ZomppaKids Korner

winter 2013

FARMWORKERS Content by Leanne Simon

FARMWORKERS IN WINTER

Farmworkers

are who work on farms.

people

They are hired by the farmers (also called growers) to pick the fruits and vegetables that grow on the land. Many farmworkers travel for work, moving to a new place each season. They may live in a different place every few months!

Grower

Harvest

a farm owner whose land usually only produces one kind of crop

the act of picking a crop of plants

noun

verb

Photo by Belinda 36

FARMWORKERS During the spring and summer, when most of the foods are grown, there are many farmworkers helping to pick the crops. But what do they do in the Winter? It depends on where you live! In some areas, it is too cold for any plants to grow. The farmworkers usually leave these areas and go to warmer places for work. Other places have only a few vegetables - usually cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale. Warmer places, like Florida, may grow citrus fruits like lemons and oranges.

What am I?

Cruciferous Vegetable

Citrus Fruit

a vegetable of the mustard family: especially mustard greens; various cabbages; broccoli; cauliflower; brussels sprouts

fruit of the Citrus family having thick skin and juicy pulp: oranges; lemons; lime; grapefruit

noun

verb

FARMWORKERS Most of the farmworkers from Mexico to work there.

the

United

Some go home to their families over while others move to southern Texas, Florida, and Southern California for work.

States

moved

the Winter, areas like

In the Spring, when most vegetables start to bloom, they come back to harvest the plants. They often return to work on the same farms year after year.

Can you find the United States?

Can you find Mexico?

FARMWORKERS - GREENHOUSE If there aren’t many fruits and vegetables growing during the Winter, why do we still see them in the grocery store? Sometimes, fresh produce is imported, or brought to us from far away places. Other times, fruits and vegetables may be grown in greenhouses.

You can make your own mini-greenhouse at home! • • • • • • • • • • • •

Supplies you will need: large cup, or other container to use as a planter plastic bag rubber band dirt or potting soil seeds (herbs sprout quickly and do not need a lot of room) water

Instructions: Fill your cup a little more than halfway with the dirt Poke a hole in the dirt and drop in a few seeds, then cover them up with a little more dirt Add a few drops of water Cover the cup with the plastic bag and put the rubber band around it so it doesn’t move Put in a sunny windowsill and wait After a few days or weeks, you should see a sprout growing. Watch it carefully, and when the plant reaches the top of the plastic bag, take it off and move it to a bigger pot. Copyright © 2013 Zomppa ®. All Rights Reserved.

WHERE DO I COME FROM

WHERE DO I COME FROM?

series

Let’s find out more about....

POPCORN 40

WHERE DO I COME FROM

WHAT AM I MADE OF? circle one

peanut

grape

corn

WHERE AM I FROM

HOW AM I MADE? color & count the numbers the KERNELS of the CORN are removed

the KERNELS are heated

WHERE DO I COME FROM

WHAT DOES CORN NEED TO GROW? SUN

color me

AIR

WATER CORN IS A PLANT! 44

WHERE AM I FROM

HELP CORN FIND POPCORN!

follow the maze

WHERE DO I COME FROM

CAN WE DANCE? get up and move!

POP You put the oil in the pot and you let it get hot You put the popcorn in and you start to grin. Sizzle, sizzle Sizzle, sizzle Sizzle, sizzle Sizzle, sizzle Sizzle, sizzle Sizzle, sizzle POP! [start in a crouched position, knees bent, hands on the floor. S-l-o-w-l-y rise while you sizzle. Jump in the air when you POP!] -author unknown 46

WHERE AM I FROM

AM I GOOD FOR YOU? I CAN be

CORN is a good source of: FIBER: cleans your insides and helps you poop **drink lots of water! don’t add too much salt or sugar or butter!**

WHERE DO I COME FROM

CAN WE COOK? try this with an adult HEALTHIER RECIPE for POPCORN 1 / 3 cup corn kernels 3 TB canola oil 2 TB butter 1 TB cinnamon pinch of salt Directions:

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil on medium high heat.

Add 3 or 4 kernels in the pan and cover.

After the kernels pop, add rest of popcorn in layer.

Cover and remove from heat.

Wait 30 seconds – count out loud!

But the pot back on the stove over the heat. You’ll start hearing them all pop! Shake the pan gently and leave the lid a little bit open.

Add a bit of melted butter, cinnamon and salt to taste

8. Enjoy! 48

WINTER SOLSTICE

WHAT IS WINTER? Winter is one of 4 SEASONS. What are the other SEASONS? Winter begins on DECEMBER 21 or 22 every year on the Winter SOLSTICE.. The EARTH is tilted and rotates around the SUN.

WINTER SOLSTICE

During Winter, the NORTHERN half of the EARTH is FAR from the SUN. The weather gets COLD. It can SNOW! Many animals hibernate - they go to SLEEP all winter long. Many trees and plants STOP GROWING.

WINTER SOLSTICE

Can you point to the NORTH? Can you point to the SOUTH?

WINTER SOLSTICE

In Winter, some plants drop their leaves to save ENERGY. Can you draw some LEAVES for this tree?

GLACIERS Content by Belinda and Mehmet

Why are glaciers important?

