Tuesday • March 27, 2012 — D1
The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Kathryn Doud Copy Editor Phone 240-7161
Kids World
Fax 243-3121 Email kdoud@cumberlink.com
When kids speak out, The Sentinel listens
Kids Speak Out
My least favorite chore is .... My least favorite chore is the laundry — dun, dun, dun. Do you know why? You have to touch all that dirty underwear and socks. The only good part is the clothes I am wearing are the cleanest clothes there ever will be. Eve Hornick, 8 St. Patrick School Second grade My least favorite chore is cleaning my toy room. It’s so messy, I drown in my toys! It takes me one year to find my way out. Now, don’t ask me what I eat or drink. Trust me, you don’t want to know! There are about 1,000 toys including my brother’s super hero comics, AND his Star Wars light sabers, AND his ninja masks, AND his scary movies, AND his Harry Potter books! I could go on and on 60 more times, but I guess I might as well not tell you. Samantha Gatuz, 8 (WINNER) St. Patrick School Second grade My least favorite chore is giving my T-Rex a bath. He is so big he will not even fit in my bathtub. I have to go into my backyard and give him a bath. I have to take buckets and buckets of heavy water and a thousand bars of soap. First, I have to dump all of the buckets of water onto him. Then I have to scrub him all over with bars of soap. Everywhere! Then I have to rinse him again. My arms are so tired they can’t carry any more buckets, so I use a hose. After that, I take a nap. That is my least favorite chore. Annie Hyde, 9 (WINNER) Highland Elementary School Third grade My least favorite chore is to clean my room. I do not like to clean my room because there are toys all over the room and they are all over the place! When my mom tells me to clean my room, I just smack my head. Then I clean my room and if I clean up half of my room my dad will help me with the rest, then my room will be sparkling clean! But then my friend and I try to keep it clean. I like my room! Madison Engle, 6 (WINNER) Shaull Elementary School My least favorite chore is putting out the laundry because the machine is so scary. The machine keeps on turning around. When Mom and I do laundry, I do washing and Mom does the drying. Giuseppe, 7 (WINNER) Shaull Elementary School My least favorite chore is when I have to put my clothes away because it takes too long. In fact, I have a huge pile of clothes waiting for me when I get off the bus today at home. My little sister is lucky because she doesn’t have to put that many clothes away. But I’m older and more responsible so that is probably why I get more clothes. But I still don’t like putting clothes away. It’s the worst chore I have ever had, but I’m going to have to do it over and over again so I better get used to it. Laila Moore Newville Elementary School Second grade
Go to our website: www.4Kids.org/askamy Or write: Ask Amy, 236 J.R. Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Rd., Lawrence, KS 66045
A Sufi tale
My least favorite chore is bringing the laundry up. It’s because the hamper is really heavy. Every time I bring the laundry up it takes me awhile. When I pick it up it feels like a bowling ball. That’s what I don’t like to do. Claude Beaden, 8 Hillside Elementary School Second grade My least favorite chore is scooping up poop. It stinks very bad. Then flies come. Then I smashed them. Then I ran inside. Ethan Hollinger, 7 Hillside Elementary School Second grade My least favorite chore is making my bed because I never can get it started because my covers are too big. Hailey Dengler, 7 Newville Elementary School First grade My least favorite chore is unloading the dishwasher. I don’t like unloading the dishwasher because I don’t know where everything goes. Owen Kaun, 9 Fishing Creek Elementary School Fourth grade My least favorite chore is cleaning my room. It would be much more entertaining if I had a TV in my room. Or Miranda Lambert singing in my room. Emma, 7 Bellaire Elementary School Second grade
Amy answers your questions about the World Wide Web at www.4Kids.org/askamy
Mail Systems
Tell us what you think at www.4Kids.org/ Systems at Work, postal speakout museum.si.edu/systemsat work, is an inside look at the progress and innovative technologies at work in our postal service. Enter the Exhibit to set off on the extraordinary journey that began in 1792 when letters were delivered to central post offices by private stagecoach. All Systems at Work follows the route of a letter in today’s system. In Catalysts of Change, To complete the Kid read how postage stamps and ZIP Codes revoluQuest Challenge: tionized the delivery of mail. View photos of early Visit the websites postal scales in Objects. featured in this issue, find the answers to our questions, then go to www.4Kids.org/ kidquest
The water of madness
What does the Unblinking Mechanical Eye do?
Fun Gardening My First Garden, urbanext.illinois.edu/first garden, will help you discover how fun it is to build your own amazing garden. Create a sun chart in Show Me the Basics to find the sunniest spot in your yard. You become the ruler in Gardening FUNdamentals, using your hands and feet to measure planting depth and distance between seeds and rows. Did you know that flowers will grow in old shoes, a tire or even a piece of gutter? Planning My Garden describes the type of soil and fertilizer you’ll need to grow a plant in your own unique container. What is the best time to plant pumpkins in your area?
Dear John: Mars is a long way from Earth, with a distance that varies from 36 million miles, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, to over 250 million miles. Despite the extreme distance and challenges, sending astronauts to Mars is one of NASA’s longterm goals. NASA’s first step in preparing to visit Mars is sending exploration crews from the International Space Station to closer destinations, such as the moon and near-Earth asteroids. These shorter missions will allow astronauts to test new technologies and prepare for longer journeys. To learn more about NASA’s upcoming missions, visit the Global Exploration Roadmap at open.nasa. gov/exploration-roadmap. Dear Amy: Which college should I go to? — Olivia, Annapolis, Md.
