Kid Scoop News December 2021

HOLIDAY SENSES

Pine trees, candy canes, cookies and candies, roasting turkeys, hot chocolate, carol singing, holly, snowflakes, decorations, gingerbread, twinkling lights … so many signs of the holidays to awaken all our senses.

REACH FOR THE STARS

There’s a way to achieve a goal. It takes steps. Big goals are just smaller goals that will add up.

2

The Gift of COLOR! .................. 3 Smell ..................................... 4-5 Sound .................................... 6-7 Taste ...................................... 8-9 Touch ..................................... 10-11 Puzzles .................................. 12 Activity Calendar ................... 13 Sight ..................................... 14-15 Ponder the Panda .................. 16-17 Holiday Shopping .................. 18 That’s Private! ........................ 19 Bill of Rights .......................... 20 Parent Scoop ......................... 21 Early Learners ........................ 22 Answers ................................ 23 Kid Scoop News® is published in Baton Rouge by

11831 Wentling Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 (225) 292-0032 • www.brparents.com

Publisher Brandon Foreman

Dear Readers,

Our Winter edition is a great place to explore in depth our five senses — Taste, Touch, Sight, Sound and Smell. With all the holiday events and happenings, there’s so much going on and so many ways to engage our senses.

Even just thinking about it, I can smell those holiday cookies and anticipate that I get to taste them, too. I can see all the decorations that I love and will touch them as families everywhere deck their houses in celebration, and we will all get to hear the holiday music in stores, at restaurants, and at home. Expectations run high for this holiday season.

This issue also has a feature on Pandas — that rare member of the bear family that has become a symbol of the effort to save animal species on the edge of extinction.

When we protect one animal, we also protect other animals that share that habitat. These appealing black and white bears have been at the forefront of conservation endeavors worldwide that are now showing signs of success.

It’s something to be happy about.

I’m happy to welcome winter and on behalf of our Kid Scoop News team, wish you all good health, happiness, and a joyous holiday season.

Associate Publisher Amy L. Foreman Editorial Amanda Miller

Social Media Coordinator Victoria Cotejar

Art/Production Jenny Ziglin Melody Tauzin

Business Operations Teri Hodges

Community Outreach Roxane Voorhies

Advertising/Marketing Laurie Acosta

Marketing Specialist Emily Mancuso “Kid Scoop News is a valuable resource that empowers our youth to engage in the world around them, all while developing their love of reading. I am proud to support this resource and help build the foundation of literacy for our youth!”

ISSN 2768-2382

Publisher and Editor Art Director/Illustration Vicki Whiting Jeff Schinkel Operations Director Graphic Designer Vivien Whittington Eli Smith © 2021 Vicki Whiting

–Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome

“Louisiana is experiencing a literacy crisis with only 46 percent of students mastering ELA content by the end of third grade. Louisiana believes children are our highest priority. Kid Scoop News provides quick, easy-to-use activities and reading passages that support and strengthen school-home connections and deepen learning. The Louisiana Department of Education encourages regular reading at home and in the classroom to ignite a reading revival.”

–Quentina Timoll, Chief of Staff, Louisiana Department of Education

www.kidscoopnews.org

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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DANVILLE, Calif. – Have you ever wondered what happens to the crayons you get in restaurants to color while you are waiting for your food?

One day when Bryan Ware was at a restaurant with his children, he picked up one of their crayons and asked, “I wonder what happens to these crayons after we leave, if we don’t take them home?”

Bryan asked his server and was shocked and saddened to find out that the crayons were thrown away.

He took the crayons home that night. He thought the life of a crayon should not end after just one meal. He thought about the thousands of children that would enjoy these barely used crayons.

That’s when he came up with the idea of recycling unwanted crayons for children.

Bryan started a non-profit called The Crayon Initiative. His organization collects unwanted or broken crayons and melts them down to make new crayons which are donated to children in hospitals.

Read the article on this page.

Then answer the questions below!

Who is this article about?

More than 500,000 pounds of crayons end up in landfills every year. To date, The Crayon Initiative has donated over 15,000 packs of crayons to children’s hospitals.

What is this article about?

