Hi, Kids!
TRUMAN’S LETTER
Happy Ne w Ye ar! I hope you are re ady for some e xciting re ading this month. We are going to le arn about China. It is the most populous nation in the world. More than 1.3 billion people li ve in China — that’s 20 percent of the world’s population of 6.7 billion people, which me ans that one in f i ve people li ve s in China. Do you k now what e lse li ve s in China? Pandas. The se amazing animals we igh jus t 3.5 to 7 ounce s whe n they are born. Be cause they are so adorable, the San Diego Zoo has a link where pe ople can watch the pandas there . Che ck i t ou t at w w w.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam. Can you gue ss what af fe cts all 6.7 billion of the pe ople on the plane t? That’s right — the we ather. Look inside for more informat ion abou t we ather sys tems and how they work . I e ve n talke d to a s torm chaser — what an e xci t ing job! Re ad more abou t i t in What’s It Like to Be a ... Januar y is also a t ime to make good habi ts for the ne w ye ar. What change s are you making?
Cultural Connections: Films Years ago, most movies were in black and white. While some movies were in color, the very first one to be in both black and white and color was The Wizard of Oz. Originally released in 1939 — 73 years ago — it is still one of the most popular movies of all time, and some people are even making new movies based on this classic. One new version of this production will be coming out this year. The main character in The Wizard of Oz is a young girl named Dorothy who lives in Kansas. Dorothy has a pet dog, Toto, who goes on all of her adventures with her. In the very beginning of the story, Dorothy’s neighbor, Mrs. Gulch, tries to take Toto away. This greatly upsets Dorothy because Toto is her best friend, so she tries to run away with her dog. When she runs away, the farm where she lives is hit by a terrible tornado, and everything gets blown away — even the house! Dorothy is also swept up into the storm, and when she wakes up, she’s in an entirely different world. The world that Dorothy wakes up in is bright and colorful and full of tiny little singing people called Munchkins. They welcome Dorothy kindly and thank her for killing the Wicked Witch of the East, who was crushed when Dorothy’s house fell on her. The witch’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, is very angry and promises to punish Dorothy. The Good Witch of the South, Glinda, gives Dorothy the ruby slippers that belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East
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and tells her to follow the yellow brick road so that she can meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and return home. This is the beginning of Dorothy’s adventures in the Land of Oz. Dorothy begins following the yellow brick road, and she meets her first friend, the very kind Scarecrow, a man made of straw. He tells Dorothy that he will go with her to the Wizard of Oz because he needs to ask for a brain. Next as they walk through a forest of talking trees, they meet the Tin Man; he wants to meet the Wizard of Oz so that he can get a heart. The last friend they meet is the Lion. He is supposed to be the king of the forest, but he is too afraid. He goes with Dorothy, Scarecrow and the Tin Man to the city of Oz so that he can ask the wizard for some courage. As the four friends travel to the City of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West tries to stop them and take the ruby slippers from Dorothy. When the group finally makes it to Oz, they find out that the Wizard is just a regular man, and he offers to take Dorothy back to Kansas. Unfortunately, he is travelling there in a hot air balloon and leaves before Dorothy can get to him. Dorothy thinks that she won’t be able to return home. She is relieved when Glinda tells her that the ruby slippers will take her home to Kansas. That’s right, the ruby red slippers can take her home. She had everything she needed the entire time.
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KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 3
Connections It’s a new year! Lots of people make New Year’s resolutions — a promise to themselves to change the way they do things or improve something about themselves. It seems as though people are always trying to change something. We can change the way we look, the way we dress, how our house
is decorated, the way that we act and even the way we feel. But there is one thing that WE can’t control, but yet it is sure to change. That’s the weather! Mark Twain once said, “Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get.” So what exactly IS the difference? The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) defines weather as a specific event or condition that happens over a period of hours or days. A thunderstorm, a snowstorm, whether it is cloudy or sunny and today’s temperature all describe the weather. Weather includes current conditions like temperature, which is measured in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius and wind direction and speed. Precipitation, which includes all forms of water that falls from the clouds, such as rain, snow or hail, is also measured when describing the current weather conditions. Climate refers to the average weather conditions in a place over many years (usually at least 30 years). For example, Miami, Florida’s, climate is hot and humid. The climate of Greenland is arctic with cold winters (and permafrost over two-thirds
of the country!). Global climate is the average climate around the world. When you hear people talk about climate change, they are talking about the global climate and the pattern of change over many years. One of the most important aspects of climate that scientists study is the average temperature of the Earth. The temperature has been increasing for many years, which has lead to the term “global warming.” Atmosphere is defined as the gaseous or air portion of the physical environment that encircles a planet. A meteorologist studies the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena. They study weather conditions so that they can give an accurate forecast of what the weather will be like during a certain time frame. To do this, they use different instruments, such as a barometer, which measures air pressure. Meteorologists have an important job because alerting the public in advance of dangerous storms can help save lives. There are many different types of storms that occur during different atmospheric conditions. A thunderstorm is a rain shower during which you hear thunder. Thunder is created from lightning, so all thunderstorms have lightning. In addition to rain, they can produce damaging winds, floods and tornadoes. There can be as many as 40,000 thunderstorms each day around the world, ac-
cording to the National Severe Storms Laboratory of NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world. A tornado is a narrow, rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. It is visible when it forms a funnel made of water droplets, dust and debris that it picks up. Inside the funnel, winds can swirl at 200 miles per hour. They are the most violent of all atmospheric storms and can be deadly. There are about 1,200 tornadoes in the U.S. each year. Hurricanes have been in the news recently and cause a lot of damage each year. Air is moving all the time. In the summer and early fall, huge masses of air move over the warm oceans. They get hot, pick up lots of water and start swirling, sinking and rising. That’s when a hurricane is born. If it moves toward land, the powerful winds, high tides and flooding can cause tremendous damage to beaches and cities. Hurricane Sandy, which hit the U.S. in late October, caused 40-foot waves, killed more than 80 people and caused more than $50 billion in damage. Weather is extremely powerful. The more that scientists can learn about atmospheric phenomena to better predict weather, the better our communities can prepare to stay safe during a storm.
