ChillKids
October 2020
Fun Family Educational Resource of Chapel Hill • Carrboro • Durham • Hillsborough • NC Triangle
Autumn Fun
in the NC Triangle!
Caracal Kittens! at the Animal Park at the Conservators Center in Mebane, NC
Family Farm Fun! Pumpkins & Cornfield Mazes
Create a Halloween Pumpkin Like a NASA Engineer!
FREE!
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READ TOGETHER
Educational fun for the whole family! ChillKids is your LOCAL award-winning educational family resource magazine for parents, grandparents, children, and educators K-5th grade in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough/Orange County, Durham and the NC Triangle.
ChillKids
HAVE FUN READING & LEARNING with ChillKids, featuring award-winning educational puzzles and games. Educators can request FREE distribution for your K-5 classroom(s) by calling (919) 951-4410. Read the monthly online edition at www. ChillKids.com/news.
SUBTRACTION SUDOKU
The ChillKids family educational resource is supported by sponsors who share our mission to promote literacy and a love of learning in our local community. To learn more about supporting our 501(c)(3) nonprofit literacy mission in partnership with the Newspaper in Education Initiative, call us at (919) 951-4410. 2
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OCTOBER PUZZLE ANSWERS
COIN CAPER ANSWERS: QNNNN, DDDDN ADDITION SQUARE ANSWER 7, 14, 6, 13, 8, 4, 13
Connect the dots from 1 to 118. We love to publish your original art work, letters, poems and stories! Ask your parent/guardian to send or email your original art, along with their signed permission to publish, to the ChillKids mailing address on page 3.
THE ANIMAL HOSPITAL Highest quality veterinarian services, using state of the art technology & techniques
* Dog boarding * Cat boarding
* Luxury cat condos
* Dog self-wash service
North Carolina’s best small animal practice, serving the community since 1974!
112 West Main St. Carrboro, NC 27510
“Treats, please!”
www.theanimalhospitalcarrboro.com
919-967-9261
2 www.ChillKids.com/news October 2020
ChillKids
Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Hillsborough/ Orange & Durham Counties' Fun Family Educational Resource PUBLISHER/EDITOR Kate Look kate@ChillKids.com For Sponsorship Information, or to request (FREE!) K-5 distribution for your school, contact us at: (919) 951-4410 www.ChillKids.com/news ChillKids 1818 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, #210 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Copyright © 2020 ChillKids. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without permission of the publisher. Neither participating advertisers nor the publishers will be responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints or typographical errors. The publishers reserve the right to edit any submitted material. ChillKids is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, artwork, or other material. Children's art submissions should include name, address, telephone number, and permission to publish signed by a parent or guardian.
Welcome October! Now that Autumn has arrived, it's a great time to get outside for family walks to enjoy the crisp fresh air and beautiful changing leaves. October also is the perfect time for family fun on the farm while practicing social distancing. On page 5, read about some of the local farms that will be open for the 2020 season, where you can go pumpkin picking, find your way through cornfield mazes, visit the farm animals, and have lots of family fun in the North Carolina Triangle. This month we'll learn about the caracal kittens at the Animal Park at the Conservators Center in Mebane, NC. Visitors to the Animal Park can visit the caracal kittens, as well as the (quickly growing) wolf pups Sitka and Rayne who joined grey wolves Trekkie Monster and Roland, as well as lions, tigers and many more beautiful and amazing animals! Visit https://animalparknc.org/ for more information. Every October we take extra time to learn about fire safety with Sparky the Fire Dog during National Fire Prevention Week. Complete the puzzle on page 8, and visit www.sparky.org for fun games and activities to help you learn all about fire safety. Celebrate Halloween safely with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA Express, your STEM connection! Learn how to create a Halloween pumpkin like a NASA engineer (p. 6). Have a happy October!
By Jan Buckner Walker
The Original Crossword Puzzle for Kids and Their Favorite Adults
™
The across clues are for kids and the down clues are for grown-ups!
Kids Across
1. A monster mash and 5. 7. 8.
9.
10. 13.
16.