The crayons are made in Bryan’s kitchen. His wife, kids and a lot of friends help sort crayons into color groups in their backyard, and volunteers from around the community as well as big corporations help sort crayons, too!

When did this happen?

Where did it happen?

Why did they do it?

Brand new crayons arrive at a restaurant.

Crayons are used by kids at tables.

Drop crayons Used crayons from table melted down into special and made into collection box. new crayons.

Crayons shipped to children’s hospitals.

The Crayon Initiative helps the environment and kids at the same time! Learn more at: thecrayoninitiative.org © Vicki Whiting December 2021

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Sweet pine trees, candy canes and steaming hot chocolate. Sniff!

Fresh-baked holiday bread, cookies and roasting turkey. Sniff! The holidays are full of wonderful smells.

How do you pick up these scents? Inside each of your nostrils is a tiny patch, about the size of a thumbnail, filled with olfactory organs.

Every time you breathe, air passes over the olfactory odor organs. Odor molecules molecules in the air get caught in the sticky mucus covering these organs. cientists think that different odor molecules have different shapes. Like a key fitting into a lock, odor molecule shapes fit into different olfactory organs. When an olfactory organ gets an odor molecule that fits, it sends a signal to the brain, telling what kind of smell it is.

Unlock the sense of smell.

It’s a candy cane!

olfactory organs

Match the odor molecules to the olfactory organs.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

There is a pattern in each trail of smelly vapor. Draw what comes next.

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know animals have structures that serve different functions.

Standards Link: Math: Extend simple patterns.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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Use the code to sniff out some very smelly facts.

A= E= F= I = L= M=

N=

The male silkworm can smell a female silkworm from

S=

miles away.

T= V= X=

A bloodhound can smell a human fingerprint left weeks ago.

The Tsetse fly can smell the breath of a cow from many away.

The candy canes are missing! This is a job for cool Carlos, the sniffing canine detective. Help him sniff out each one (but don’t let him get distracted by other interesting scents).

Standards Link: Visual discrimination, eye-hand coordination.

ODOR AIR SNIFF HUMAN MILES COW VAPOR BRAIN OLFACTORY SMELL MOLECULES SIGNAL TURKEY BLOODHOUND CANDY

Spiders and scorpions smell with their

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

S E L U C E L O M V

C F C J H B R A I N

O L F A C T O R Y A

W L D I N K D O E M B E Z R N D O P K U

D M I L E S Y A R H C S I G N A L V U O

A Q U T L B U G T A

D N U O H D O O L B Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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Do you hear what I hear?

Belly laughter and sleigh bells ringing, The crinkle of wrapping paper and those who are singing, all because of our two ears!

Follow the sound of the jingle bell to find out how our ears work!

The outer ear acts like a funnel and directs sounds waves into the ear canal.

Sound waves bump against your ear drum and make it vibrate.

These vibrations get three little bones shaking.

The bones are called the hammer, anvil and stirrup.

These bones cause fluid inside your ear to move.

The fluid is inside a part of your ear called the cochlea (coke-lee-uh).

Inside the cochlea are tiny nerve endings that send the sound information to your brain.

Standards Link: Life Science: Humans have structures that serve different functions.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

7 Elwood the Elf has spelled ten (that’s right, 10!) three-letter words using the letters in the words

Elwood has hidden lots of crunchy candy canes on these pages.

How many can you find?

Can you find 10 or more?

Standards Link: Spelling: Spell three-letter words.

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! Are all of these bells the same?

Look closer—one bell is different from the rest. Circle it!

Standards Link: Investigations: Find similarities and differences in common objects.

BRAIN COCHLEA STIRRUP VIBRATIONS FUNNEL CANAL BONES NERVE EAR JINGLE FLUID DRUM BELL CHURCH SOUND

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

S N O I T A R B I V

H C R U H C O A G L P B R A I N E R V E

U N D Y E L S J A X R Q N S H E I R T D R S U C A N A L I R

I M O T G N F U B U

T C S L Q U L R C M S B E L L F P Y E L

Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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Taste Buds: The Taste Detectors

The sense of taste starts with the thousands of tiny taste buds on your tongue. Taste buds are the tiny bumps you can see if you look in the mirror while holding a magnifying glass to your tongue.