Janus was a mythical king of early Rome. He had two faces, one looking towards the past and one facing forward to the future. The Romans named the first month of the year, January, after Janus, the god of beginnings.
In the U.S. we celebrate Jan. 1 as the start of the new year, but it does vary from culture to culture. Did you know that the Chinese New Year is Feb. 10? In Ethiopia, they celebrate New Year’s Day on Sept. 11. Aug. 18 is the Parsi New Year in India. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated on Sept. 4.
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JANUARY 2013
AR O UND THE W O RLD United States Sweden England
On Jan. 21, the U.S. celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The U.S. Congress designated the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday. King first began to fight for desegregation in December 1955. His most famous speech is known as “I Have a Dream,” where he talks about a future where blacks and whites would live together as equals and not be judged by the color of their skin. He gave this speech in 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, and it was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. The speech is often considered to be one of the greatest speeches in history. In 1964, the Civil Rights Law was passed to outlaw segregation, and King received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Kingdom: Phylum: Class: Class: Order: Family: Genus: Species:
Animalia Chordata Syunapsida Mammalia Carnivora Ursidae Ailuropoda A. melanoleuca
Some families have a Christmas-tree decorating party and invite friends to help hang ornaments and string garland on their tree. But in Sweden, they have a tree un-decorating party — St. Knut’s Day. It’s called Julgransplundring, which means plundertime. The custom began nine centuries ago when King Knut (who ruled from 1080-1086) ordered that the Yule season should last 20 days, from Dec. 25 to Jan. 13. Ever since then, Swedes have made Jan. 13 the day to take down the tree and have a party at the same time! It’s also celebrated as Tyvendedagen in Norway.
Giant Panda
Giant pandas are recognized around the world — their black patches around the eyes, ears and body make them easy to remember, and they are so cute! Even though they might be the most recognized of animals, they are also some of the rarest animals in the world. There are less than 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild in central China. Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in China in bamboo forests. Their diet is almost all bamboo — 99 percent. Sometimes they eat other grasses and an occasional rodent. Pandas usually sit upright, like a human, to eat. They use their front paws to hold the bamboo, with the help of a thumb-like bone in their paw. They use their strong teeth and jaws to crush the tough bamboo. They get a lot of the water they need from the bamboo plant, but also go to rivers and streams to drink every day. Even though they look cute, giant pandas are bears and can be dangerous, like any bear. They are about the same size as an American black bear. They are usually two-to-three-feet tall at the shoulder when standing on all four legs and can be four to six-feet long. Males are larger than females, and can weigh up to 250 pounds. The giant panda is an endangered species. Approximately 300 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers, mostly in China. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are giant pandas that live at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
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In England, Jan. 11 is Plough Monday. The Monday after Twelfth Day (the 12th day after Christmas), work on the farm resumes after the holiday break. It is celebrated with dances and plays. On the Sunday before, ploughs are blessed in church. In the past, groups of men and boys would drag a plough from house to house in a parade of sorts, performing skits and collecting money. In some parts of England, on the Saturday before Plough Monday, a Straw Bear is paraded through town with music and dancing. The bear is really a man covered completely in straw.
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Photo courtesy of Ann Batdorf, NZP photographer
KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 5
Where In the World Is... China It’s time to get out your globe! You need to know about the imaginary lines on globes and maps. These lines are called lines of latitude and longitude, and they tell a pilot or ship’s captain exactly where in the world a certain place is located. Basically, latitude lines (also called parallels) are the horizontal lines on your map. Lines of longitude (also called meridians) are the vertical lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. This mapping system is written in degrees and uses the symbol °. Get ready to travel the world! On your globe, locate longitude of 105° E and latitude of 35° N, and you’ll find China, the fourth-largest country in the world, located in eastern Asia. With an area of 9,596,961 square kilometers, China is slightly smaller than the United
States. China has 14,500 km of coastline and borders the waters of the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea and South China Sea. The country shares land borders with Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam. The terrain ranges from deserts, high plateaus and mountains in the west to deltas, hills and plains in the east. China is also home to a familiar mountain peak that many people from all over the world attempt to climb, Mount Everest at 8,850 m –– that’s more than 29,000 feet! Since China is so large and covers so many different types of terrain, the climate varies greatly, from the tropical to the subarctic, and the weather can be extreme. Beginning in the north and northeast of the country, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang can dip to -22° F in winter, but summer brings moderate rainfall and temperatures of 70-80° F. Shanghai, located on China’s central east coast, features a chilly spring and fall, a long humid summer and a short winter. Three cities are noted for their extreme summer temperatures: Wuhan, Nanjing and Guangzhou are referred to as “the three furnaces,” with temperatures rising to over 104° F. The south experiences hot, humid summers from April to September, with temperatures in the upper 90s. Late summer brings the rainy season, which can also bring typhoons with torrential rainfalls. Spring and fall days are pleasant, though evenings can be damp and chilly. Tibet, located in the west, is very cold and windy during the winters. Summer temperatures can exceed 95° F during the day, but nights can feel winter-like until the sun comes up. And lastly, northwest China has hot, dry summers, with winters as cold as the rest of China. Sources: “China,” The CIA World Factbook, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html; “Weather in China,” Chinese Traditions and Culture, www.chinese-traditions-and-culture.com/china-weather.html.
