areas of the rainforests on the coast of southeastern Brazil. There may be only 400 left in the wild, and they are considered one of the rarest mammals in the world.

EndangeredAnimal!

1. Milk Carton2. Plastic Bottle3. Apple Core4. Aluminum Can5. Glass Bottle6. Leather Shoe7. Styrofoam Cup8. Paper Plate9. Orange/Banana Peel10. Newspaper11. Plastic Bag12. Cardboard Box13. Wool Sock

A. 3 WeeksB. 2 MonthsC. 4 MonthsD. 5 MonthsE. 1 YearF. 5 Years (2 items)G. 20 YearsH. 40 YearsI. Between 200-500 YearsJ. 500 YearsK. 5,000 YearsL. 1 Million Years

1-F, 2-J, 3-A, 4-I, 5-L, 6-H, 7-K, 8-F, 9-D, 10-C,11-G, 12-B, 13-E

CelebrateEarth Day

Find the 10 things that are missing in the endangered Amazon Rainforest on the right.

Exploringnature.org is an award-winning resource that inspires learning about science, conservation and the outdoors through ��and online resources. Explore outside today!

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KIDSVILLE KITCHEN

Together Time — Ask an adult for help with projects!

There was a time when an apple was the last place you would look to experiment with new flavors in the produce section. But today, there are nearly 100 commercial varieties to choose from, each with unique characteristics to tickle your taste buds.

One new variety called Opal is grown in Washington State and offers a complex flavor that starts sweet and finishes with a slight tang. Vibrantly yellow and super crunchy, these apples are perfect for fresh salads and side dishes. And, unlike many types of apples, Opals naturally resist oxidation after cutting, which keeps them fresh and delicious for a lunch prepared before you head out for work or for snacking through the day.

An added benefit is that when you buy Opal apples, you are helping to fund the Youth Make a Difference Initiative grants, which provide funding for youth programs serving communities across the United States.

For a lunch with a crunch, try adding apples in fun and delicious ways:• Dip apple slices in your favorite nut butter.• Add thin slices of apple to your deli meat sandwich, or layer them with PB and J

on raisin bread.• Make your own cracker stackers with whole grain crackers, your favorite cheese,

smoked turkey and apple slices.

• Add apples to a delicious salad, such as this spinach and apple salad with dried cherries, which is filled with fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and antioxidants.

Visit www.opalapples.com to access an application for the Youth Make a Difference Initiative.

Spinach Apple Salad with Toasted Walnuts

Servings: 4Prep Time: 15 minutes2 Opal apples5 ounces baby spinach1/3 cup dried tart cherries3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed)1 teaspoon lemon zest, freshly grated Salt to taste Ground pepper to taste1/3 cup (about 2 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Core apples and cut into thin slices (about 16 per apple). Place spinach in a large bowl; remove long stems and any bruised leaves. Add cherries and half of apples and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, thyme, lemon zest, salt and ground pepper to taste. Toss spinach, apples and cherries with just enough dressing to coat. Top with remaining sliced apples, goat cheese and toasted walnuts.

Source: Family Features and Opal Apples

Lunch with a Crunch



PARENTOWN’S KIDSMART

Though the economy is on the mend, many families forced to make sacrifices during the downturn will continue to look for ways to main-tain more control of their finances in the event another period of economic struggle surfaces down the road. It’s safe to assume no family wants to find itself in the position millions of families did during the downturn: dealing with unemployment, a nonexistent job market and the specter of foreclosure on the family home.

While there’s no telling what the economic future holds, there are steps families can take to gain greater control of their finances and put themselves in a better position to handle whatever the economy throws at them down the road.

• Start saving receipts. Nowadays, more and more people use debit cards for daily purchases, including smaller purchases like cups of cof-fee. While this is more convenient, it also makes it easier to lose track of spending. Families should start saving receipts for all purchases, not just big-ticket items. At the end of the month, examine the receipts to see how much frivolous spend-ing is going on. A close examina-tion of receipts can help reign in spending on items that aren’t generally large, but can add up over time.

• Make a grocery-shopping list. Another tradition of yesteryear that has seemingly fallen by the wayside, the grocery list can help families save substantial amounts of money over time. Men and women who grocery shop without a list are more likely to spend more money than they had intended, buying extra food they don’t need and making im-pulse buys as well. If you have a list of what you need when you go to the store, you’ll not only save money but also be likely to spend far less time at the store as a result.