Five Basic Tastes Your entire tongue can sense all tastes equally. Your taste buds send taste information to your brain.

Follow the instructions to color the tongue.

Salty: Color

the spaces with a triangle in blue.

Bitter: Color

the spaces with a circle in orange.

Sour: Color

the spaces with a square in green.

E

I

P

P F E M O T I E M R I H P L C P S N E E

F

C

Sweet: Color

the spaces with a diamond in red.

Umami (Savory):

Color the spaces with a rectangle in purple.

Communication Central

When a taste bud senses the kind of taste it is able to detect, such as sweet or sour, it sends a message to the brain. Some flavors are actually a combination of several tastes. For example, the taste of chocolate is a combination of the bitter taste of chocolate and the sweet taste of sugar. The brain takes messages from the bitter taste buds and the sweet taste buds, puts them together and thinks, “Chocolate!”

Standards Link: Life Science/Health: Students recognize that body systems are interrelated.

What kind of candy is William eating? To find out, unscramble the letters in the “sweet” taste buds to spell the answer.

Smell and Taste Together

Taste is our weakest sense. In fact, our sense of taste needs the help of our sense of smell. Hold your nose tight next time you eat something. What can you taste? Then let go of your nose and try the same food again. Food doesn’t have much taste when your nose is closed or you have a cold.

Mouth-watering Experiment

When you are hungry and you smell something cooking, your mouth begins to get wet with saliva. That’s why we call something that smells good mouth-watering.

In fact, your tongue must be wet for the taste buds to work. Here is an experiment that shows this fact: Wipe your tongue dry with a clean towel.

Now put a little sugar on the driest part. Can you taste it?

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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A cook at a hospital accidentally left some boiled porridge out. When they found the old porridge, they discovered it had dried and broken into little crispy flakes.

A food manufacturer named W. K. Kellogg used this mistake to create a new breakfast cereal called toasted corn flakes.

The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses

by Joanna Cole and illustrator Bruce Degen

With customary craziness, Miss Frizzle’s class enter the school bus and embark on a journey to the magical world as they shrink down and enter a police officer’s eye, a child’s ear, a dog’s nose, and finally Ms. Frizzle’s mouth. They begin in the classroom learning about the senses, but when assistant principal Mr. Wilde takes the wheel, the adventure begins. This making-learning-fun formula is a winner.

Find the two corn flakes that match.

COOK BOILED CRISPY CEREAL FLAKES PORRIDGE HOSPITAL OLD LITTLE FOOD MISTAKE CORN DRIED LEFT

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

The Five Senses

classroom.kidshealth.org/classroom/prekto2/body/functions/ senses.pdf

You use your senses every day to get to know and understand the world around you. Activities here will help you learn more about each one of your senses in detail.

Animal Senses

faculty.washington.edu/chudler/amaze.html

These amazing sensory adaptations show how different animals have characteristics that help them survive in the wild.

The Brain and Senses

childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/learning-activities/ science/the-brain-and-senses/introduction/ Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

This site has a selection of games and interactive activities on the subject of The Brain and Senses. © Vicki Whiting December 2021

10 What kinds of things do you touch and feel during the holidays?

Sticky candy canes!

Scratchy holly leaves!

Soft furry mittens!

Cold snowy rooftops!

Can you feel things when your eyes are closed?

Give it a try. How does your body feel things?

With a special sense: the sense of touch!

Our senses let us explore and enjoy the world around us. Our eyes help us to see, our ears help us to hear, our tongue helps us to taste, our nose to smell. Our skin is the body organ that helps us feel things.

Your skin is full of

magnified section of skin

Yikes!

Get me out of here!

Receptors!

Receptor cells aren’t anything scary. They are little cells inside your skin that feel different things like heat, cold, heavy pressure, light pressure, pain, and itching. Without receptors, you could leave your hand in a flame and not know you were burning! Now that is scary!

Each receptor cell sends messages to the brain along the nerves.

hair receptors

ice cube

Some organs play music but not the organs in your body. Your body has parts that have special jobs. These are called organs.

What is the largest organ in your body? Use the code to find out!

I

K

N

O

R

S

U

Y

Standards Link: Life Science: The human body has structures that serve different functions in survival.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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There are touch receptors all over your skin. In some places, there are lots of them, close together.