Come Out and Play... Games From China The Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 10 this year, and it is the year of the snake! People born this year are said to be keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise. It’s wise to excercise and take care of our bodies. Let’s take a look at some games that originated in China. Knocking the Stick: This game tests hand-eye coordination and throwing accuracy. It doesn’t take any special equipment, just two sticks, each about a foot long (12 inches). Draw two lines on the ground about 8 feet apart. Put a stick on one of the lines. The object is to knock that stick off the line by throwing the other stick at it. Forcing the City Gates: This team-building game is a little like Red Rover. To play this game, participants choose teams and form two lines facing each other. Everyone in one line takes hold of his or her neighbors’ hands. Then everyone sings “He stuck a feather in his hat, And hurried to the town, And children met him with a horse For the gates were broken down.” One player from the other side runs with all his or her force into the line and upon the hands of the children who had sung. The object of the game is to “break through.” If the player who ran is successful, the two players whose hands were parted come to his or her side, and that line then sings. One from the other group will then try to break through the line, alternating until one side or the other is broken up. Chinese Yo-yo: The Chinese yo-yo, also called a pull-bell, can be used for some fun tricks, but walk the dog and around the world are not examples of them. The pull-bell is described in literature as far back as the Ming Dynasty (1386-1644 AD) and comes in two varieties — the single bell and the double bell. Kids usually play the double bell yoyo. The double-bell yo-yo looks just like two wheels on an axle. The Chinese yo-yo is played in the string, and the two ends of the string are attached to two sticks. So the player moves the two sticks to control the yo-yo (see the photo). Sources: http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa102798.htm; www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/chinese-new-year/.
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What’s It Like To Be... A Hurricane Hunter We’ve been having some crazy weather across the country. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a hurricane hunter? Paul Flaherty has worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for more than 10 years and is Chief of the Science Section at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center. As a crew member onboard NOAA’s “Hurricane Hunters,” he flies into the eye of the storm, measuring the storm’s intensity using weather instruments that measure pressure, humidity, temperature, wind direction and speed. This information is sent via satellite to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., where it is disseminated to emergency managers, the news media and the public. Flaherty is a veteran of 11 hurricane seasons and more than 100 hurricane eye-wall penetrations and has flown nearly 500 weather missions. He is featured in the popular children’s science book titled Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature’s Mysteries from Perilous Places. He can also be found in the best-selling book Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers, as well as the fictional novel Category 7: The Biggest Storm in History.
My weather excitement up in New England consisted primarily of seasonal thunderstorms and blizzards. That was until my first experience with tropical meteorology. Hurricane Gloria was a tropical storm that slammed into New England in the mid-1980s. Having never experienced a tropical storm, I remember looking up and being amazed at how steady the strong winds were and how fast the clouds were moving. With school being closed and with the neighborhood losing power for a few days, I remember spending a lot of time thinking that I had to learn more about these storms!
