Kid Scoop News April 2022

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Bunny buddies celebrate Earth Day with some fun activities and games to share with a buddy.

This page is all about symmetry.

CONFUSED WARRIORS

From the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the animals we touch, all of these can cause allergic reactions.

TENNIS

With tennis season just starting, learn some of the history of the game and see if you can complete the racquet crossword.

How many flowers can you count on this page?

Take a walk outdoors and find the same number of flowers!

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Make a Difference .................. 3 Happy Earth Day .................... 4-5 Allergies ................................ 6-7 Tennis .................................... 8-9 Caterpillars ............................ 10-11 Puzzles .................................. 12 Activity Calendar ................... 13 Rachel Carson ........................ 14-15 Wildflowers ........................... 16-17 What can I buy? ..................... 18 Digital Footprint .................... 19 Avocados ............................... 20 Parent Scoop ......................... 21 Early Learners ........................ 22 Answers ................................ 23 Kid Scoop News® is published in Baton Rouge by

11831 Wentling Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 (225) 292-0032 • www.brparents.com

Publisher Brandon Foreman

Dear Readers,

I am soooo ready for spring—getting out, enjoying some sunshine, and delighting in the beauty of the environment. Wildflowers brighten the countryside, and we’ve got a great page to help you identify flowers and learn about state flowers. Every state has one—what’s yours?

Earth Day is on April 22. Let’s make that a time to learn more about the value of recycling and what we can all do to help our planet.

Easter is on April 17, and Easter would not be Easter without the Bunny Buddies. We have a great page that explains what symmetry is all about. There are some puzzles to help you figure out symmetry and a great project for you to make symmetry art.

Remember to do these with a buddy, someone older if it looks hard, or someone younger if they need help.

Rachel Carson was a conservationist who wrote one of the most influential books about the environment. Her book warned of the dangers of using harsh chemicals on the land and the effect on nature. We owe her a debt of gratitude.

Sometimes the food you eat, the animals you come in contact with, and even the air you breathe can cause an allergic reaction. Allergies are no fun, but there are ways to deal with the problems they cause. Kid Scoop News provides some suggestions.

If spring has sprung where you live, go outside and take a deep breath. Shake off the winter blues and enjoy some fresh air. Visit a farmers market, celebrate Easter and Earth Day, look for wildflowers and caterpillars, play an outdoor sport, or just ride your bike.

It’s springtime—time to enjoy the season!

Associate Publisher Amy L. Foreman Editorial Amanda Miller Emily Drez Anthony Bui Sarah Batrous Art/Production Melody Tauzin

Business Operations Laurie Acosta Teri Hodges Roxane Voorhies Advertising Patrick Pacheco Marketing Emily Mancuso “Kid Scoop News is a valuable resource that empowers our youth to engage in the world around them, all while developing their love of reading. I am proud to support this resource and help build the foundation of literacy for our youth!”

ISSN 2768-2382

Publisher and Editor Art Director/Illustration Vicki Whiting Jeff Schinkel Operations Director Graphic Designer Vivien Whittington Eli Smith © 2022 Vicki Whiting

–Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome

“Louisiana is experiencing a literacy crisis with only 46 percent of students mastering ELA content by the end of third grade. Louisiana believes children are our highest priority. Kid Scoop News provides quick, easy-to-use activities and reading passages that support and strengthen school-home connections and deepen learning. The Louisiana Department of Education encourages regular reading at home and in the classroom to ignite a reading revival.”

–Quentina Timoll, Chief of Staff, Louisiana Department of Education

www.kidscoopnews.org

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

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Make a Difference for Our Planet!

Water is good for you.

But how you drink it can make a difference to the planet.

Making plastic water bottles and transporting them to stores uses a lot of fossil fuels and pollutes the environment. Reducing your use of plastic water bottles is an easy way to make the earth a cleaner place for generations to come.

Instead of buying water in a plastic bottle, use a refillable water bottle and fill it with tap water.

Recycle! Plastic water bottles can take hundreds of years to disintegrate. They pollute rivers, lakes, and oceans. They fill up landfills.

Plastic Bottle Facts • Making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year. And that’s not even including the oil used for transportation.

