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3 Check It Out! 4 Be Surprised About Farm Animals 6 The Silly Millers 7 Moo Manners 8 Farmer O.’s Ostrich Farm 10 Horse Care 11 Walk Like a Horse 12 Puzzles 15 Funny Farm 16 Cookie Cows 17 Cows Crossing 18 From Moo to You 20 Which Came First? 22 10 Farm Facts 24 Farm Life in Early Montana 26 Aztec Farming 28 Cowboy Clark & Larry 29 Kidz Corner 30 Puzzle Solutions
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If I asked you to draw a picture of a farm, what would you include? Some of our readers said a big red barn. Others mentioned animals. Most of those who participated in our survey suggested cows, pigs, horses, and chickens. There could also be goats, sheep, donkeys, llamas, and even ostriches. Many farmers also grow crops, which provide food for their families, the animals, and communities. Visiting a farm can be very exciting. You might have a chance to gather eggs, ride a horse, milk a cow, or feed the animals. Enjoy this issue of Fun For Kidz, all about fun on a farm. There are funny stories, lots of puzzles, interesting articles, and many cute animal photos. When you are finished, we hope you can visit a farm. Send us a letter telling us what you liked best or send in a photo or drawing. We will publish it in Kidz Corner in a future issue. Happy reading!
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There are many fun facts about farm animals that you may not be aware of. One farm animal is smart enough to play a video game. Another is a picky eater and won’t eat food that was left on the floor. There is one animal that cannot breathe through its mouth and another that is closely related to a dinosaur. Read on. You will be surprised and amazed!
Horses cannot breathe through their mouths. They have lightning-fast reflexes. And since they can sleep standing up, they lock their knees to avoid collapsing.
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Calves start to moo shortly after birth and are fed only milk until they are eight weeks old. Cows are social animals who form bonds with each other. In a herd, cows often join together in cliques.
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Chickens have 200 distinct noises they can make for communicating. And the chicken is the closest living relative of Tyrannosaurus rex.
utters tock.c om na/Sh Iryna
Inshy
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Goats are among the cleanest animals. And they will not eat food that has been left on the floor or ground.
Pigs are the fourth smartest animals after chimpanzees, dolphins, and elephants. They are playful, sensitive, and can be taught to play a video game using a joystick.
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Rabbits are very social creatures. They are happiest when they have company. Rabbits have teeth that never stop growing, and they wear them down by eating foods high in fiber.
Donkeys have very keen hearing. Their ears can move independently of each other to help pinpoint a specific sound. And their long ears help cool them off.
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written and illustrated by Neal Levin • colored by Gaurakisora Tucker One sunny morning, Mr. and Mrs. Miller took their cow to the milking festival in town. On the way, they passed a group of young boys shooting marbles. “What silly people,” cried one of the boys, “walking down a long and dusty road when they have a cow right beside them. If they were smart, they would ride the cow like a horse.” “What a wonderful idea!” Mr. Miller said, overhearing the boy. He hopped up on the cow’s back, but his wife walked beside him so she could carry their milking stool and pail.
Soon they passed a group of young girls skipping rope. “What silly people,” one girl giggled. “That old man is riding a cow, and the woman has to walk. If I were that woman, I’d ride the cow too.” “What a wonderful idea!” Mrs. Miller said. She hopped up behind her husband, and they rode the cow together. Mrs. Miller wore the pail on her head and her husband wore the stool on his.
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Before long, they came to an orchard, where a skinny man was picking apples. “What silly people,” he said as he shook his head. “Riding on a cow. Whoever heard of such a thing?” Mrs. Miller lifted the milking pail off her head and turned toward the skinny man. “We’re taking her to the milking festival,” she told him. “That cow will be in no shape to give milk,” said the skinny man. “Not with that burden on her back.” He crunched into an apple and frowned. Mr. Miller slid off the cow and helped his wife down. “I have a wonderful idea,” he said. They borrowed a ladder from the apple picker and tied the cow’s legs to it. They each lifted one end of the ladder and carried the cow upside-down to the village. When they arrived at the milking festival, they were greeted with laughter. “What silly people!” the townspeople cried. The silly Millers, who were now both out of breath, placed the ladder down gently and untied the cow’s feet. The cow wobbled upright and let out an angry “Moooo!” Then it disappeared into the crowd and ran away. The Millers were too exhausted to chase after it. Not only did they lose the contest, they also lost the cow. But they did win first prize for the most original hat competition. Side by side, they paraded through the village wearing a milking stool and pail on their heads.
