Indiana Kids
Summer/Fall 2012 pg. 1
Vol. 1, Issue 1
Indiana Kids is a quarterly online magazine for kids, about kids and by kids (with a little help from their parents and grandparents.) This online magazine is a family project, founded to teach our own family’s Indiana kids how to work together, how to interview people (which involves a lot of listening), how to interpret and write about what they’ve learned, and to introduce them to many other wonderful and interesting Indiana Kids around the state they might have never met. Cover photo: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore by Ashley Miller Editor Reilly Kate Anderson, age 14 Staff Writers Sydney Anderson, age 9 Kennedy Miller, age 9 Ty Miller, age 7 Jax Miller, age 3 Artists Sydney Anderson, age 9 Edwin L. Girton, age 10 Contributing Poet Callie Addison, age 9 Chief Toy and Game Tester Ty Miller, age 7 Photographer Ashley Miller, Mom Publisher Susan Hoskins Miller, Grandma
The Last Blast of Summer
P h o t o a t
Photos at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore by Ashley Miller
Even though most Indiana kids are back in school before Labor Day weekend, the first Monday in September still holds its traditional place as the last holiday weekend of the summer. It gives families one more chance to get in some fun and sun before the fall and winter months begin. It’s the perfect time to visit Indiana’s own version of the seashore at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It’s only a three-hour drive from Indianapolis and central Indiana, the perfect getaway for a long weekend.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore surrounds the Indiana Dunes State Park and together they make 15,000 acres of beaches, prairies, wetlands and forests. Parents Magazine chose the National Lakeshore as one of the top 10 best family beaches in America. There is lots more to do in the area in addition to the dunes and Lake Michigan. Visit the website of the tourism bureau there to find out what all you and your family can see and do at http://www.indianadunes.com/
What Did You Read This Summer? White River Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana hosted a summer reading program called Read With the River. Participants and their parents met one evening every week to talk about books and check out new ones from the school library. Among the books Kennedy Miller, age 9, read were “Miss Daisy is Crazy” and “Miss Lazar is Bizarre.” She also read some Discovery Girls magazines from White River library. She’s currently reading, “The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester” by Barbara O'Connor. Next, she plans to check out and read “The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall.” On her own this summer, Kennedy read “Stolen by the Sea” by Anna Myers, which her parents bought her at Half Price Books. This is a fictional story about a little girl who was on Galveston Island, Texas on Sept. 8, 1900, the day it was hit by a hurricane that destroyed the town, killed 6,000 people and is still considered the greatest natural disaster in U.S. history. Through the Read With the River program, Ty Miller, age 7, read the “Karate Countdown,” written by Jake Maddox; “Ralph S. Mouse” by Beverly Cleary, and a book about sharks. Jax Miller, age 3, wasn’t old enough to participate in the Read With the River program, but he got some books from the Noblesville Public Library. He read “Ice Age,” a book about sharks, and “Abby the Astronaut.”
The Hunger Games Movie Review By Reilly Anderson
This was a very action packed, riveting, on the edge of your seat kind of movie. It all revolves around Katniss Everdeen and her journey through the Hunger Games. We also meet unforgettable characters such as Primrose Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Haymitch Abernathy. The cast really does the book justice and portrays the characters excellently. As a fan of the books, I really thought the actors did well playing such detailed and complex characters. It is a violent movie though so I wouldn't recomend it to anyone under the age of 12 or 13. Overall, it was a great movie and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Getting to know an Indiana Kid
Ty Miller, age 7, interviewed by Kennedy Miller, photo by Ashley Miller
If you could do anything in the world you wanted with nothing to limit you from doing it, what would you do? Fly without a plane What is your favorite thing that you do with your family? Play the wii If you could decorate your room any way you want, what would it look like? Football stuff, blue and red. What is your favorite color? Blue Your favorite book? Junie B. Jones TV show? Star Wars Movie? Star Wars Food? Chocolate Cake What is your favorite subject in school? Gym What is your favorite place and why? Orange Leaf (their frozen yogurt) What is your favorite holiday and why? Christmas because I get presents.
Kids in History First Kids Caroline and John F. Kennedy, Jr.
By Kennedy Miller
Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Kennedy Miller, age 9. She picked John and Caroline Kennedy because her first name is Kennedy and President Kennedy is her favorite president.