Truman: What does it take to become a hurricane hunter? Flaherty: There are many different jobs that make up the crew of the Hurricane Hunters. Here at NOAA, we have pilots, navigators, engineers, technicians, mechanics and, of course, flight meteorologists like me. As far as being a flight meteorologist, Paul Flaherty NOAA Hurricane Hunter a student would need to work toward a bachelor’s Photo Credit: hereandnow.wbur.org degree in meteorology (or atmospheric science). The degree requires a lot of hard work, and it is essential to have a strong math background. An Truman: What do you do every day? Describe a typiearly interest in meteorology seems to be a comcal day on the job. mon trait of most meteorologists. There is one Flaherty: A typical day is very close to what you specific trait that is as important as all others. That would consider a 9-to-5 job. Only instead of making trait is self-confidence — having both confidence in weather forecasts, our meteorologists spend much of your knowledge and full trust in the decisions you our time quality-controlling data collected in storms, make. When a flight meteorologist is out flying in analyzing the outputs of our instruments and preparany type of dynamic weather environment (such ing for our next series of flights. We constantly get as a hurricane), you are often faced with having to requests from customers (typically research scientists) make quick decisions that could ultimately affect to review past data and give them more information the aircraft and crew in a negative way. You must about what we saw in the storm. Quite a bit of work be able to make quick decisions while looking at goes into each flight well after the plane has landed. several different weather and aviation instruments We also spend time doing training, working with the and also watching a rapidly changing radar. NOAA public/press and investing a lot of effort into internflight meteorologists need to make quick decisions in ships. Once we start flying though, the 9-to-5 job goes a balance between scientific mission success, and most out the window. importantly, safety. Truman: What’s the hardest part of your job? Truman: When, and why, did you first become Flaherty: At our center, I also supervise all the flight interested in this profession? meteorologists and one computer specialist. I would Flaherty: It seems as though I always knew I say this is the hardest part of my job. As a supervisor, would be a meteorologist some day. I have been you have to find a way to be consistent in the way you fascinated by the weather for as long as I can deal with all of your employees, while remembering remember. My first memory of actually telling that everyone is an individual and reacts to things difsomeone that I was going to be a meteorologist was ferently. It is a big responsibility, and you quickly realback in second grade during a school visit from a ize that your good/bad days are now directly related local TV meteorologist from Boston. Growing up in to all of your employees’ good/bad days. In the office, N. Quincy, Mass., however, a tropical-meteorology I often have to remind myself to take a step back, take career wasn’t something that I had ever considered. a deep breath, clear my head and then re-evaluate the
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problem given to me. Truman: What’s the best part of your job? Flaherty: While I love the flying that we do, and I love being able to see parts of the world I may otherwise never have seen. The best part of my job is knowing that the information we are gathering is directly helping save lives. I remember the first time one of my ‘vortex messages’ (a message we send out from the plane from inside the eye of a hurricane) was referenced on national TV. We had just landed back here in Tampa and were preparing to debrief the mission when someone turned on the news. They were talking about the storm and referenced the storm data (strongest winds, central pressure, etc.), and I immediately recognized it from my last report. The storm had strengthened a bit, and with that information, they were asking people to evacuate. Realizing that this information had come from my report was a bit surreal. Knowing that I play a part in getting people out of harm’s way is definitely the best part of my job. It certainly helps balance out the knowledge that the job we do is a little bit risky. Truman: What is one accomplishment in your career of which you are most proud? Flaherty: I think I feel most proud when I feel I’ve made others proud. Being asked to come back and talk to students from not only my middle school (Central Middle School), but also my undergraduate university (Plymouth State University) made me feel that both schools were proud of my accomplishments. Knowing that my family is proud of my accomplishments is an even better feeling. But if I had to choose just one accomplishment that made me proudest of myself, I would have to say that it was the day I received my master of science degree. Education is just so incredibly important! Truman: What advice would you give to kids who are interested in this profession? Flaherty: It is never too early to start working on your math skills. An understanding of math and physics is so important to the degree. Even if you feel that certain subjects are difficult, hard work can help overcome almost any obstacle. There were certainly times when it felt as though other students were naturally smarter than I was. When that happens, you just need to use that to motivate yourself to work that much harder. Also, push yourself to go outside of your comfort zone. For example, learn to play an instrument and play for others, join a school club, try out for a team sport or even try out for a lead role in a school play. All of these things can help build a foundation of success. Truman: Wow! It sounds like being a hurricane hunter and flight meteorologist can be pretty exciting. Thanks for talking to Kidsville News!
KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 7
PUZZLEVILLE! Maze Craze
Whats the Difference?
See if you can find your way through the maze.
There are five things different in Picture A and Picture B. Can you find them all?
BALL BALLOONS CELEBRATE CHAMPAGNE
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CONFETTI DANCING JANUARY MIDNIGHT
NEW PARTY RESOLUTIONS YeaR
JANUARY 2013
Coloring Corner Truman loves to be outside, even in the winter! What’s your favorite winter activity? Write a paragraph about it and finish coloring this picture!
Truman
Tru-
Truman’s Tricky Picture
Find these items! Be sure to find Truman’s hat! For more puzzles and games, visit www.kidsvillenews.com.
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KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 9
New Year, New You
by Barbara Gilmour Ms. Gilmour greeted all the kids as they came in for class. Tanner, Nicole, Rudy, Stephen, Carmen and Truman the dragon each greeted her in return. Ms. Gilmour began by asking, “Did you all have a nice holiday?” All hands went up as the kids wanted to talk about their holiday vacation. Everyone agreed that they did not want school to begin again. “Who knows what a New Year’s Resolution is?” asked Ms. Gilmour. Nicole was first to say, “That’s when my mom says she’s going to lose weight.” Everyone laughed. Tanner and Rudy added, “Mine, too.” Truman said, “I think that is when we say we are going to try to do something better.” Carmen added, “Or when we try to stop doing something, like biting my nails.” Stephen shared, “That’s when we decide to do something different, like playing outside more instead of watching so much TV.” “Each of those is a good way to describe what a New Year’s Resolution is all about, especially wanting to lose weight or get more outdoor exercise,” said Ms. Gilmour. “What ideas can you think of for ways to help us be “Cool Kind Kids?” asked Ms. Gilmour. Some hands went up right away. “My mom is always telling me to wash up, clean up, stand up,” replied Rudy. Nicole asked, “What does that mean, and how can it help us be “Cool Kind Kids?” Rudy answered, “Sometimes I get lazy and don’t want to wash my hands or face. Other times I want to go out looking like a slob. And when I slouch, my mom says to stand up straight.” “But, I still don’t know why that helps you be a “Cool Kind Kid,” replied Nicole. Ms. Gilmour said, “A while ago, we talked about personal manners and how we might get teased by other kids if we’re dirty, sloppy, slouching or not taking good care of ourselves.” “I remember, now,” said Nicole. “I want to be the best that I can be, and that means doing everything I can to keep kids from teasing me.” Barbara Gilmour, Tanner’s grandmom, Ms. Gilmour added, “We don’t want to take good care of ourselves just so we won’t get teased; doing those things also helps us feel good is the creator and developer of the “Cool Kind about ourselves. That feeling gives us the confidence to be ‘Cool Kind Kids’ –– to treat others the way we want to be treated.” Kid” Social Skills, Character Values and Truman said, “I have another idea. Let’s be kind to everyone, even if they aren’t dragons!” Anti-Bullying educational materials and “That’s a good idea, Truman,” added Tanner. “Too many kids are picked on or bullied because they are different. We need to be kind and the award-winning “Cool Kind Kid” caring to everyone.” Carmen shared, “I agree with everyone; we can all do things better this New Year. First, we should do things to help ourselves improve, like Audio CD. She also writes the Children’s Manners Blog, offering tips for teaching Truman and Rudy said. Then we can help other kids.” your children manners and social skills. Ms. Gilmour added, “Let’s use the “Cool Kind Kid” Challenge as we challenge ourselves to be kinder and better every way we can.” www.CoolKindKid.com.