In other places, the receptors are farther apart.

Where you have more receptors close together, your skin is more sensitive. Where do you think you have the most receptors?

Cross out every other letter on each line below to reveal the answer.

Can you find the matching objects above? Draw a line to connect the objects that match.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple directions.

The only way out of this maze is to find the thing that feels soft.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Students follow simple written directions.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow one-step directions.

TOUCH HOLIDAYS SENSE MUSIC FURRY RECEPTORS SKIN FLAME TASTE HOLLY HEAT HARD SOFT SMELL COLD

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

S T T I C K Y D C A

R H F C N Y R D H Y

O C O O L A R C A N T N S L H M U S I C

P E O D I O F K F N

E H E A T D S L S A

C H O E T S A T L G E Y L L E M S Y L R

R E A V E S N E S O Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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A large load of trees just got delivered to Lenny’s Tree Lot. Unfortunately, the delivery guy made a complete mess. Help Lenny count the tangle of trees. How many did you find?

To reveal the answer, use the hints to fill in the empty boxes and create 3-letter words. The answer will appear by reading the red boxes vertically.

HINTS:

It just isn’t Lenny’s day. Now some of the bulbs on this string of lights have burned out. Replace them by coloring the blank bulbs the correct color to continue the pattern.

1. Frosty wears one on his head.

2. Taking a tiny drink of hot tea.

3. The opposite of the happy.

4. What’s left after a fire.

5. Timid.

6. Movie stars do this.

7. A weak light, not bright.

8. To pull a vehicle with another.

9. The opposite of lose. © Vicki Whiting December 2021

DECEMBER 2021 Tick the box on each day when you have completed 20 minutes of reading. Children who develop a love of reading will become better students and build a better future.

Decorate your Christmas tree today. Put lights on first and then add ornaments.

Find the packages that are wrapped the same. Not every package will have a match.

Rosa Parks Day In Northern Europe, gifts are left in children’s shoes on this day.

St. Nicolas Day

Find a Christmas movie and enjoy watching it with your family tonight.

Read the story or watch the movie of A Christmas Carol.

Who is your favorite character?

Boxing Day is a national holiday in Britain and historically, the servants had the day off. Give your parents the day off and make dinner tonight.

Boxing Day

Imagine you were Rosa Parks, tired from a day’s work and being told to give up your seat on the bus. What would you do?

With an adult, make a cup of hot cocoa. Put a dollop of whipped cream on top and stir with a candy cane.

National Cocoa Day

Write a Winter Poem and make it into a card to give to a friend.

Do you like to get letters? Then a few minutes to hand write a letter to a friend.

Letter Writing Day

The South Pole was discovered on this day in 1911.

Draw a picture of penguins at the pole.

Celebrate the first day of winter by looking for all the symbols of winter around you.

First Day of Winter

Write thank you notes to everyone who gave you gifts.

Tell them what you liked most about the gift.

Ask your friends to recommend a book that you haven’t read. Then go to your local library to get the book.

Read a New Book Month

Look on your local newspaper’s website to find the season’s concerts and holiday activities.

Bake a batch of cookies and share them with an elderly friend or neighbor.

Make room for new Christmas seals help On this day in 1620, toys by giving away raise awareness and the Pilgrims landed some of your used raise money for The first Christmas at Plymouth Rock. ones to a shelter for research on lung card was created in Make a drawing needy children. diseases. Buy some 1843. Today would showing the event.

Christmas seals today. be a good day to write and then send your Christmas cards. christmasseals.org There are 10 days left until Christmas.

Have you gotten presents for your family? Create your own gift tags to go on each present.

This day marks the anniversary of the invention of the thermometer.

A thermometer measures the temperature. What is the temperature today?

Spend some time The bowling ball today playing cards was invented on this with friends or day in 1869. Find a family members. local bowling alley and go bowling Card Playing Day with some friends or family.

Find a radio station playing holiday music. Dance or exercise to the rhythm.

Help make pancakes for breakfast and enjoy some real maple syrup.

Go for an evening walk downtown to admire the holiday lights and decorations.

Maple Syrup Day

Ask an older family member to tell you stories about what Christmas was like when they were young.