Halloween bash with lots of friends, costumes and fun Ooooooooh!: A scary ___ story can send chills up the spine of everyone who hears it A fun thing to play with, like a glow-in-the-dark sword Morning munch bunch: Years ago, kids ate monster _____ with creepy names like Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Fruity Yummy Mummy Trick or treat: This hard candy looks like a stick figure that doesn't have arms, legs or a face Millions of loyal Harry Potter fans saw the wizard cast spells with this in hand Want to add fright to your bite?: Bake a dozen chocolate _____, then top them with orange icing and place a plastic spider on each one Halloween ha-ha: What do you call the bright light in the night sky when it has had too much
to eat? A full ____ 17. Bubble, bubble: It's what a witch likes to do to her simmering brew 18. Are you an alien for Halloween? Then you might have flown in on an "unidentified flying object," also known as a ____ (abbr.) 20. A witch needs for this to blow for her broom to zoom 21. It's the color of your costume if you're dressed like a devil 23. Of the four travelers in the Wizard of Oz gang, the ___ Man would probably have the hardest time walking through the streets to trick-or-treat 24. The place a princess lives (or what you can build out of sand) 25. If a girl is going trick-or-treating as Snow White, she might invite this many friends to dress up like her tiny buddies and join you
Parents Down
1. Witch's cauldron 2. Any 24A resident 3. Inevitable exclamation from a
4. 5.
6. 11. 12. 13.
14.
15. 19. 22.
child who just heard that you're going to buy her the costume she desperately wants Halloween head: Pumpkin with a warm glow in his eye Gross, gruesome and bloodcurdling, like the Headless Horseman or a gag bag of fake body parts Sound of the still of the night Vampires strike it in the hearts of horror fans Trick-or-treater's last stop of the night Seasonal squash, repurposed: Pumpkin ____ are tasty (and a bit healthier than the chocolate chip-rich variety, Sometimes scary circus workers: "Coulrophobia," defined as "an irrational fear of _____," is something many experience all year round Teenage mutant trick-or-treater Reality show that can cause stage fright: "American ____" Sunscreen, anyone?: What a vampire will do if exposed to direct sunlight.
It's Halloween!
Pumpkin Festivals &
CornField Mazes Guide on p. 5 Solution on page 2.
™
kris@kapd.com
KAPD ebooks now available on www.kapd.com 10/26/14
October 2020 www.ChillKids.com/news
© 2014 KAPD, LLC
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ANIMAL KINGDOM Meet Zehra and Mazie! Caracal kitten sisters Zehra and Mazie were born in mid-May 2020 at the Animal Park at the Conservators Center in Mebane, NC and they are growing up quickly!
Hello, Caracal Kittens!
Meet Caracal Kittens Sisters Zehra and Mazie at the Animal Park at the Conservators Center, in Mebane, NC
Caracals are a fascinating species, with large goldengreen eyes and black tufted ears. (Learn more about caracals below). Now you can meet them at the Animal Park in adorable kitten form! Earlier this year, after the caracal kitten sisters began to grow up a bit, they were moved into a space where visitors could get a good look at them through a huge window into their world. Now Mazie and Zehra are doing great in their new space out in the field of the small animals side of the Park. They enjoy the outdoors thanks to a small outdoor enclosure attached to their building. Tours have had the wonderful opportunity of seeing these two feisty girls who have already stolen the hearts of many. The caracal kittens enjoyed their first paint enrichment in early July, when they romped around and made their paw print art with safe paints. They have proven to be quite the artists! Like many artists, they always have to look over their finished masterpiece!
Above: This is Mazie caracal! Mazie has more blue-green eyes compared to sister Zehra (right), whose eyes are golden-green. Photo: Don Komondy/The
Animal Park at the Conservators Center
We can all look forward to watching them continue to grow into those long tufted ears, and seeing how they enjoy the cooler weather. The Animal Park at the Conservators Center is welcoming visitors in small tour groups of limited numbers of people (limited capacity public tours and private tours). Visitors and staff are wearing masks, socially distancing, and remaining in the outdoor areas of the park. The arrival of the caracal kitten sisters is exciting not only for all of the cute moments and photos, but also for the amazing educational opportunities these kittens bring to the Animal Park. The Animal Park at the Conservators Center shares fun photos and videos of these kittens, as well as young wolf siblings, young lion brothers, and their other animals on their social media pages. Join them to see and learn more by visiting their website at https://animalparknc.org and following their social media pages @AnimalParkNC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. The Animal Park is holding autumn events in a modified way, ensuring mask-wearing, social distancing, and other safety measures are in place to keep their visitors, staff and animals safe. They are constantly reviewing their policies and procedures regarding COVID-19 safety and will continue to follow the direction of state and local leadership. Fun, socially-distanced events coming up include Howl-O-Ween on October 31st, and Pumpkin Prowl on November 14th. (The Pumpkin Prowl rain date is November 21st.) Reserve your tour at https://animalparknc.org, and don’t forget your mask! The Animal Park at the Conservators Center (formerly known as The Conservators Center) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located at 676 E. Hughes Mill Road, Burlington, NC. More information about the Center and its tours can be found at https://AnimalParkNC.org. To support the work of the Animal Park at the Conservators Center, donate through the virtual donation station at https://animalparknc.org/ support/quick/.