Instead of throwing a plastic water bottle into the trash, recycle! Plastic water bottles are turned into carpeting and even fleece clothing.

Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours!

Let’s Talk!

Talk to your parents about ways everyone in your family can help the environment by reducing waste and saving energy. There are a few great ideas below.

See if you can work together to come up with at least 10 more.

• The energy we waste using bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes.

• Last year, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38.

Oil and Water Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That’s about how much crude oil was needed to produce the bottle.

There are a lot of things kids can do to take care of our planet every day. Here are some great ideas:

Turn Off Lights

Take charge of making sure the lights are switched off in your house when you leave a room. This saves energy and money. And it’s as easy as flipping a switch.

Plant Something Plant a tree, a bush or a vine.

Lima beans are easy to grow and you can plant them in a small container. When the beans are ripe, you can share them with your family.

Play Outside

When you play outside you aren’t using electronics. You get some good exercise and have fun. Save energy and play in the fresh air outdoors!

Use Less Water

When brushing your teeth, turn off the tap water. This can save up to 8 gallons of water per day per person. Some showers use up to five gallons of water per minute. Shorter showers can save a LOT of water. © Vicki Whiting April 2022

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The Bunny Buddies are celebrating Spring and our beautiful planet this year! Just in time for Earth Day (April 22).

STUFF YOU’LL NEED: Symmetry is when both halves of something are exactly the same.

Poor Baby Burt is confused.

Do this project to help him understand symmetry.

Cover your work surface with newspaper.

Fold a sheet of blank, white paper in half.

paintbrush

If you draw a line down the center of this happy face from top to bottom, you will see that both sides of the picture are the same. This is a good example of symmetry.

Bebe Bunny painted these eggs. She wanted to make the designs symmetrical—the same on each half. Use a ruler to draw a straight line from point A to point B on each egg. Circle the ones that are symmetrical.

white paper poster paint

newspaper

Unfold.

While the paint is still Slowly open up Paint a wet, fold the paper in the paper and you design on half along the fold you will have a matching one half made and press so that the image on both sides of the paint on the painted side of the paper. paper. transfers to the blank side. That’s symmetry!

Draw the other half of Bianca’s face and Bixby’s face. Make them symmetrical.

A Kenyan proverb says, “The earth is not given to you by your parents, but loaned to you by your children.” Discuss with your family what you think that means.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

5 Bixby Bunny changed the names of spring clothes. Can you figure out what he is talking about? The real names rhyme with Bixby’s silly names. For example, LOW LIE is really a BOW TIE!

Go for an Earth Day walk with your family and see if you can find each of these:

rock stick leaf litter (pick it up and throw it away!) flower spider web feather tree bark bird insect something pink

FUN CAT MARTY PRESS TREE ROCKS CLUE BEANS

1. The Earth has one moon.

2. The Earth is the best planet in the universe.

3. 71% of the surface of Earth is covered in water.

4. The Earth is beautiful.

5. The Earth’s diameter, the distance at its middle at the Equator, is 7,928 miles, or 12,760 kilometres.

6. The Earth tastes good.

BUZZY CLIPPERS

Bingo is making an Earth Day sign to celebrate. Use the code to help him finish his sign.

The following list has three facts and three opinions about the planet Earth. Can you tell which are facts and which are opinions?

A= D= E= G=

H= I= J= R=

S= T= U= Y=

NEWSPAPER SYMMETRY TRANSFER SURFACE PROVERB CLOTHES RHYMING BOTTOM SPRING EARTH BUDDY FOLD HALF SAME CLUE

Remember: FACTS can be proven true for all people and places, can be duplicated, can be observed, historical, or 100% true.

Usually they involve numbers and other measurable components.

OPINIONS refer to a particular person’s (or group’s) feeling, thought, judgment, belief, estimate, and/or anything that is not 100% true and can’t be proven.

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

S Y Y M S P R I N G

R M R S A M E E C B

Y E E T O T W A L R

D D F T E S R R O E

D L T S P M E T T V U O I A N U M H H O B F P F L A H Y E R C E E C A F R U S P

R H Y M I N G T A L Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

6 Inside your body are warrior cells that find and attack harmful germs. Some people have warrior cells that get confused. They attack things that are not normally harmful to people, such as pollen, cat dander, or mold.