Glaciers are large bodies of frozen snow and ice. Snow and ice are frozen water. People and animals need water to live. Plants need water to grow.

GLACIERS

Glaciers are found in the North and South Poles.

Point to the North Pole! Point to the South Pole!

Animals like polar bears live near Glaciers. Walk like a polar bear!

55 Photos by Ariel

GLACIERS

What happens if glaciers melt? If the Earth gets too warm, the Glaciers will melt into the ocean. Some places might get too much water and rain, which can lead to floods. Some places might get too little water and rain, which can lead to drought.

Flood: too much water

Drought: too little water

GLACIERS

Without the right amount of water and rain, people might not be able farm and plants might not be able to grow. Polar bears might lose their homes. Some places might go under water or dry up.

People, plants, and animals need the right amount of water and rain to eat and live.

57 Photos by Ariel

GLACIERS

Try this! Put some warm water in a cup. Put a paper towel over the top of the cup. Now take an ice cube and put it on top of the paper towel. Let the ice cube melt. Is there more water in the cup?

This is just like a Glacier melting from land into the ocean!

GLACIERS

We must take care of our Earth and protect our Glaciers so people, plants, and animals have enough water and food to live, grow, and eat! Ask your parents or your teacher to take you to the library and show you more about where polar bears live and what we can do to keep their home safe.

This is a polar bear’s paw print.

Draw a line around your hand to make your print!

59 Photos by Ariel

WINTER FUN

Content by Leanne

Bears hibernate in winter, but you don’t have to! It is important for us to stay active, even when the air gets blustery and cold. How about a few outdoor games that will get your body moving and you feeling warm all over?

Snow Search The

snow

you

have

the

ground,

the

fun

this

game

is.

Pick an object that is small enough to be covered with snow, but big enough to find in it. We always used a tennis ball, but you can use whatever you have around the house- just make sure that it isn’t too precious to lose. One person goes outside and hides the object somewhere under the snow, and the others will try to find it. The tricky part is that you will leave footprints, so you have to be very clever about where you walk so it is harder to tell where the prize is. The first person to find the object gets to hide it next.

Snow Cream For a yummy treat, gather up some snow (make sure it is clean!) and put it in a cup. Add a little bit of milk and honey, sweetened condensed milk, and a drop vanilla extract. Mix it all up and enjoy!

or of

Also, don’t forget to save some extra snow in your freezer for later - snow cream in July is the BEST!

Ice “Skating” No ice skates? No problem! All you need is a patch of ice and some tape. Cover the bottom of your shoes with masking tape so that they are all smooth. Get out on the ice and glide around. Be careful, though, it can be very slippery. If you can’t find any ice- make some. Just find a nice spot to play and pour a few cups of water on the ground. Make sure you warn people that you have done it- nobody wants to find that out the hard way. 60

*Wear a helmet!

WINTER FUN

Photo by Belinda

WINTER FUN No snow? Some places hardly ever get snow- that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. Try these activities:

Leaf Pile Jump This game has been played as long as there have been trees- or rather, as long as they have been falling off of the trees. All you have to do is rake or pile a bunch of leaves and then dive in! Just make sure you get all the twigs out (OUCH!).

leaves

together

Try different kinds of jumps, or see who can make the biggest pile. Ever try to throw a leaf at somebody? It’s not that easy- have a leaf-ball fight and see if you can!

Sardines This game is a lot like hide-and-seek, except the person who is it is the one who hides. Everyone else seeks. When “it” is found by someone, they hide with them. Each person that finds the others has to squish in and hide as wellso that everyone is packed together like a tin of sardines! When the last person finds the everybody, he or she becomes “it.”

Environment Art Take a walk through the woods, or your neighborhood, and look for interesting items along the way. You can find all sorts of beautiful leaves, pine cones, and rocks. Try to gather them up and take them home for a fun art project! If you live different such as glass, etc-

in the city, see how many types of materialsmetal, concrete, wood, you can spot.

You can take pictures of them for a collage, or bring along some paper and a crayon to make some texture rubbings. To do this, you just lay the paper against whatever it is you want to rub, and run the crayon back and forth. The pattern should show up on the paper! 62

WINTER FUN Too cold? What if it really is just too nasty to go outside? There is plenty to keep you occupied indoors, as well. Put away those video games and have some silly fun!

Bedroom Tumbling All you need for this one is a bed. Take anything off the bed that you might get caught on- pillows, blankets, stuffed animals. Once it’s all clear, try your hand at some gymnastics. Can you stand on your head, do Just be careful that you don’t fall off!

roll

over,

maybe

even

flip?

Puffy Wrestling Borrow some old clothes from your parents and put them on. Now stuff them as full as you can with pillows, blankets, or other clothesget as much as you can in there! Once you are all padded up, it’s time to wrestle!

Alligator Hop Gather as many pillows as you can find- you can also use washcloths, articles of clothing, anything else you can stand on. Spread them out around the room. These will be the “islands.” Everything else is the alligator swamp. Try to jump from island to island without falling into the swamp. To make it even more fun, try kicking the islands farther away from each other every time you jump!

63 Photo by Monkey