• Re-examine your commute. Men and women might prefer driving themselves to work. Driving to work alone is more convenient, but it’s almost never more cost-effective. Consider public transportation where it’s available. Public transportation can remove the stress of traffic jams, as men and women can bury their noses in books or watch a movie on their iPads rather than stare at the vehicle in front of them. If no public transportation is available, propose a carpool to co-workers. Both of these alternatives can save individuals money on gas (the cost of which is once again on the rise) while adding years to their vehicle’s life ex-pectancy, helping commuters get more out of their vehicle dollars.

• Reconsider your cable provider. Whereas cable television was once a novelty, nowadays cable television or satellite service has become the norm in households across the country. Though it might be hard to imag-ine a household without cable or satellite television, Web programming and DVD subscription services have made it much easier for men and women to continue to follow their favorite shows without committing to a costly monthly cable or satellite service.

Soure: Metro Creative Graphics

Simple Savings Tips for FamiliesAunque la economía está en fase de recuperación, muchas familias

obligadas a sacrificarse durante la crisis seguirán buscando formas de mantener más control de sus finanzas en caso de que surja otro período de dificultades económicas en el futuro. Es sensato asumir que ninguna familia desea encontrarse en la posición de millones de otras familias du-rante la crisis, lidiando con el desempleo, el mercado laboral inexistente y el espectro de una ejecución hipotecaria.

Si bien no se puede predecir lo que ocurrirá con la economía en el futuro, hay medidas que pueden tomar las familias para tener mayor control de sus finanzas y ubicarse en una mejor posición para enfrentar lo que pueda traerles la economía en el futuro.

• Guardar los recibos. En la actu-alidad, cada vez más personas usan tarjetas de débito para sus compras diarias, incluyendo transacciones menores como una taza de café. Si bien esto es más conveniente, tam-bién facilita la pérdida del control de gastos. Las familias deben guardar los recibos de todas sus compras, no sólo las importantes. A fin de mes, deberán examinar los recibos para determinar en cuántos gastos frívo-los incurrieron. Un análisis detallado de los recibos contribuye al control de gastos en cosas de menor cuantía,

pero que pueden sumarse a un gran total con el paso del tiempo.• Hacer una lista de compras para el mercado. Otra tradición del

pasado que aparentemente ha caído en el olvido, pero ayuda a las fa-milias a ahorrar cantidades sustanciales con el tiempo. Los hombres y mujeres que van de compras al mercado sin una lista son más propensos a gastar más de lo que esperaban, adquiriendo alimentos que no necesi-tan y haciendo compras por impulso. Si tiene una lista de lo que necesita a la hora de ir al mercado, no sólo ahorrará dinero, sino que tendrá más propensión a estar menos tiempo de compras.

• Reexamine su medio de transporte al trabajo. Los hombres y las mujeres podrían preferir desplazarse en sus vehículos propios para ir al trabajo. Manejar al trabajo solo es más conveniente, pero casi nunca rentable. Considere el transporte público donde esté disponible. El transporte público puede evitar el estrés de las congestiones de tráfico, pues se puede leer o ver una película en el iPad en vez de estar viendo el vehículo que se tiene delante. Si no hay transporte público disponible, propóngale a sus compañeros de trabajo viajar en coche compartido. Am-bas alternativas pueden ahorrarles a todos dinero en términos de gastos de gasolina (cuyos precios están aumentando de nuevo) añadiéndole años a la expectativa de vida del vehículo, y ayudando a aprovechar al máximo la inversión en el mismo.

• Reconsidere los servicios de su proveedor de televisión por cable. A pesar de que la televisión por cable fue novedad en otro tiempo, en la actualidad esta modalidad y el servicio de televisión por satélite es norma en los hogares de la nación. Aunque podría ser difícil imaginar un hogar sin televisión por cable o satelital, la programación Web y los servicios de suscripción de DVD están facilitando que podamos ver nuestros pro-gramas favoritos sin comprometernos a un costoso servicio mensual de televisión por cable o satélite.


PARENTOWN’S KIDSHAPE

Going to summer camp in modern times is like a rite of passage. It is a taste of in-dependence while still remaining safe in a controlled environment, and often the very first time kids stay away from home for more than a night. This taste of independence is extremely exciting and important for the development of a child, but it can also be very stressful for the parents as well as the children. Appropriately preparing children for summer camp makes the transition easier.