by C.C. Williford • illustrated by Roy Green A cow who’s mooing While she’s chewing Ignored her papa bull. For he always said, When the calves were fed, “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
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Farmer O. raises ostriches on his farm. Yes, ostriches! His real name is Mr. Otto, but everyone says the “O” stands for ostrich. Farmer O. and his family greeted my daughter and me when we visited their farm. So did several of the ostriches. The birds were in a pen and came running over to check us out. They looked funny, yet graceful, rushing over on their two long legs. Excited to see them, I leaned over the fence. “Careful!” Farmer O. warned. “They bite.” Too late. One of them gave my arm a nip with her strong beak. She was just curious, so I forgave her right away. In big open pastures, we saw ostriches relaxing or exploring the area. At nearly 10 feet tall and weighing almost 350 pounds, these are the world’s largest birds. They need plenty of room to roam and exercise. As the birds strolled along, they stopped to investigate whatever looked interesting to them. “Is it true,” I asked, “that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to hide from danger?” Farmer O. gave a hearty laugh. “No, that’s just a story,” he said. “Ostriches run from danger. In the wild, a grown ostrich can run nearly 45 mph, faster than a lion or a hyena that might chase it.”
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On the farm, babies, teenagers, and adults have their own areas. This helps Farmer O. give each group the right care. Mrs. O. showed us the babies in their special warmed shelters. When the chicks begin walking, Farmer O. puts down old carpet so their two toes have something to grab on to. All the ostriches sleep in shelters at night. During the day, the shelters protect the birds from too much sun or cold, rainy, or snowy weather.
The O. family sold ostrich eggs and meat and even big, soft ostrich feathers. I had one more question. “What does ostrich meat taste like?” We headed to the farmhouse kitchen for my answer. We bit into an ostrich burger. It tasted great, like a regular hamburger. “And it’s much healthier than beef,” Farmer O. said. While saying goodbye to Farmer O. and Mrs. O., we saw their kids hurrying to a pen. An inquisitive ostrich had gotten her head stuck between two fence posts and needed help. That’s what happens when ostriches get too curious!
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We were eager to see ostrich eggs. We knew they had to be enormous, and we were right. My daughter held one the size of a melon. It weighed about three pounds, as much as two dozen chicken eggs!
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by Karen S. Hopkins • illustrated by Shannon Comins Canter, gallop, walk, and trot,
Warming up and cool-downs, too,
Practicing control a lot.
How much more is there to do?
Bridles, saddles, bits, and reins,
Lots of work to love a horse.
Brushing coats and combing manes.
I wouldn’t change a thing, of course!
Picking hooves and braiding tails, Filling up more feeding pails. Mucking out the stable floors, Checking – are there any sores?
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When you were a baby, you learned to walk on two feet. Horses have to learn to move FOUR feet. Do you think that would be harder? Try it and see!
What You Need: • your feet AND your hands
• a lawn, floor, or carpet
What You Do Bend over and put both your hands on the ground. Pretend you are a horse and that your arms are your front legs. Now walk forward using ONLY your arms and hands. Keep going. Are you getting anywhere?
Now Try It Differently Using both your arms AND your legs, try walking these three ways:
First Way
Second Way
Third Way
1. Move your RIGHT HAND forward.
1. Move your RIGHT HAND forward.
1. Move your RIGHT HAND forward.
2. Move your RIGHT FOOT forward.
2. Move your LEFT FOOT forward.
2. Move your LEFT HAND forward.
3. Move your LEFT HAND forward.
3. Move your RIGHT FOOT forward.
3. Move your RIGHT FOOT forward.
4. Move your LEFT FOOT forward.
4. Move your LEFT HAND forward.
4. Move your LEFT FOOT forward.
5. Do it again.
5. Do it again.
5. Do it again.
Hard, isn’t it? It probably took you over a year to learn to walk on two feet. But a baby horse learns to walk on its four feet within minutes after it is born!