Nov. 27, 1957 was when Caroline was born. John Jr. was born Nov. 25, 1960. When Caroline went to the White House she was three years old; John Jr. was 2 months old. Caroline Kennedy loved dolls. They named a doll after her and made it look like her. John Jr. liked to call his Dad “Foo Foo Head.” Caroline went to school, loved to learn and be with her friends. They loved to play around with all the people in the White House. (Source: “When John and Caroline Lived in the White House” by Laurie Coulter)
Photos from John F. Kennedy Library
Board Game Review: R2-D2 is in Trouble By Ty Miller, Age 7
My favorite game to play is R2-D2 is in Trouble. Two to four people are allowed to play. Here’s how to play. The middle dome has an R2D2 figure and a di. You push the middle dome and if R2-D2 stands up or you get a 6, you get to move out of start. If when you push the dome R2-D2 stands up, you get another turn. If you land on a spot where someone already is, that player has to move their pawn back to home. The first person to get their 4 people out and around the board into home wins. I like to play with my dad and little brother. I like when I land on their spot and they have to go back to home. It’s a fun family game to play.
Top 5 Lists for Labor Day Weekend The Top 5 Lists were compiled by our resident teen and Indiana Kids editor, Reilly Anderson. Please write us with your own suggestions so we can include them in future issues at shmwriter@aol.com. Be sure to put Indiana Kids Top 5 in the subject line.
Top 5 Songs 1. Whistle by Flo Rida 2. One More Night by Maroon 5 3. Some Nights by Fun 4. Good Time by Owl City ft. Carly Rae Jepson 5. Home by Phillip Phillips
Top 5 movies this weekend 1. The Bourne Legacy 2. Paranorman 3.Sparkle 4. The Dark Knight Rises 5. The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Top 5 TV Shows for Teens 1. The Big Bang Theory 2. Glee 3. The Vampire Diaries 4. Grimm 5. How I Met Your Mother
Our visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. By Kennedy Miller, age 9
Photos by Ashley Miller
When I went to the Biltmore, I was amazed because of how big it was. It had a pool in it, and a work-out room that had bar bells, a rowing machine, parallel bars, and a shower. It had 250 rooms and took 6 years to build. I had to walk a lot and I didn’t even get to see the whole house. The library room was huge and had tons of books. The bedrooms are nice. They had lots and lots of maids and servants. They even had a bowling alley in the Biltmore. The room where the cook slept was next to the bowling alley. The people that lived in the Biltmore house were George Vanderbilt, his wife Edith Vanderbilt, also their only child Cornelia Vanderbilt. George and Edith had
separate bedrooms because a female servant wasn’t allowed to walk into a male’s bedroom and a male servant wasn’t allowed in a female’s bedroom. The Banquet Hall had a ceiling that was 7 stories high! I went and saw animals at Antler Hill Village. There were goats playing on a barrel. It was really funny. There were also chickens, horses, and rabbits. I saw a blacksmith and a woodworker. The woodworker made a toy top from a piece of a tree that fell down during a storm. It was neat to watch him make the top. It was very cool when he was done making it. My parents went to the winery and for kids they give you grape juice for free.
Fall Fun in Indiana Indiana is home to some fun fall festivals in every corner of the state. Noblesville is renowned for Stonycreek Farm’s Pumpkin Harvest Festival every year throughout the month of October. See Indiana Tourism Bureau’s website at http://www.in.gov/visitindiana.
Make your own family fun
Family Baking Day
Nature Poems written by Callie Addison A Haiku poem Birds singing to earth Dolphins swimming in the sea Jungles full of life!
Couplets I love the sun outside But I hope I won’t get deep fried Deserts are so hot I hope they won’t give me a shot Oceans are a wonderful place But I hope it won’t eat my face.
A note from the publisher:
Please send us your poetry, short stories, art work and photography. Make sure the photographs are a jpg file. The drawings can be pdf files. The poems and stories can be either Microsoft Word or just written in the body of the email. If we think your submission fits with our themes and mission, we will publish it in future issues of Indiana Kids. Please send your work to shmwriter@aol.com and put “IndianaKids creative� in the subject line.
Please let us know what you would like to see us write about in Indiana Kids in future issues.