Go for a family bike ride and look for signs of winter like barren trees or icicles.

Hang your stocking by the fireplace. Have you been good this year?

Christmas Eve Make a list of five things you want to accomplish in 2022. Seal the list in an envelope to be opened on 12/31/2022.

New Year’s Eve

Merry Christmas – count your blessings today!

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Our five senses provide information about the world around us. How do your eyes inform you that the holidays are here?

Bright twinkling lights!

Seeing friends and family!

Beautiful decorations!

Colorful Christmas cookies!

Your eyes actually see the world upside down. When the eyes send the message to the brain, your brain “flips” the image so you experience seeing the world right-side-up.

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know that animals have a variety of organs and organ systems perform specialized functions.

1. Seeing begins when light enters your eye.

2. Light enters through your pupil.

3. The light reflected from the top of what you see is bent and focused on the bottom of your retina. The light reflected from the bottom of what you see is focused on the top of your retina. The object you see appears upside down on your retina!

4. The optic nerve sends pictures to your brain. Your brain makes sense of the picture — letting you see things as they really are.

How many candy canes can you find on these pages?

Look at these two eyes. One shows the pupil when there is little light, the other when there is bright light. The size of the pupil changes with the amount of light. It opens wide when light is dim and closes up when light is bright.

The iris controls the size of the pupil. © Vicki Whiting December 2021

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Hold this page at arm’s length and cover your left eye. Look at the star and slowly bring the page towards you. When the star vanishes, you’ve found the blind spot in your right eye.

Next do the experiment with your right eye closed. Look at the ornament.

The blind spot in each eye tells us where the optic nerve leaves the eyeball.

Look carefully to find each reindeer’s twin.

Standards Link: Nature of Science: Students know that scientific investigation involves asking and answering questions.

Which of these drawings is made with two snake-like shapes?

Which of these is made with one long, twisting line?

Stuck? Try tracing the lines with a pencil.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Use reading skills to understand written directions.

OPTIC PUPIL RETINA FOCUSED IRIS LIGHT BLIND SPOT EYEBALL NERVE BRIGHT BRAIN FLIPS SENSE EYES

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

A N I T E R H O L I

D E A E Y E B A L L Y S F O D N I L B T

B N E Y E S C U H H R E S V S C L G F G A S R P U S I R I

I

I E O S C L P T I R

N T G H O T U Y P B

S P I L F E P S E O

Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

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What’s black and white and loved by kids all over the world?

Pandas, of course! Read on to learn about these gentle creatures.

2 Can you imagine a world without pandas?

About 2,000 giant pandas live in the wild today.

They are no longer endangered but still vulnerable.

6

Giant pandas live mainly in the Sichuan mountains of southwest China, where they feed on bamboo.

2

Pandas are losing their habitat. Giant pandas need forests with lots of bamboo to survive.

These forests are rapidly disappearing as humans use them to meet their needs.

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know changes in the environment can be detrimental to organisms.

7

Giant pandas need to eat a lot of food every day.

They eat day and night, constantly wandering through the forest eating and eating. Add up the numbers along the correct path of the maze to find out roughly how many hours a day one giant panda can eat.

The Chinese call the panda “Da xiong mao,” which means “giant bear cat.”

1

2

1

2

4

Scientists debated this for years. About 20 years ago, a group of experts determined that giant pandas are most closely related to bears, Panda although they are also a eye lot like raccoons.

Pandas are different from Lorem Bear other bears. For one thing, they ipsum eye have eyes like a cat, and their dolor front paws have an unusual thumb—sometimes called a false thumb. This is not actually a thumb, like a human thumb. It is a part of the wrist bone that sticks out to the side like an extra finger.

5 While bamboo makes up most of a giant panda’s diet, pandas sometimes eat small animals. Because of this small amount of meat eating, giant pandas are classified as carnivores.

4 8

2

9

2

The panda is a symbol of peace in China.

3

Standards Link: Number Sense: Calculate sums to 30.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

17 The largest giant pandas can grow to be about 250 pounds. Ask five friends how much they weigh.

Add up their weights. Does it equal 250 pounds?

Baby pandas are itty-bitty bears. They weigh only 3 to 5 ounces at birth (85-140 grams).