So Which Way Do Horses Walk? Horses can move their feet in all the different ways you did in your experiment. In fact, horses move their feet differently depending upon whether they want to walk slowly, walk quickly, prance, run, or race. The next time you see a horse in person or on TV, look carefully to see how it is moving its feet. Then put your hands on the ground and see if you can walk the same way. Keep practicing walking like a horse!
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cup iron bone glove crown mouse canoe skillet cupcake football ©Liz Ball www.hiddenpicturepuzzles.com
magnet padlock 2 cones 2 hearts 2 pencils hamburger boomerang peppermint
by Julie Truesdell • illustrated by Rebecca Spohn
Each of the four kids in this puzzle lives on a farm. Use the clues to figure out what state each farm is in and what farm chore each kid has to do. In the grid, put an “x” in the boxes you know doesn’t go with a child. Put an “o” in the boxes that do go with a child. Clues: 1. Hayden lives in Illinois but does not milk cows. 2. Reese feeds the pigs on his family’s farm, but he does not live in California. 3. The kid who lives in Kansas pitches hay, but it’s not Jordan.
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by Michelle Benjamin illustrated by Heather Walker Help Ma Duck “quack” this secret code to find her missing baby ducklings. Write the name of the baby of each animal in the circles provided. If done correctly, the letters in the boxes will spell out where Ma Duck’s babies can be found.
by Guy Belleranti
by MaryEllen Uthlaut illustration by Pamela Harden
Going through a farm’s corn maze can be a–maze–ing fun. Can you find your way through the maze below? Begin at “START” and connect the word CORN 12 times until you reach “END.” You may move in any direction, but no letter may be connected more than once. Write all the leftover letters, in order, on the blanks to spell out 14 things you might find on a farm.
START
C S H R O N C G P G R H
O H O A O R A O O R N O
R N R C R W B G R N C R
G C N C D V L S U A P N
O A S R O E E C L R O C
R Y O T G G S O N I I E
O N E C S R O C T N G E
A C S N P N E W R B S P
T O T R L E C S N C O R
R N C O O T O R Y A S N
Use the clues provided to put these farm creatures where they belong in the crossword puzzle. 1
2
3
4
5 6
8
7
9
10
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12
13
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END
14 things you might find on a farm:
Across 1. good neigh-bors 6. a squeaker 7. “down” on the farm 8. not–so–sweet butter 10. pen pals 11. comes after “rein” 12. lawn moo-ers 14. safer when he’s dozing
Down 2. announces the dawn 3. ewe there 4. smooth hop–erator 5. little stinkers 7. ruff-ian 9. the yoke’s on them 13. flies-by-night
_ _ _ _ _, _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ by Guy Belleranti • illustrated by Rebecca Spohn
by David K. Lindo Find the letters described by the fraction in each statement. Print the letters you select, in the order provided, into the boxes. What did you find? Were you surprised?
The last 1/3 of CAT The first 1/3 of RABBIT The last 1/3 of EFFECT The first 1/3 of ORIOLE
Farms provide many foods for us to eat. The 12 listed are hidden in the puzzle. Search forward, backward, up, down, and diagonally. Write the leftover letters, in order, in the blank boxes to find other farm-grown foods.
The first 1/7 of JUGGLER The middle 1/2 of WELD The last 1/3 of REALLY The last 1/4 of LIMB The middle 2/8 of RESEARCH The first 1/6 of NOVICE The middle 1/5 of WASTE
What machine took over the What kind of beans won’t you work of horses on the farm? find growing on the farm?