© Cool Kind Kid
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. It's just trash 3. Basketball, baseball or a fun cell phone app 6. A pet rodent who runs on a wheel to get his exercise 7. The opposite of receiving (which generous people do a lot of) 8. Since our first president, there have been two more with this first name 10. Most cars can't go anywhere without it 12. The golden award Jennifer Hudson won in 2009 for her first album 13. Lady _____ inspired people when she sang
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G-Force "The Edge of Glory" 16. Every February, folks wait for this animal to come out and check the weather 17. Tongue-twister: It's a hand-warmer you wear in winter 18. What you might call your mother's mother
Parents Down 1. Old school R&B band: Kool and the _____ 2. Hoped-for response to a joke 3. One of the seven distinctive features of Hawthorne's house (or Clark, dimpled star of "Gone with the Wind") 4. What a former resident
is, necessarily 5. Tangible show of love 9. Buddy of the blues (or any male buddy) 10. Rock on: It's the study of stones 11. The grip's on you: When wronged, you can hold one, but it gets you nowhere 12. Newt's cousin (or Gordon of "Wall Street") 13. Divine giver of _____ (and one who receives it from diners at mealtime) 14. Spruce up yourself (or your yorkie) 15. It often comes before morning, afternoon and night
™
This Week’s Solution
kris@kapd.com
KAPD ebooks now available on www.kapd.com
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1/6/13
© 2013 KAPD, LLC
KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 11
Conservation o Tips Just for Kids r n e r
Taking care of our environment is a very important job. There’s something for everyone to do — including you! No matter where you live, there are many things you can do around your neighborhood or at school, such as setting an example by not littering, helping clean up a spot and learning about safe ways to handle trash. You can start by choosing one or more of these ideas. Some are simple. Others will need the help of a parent, older family member or teacher. You can involve your friends and family in all of them. • Always set an example by not littering, no matter where you are. • When you put out the trash at home, make sure that garbage can lids are on tight, and that all of the trash goes into the can. • If your parents own a car, make litterbags for them. • Keep your yard clean and free of things that can blow into the street and become litter. • If your school playground doesn’t have a litter basket, have your teacher ask the school to put one out. Your class can make and put up posters reminding other students to put litter where it belongs. • Ask a parent or teacher to take you or your class to a recycling center or sanitary landfill. Many recycling centers or landfills will let you see how trash is managed. List the different kinds of items that the recycling center collects and how each one is prepared for shipment.
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PUZZLEVILLE! Answers Whats the Difference?
BALL BALLOONS CELEBRATE CHAMPAGNE
CONFETTI DANCING JANUARY MIDNIGHT
NEW PARTY RESOLUTIONS YeaR
Maze Craze
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World Fact Get The Picture
JANUARY 2013
In Theaters Parental Guidance December 25
If you didn’t go to the movies in December, there’s a family-comedy holdover from Christmas Day to share with your parents in the chilly month of January. Old-school comedian Billy Crystal plays granddaddy Artie to three rambunctious kids — Harper (Bailee Madison), Turner (Joshua Rush) and Barker (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf). Artie and his wife Diane (Bette Midler) agree to babysit their grandkids so the kids’ parents, Alice (Marisa Tomei) and Phil (Tom Everett Scott), can take off on a work trip. Granny Diane just wants to be loved by the grandkids she’s never spent so much time with. Artie’s not very up-to-date on modern-day parenting skills. Naturally, Artie breaks more than a few of his daughter Alice’s strict parenting rules while looking after the kids. It’s all fun and games until the kids eat birthday cake for the first time. Rated PG for some rude humor. (20th Century Fox)
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Children’s DVDs
Frankenweenie Available January 8
Frankenweenie is the next great spooky animated movie for kids. Tim Burton’s 3D stop-motion tribute to the Golden Era of monster movies — namely the black-andwhite movies of the 30s such as Dracula and Frankenstein — is a beautiful thing. If that means including a few nods to Japan’s Godzilla films of the 50s, then so much the better to inspire little ones with a love of giant fire-breathing reptiles. As with all of Tim Burton’s movies, his attention to detail is terrific. Based on a live-action half-hour short movie Tim Burton made in 1984, there’s an extra amount of filmmaking love on display in Frankenweenie that makes the experience of watching it a truly special treat. Every eerie squeak, sudden thunderbolt strike and expressive dog bark rings like a bell. Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images and action. 87 mins. (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)
Birders: The Central Park Effect Available January 22