Number the pandas in order from smallest to biggest.

A mother panda is about 800 times heavier than her baby. (If a human mother with a 7-pound baby weighed 800 times more, she would weigh 5,600 pounds. That’s nearly 3 tons!)

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know there is a variation among individuals of one kind within a population.

15 + 23 + 6 = ______ giant panda cubs were born in captivity in 2020.

About 286 + 225 + 89 = ______ giant pandas live in zoos and research centers worldwide. Threatened with extinction, these captive breeding programs are seen as hope for the panda’s survival.

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know different animals inhabit different kinds of environments.

PANDA CHINA MOTHER HUMAN BABY GIANT BAMBOO CAT BLACK WHITE BEARS CREATURE ZOOS EYE FOOD

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

E Y E O C S B E T Y

Y G T O A J R Z B T Z I

I M E U W A O A

A A H P T O B O E S

N N W A O O B M A B I T E N S N Z O O S

H R T D M O T H E R

C O N A M U H P Z Y

D O O F C K C A L B Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

18

Look at the things Jodi would like to buy for her family. She has $50 budgeted for her holiday shopping. Make a list of the things she could buy on her budget.

Responsibility is not spending more than you can afford on gifts.

How much money have left over each does Thrifty month?

THINK ABOUT could Thrifty do toIT: What more money each save month?

Standards Link : Economics: concepts of manaStudents understand basic ging money.

Standards Link: Number Sense: Solve real-world problems involving computations with dollars and cents.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

19

Staying safe online is a lot like staying safe in the real world. You know you shouldn’t share private information with strangers.

When you are asked for information online, a person you don’t know might read that information—they are a stranger as well.

It is never safe to give out private information to people you don’t know. It could be used to trick you or put you in unsafe situations. Always ask a parent or caregiver before you give anyone private information.

Look at the list below. Use RED to color the thumbs down next to the things you should never share with a stranger, whether in person or online. Use GREEN to color the thumbs up if the information is okay to share.

Picture Full name Age Birthdate Address Telephone number Email address (or parents’ email address) Passwords Where you go to school or after school Parents’ full names Where your parents work Parents’ credit card or bank account number

Keep It Private! Imagine that there’s a new app called SongTube that allows you to create your own music. Kevin has permission to use the app, but is being asked to fill out a form first. Kevin needs your help in figuring out what’s OK to share. As you review the form, complete the sections that don’t ask for private information and draw an X through the sections that do ask for private information. Have a parent check your answers.

ANSWERS: Did you color all the thumbs down RED? You should never share any of these things with a stranger without a parent’s approval.

NOTE TO TEACHERS AND PARENTS: To see full lesson plans and find more lessons about Digital Citizenship, visit commonsense.org/education Common Sense Education™ defines Digital Citizenship as someone who uses technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

© 2021 Common Sense Education™. Used by permission. For more information, visit commonsense.org/education © Vicki Whiting December 2021

20

On December 15 1791, the 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights were added to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights protects the freedoms that are part of American life. Some of the freedoms and rights protected in the Bill of Rights include: • Freedom of Religion • Freedom of Assembly • Freedom of Speech • Freedom of the Press

Find the missing word for each blank line in the following story.

The words are located next to the birthday cake.

Since the first 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights were written, 17 more have been added.

Today, some 200 years later, the Constitution is still the set of laws that govern the United States.

Imagine you could make up the laws for a country. Would you want the laws to be for everyone?

This is a question the people thought about over two centuries ago when they wrote the set of laws that are used to govern the United States.

1

100

1

1 1

10

25

25

50

50

10

10

Figure out the answer and draw a line from each of the candles you will need on the Bill of Rights birthday cake!

Standards Link: Number sense: Compute sums to 500.

1

It took many and lots of talking, thinking and writing to finally come up with a set of that the leaders of all of the original colonies could agree upon.

First, they wrote a set of laws called the Constitution, but even after it was written, some Americans worried that the Constitution did not important . The writers of the Constitution made some additions, or amendments, to ease people’s worries.

Standards Link: History: Understand the reasons for the addition of the Bill of Rights; enumerate the fundamental liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

21

Holiday Gathering Fun Facts Game

Holiday gatherings are a chance for children to learn about their family history and even get information about how historical events have impacted their families. It is a time to foster conversations that promote family bonding as well as support your child’s success in school.