BERRIES GRAINS BUTTER HERBS MEAT CHEESE EGGS MELONS MILK GRAPES NUTS ORCHARD FRUITS
S T I U R F D R A H C R O R E T O O T A N D C H E E S E P B U T T E R N M O N R R O A O T N V G S E I R R E B E R G E T A G M E L O N S B S G R A I N S L E K T A E M S
Other farm-grown foods:
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by Rebecca Langston-George illustrated by Rebecca Spohn An analogy word game has two sets of pairs that share a relationship. The key to solving an analogy is to figure out what the relationship is. Then you can figure out the missing part of the second pair. Take a look at this analogy: Bird is to fly as fish is to _ _ _ _. To solve it, look at the first pair (bird & fly) and figure out what the relationship is. In this case, birds move by flying. Now use that relationship to solve the missing part of the second pair. How do fish move? They swim, of course! Swim is the missing word to complete the analogy. Birds fly and fish swim. Now you try it!
Carrot is to orange as broccoli is to . Green bean is to vegetable as grape is to
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Tomato is to vine as apple is to . Pumpkin is to autumn as watermelon is to .
Cow is to milk as hen is to
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Stall is to horse as pen is to
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Sheep is to baa as cow is to
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Cow is to calf as kid is to
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by Mary Ellen Uthlaut Farm animals tend to sneak into polite conversations all the time. In this puzzle, one creature has been removed from each of the sentences below and hidden in the letter square. When you figure out which animal was lurking in each sentence, find it in the puzzle and circle it. Look up, down, backwards, and diagonally. Copy the remaining puzzle letters into the boxes at the bottom to answer the riddle. 1. The boy who won the spelling bee was as proud as a . 2. Some people count if they have trouble getting to sleep. 3. Without her glasses she’s as blind as a . 4. Some people say unkind things because they’re trying to get your 5. If you buy something online, you might be getting a in a poke. 6. A strong leader will take the by the horns. 7. In the library, everyone must be as quiet as a . 8. When kids get together, they tend to around. Where do barnyard creatures go for their medicine?
“
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S H E E P T B E B E S U O M U S . G A P O T H L R O E T I F A L O A R M A G C Y H T P E A C O C K
”
Harvest the Answers on Page 30.
by Paul R. Orshoski • illustrated by Pamela Harden colored by Gaurakisora Tucker
There’s a place in the country A long way from town That is home to a person Named Old Farmer Brown. It’s a place on a hillside With likable charm, And it’s known to young children As Brown’s Funny Farm. Farmer Brown has a rooster That cackles and sings, And a hen that eats drum sticks With barbecued wings. There’s a goose made of chocolate With marshmallow legs, And a pig that eats bacon With fried scrambled eggs. Farmer Brown has a tractor With wagons of wheat, And a barn full of critters With bad smelling feet. There’s a pond just for swimming With snorkels and fins, But mostly the place is for Giggles and grins.
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by Marcia Strykowski Have you ever seen cows that remind you of crème-filled chocolate cookies? If so, you may have spotted Belted Galloway cattle. These unique cows are quiet, agreeable, and fascinating to discover on farms throughout the country. Belted Galloways originated more than 300 years ago in the Galloway district of Scotland. “Belties” have shaggy fur with a wide white band, or belt, around their middles. They are a very hardy breed and do well in hilly areas and cold climates. Underneath their long, wavy fur, which they shed when the weather gets hot, they have a short, sleek undercoat. At birth, Beltie calves usually weigh from 60 to 80 pounds. By age five, a mature Belted Galloway can weigh about 2000 pounds. Whoa! That’s some big cookie!
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by Christine Osman What signs would you expect to see on a country road? Maybe a speed limit sign, a stop sign, or even a sign advertising a roadside corn stand? Along Franklin Road in Butler County, Pennsylvania, is a cow crossing sign. And if you happen to be traveling along that road before dawn one morning, you might actually see cows crossing the road. Why do the cows cross the road? The farm they live on has two grazing fields, one on each side of the road. So, to move the cows from one field to the other, the farmer has to corral them across Franklin Road. This is not an easy task because this is a fairly busy road. Of course, cows can’t look both ways before crossing the road. You might be wondering how the cows safely cross. To protect the cows, the farmer has installed a special gate at the crossing spot. When he opens one gate to lead the herd across the road, another gate actually blocks the road.