Did you know that there are nearly 235 different kinds of wild birds that visit a park right in the middle of New York City? If you’ve ever been to Manhattan or seen a movie set in New York, you probably know that the big park in the middle of the city is called Central Park. Birds with names like the “mute swan,” the “black-capped chickadee,” the “red-tailed hawk” and the “winter wren” visit Central Park during migrations to eat, breed and
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hang out in the park’s beautiful trees. Birders: The Central Park Effect is a documentary movie about the colorful array of birds in the park and the binocular-carrying “birders” who go there searching for as many bird species as they can spot. New York City doesn’t belong just to people; it belongs to the birds that live there, too. Not Rated. 59 mins. (Music Box Films)
Hotel Transylvania Available January 29
Here’s a chance to party with Dracula and his crew of cartoon monsters. Adam Sandler is the voice of Dracula, an overprotective single father to his 118-year-old daughter Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez). In human years, Mavis is just college-age. Good ole Dracula has built a secret monster resort hotel where humans are not allowed. Dracula has gone so far as to build a phony human town in order to convince Mavis not to stray beyond the castle walls. Enter American backpacker Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg), who wanders into Dracula’s sacred hotel and sets romantic eyes on Mavis, who returns the gesture. Silly monster mayhem abounds as Dracula begins to trust his daughter and she in turn realizes how much he cares about her. Rated PG for some rude humor, action and scary images. 91 mins. (Sony Animation) Cole Smithey, also known as “the smartest film critic in the world,” has been a film critic for 11 years and writes for over 50 publications, in print and on-line. Truman loves to watch movies and has the highest appreciation for great popcorn.
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Exploring Nature!
Caribou C aribou
Arctic Animal!
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Arctic Hidden Picture
Find Fi d the h 8 things hi hidd hidden in the Arctic and then color it!
Caribou migrate each year in huge herds across thousands of miles in search of food. Their rounded hooves are covered with fur in winter for walking on ice. Both males and females have antlers!
Arctic Fun Fact! The Arctic is a habitat that is made up of almost no land at all. It is mostly frozen ocean. The ice pack of the Arctic is about 9 feet thick!
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Exploringnature.org is an award-winning resource that inspires learning about science, conservation and the ���������������������������������������������������������� books and online resources. Explore outside today!
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JANUARY 2013
Carbon’s Travels By Diane K. Fisher
If you weigh 100 pounds, 18 pounds of you is pure carbon. Plants are almost half carbon. Even pure carbon (that is, carbon not combined with anything else) comes in many forms, such as coal, charcoal, even diamonds. Carbon is versatile. Carbon moves. Let’s follow a single carbon atom for a while to see where it goes. Let’s name our carbon atom Cesar. When we first meet Cesar, he is pals with two oxygen atoms. The three of them together make a carbon dioxide, or CO2, molecule. They live in the air. Cesar’s CO2 molecule breezes past a banana tree and is grabbed by one of its big leaves. Using energy from the Sun, the leaf breaks up Cesar’s cozy threesome and uses him, along with some other oxygen and hydrogen atoms, in its recipe for sugar. Cesar is now part of a banana. A monkey comes along and eats the banana. Cesar’s sugar molecule is digested, and Cesar ends up in a different kind of sugar molecule, which is stored in the monkey’s thigh muscle. When the monkey clambers up a tall tree, the thigh muscle burns Cesar’s sugar molecule for fuel. Cesar ends up as part of the exhaust, in another CO2 molecule. The monkey exhales the CO2, so Cesar (the C in the CO2) and his two new oxygen pals (the O2 part) are back where they started — as part of the atmosphere. Of course every carbon atom has a different history. But they all go ‘round and ‘round. This is called the “carbon cycle.” Just as when a carbon molecule is “burned” in the monkey’s muscle, burning the carbon molecules in coal and gasoline puts CO2 exhaust into the air. If the atmosphere has too much CO2, it holds in too much of the Sun’s heat, so Earth gets warmer. In other words, CO2 in the atmosphere has a greenhouse effect. It’s important to keep the carbon cycle in balance. Much of the CO2 that is added to the air is soaked up by the ocean and plants. But if too much CO2 is added to the air too fast, the ocean and plants can’t keep up, and Earth gets warmer and warmer. And the excess CO2 stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Help to balance the carbon cycle. Play “Greenhouse Gas Attack” and help clear the atmosphere of too much carbon dioxide and excess amounts of other gases that make Earth too warm. Go to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/greenhouse-gas-attack. This article was written by Diane K. Fisher and provided through the courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of technology, through a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
JANUARY 2013
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KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 19
KIDSVILLE KITCHEN
Together Time — Ask an adult for help with projects!