Clip the questions below, place them in a basket and have each family member select a question to ask a relative. Once a question has been answered by several people, return the slip of paper to the basket and select a new question. An evening of fun for all!

Enjoying words and language expands a child’s vocabulary.

A strong vocabulary is the basis of a lifelong love of learning that fosters communication and reading ability.

Have some fun with words around your house. Here are some ideas: • For one day, call the chairs something different. Then, see who can remember the new name for a full day. Change to a different item another day.

• Write the names of things in your house on paper and have your child label the house.

Then, find the words in a different language and do it again!

• Let your child tell you a bedtime story.

You might want to start out a story, try “Once upon a time on a pirate ship …”

• Play word games like Scrabble.

• Do the word search puzzles in Kid Scoop News and talk about what the words mean.

• Be patient. You may need to repeat words and meanings before your child fully understands them. This is normal.

Library Books for Gifts!

Kid Scoop News librarian Jim Silverman has a tip that lets you give the gift of reading for free!

Simply pick out books for your child at the library and wrap them up like presents. Let your child know the books need to be returned, but that the library is like a big gift box just full or wonderful reading and learning adventures.

What did you eat for holiday meals?

What was your favorite holiday tradition?

How many pets have you had?

What were your hobbies when you were a kid?

What was your favorite TV show when you were a child?

What chores did you do around the house?

How did you get spending money when your were a child?

Share a favorite story a grandparent told you.

Where did your grandparents live?

What is one of your happiest family memories?

EDITOR’S PICK

Frindle

by Vicki Whiting, Kid Scoop News

By Andrew Clements

F

rindle is a book about a young boy who invents a word.

That may not sound like a great premise for a book – but I can assure you it is.

This was a favorite read aloud in my third-grade classroom, and it inspires creative thinking and conversations about the power of words.

Everyone knows Mrs. Granger, the language arts teacher, has X-ray vision, and nobody gets away with anything in her classroom. To make matters worse, she’s also a fanatic about the dictionary, which is hopelessly boring to Nick.

When Nick learns an interesting tidbit about words and where they come from, it inspires his greatest plan yet, to invent a new word. From now on, a pen is no longer a pen — it’s a frindle.

It doesn’t take long for frindle to take root, and soon the excitement spreads well beyond his school and town.

Frindle doesn’t belong to Nick anymore. All he can do now is sit back and watch what happens!

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

22 I is for Igloo i is for igloo

Color the hats and scarves on top of the igloo GREEN. Color the hats and scarves inside the igloo RED. Color the hats and scarves next to the igloo BLUE.

Learning Buddies: Read the two phrases aloud. Have your child read with you. Trace the uppercase and lowercase letter I. Say the letter as you trace it.

How many pictures can you find on this page that have the same middle sound that the letter i makes in the word pig?

How many To market, to market, To buy a fat pig, Home again, home again, Jiggety jig.

Letter Identification

With your child, look through the newspaper to find pictures of things that have the same sound as the letter I in igloo. It can be at the beginning or in the middle of a word.

Math Play

Point to the number 3 in the newspaper.

Have your child say the number and, if it’s large enough, have your child trace the number.

The UPPERCASE & lowercase Game

Look at one page of the newspaper with your child and say, “The big I, called uppercase I, is looking for her little brother, called lowercase i.

Let’s see how many big I, little i matches we can find!”

The IT Game

Cut out the letters i and t from the headlines. Then cut out the letters h, k, s, b and p. Show your child how you can spell the words hit, kit, sit, bit and pit simply by changing the first letter in front of the it.

In or Out

Look through the newspaper for pictures of people and/or things that are inside and outside.

Color the people and things inside RED. Color the people and things outside GREEN.

?

How many

?

How many

?

Top or Bottom

Talk with your child about where things are in a picture. Ask, “What is at the top of the picture?” “Is the car at the top or bottom of the picture?”

Learning Buddies: Trace and say the number. Read the questions. Touch and count to find the answers.

Watch Where You Hop

Practicing following directions is fun with this game! Lay one sheet of newspaper on the floor.