Peter Turner Photography/Shutterstock.com
What happens if you are in a car on that particular part of Franklin Road when the cows are crossing? You wait. And as you can imagine, cows don’t move very fast. So, if you happen to be traveling on this country road early one morning and come across a herd of cows crossing it, just be patient. Sit back and enjoy watching the cows. It’s a sight you won’t see very often.
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What has four stomachs and can chow down 100 pounds of food per day? If you guessed that a cow is the food guzzler, you’re right. Dairy cows eat so much and gulp down 35 gallons of water every day so that their bodies can turn it all into milk. Did you know that an average dairy cow can produce about 1500 gallons of milk in one year? That’s enough to fill three small fire truck tanks. A cow that munches only grass can turn out 50 glasses of milk a day. Many farmers let their cows graze on grass, corn, and hay so that they can produce more milk – up to 100 glasses a day! How does milk get from the cow to your grocery store? A dairy cow has a bag called an udder underneath her which can hold up to 50 pounds of milk at one time. Before milking machines were invented in 1894, a farmer could milk about six cows an hour by hand. Today, using milking machines, a farmer can milk more than 100 cows an hour. Where does all this milk go? When cows are milked, the milk flows into glass jars or stainless steel containers. Then it travels through pipelines and ends up in
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refrigerated silo tanks. Then, every day or two, the milk is collected by a refrigerated milk truck. It’s like a huge thermos bottle on wheels. The driver delivers the milk right away to the dairy processing plant. At the plant, the milk is tested to make sure it is fresh. Then it is pasteurized. That means it is heated and then cooled again to kill bacteria. The milk is also homogenized. This is a process that blends the milk’s butterfat into the milk. If this weren’t done, cream would rise to the top, and you would have to stir your milk before pouring it over your morning cereal. Now the milk is pure and tasty and can be made into cheese, butter, yogurt, and other delicious dairy products. The next time you munch a grilled cheese sandwich and follow it up with ice cream, be thankful for dairy cows. They use their four stomachs to produce the milk that tastes great and keeps you healthy.
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Which came first, the chicken or the egg? A family in Bluffton, Ohio, started out with a mail-order carton of fluffy chicks. The father, Chao, thought his son would enjoy caring for the baby chickens. You don’t have to live on a farm to raise chickens. In the case of the Wang family, they built their chicken coop and pen behind their outdoor shed at the back of their property. That way, it was hidden from view from the house. The chickens didn’t care, as they had plenty of room to roost and move around in their pen. ND700/Shutterstock.com
As the chickens matured, the family discovered one chick was a rooster. They didn’t want their neighbors to be upset with a noisy bird. So, when the chickens were older and laying eggs, they solved the problem. Chang, the eldest of the Wang children, delivered some of their first fresh eggs to the neighbors. When they insisted on paying him, it gave him an idea. Why not go into business selling fresh eggs to his neighbors? As time went on, he also sold compost and chicken manure for his neighbors’ gardens.
A nice home for Chang’s chickens chalermphon_tiam/Shutterstock.com
Raising chickens is not easy work. Each day, Chang has to collect the eggs and give the chickens food and water. Sometimes a chicken might escape from the pen. Then Chang calls on his sister, Lei, to help catch the stray chicken. When gathering the eggs, Chang checks to make sure that the shells are hard. If they aren’t, that is a signal that the chickens need more calcium in their diets.
Chang takes good care of his chickens.
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After collecting the eggs, Chang has to carefully clean them off. He can’t submerge the eggs in water because the dirt on the eggs could seep through the shells. Egg shells are porous. This means they have tiny, little holes that we can’t see but could absorb dirty water.
chalermphon_tiam/Shutterstock.com
Another fresh egg to sell!