Fortune Cookies
Ingredients Chilled 9-inch pie crust Cornstarch 3-inch-wide round cookie cutter or drinking glass Rolling pin or glass Nontoxic marker Slips of paper Water Colored sugar Cookie sheet Instructions Lay a chilled 9-inch pie crust on a cornstarch-dusted surface. Cut out 3-inch-wide circles with a round cookie cutter or drinking glass. To use all the dough, roll out the scraps with a rolling pin or a cornstarch-dusted glass. Use a nontoxic marker to write fortunes on slips of paper and place one in the center of each dough circle. Fold the circle in half; then pinch and fold the ends together as shown. Brush the top of each cookie with water and sprinkle with colored sugar. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart, sugar side up. Bake them until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, and let them cool before removing them from the pan.
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JANUARY 2013
JANUARY 2013
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KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 21
P ARENTOWN’S K ID S MAR T
Stand Up to Bullying
Going back to school can be stressful for many kids, especially if they have been the victims of bullying. According to Youth Ambassadors 4 Kids Club, an organization dedicated to eliminating bullying, a student is bullied every seven minutes in our country, and an estimated 77 percent of students will experience some form of mental or physical bullying during their school years. While the statistics are worrisome, there are measures parents and caregivers can take to help identify the signs of bullying and the anxiety it can induce so they can help their children manage this difficult situation. Recognizing Bullying Bullying can take many forms, including hitting, threatening, intimidating, maliciously teasing and taunting, name calling, making sexual remarks, stealing or damaging personal belongings and indirect attacks such as spreading rumors or getting others to exclude another student. It’s also no longer limited to the classroom, lunchroom or playground. Today, cyberbullying — bullying through electronic outlets such as text messages and social media sites — has made this issue a 24/7 challenge. “Bullying can have a significant impact on students,” said University of Phoenix College of Social Sciences instructor and expert on bullying Dr. John Nixon. “Children and teenagers who are bullied suffer from anxiety, fear, withdrawal, low self-esteem and poor concentration. Recognizing the warning signs is the first step toward ending the behavior.” Signs that your child may be a victim of bullying include: • Coming home with damaged or missing clothing or belongings • Unexplained injuries • Frequent complaints of headaches, stomach aches or feeling sick • Changes in eating habits • Loss of interest in friends or going to school • Mood and behavior changes • Trouble sleeping and/or having frequent bad dreams • Feelings of helplessness or not being good enough What You Can Do if Your Child Is Bullied Establishing a process for detecting, discussing and monitoring bullying can help in more effectively reaching a solution. “It can be embarrassing for a child to admit that he or she is being bullied,” said Nixon. “And many kids don’t tell parents about it because they are afraid of either being blamed for the situation, or they are afraid of how the parents will react.” Nixon offers some tips for what you can do: Increase awareness — Parents must educate themselves on the signs of bullying and realize that they are not alone. Communicate — Ask children questions about how they slept or what they are looking forward to doing in school that day. Their responses can provide a wealth of insight. Gather more information – Ask teachers if they have noticed anything that would signal the child had been bullied. Also, check a child’s text messages and Facebook profile for signs of cyberbullying. Develop an action plan – Put steps in place to monitor the signs of bullying to see if it persists and engage your child regularly to open up communication about the problem. Follow through – It’s important to keep at it. Be active both to spot the signs of bullying and discuss them with the child to work toward a solution. If bullying persists, take action. Discuss the problem with the parents of the child who is bullying, if it is appropriate. Talk with your child’s teacher. If the teacher is not responsive, escalate the discussion up to the principal or superintendent if necessary. There are more participants in bullying scenarios than just the bully and the victim. “More often than not,” said Nixon, “there are bystanders. These are students who know what is going on and either encourage it in some way, or sit back and do nothing. We need more kids to stop being bystanders and take a stand against bullying.” You can find additional information on University of Phoenix degree offerings by visiting www.phoenix.edu, and more resources for helping students deal with bullying at www.a4kclub.org, and www.stopbullying.gov.
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Regresar a la escuela puede ser estresante para muchos niños, en especial si han sido víctimas de hostigamiento. Según Youth Ambassadors 4 Kids Club, organización dedicada a la erradicación del hostigamiento, en nuestro país un estudiante es sometido a hostigamiento cada siete minutos y se calcula que el 77% de los estudiantes experimentará algún tipo de hostigamiento físico o mental durante su ciclo escolar. Si bien las estadísticas son alarmantes, existen medidas que los padres y cuidadores pueden adoptar para ayudar a identificar los signos de hostigamiento y la ansiedad a la que puede inducir a fin de ayudar a estos niños a atravesar esta situación difícil. Cómo reconocer una situación de hostigamiento El hostigamiento puede adoptar muchas formas, incluso golpes, amenazas, intimidación, burlas y mofas maliciosas, insultos, comentarios de índole sexual, robo o daño de efectos personales y ataques indirectos, tales como la divulgación de rumores o el fomento de la exclusión del estudiante. Además ya no se limita al salón de clase, el comedor o el patio de juegos. En la actualidad, el hostigamiento cibernético, es decir, mediante mensajes de texto y sitios de medios sociales, se ha convertido en un desafío constante, las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana. “El hostigamiento puede afectar significativamente a los estudiantes”, afirmó