Zehra caracal hides under a blanket as she plays hide and seek with her sister Mazie during their painting enrichment in July 2020. Can you see the purple paint on Zehra's paw? Photo: Don Komondy/The Animal Park at the Conservators Center
All About Caracals
The caracal is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and India. The origin of the name “caracal” means “black-eared.” It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, and long canine teeth. Its coat is a reddish tan or sandy color, with lighter color fur with small reddish markings on their stomach. Caracal cats typically are around 16–20 iches tall at the shoulder, and weigh between 18–42 pounds. The first scientific description of the caracal cat's characteristics was documented in 1776. Typically nocturnal (active at night), the caracal is highly secretive and difficult to observe. Caracals are territorial, and live mainly alone or in pairs. The caracal is a carnivore that typically preys upon small mammals, birds, and rodents. Caracals were tamed and used for hunting in ancient Egypt. They can leap higher than 12 feet! The average lifespan of captive caracals is nearly 16 years. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracal
This is Naja caracal, Mazie and Zehra's mother. Naja caracal celebrated her 7th birthday at the Animal Park on September 4th, 2020. Photo: Animal Park at the Conservators Center
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2020 FARM FUN FUN GUIDE GUIDE 2019 FARM
Pumpkins, Cornfield Mazes & Spook-tacular Family Fun Autumn days are perfect for fun on the farm in the North Carolina Triangle! Visit these favorite local family farms and enjoy pumpkin picking, cornfield mazes, hay rides, visiting with farm animals, jumping in a corn crib, and playing in the fresh air.
Vollmer Farm Back 40
Ken’s Korny Corn Maze
3175 Benson Rd. (Hwy 50 S), Garner, NC 27529 919-779-4765 www.kenskornycornmaze.com Celebrating it's 22nd year, Ken’s Korny Corn Maze is a 10-acre fall playground with a 6-acre corn maze, and over 2 1/2 miles of paths! Farm fun includes lots of great photo opportunities, and much more. (Some activities are limited for 2020 due to Covid-19: "Due to COVID-19, we will be opening
677 North Carolina 98 Hwy E, Bunn, NC 27508 919-779-4765 www.vollmerfarm.com/back-40weekends.html#/ The Vollmer Farm Back-40 opens September 25th, 2020! The Back Forty is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays; visit www.vollmerfarm.com for hours and more information. This year the Back-40 will run by reservation only, with tickets available at: https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/back-40tickets-120660206927
with limited activities and hand sanitizing stations will be placed throughout. Our paths are now 8-10 feet to maintain social distancing inside in the corn field. We recommend wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer, and maintaining 6-8 feet apart at all times.")
Open Sept. 25 - Nov. 7, 2020 (weekends Fri.-Sun.) Before visiting be sure to check their schedule, as hours are modified this year, and may change without notice due to weather and other factors. Visit www.kenskornycornmaze.com for hours.
Ken’s Korny Corn Maze 2020
The Vollmer Farm Back-40 features fun for the whole family including a Back-40 playground (giant slide, jumping pillow, slingshot, barrel train, corn maze and more), farm animals, hayride, pumpkins, and lots more. Additional activities available (additional fee) include gem mining, kayaking on the pond, catch & release fishing (poles & worms are provided.) NO outside coolers, food or beverages are permitted onto the Back Forty. The Nibble Nook will be OPEN to purchase food and beverages. Visit www.vollmerfarm.com for days and hours for the Market, Pumpkins & Ice Cream shop.