Chang likes taking photos of his hens as they grow. Even though Chang likes raising his chickens, it isn’t always fun. His chores have to be done every day. If for any reason he can’t do them, someone else has to fill in. That is usually his family or grandparents, who live nearby. For now, he hasn’t missed any days, and he appreciates earning money from selling eggs to his neighbors and grandparents. And who knows, maybe someday he will have his own farm and raise lots of chickens. For now, though, he is happy exactly where he is.
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Dear Readers, My name is William. In the early 1940s, I lived with my two younger brothers and my parents on a wheat farm in Montana. My brothers were John and Robert. The nearest town was Belgrade, 25 miles away from our farm. We had no running water or electricity. We had no refrigerator and not even a bathtub. My brothers and I took turns sitting in a big metal washtub to clean up. Our mother would pour water over each of our heads as we washed our bodies. We used a backyard outhouse to go to the bathroom. On really cold mornings, we bundled up in heavy winter coats. I helped milk our cows every morning. We stored the milk in a steel dairy canister. It was kept out in the livestock water tank to keep it cold. My brothers and I hauled in our drinking water by bucket. It came from an outdoor well. Other morning chores that my brothers and I did included feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs. Our mother used a coal-burning stove to cook our meals. The stove helped keep our small house warm. We used rainwater to wash the dishes. We collected the water and pumped it into the kitchen sink from the basement cistern. We sat at the kitchen table after supper and did our homework with light from a kerosene lamp.
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Although living on the farm was hard work, we had fun also. We owned a horse named Mary that we enjoyed riding. My two younger brothers were small enough to ride together. Our father made us a checkerboard out of wood, and we played with it all the time. When it rained in the summer, we splashed in the muddy puddles. We lived too far from the one-room schoolhouse. So our parents drove us the five miles and then picked us up in the afternoon. I was in fifth grade, John was in third, and Robert was in second. There were 24 children from surrounding farms who attended the school. During the cold winters, my father took hot coal ashes from our coal-burning stove and put them under the car to warm the engine. Otherwise, the car would not have started. Our school was for grades one through seven. Before I started eighth grade, my family moved to Belgrade. We lived in town and went to school there. We enjoyed being “town kids” during the school year. Every summer, our family went back home to our farm. I was happy to spend the vacation from school out in the country on our farm.
William
Locomotive74/Shutterstock.com
Your farm friend,
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by Laurie Chance Smith • illustration by Pamela Harden Can you imagine a small city constructed entirely on the water? That’s how Hernando Cortez, a Spanish explorer, described the Valley of Mexico in 1519. Cortez wrote letters to his Spanish emperor with fantastic tales of floating gardens in the Aztec world. The Aztecs were a group of people who lived in and around what is now Mexico City. But Cortez was mistaken. The gardens never floated. The Aztecs lived in a valley where five lakes flowed together to form a vast area of wetlands. They needed farmland to feed their empire. So they built chinampas. These were gardens “created by digging ditches and piling mud on both sides,” says Dr. Phil Crossley. He and other scientists have studied chinampas to learn the Aztec way of producing a lot of food. After the Aztecs dragged soil and dead plants from the lakebeds, they used sticks, rocks, and branches to firmly attach the piled-up earth to the lake bottom. This created island garden beds in the middle of those lakes! Some chinampas were 30 feet wide by 300 feet long. Lake water formed canals between the chinampa beds. Soon the wetlands looked like a giant grid with chinampas criss-crossed by canals.