Hear a Story Science, history, civics and more capture your attention in the interactive online library of nonfiction books available at Listen and Read, teacher.scholastic.com/commclub. There are 54 illustrated books to choose from in eight subject areas. In Animals, discover how a baby kangaroo develops in A Joey Grows Up and learn the survival secrets of the Arctic fox. Would you rather be a pediatrician or the mayor? These and other jobs are featured in Community Club to help you decide. Follow the journey of a boy who grew up to be president of the United States in The Path of a President.
Dear Amy: When will humans be able to go to Mars? — John, St. Louis, Mo.
What is a traditional Navajo home called?
Dear Olivia: College may be years away, but it never hurts to start thinking about where you might like to go to school or what you want to study. When you’re ready to start researching colleges, check out Tips for Choosing the Right College at teenink.com/ college_guide/college_articles/article/3107/ Tips-For-Choosing-The-Right-College.
How you can get involved with Kids Speak Out Want To See Your Name Here?
Hey, kids! How would you like to get your story published in Kids Speak Out? Just write a short story on one of our prompts and send it to The Sentinel. You can also draw a picture to go with your story. Each week, The Sentinel will publish some of the stories we receive in KidsWorld and on www.cumberlink.com. Only the top three essay writers, published on this page, will receive KidsWorld T-shirts. To claim T-shirts, visit The Sentinel during normal business hours. You must be 5 to 13 years old to enter. Stories must be 150 words or less. Be sure to include your full name, age, address, school and grade. Mail your entry to “Kids Speak Out,” The Sentinel, 457 E. North St., Carlisle, PA 17013, drop it off at either Sentinel office or mail it to frontdoor@cumberlink.com with the subject “KidsWorld.”
Upcoming Topics Due March 30 The best April Fool’s prank I pulled was... Due April 6 I woke up and saw a dinosaur in my back yard... Due April 13 My favorite pet is... Due April 20 I was visiting the moon when.... Due April 27 I was cooking dinner for my family when...
Copyright @2012 4Learners Associates, Inc. Distributed by Universal Uclick 03/25/12
What is your dream job?
Tell Me A Story
Adapted by Amy Friedman Illustrated by Jillian Gilliland
Once upon a time there lived a mysterious prophet and saint called Khidr. He rescued many from danger. He performed many miracles. They say the sea and sky obeyed his will and that he could appear anywhere and everywhere at the same time. His immortality came from the Water of Life. He used the shining jewel brought to Earth from paradise to find this water. When he found it, he dived in and his body and clothing turned green. After this, wherever his feet touched, the Earth turned green. Khidr offered guidance to many of the prophets of this Earth, among them Moses. One day when Moses was preaching, someone asked him who was the wisest man of all. When Moses answered that he was the wisest one, God revealed to him that there was someone wiser. This was Khidr. But long before the day Khidr met Moses, he came to his people with a warning. He explained that soon all the water in the world would disappear and would be renewed with different water. “The new water will drive you mad,” Khidr told the people. “To save yourselves, you must hoard all the water here on Earth. Save it, and you will be saved.” But only one man listened to Khidr’s advice. This man began right away to collect all the water he could. He went to rivers and streams, lakes and waterfalls, and ponds and pools. Using jars and bottles, barrels and buckets, and pots and pans, he collected water. He stored the water in a secret cave. He told no one about his cave, and no one ever knew where it was. And then one day, just as Khidr had warned, the streams stopped flowing. The lakes and wells and waterfalls dried up. Soon every riverbed was dust, and no matter where people turned, there was no water. The man who had listened to Khidr secretly crept off to his hiding place. He was careful to make sure no one saw him, and then he sat inside and drank his hoarded water. From his dark, quiet cave he watched the sky, waiting for the new water to fall. Sure enough, before long the new water came, and the lakes and rivers and wells were once again flowing. Waterfalls tumbled riotously over the rocks. Everywhere there once had been water, there was water again. The people were overjoyed, and they began to drink and drink. The man in the cave, confident that everything was fine again, walked outside to return to his people. When he saw them drinking heartily from great buckets drawn from their wells, he approached and called, “Hello.” But no one responded. Very soon the man discovered that his people had gone mad. They spoke an entirely different language from the language they had once spoken. They had no memory of the time before. No one knew anything of the way the world had been before the new water. They seemed to recall no warning from Khidr, to know nothing of the days of the past. The man tried to tell them, but when he talked, no one could understand him. And there was something worse he saw: They thought that he was the one who had gone mad! He tried to argue with them. “You see that lake there? It was a desert. And that riverbed was only rocks and dust. Your well was dry.” They only stared. “What is he saying?” they asked, but they asked this in a language he did not understand, and so he had no idea what they were saying. But he did understand their faces. They looked at him as if he were the one who was mad. They shook their fists. They shouted. Before long he was afraid. He could see they would never understand what he was trying to say. They would never remember the world as it had once been. And so he ran away, back to the safety of his cave and back to his secret water. He refused to drink this new water that drove everyone mad. No, he would stay in the safety of his world, with his own water. But as time passed, he became more and more lonely. He had no family. He had no friends. He had no one to talk to. Sometimes, late at night, he crept out of his cave and stole to the village and wandered the streets; when he heard people talking together and laughing, his heart ached. He wished he could join them in their madness. At long last he made a decision. He would drink this new water and become like all the others. He too would be mad. That very day, he walked to the well that had once been his, and he drew up a bucket of water. Thirsty for friendship, he drank. In just one moment he understood the language the others were speaking, and when his old friends passed by, he joined them, and he forgot all about the past. He forgot his cave and his water. His friends embraced him and cried, “You were mad, but you have been restored to sanity!” And because he no longer remembered, he did not argue.