el instructor y experto en hostigamiento de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Phoenix, Dr. John Nixon. “Los niños y adolescentes víctimas de hostigamiento sufren trastornos de ansiedad, temor, retraimiento, baja autoestima y poca concentración. El reconocimiento de los signos de advertencia es el primer paso hacia la erradicación de este comportamiento”. Algunos signos que indican que su hijo puede ser víctima de hostigamiento: regresar a casa con pertenencias o vestimenta dañadas o sin ellas; heridas sin explicación; quejas habituales de dolor de cabeza, dolor de estómago o náuseas; cambios en los hábitos alimenticios; pérdida de interés en los amigos o en el colegio; cambios de humor y comportamiento; problemas para dormir o pesadillas frecuentes; sensación de impotencia o de no ser lo suficientemente bueno. Qué puede hacer si su hijo es víctima de hostigamiento Un proceso de detección, discusión y supervisión del hostigamiento puede ayudar a encontrar una solución eficaz. “El niño puede sentir vergüenza de admitir que es víctima de hostigamiento”, afirmó Nixon. “Y muchos niños no hablan con sus padres, porque tienen miedo de ser culpados por la situación o temen ante la reacción de sus padres”. Nixon ofrece algunos consejos relacionados con este tema: Aumente la conciencia: los padres deben reconocer los signos de hostigamiento y darse cuenta de que no están solos. Fomente la comunicación: pregúnteles a los niños cómo durmieron o qué esperan hacer en la escuela ese día. Sus respuestas aportarán información valiosa. Obtenga más información: pregúnteles a los maestros si han notado algo que pudiera indicar que el niño es víctima de hostigamiento. Además verifique los mensajes de texto y el perfil de Facebook de su hijo para detectar signos de hostigamiento cibernético. Desarrolle un plan de acción: propóngase supervisar los signos de hostigamiento y observe si persisten y, además, hable con su hijo regularmente para fomentar la comunicación sobre el problema. Realice un seguimiento: es importante continuar con este proceso. Tenga una participación activa para detectar los signos de hostigamiento y hable acerca de ellos con sus hijos para encontrar una solución. Si el hostigamiento persiste, actúe. Si es necesario, hable acerca del problema con los padres del niño hostigador. Hable con el maestro de su hijo. Si el maestro no reacciona a su pedido, eleve su queja ante el director o responsable de la institución, si fuera necesario. En las situaciones de hostigamiento, existen más participantes que el hostigador y la víctima. Según Nixon: “Generalmente, hay observadores. Son los estudiantes que saben lo que ocurre y fomentan la situación de alguna manera o se sientan y no hacen nada. Necesitamos que más niños dejen de ser observadores y actúen en contra del hostigamiento”. Visite www.phoenix.edu para encontrar más información sobre las ofertas educativas de la Universidad de Phoenix y visite www.a4kclub.org y www.stopbullying. gov para obtener más recursos para ayudar a los estudiantes a resolver el problema del hostigamiento.
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JANUARY 2013
P ARENTOWN’S K ID S HAPE
Staying Warm in Cool Weather Mother Nature once again is giving us the cold shoulder, not to mention cold hands and feet. While most people brave the cold-weather season pretty well, it’s important to know how to protect yourself and your loved ones from potential cold-weather dangers. Signs of Frostbite If skin looks mottled or pale and one is experiencing “pins and needles” in one’s hands, feet, nose, ears or cheeks, this is likely frostnip, which is a signal that the person needs to get into a warm, dry environment immediately to prevent developing frostbite. Frostbite occurs when tiny ice crystals form in skin tissue. Other signs of frostbite include a tiny white dot on the nose or on the tip of one or more fingers. Also, darkskinned people may appear pale, or their skin may look gray; fair-skinned people should be on the lookout for yellowish skin. What does frostbite feel like? One experiences numbness in the affected area, as well as itching, burning or sharp pain. However, if caught quickly, frostbite is completely reversible. If not, it can turn into hypothermia, which occurs when a person’s core body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This medical emergency can impair the brain and muscles and is a potential killer. Signs of Hypothermia Be on the lookout for the “umbles” –– when a person mumbles, stumbles, fumbles and grumbles. All are symptoms of early hypothermia. If you see someone who is shivering uncontrollably, doesn’t seem to be thinking straight, is speaking with a slur or is having trouble holding onto objects, get the person into a warm environment immediately. If the symptoms fail to improve within a short time, call a doctor or go to the nearest emergency room. When a person is exposed to the cold, the first line of defense is to wear loose-fitting and dry clothing (wet clothing makes it difficult to maintain a normal body temperature). Dress in layers. If you work in the cold or exercise outside, wear clothing made of polypropylene, which will wick perspiration away from the skin and keep your body dry. Also, wear a hat and scarf. It’s true that 40 to 50 percent of our body heat can be lost from the surface of the head and neck. And no, it doesn’t matter if you have a thick head of hair. You still need protection. Here are some other ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from winter’s cold shoulder: Protect your hands and feet. Wear mittens when possible because your fingers can share warmth (regular gloves are good, but mittens have the edge). Wear socks that will keep your feet dry and warm. Some people wear two pairs of socks: a light liner sock made of a material that wicks away moisture next to the foot and a natural fiber sock over the liner sock. Try to wear the higher-cut socks, not the low risers. Protect your lips. Use lip balm to keep your lips from drying out from the cold and windy weather. Avoid dehydration. As long as your physician does not restrict fluids, drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated. Dress properly. Wear outer clothing that shields the wind and sun from your skin. Cold and windy air causes a wind-chill effect that is much colder and more dangerous than the outside air temperature. Source: www.howstuffworks.com
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