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The Aztecs planted fast-growing willow trees along the edges of the chinampas. This kept the soil from washing away, provided shade, and kept bugs off the crops. Over time, the chinampas became solid and firmly packed. The Aztecs built huts right on top of the chinampas. This gave the illusion to Cortez that the cities and gardens floated. Picture a 10-year-old Aztec boy, Zolin, learning to be a chinampero (a chinampa farmer). No pack animals or wheeled vehicles existed in Aztec times, so Zolin traveled everywhere by canoe. Zolin packed the canoe with heavy sacks of seed and garden tools. He learned to pole the canoe through the maze of chinampas. Aztecs needed 44,000 tons of maize (corn) a year to feed their empire. Zolin planted maize, with beans and squash alongside. Squash shaded the roots of the maize, while beans added nitrogen to the soil to help the maize grow. Zolin fertilized the chinampas with muck scraped from the canal beds and with human waste, which he hauled from public toilets in his canoe! On nursery rafts floating in the canals, Zolin planted seeds for tomatoes, chili peppers, and marigolds. After he harvested the maize, he transplanted seedlings from the nursery to the chinampas. By rotating crops, Zolin harvested up to seven times a year. Food from the chinampas fed his family, paid Aztec taxes, and allowed trade at the market. Chinamperos like Zolin were early organic farmers. According to Dr. Crossley, chinamperos learned about their soil and the crops they wanted to produce to keep the wetlands healthy. Best of all, the “floating gardens” Cortez described still exist. Today hundreds of chinamperos farm original Aztec chinampas near Mexico City. Aztec wisdom can inspire us to take care of these ancient gardens and our own environments.
Entrance to a chinampa in Mexico. This photo was taken around the year 1900. This chinampa is probably still in use!
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Tired from the hike he and Cowboy Clark took earlier in the day, Larry rolled onto his side and welcomed the coolness of the soft grass on his sore muscles. Perched on the fence post, Mrs. Whiskers commented, “You seem tired, Larry.” He yawned. “We checked out that new farm past Old Crochett Mountain. It was a long trip.” “Yeah, some farm,” Cowboy Clark huffed. “There wasn’t one cow, pig, or horse anywhere.” Larry reminded him, “There were emus.” “Emus, she-moos. What’s an emu doing on a farm?” Curious, Mrs. Whiskers tilted her head. “I hear they’re interesting birds.” “That’s not the point. They have no business calling that place a farm.” “Did you know emus have two eyelids?” Mrs. Whiskers asked. “One to blink and the other to keep dirt out of its eyes. I also heard they’re fast runners.” “What difference does it make if they’re two-lidded speed racers? A farm has four-leggers, not two-leggers.” “Snort!” Now fast asleep, Larry started to snore. “Once again, I see you’re not thinking clearly. A farm is a place used for growing crops and raising animals. An emu is an animal. They have every right to call it a farm,” Mrs. Whiskers said in her best teacher’s voice. Cowboy Clark turned his back to her. “That’s ridiculous. What’s next? Worm farms?” He was so annoyed he threw his head back and howled. Larry woke up. “What’s going on?” he sleepily asked. Mrs. Whiskers jumped off the fence. “Our friend here is again ignoring facts. If he bothered to look it up, he’d see there are worm farms and emu farms.” With that, she flicked her tail and sauntered off. Cowboy Clark barked. “Oh hey, look. There are worms all over my backyard. Guess I can call my backyard a farm too!”
THE NIGHT by Vaanaya Gulati, age 13
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Night is the time to forget all troubles To stay tranquil and let your dreams bubble, See the dreams that will take you far As far as the sparkling stars. Close your eyes and capitulate to the night As the stars shine with all their might, the night is here to stay So stay aplomb as you lay. Night is peaceful and still To let you concentrate on your will, The night is too quiet In stars’ dim breezy light. The day that is yet to come Will be your chance to glow, So a very good night And don’t forget to sleep tight.