The first step is getting the children excited and involved. Let them help in planning, buying and packing for camp. It is exciting for children to be involved in picking out their own clothes and gear. Experts also say that participation breeds ownership. It is also a good idea to allow the child to participate in deciding which camp he or she is inter-ested in attending. By no means should kids be in charge of planning, but if they feel as though they helped to choose the camp that they prefer, attending the camp becomes more exciting. They will also know more about what to expect, and this will lessen some of the worry. When kids feel that they are at least partially in charge of the trip, there is bound to be more excitement, and the excitement makes heading off to camp all the easier.

Another way to make camp easier is to pack the right equipment. A lot of what to pack depends on the type of camp the children are attending. It is important though, to prepare for everything the camp has to offer. Having the campers help pack their bags will also help to make sure that they know what they have and where it is so they can use it at appropriate times. If the kids don’t know they have bug spray, then odds

are they won’t use it. Knowing what they have and when to use it will also give kids and parents alike a sense of comfort as the youngsters head off to camp.

Going to camp, especially for the first time, can be stressful for kids, but keeping an open dialogue can help to ease the fear. When kids express their feelings and talk

about what they worry about as they prepare to go to camp, parents can allevi-ate those fears and build their camper’s confidence. The more fun kids

expect to have, the easier going to camp will be and the more likely they are to have a great time. Often kids need a little reassurance

from adults but can find it hard to admit that they are nervous. Empathy is important. Asking your kids about what they expect and fear and reassuring them that camp will be a blast are integral parts to properly preparing kids for camp. Emo-tional preparedness is just as important as having appropriate

clothes and bug spray. Another tactic for easing the fears of camp is holding

practice runs. Spending a few nights away from home at a relative’s or friend’s house will be good training for

spending time away at summer camp. If children have never spent a night away from home, spending a few weeks away seems

daunting. The experience of spending a few nights away will help children under-stand what to expect, and why they shouldn’t fear it.

Source: www.ivillage.com/preparing-your-child-summer-camp/6-b-460376#460786; www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/815891/guide-to-preparing-your-child-for-sum-mer-camp-1;masalamommas.com/2011/07/27/tips-prepare-your-child-for-summer-camp/

Preparing for Camp

Cultural Connections:Native American Dances

Every culture around the world has a different way of dancing — a movement they call their own. In many societies, the dances are important ways to wor-ship and share history and folklore. In fact, many people still practice the same dances their ancestors performed hundreds or even thousands of years ago because they are so meaningful to their culture. One group that is known for its dances is the Native Americans.

Native-American tribes have dances for all sorts of events. These dances are important because they are not only fun and a great form of social bonding, but because performing them is also a spiritual event for the tribe members. Many of the dances are prayers or celebrations for the people dancing. Nearly every event in the Native-American culture has a dance.

Several things separate Native-American dancing from dances of other cultures. For example, most dances are done in big groups. The Native-American dancers all dance in circles because it represents the belief that life is a circle. Also, dances are usually performed by either all men or all women; they don’t mix. In many places, boys and girls usually dance together, but that rarely hap-pens in the Native-American culture.

Native Americans have specific instruments used to accompany their dances. Most tribes use drums to provide the beat for the dancers and each dance has its own specific beat on the drum. The drums are made of hollow wood with a dried animal skin stretched over them. Sometimes four players sit around one huge drum and beat in time. Smaller drums and beads or bells are sometimes attached to the dancers and add to the beat of the song.

Another important aspect of Native-American dance is the costume worn by the dancers. Each dance has its own clothing requirements, and each piece of clothing symbolizes an important belief ingrained in the culture. Feathers

are one of the most common and important symbols. Histori-cally, feathers were a sign of honor and respect. In order to get a feather, a tribe member had to accomplish something great. The leaders were often given feathers as symbols of strength; while warriors who were successful in battle may have also been given feathers. The most coveted of the feathers was the eagle feather.

Another key piece of clothing that many dancers wear is a belt or vest made of beads or shells woven together in specific pat-terns. Historically, dancers would make their own outfits, and every piece was considered sacred, so if any piece fell off while they were dancing, it would either be given away or the elders would have to do a special dance to retrieve it.

Tribes all over the United States still gather to dance together in the traditional way. These gatherings are called powwows, and they are very important for preserving the culture of the Native-American people. If the dances are not practiced and taught to the next generation, then part of an entire culture could be lost. Every single culture is valuable, learning about and appreciating

Native American dancing helps to preserve this culture.

Sources: www.powwows.com/category/articles/powwow/dancing/#axzz2LItxQ4Cl and www.ani-kutani.com/nativeamericanfacts/na-tive_american_dance.htm

Dances are an important part of Native-American culture.

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