Brilliant News! the newsletter for the Benny Bear Club
May 2012
bennysblog.co.uk
Hi Benny Members, Thank you so much for all your wonderful Benny postcards. My friends Tom and Gobi love the colourful display the cards make in their office – I am becoming a bit of a celebrity aren’t I? I hope you are telling all your friends about the Benny Bear Club? See how many friends and family members you can ask to become my friend. I am trying to reach a total of 500 by the end of this year – can you help me? So, onto other news and fun …
Benny is a bear with hydrocephalus. Benny helps children to understand what it is like to live with the condition
Benny’s story time! Here is a story about what happened when I helped my Mum in the kitchen. Do you think you can guess what different fruit we used? ‘Come on Benny’, said Benny’s Mum, ‘we have a busy day, so let’s make sure we have a healthy breakfast which will give us lots of energy and stop us snacking when we are out’. Would you like to help me make a Rainbow Salad, said Mummy Bear. ‘Rainbow salad,’ said Benny, ‘I thought salad was green with lettuce leaves and cucumber’. ‘No, this is a Fruit Salad Benny, the name ‘Rainbow’ means lots of different colours.’ ‘So, do you remember the five colours in the Five a Day fruit and vegetable chart Benny?’ ‘Red – we could use one of the shiny red apples in the fruit bowl.’ ‘Great,’ said Mummy Bear, ‘I will chop the apple into smaller pieces and this will make a colourful start to our fruit salad.’ ‘Next’. ‘Orange, easy peasy, a juicy orange and we could squeeze the orange to make some juice to drink as well.’ ‘Great idea’, said Mummy Bear, squeezing the orange which squirted into Benny’s eye, ‘Good shot’ said Benny!’ continued on the next page ...
‘Banana next – that will be the colour yellow – although this banana is going a bit brown, does that count?’ ‘Yes, that’s fine, it’s just the outside skin, the inside will be lovely and ripe’, said Mummy. ‘Green, ummmhhhhh – oh, we could use green grapes, without the seeds though and then cut them in half. Wow, this fruit salad is looking lovely Mummy.’ ‘Last of the 5 then Benny’, said Mummy, ‘what colour is that?’ ‘Purple – blueberries’, said Benny whilst eating the small, purple fruit and forgetting to add them to the fruit salad. ‘Hey’, said Mummy, ‘more for the salad and less for your tummy please!’ ‘There we are then, the fruit salad, with five lovely colours, five lovely fruits and our five a day – The Rainbow Salad’, said a triumphant Mummy Bear. ‘Mummy – said Benny with a questioning voice and his fingers in the fruit salad, ‘didn’t you always say, you could never touch a rainbow?’ ‘Very funny’, said Mum handing Benny a spoon, - ‘now more eating and less talking!’ How do you eat your Five a Day? What other different colour fruit can you think of that could make another colourful fruit salad? What brightly coloured vegetables would you put in a salad to eat with lettuce and cucumber?
May - What’s On this Month? So May has arrived and there are so many fun things to look forward to. May is named after the Greek goddess, Maia. Hydrocephalus is a Greek word too, Hydro meaning ‘water’ and ‘cephalie’, meaning ‘brain’. So now you know some Greek words and last month you learnt some French words – whatever next? Speaking about French words – how are Monsieur and Madame Cresshead, have they grown any hair yet? Mine have – check out my pictures.
People are organising celebrations for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee; this means she has been Queen for 60 years, that is a very long time isn’t it? Lots of people are planning street parties and making lots of red, white and blue decorations. I thought we could join in too and make our very own Jubilee flags, ready to wave on June 5th. Start by asking a grown up to print out the Union Jack flag which is attached to this newsletter. Make sure you have two different coloured crayons, felt pens or paints; you will need red and dark blue. If you are using paints, make sure you cover the table with newspaper. I don’t want any grown ups telling me off when you have painted the table as well! Hee Hee! The flag has two numbers – number 1 and number 2. All the spaces marked with a number 1, colour or paint carefully with your red colour, making sure not to go outside the lines. If you are using paints, make sure it is dry before you start on number 2, where all the spaces should be dark blue. All the other spaces, which do not have a number in, leave them white. Put the flag to one side and make sure it is completely dry before starting the next step. Ready? Ask a grown up to help you cut out the flag – be careful now, scissors can be very sharp and we do not want any accidents. Then using a pencil and using sticky tape, stick the small end of the flag to the stick. There we are – all finished, you now have a flag ready to wave for the Queen’s Jubilee on June 5th. You could also keep it safe and use it again for the Olympic Games. Don’t forget to send in your photos – we can compare our colouring!
Benny’s ‘Tip of the Month’ The Olympic Games has just reminded me about the importance of keeping fit and healthy. Do you sometimes get headaches and feel a little bit tired some days? I do, and I know that it can happen because I haven’t drunk enough water and eaten enough healthy food. But like me, I bet you sometimes forget, so here is a good way to remember, using colours. If you go shopping with a grown up, you can help choose some of the healthy fruit and vegetables using a ‘Rainbow Colour’ chart. Try and eat at least five different colour fruit and vegetables a day.
Red! ! !
Juicy red plums, great in your lunchbox and perfect for my little paws and your little hands to hold
Orange ! !
Oranges and apricots, lovely and juicy and helps if you sometimes have a bad tummy
Yellow ! ! !
Mango, I love this chopped up and put into my favourite yoghurt for a tasty pudding or snack
Green! ! ! ! !
Broccoli, I think broccoli looks like little trees. I like to have it with mashed potato and my Mummy ‘plants’ the broccoli in the potato like a forest – tastes lovely too
Purple ! ! ! ! !
Now that’s a difficult one. See what you can find, but my favourite is blackcurrant. I ask my Mummy to make them into smoothies to drink, just add some milk, which is great for strong bones as well.
And don’t forget the all-important water. Remember, lions drink water and look how big and strong they are!
Shine Information I have just received a lovely letter and photograph from Aidan Fincham, aged 11 from Eastbourne about his fantastic fundraising event. Aidan wrote … ‘During the Easter holidays, I had a cake sale in my front garden. I held the sale for Shine because my Dad has hydrocephalus. I asked my best friend Tahlia to help me and together, we raised £30.00. I hope anybody reading this will be encouraged to have their own cake sale or coffee morning with a few friends. Ask them to give even a small donation for the good of this great, worthwhile charity that has helped support my family and meet new friends.’ Thank you Aidan, your cakes look lovely! Perhaps you could make some Jubilee cakes, red, white and blue to go with our Jubilee flag this month?
Next Month ... June and lots of celebrations for the Queen’s Jubilee! Hopefully you will all be able to wave around the fantastic flags you have made! In the meantime, don’t forget to log onto the Benny Bear Blog to see what I have been doing. email: benny.bear@shinecharity.org.uk Tel: 01733 555988 Benny Bear Club website: www.bennysblog.co.uk Shine website: www.shinecharity.org.uk
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United Kingdom Flag Colors 1. Red 2. Dark Blue Unmarked = White
www.ColoringCastle.com