Dear Ziggy, Thank you for publishing Fun For Kidz magazine and for the opportunity to submit poems, stories, puzzles, and other fun things in your magazine. I am 12 years old and a homeschooling sixth-grader. I like to write stories and poems, and I am submitting a poem. I would be honored if you would consider publishing my poem. Sincerely, Melanie Mae Snyder Davisburg, MI
Dear Ziggy, I have been reading Fun For Kidz magazine since I was four years old. Before my little brother Ivan could read, I read them to him. Now I am 13 and in seventh grade, and I still read them. I like the different themes. I saw that the next theme was Farm Animals. I love horses. I am sending a photo of me with my horse Skylark and when I recently won a ribbon for showing her in 4-H. Sincerely, Phoebe
29
Mystery Picture Puzzle on page 12
Quack the Code on page 12 FOAL, BUNNY, PIGLET, CHICK, CATERPILLAR, KID, CUB, CALF, KITTEN, PUPPY, JOEY, GOSLING, TADPOLE
A-Maze-ing Farm Fun on page 13
START
C S H R O N C G P G R H
O H O A O R A O O R N O
R N R C R W B G R N C R
G C N C D V L S U A P N
O A S R O E E C L R O C
R Y O T G G S O N I I E
O N E C S R O C T N G E
A C S N P N E W R B S P
T O T R L E C S N C O R
R N C O O T O R Y A S N
GOATS, HAY, HORSES, TRACTOR, DOGS, PLOW, VEGETABLES, EGGS, COWS, POULTRY, GRAIN, BARN, PIGS, SHEEP
END
Food From the Farm on page 13 S T I U R F D R A H C R O R E T O O T A N D C H E E S E P B U T T E R N M O N R R O A O T N V G S E I R R E B E R G E T A G M E L O N S B S G R A I N S L E K T A E M S Other farm-grown foods: ROOT AND NON-ROOT VEGETABLES
Talk About Farm Animals on page 14 S H E E P T B E B E S U O M U S G A P O T H L R O E T I F A L O A R M A G C Y H T P E A C O C K to the “farmacy”
30
Farm Analogies on page 14 GREEN; FRUIT; TREE; SUMMER; EGG; PIG; MOO; GOAT
Fraction-nition on page 13 TRACTOR
JELLY BEANS
Farm Chores Logic on page 12
Down on the Farm on page 13 Across: 1. HORSES, 6. MOUSE, 7. DUCK, 8. GOAT, 10. PIGS, 11. DEER, 12. COWS, 14. BULL Down: 2. ROOSTER, 3. SHEEP, 4. FROG, 5. SKUNKS, 7. DOG, 9. OXEN, 13. OWL Photo Credits: Tirage du lait de vache – by Pierreangy [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons 19 (bottom-left).
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Visit Us Online! Facebook.com/FunForKidz • www.FunForKidz.com Vol 22 No 4 • JULY/AUG 2023 Publisher: Thomas M. Edwards Editor: Marilyn Edwards Associate Editor: Diane Winebar Graphic Design: Gaurakisora Tucker Marketing Director: Jonathan Edwards Circulation Manager: Mark Studer Science Editor: Larry White Science Illustrator: Alan Wassilak Cowboy Clark & Larry Editor: Lisa Rehfuss Cover Artist: Chris Sabatino
FUN FOR KIDZ (ISSN 1536-898X) is published bi-monthly Subscriptions: All subscription inquiries and changes of by the Bluffton News Publishing and Printing Company, address should be addressed to FUN FOR KIDZ at P.O. Box 227, P.O. Box 227, 190 Sunset Dr., Bluffton, OH 45817. Bluffton, OH 45817. Telephone: 419-358-4610. Telephone: 419-358-4610. POSTMASTER: Send address Subscription rates are six issues (1 year) $32.95; twelve issues changes to Fun For Kidz, P.O. Box 227, Bluffton, OH (2 years) $55.90; eighteen issues (3 years) $68.85. Canadian 45817-0227. Periodical postage is paid at Bluffton, OH postage - first class - $18 per year, all other foreign countries first and Preston, ID. class airmail - $37.50 per year. FUN FOR KIDZ, INC. accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any Replacement Issues: We will replace one damaged or lost-ininjuries arising out of the use or misuse of ideas, materials, and the-mail issue per year. Your request must be made within 45 activities featured in its publications or products. days of the specific issue’s date: January 1, March 1, May 1, July Copyright © 2023 by the Bluffton News Publishing and Printing 1, September 1, or November 1. Co. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. FUN Attention Readers: Send in your letters, short stories, FOR KIDZ™, and the FUN FOR KIDZ logo™, are trademarks of FUN poems, jokes & riddles, and drawings for publication. Send to: Kids Corner, PO Box 227, Bluffton, OH 45817. FOR KIDZ, The Bluffton News Publishing and Printing Co.
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