Give your child directions like, “Hop to the top of the page.”

“Hop over the page.”

“Hop around the page.”

© Vicki Whiting December 2021

23 Page 4

Page 7

Page 11

Where do you have the most receptors?

Fingertips, mouth

Page 15

Reindeer Relatives A & G, B & F, C & H, D & E One line

Two shapes

S N O I T A R B I V

Page 5

Smelly Facts The male silkworm can smell a female silk worm from SEVEN miles away.

A bloodhound can smell a human fingerprint left SIX weeks ago.

Spiders and scorpions smell with their FEET. The Tsetse fly can smell the breath of a cow from many MILES away.

A N I T E R H O L I

H C R U H C O A G L

D E A E Y E B A L L

P B R A I N E R V E

Y S F O D N I L B T

U N D Y E L S J A X

B N E Y E S C U H H

R Q N S H E I R T D

R E S V S C L G F G

R S U C A N A L I R

A S R P U S I R I

I M O T G N F U B U

I E O S C L P T I R

T C S L Q U L R C M

N T G H O T U Y P B

S B E L L F P Y E L

Page 8

S P I L F E P S E O

S T T I C K Y D C A

R H F C N Y R D H Y

O C O O L A R C A N

Panda Munching Pandas can eat for 12 hours a day.

Page 9

P E O D I O F K F N

Page 17

T N S L H M U S I C

E H E A T D S L S A E Y L L E M S Y L R

R E A V E S N E S O

S E L U C E L O M V

C F C J H B R A I N

Page 12

O L F A C T O R Y A

Tree Lot Troubles 27 trees

W L D I N K D O E M B E Z R N D O P K U

Lenny’s Lights

D M I L E S Y A R H C S I G N A L V U O

Panda Babies 44 giant panda cubs were born in captivity in 2020.

About 600 giant pandas live in zoos and research centers worldwide.

E Y E O C S B E T Y

Y G T O A J R Z B T Z I

I M E U W A O A

A A H P T O B O E S

N N W A O O B M A B I T E N S N Z O O S

A Q U T L B U G T A

H R T D M O T H E R

D N U O H D O O L B

Holiday Sounds Lid, day, son, dad, shy, ash, any, add, and, hay

Page 16

What kind of candy is William eating?

Peppermint

C H O E T S A T L G

Page 7

I

Page 10

What is the largest organ in your body?

Your skin.

What is sometimes bigger than Santa, sometimes smaller than Santa, but doesn’t weigh anything at all?

5. Shy His shadow 6. Act 1. Hat 7. Dim 2. Sip 8. Tow 3. Sad 9. Win 4. Ash

C O N A M U H P Z Y

D O O F C K C A L B

Page 18

Income: $50 Expenses: $32 Left over: $118 © Vicki Whiting December 2021

24

SEASON’S READINGS FROM THE

Whether you’re traveling or gathering with friends and family at home, Your Library’s got something FUN for you: Live performances & programs Grab & Geaux Bags for all ages E-books and Digital Magazines for Reading on the Go

ParentEd Talks

16

must-watch talks for parents Baton Rouge Parents Magazine virtual events are back and better than ever! We’ve got a list of topnotch experts to speak on timely parenting topics and dish out essential advice. Break the cycle of parental burnout, transform your relationship, learn the latest science on child development and more with our free ParentEd Talks.

Fun & Interactive Online Learning Platforms for all Ages Music Downloads, Streaming Videos & Concerts Recipes & Craft Tutorials

AND MORE!

All you need is your Library card!

P.S. GIVE THE GIFT OF READING - A BOOK IS A PRESENT YOU CAN OPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN!

Do You Have Your S*%# Together? Preparing for Life’s ‘What-ifs’. Author and mom Chanel Reynolds will share a practical guide for tackling important stuff. Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 9 p.m. CT In Praise of Learning Differences: Focusing on Strengths and Abilities. Free ParentEd Talk with Dr. Ned Hallowell, Founder of The Hallowell ADHD Centers. Tuesday, January 18, 2022, 4 CT.

Don’t miss out!

EBRPL.COM

Register now: brparents.com If you cannot watch live, an email with a link will still be provided to watch the series.

© Vicki Whiting December 2021