Phillips Farms of Cary
6701 Good Hope Church Road Cary, NC 27519 919-377-8989 phillipsfarmsofcary.com Serving the community for over 100 years! The Philips Farms of Cary farm and corn maze is open to the public September 19th, 2020 and all other weekends until November 1st, 2020. Phillips Farms will be limiting the number of people at the farm this year to help with social distancing. Because of this, they are breaking admission into different sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. Visit https://www.facebook. com/phillipsfarmscarync/ and https:// phillipsfarmsofcary.com/corn-maze/ for hours, updates and additional information. (Phillips Farms of Cary also offers a Haunted Farm that they do not recommend for 12 years and younger.)
Visit phillipsfarmsofcary.com to learn more about Phillips Farms sunflowers, Christmas trees, strawberries and more family fun throughout the year. For more Fall Fun, visit www.ChillKids.com.
October 2020 www.ChillKids.com/news
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Halloween Fun with NASA! Create a Halloween Pumpkin Like a NASA Engineer Want to make an out-of-this-world Halloween pumpkin? Take a cue from the engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It’s their job to design and build robots that can travel millions of miles to study other planets – and sometimes even land and drive around on the surface. So on Halloween, they can’t help but bring some of that same creative thinking to designing stellar pumpkins inspired by space exploration.
OCTOBER 2020 Flick Pick Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo (On DVD and streaming platforms: October 6, 2020)
Halloween is Scooby-Doo and Shaggy’s favorite holiday: with fake monsters and candy galore, Halloween is heaven for these hungry foodies going door-to-door. But, this year, their sweet holiday turns sour when the neighborhood pumpkin patch is infected by toxic ooze, creating high-flying jack-olanterns, and a king-sized pumpkin leader squashing everything in its path. It’s up to Scooby-Doo and the gang as they team up with their pals, Bill Nye The Science Guy and Elvira Mistress of the Dark, to solve this mystery of gigantic proportions and save Crystal Cove!
Check out some of their pumpkin creations, and get tips on how to make your own pumpkin like a NASA engineer at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/ learn/project/create-a-halloween-pumpkin-like-a-nasa-engineer/ Explore their Flickr album at https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa-jpl/ sets/72157672207667603/ for more pumpkin designs from NASA/JPL. Important safety note! Do not create your pumpkin without adult supervision. Follow all general and listed safety precautions when using sharp objects and those with electrical components. If your design involves carving, ask an adult to help and use tools designed for safe pumpkin carving. For younger students, try this NASA Pumpkin Stencils Halloween pumpkin activity from NASA's SpacePlace at https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/pumpkins/en/ Send NASA pictures of your pumpkins! by email (jwst@lists.nasa.gov) or tag them on social media (@NASAWebb on Twitter and Instagram), and they may share them! Source: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/create-a-halloween-pumpkinlike-a-nasa-engineer/
1 hr. 20 min. Warner Bros. Animation.
Math-A-Muse By Evelyn B. Christensen, Ed.D.
SUBTRACTION SUDOKU
Solve the problems. Then fill in the squares so that each row, column, and 2 x 3 rectangle has the numbers 1-6.
13 – 7
7–6
8–4
9–8
12 – 7
13 – 9
11 – 7
15 – 9
11 – 8
9–7
13 – 8 8–6
12 – 8
7–4
What 5 U.S. coins are worth 45 cents? (Find 2 solutions.)
ADDITION SQUARE
10 – 7
14 – 8
11 – 9
COIN CAPER
Find the missing numbers. In each row the fourth number is the sum of the first 3. The same is true of each column.
3 5
4
2 3
10 – 9
20
9
15 42
Math-A-Muse Answers on page 2.
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NATIONAL Orionid WOLF Meteor AWARENESS Shower Peak WEEK
Oct. 18 - 24 Meet Trekkie Monster and his brother Roland and two new wolf pups, Sitka & Rayne
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at the Animal Park at the Conservators Center in Mebane, NC! https://animalparknc.org/
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Oct. 21st before Dawn
spaceplace.nasa.gov/ meteor-shower
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Full Moon
Happy Halloween
October 2020 www.ChillKids.com/news
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All but one of these jolly jack-o’-lanterns matches another
jack in the pack. Can you ďŹ nd all the pumpkin pairs? There are eight and one lone pumpkin.
Check out
sparky.org for more fun!
The name and image of Sparky are trademarks of the NFPA.
8 www.ChillKids.com/news October 2020