When this happens, the place where the warrior cells are fighting swells up, turns red and gets itchy.

This is called an allergic reaction.

These confused warrior cells are looking for things to attack. Can you find:

strawberry peanut

cat

egg

dog

pollen

milk

grass

wheat

Jacob, Amanda, and Sasha have allergies. Yet their allergies are all different.

If Jacob pets his friend’s cat, he starts to sneeze.

Amanda’s first taste of a peanut butter sandwich made her vomit, wheeze, and struggle to breathe.

Amanda cannot eat things with nuts.

If Sasha eats strawberries, she breaks out in an itchy rash.

Do YOU have any allergies?

Does a member of your family suffer from allergies?

Standards Link: Health: Students understand the causes and symptoms of diseases in the human body.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

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The best way NOT to suffer from allergies is to stay away from what causes them. This is easy if you know you can’t eat strawberries or peanut butter. But if you are allergic to pollens and other things in the air around us, you may need to see a doctor for help.

Standards Link: Health: Students understand the treatment of diseases in the human body and the behaviors to reduce the risk of disease.

Look at each row of things that can cause allergies.

Draw what comes next in each pattern.

Standards Link: Math: Recognize and extend patterns.

n 1996, swimmer Amy Van Dyken became the first woman to ever win four gold _____ in a single Olympics.

Amy has severe _________. When she was a little girl, her allergies caused asthma attacks that often sent her to the ________ room at ALLERGIES the hospital. She was so _____ from her asthma that she could not NORMAL D L O swim the length of a pool G until she was 12 years old. ince that time, new treatments have made it possible for people with allergies and asthma to live more _______ lives.

In Amy’s case, it helped her go for the _______!

WEAK S L A D E M EMERGE NCY

Aaa-CHOO! A big sneeze blew some words out of this story. Can you find where each word belongs?

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Use context clues to understand the meaning of sentences.

ATTACK POLLEN CAT CELLS EGGS ITCHY TASTE ALLERGIC DOCTOR WARRIOR PEANUT DOG AIR SUFFER MOLD

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

V P J K C A T T A K C D O G S E A U R R

A I T C H Y L N E O T S G G E L U L T T

E W Y R E F F U S C

T U N A E P O N A O

A E T M O L D Y T D E I K Q P O L L E N

G B R O I R R A W A Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

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A

D

B

E

C

Find the two identical tennis players.

Early tennis courts, built in the 1600s, were _____________ indoor courts where the ball could be played off the _________ and the net was three feet high in the middle and five feet high at ___________ end.

One of the early names for the game of tennis was Sphairistike, which is a ___________ word meaning “the art of playing ball.”

The inventor of the ____________ game of tennis, Major Walter Wingfield, favored this name.

Replace the missing words.

Complete this crossword puzzle to learn the parts of a tennis racquet.

ACROSS DOWN 2. The part of the racquet with 1. The top part of the racquet, strings, or where your eyes, nose or what’s above your neck.

2. The metal or wooden structure, and mouth can be found.

4. The V-shaped part of the racquet, or where you might place a picture.

3. The racquet’s handle, another word for grasp. or what’s inside your neck.

Standards Link: Language Arts: Students understand grade-level appropriate reading vocabulary and multiple-meaning words.

Before the invention of vulcanized rubber, an early form of tennis was played by It is not logical hitting a little to think I ball around an invented indoor court vulcanization. with walls.

With the invention of vulcanized rubber—rubber that could bounce—tennis could be played outdoors. Over the years, racquets, rules and outdoor courts were added to create the game we know today as tennis.

What French tennis player started a clothing line with the crocodile as its logo?

A. René Lacoste B. Andre Agassi C. Ralph Lauren © Vicki Whiting April 2022

9 Are you an eagle-eyed reader? Read the articles below and correct the ten spelling errors you find. The first one is done for you.

In 1973, tennes champion Bobby Riggs, aged 55, challenged femail world tennis champion, Billie Jean King, aged 29, to a tennis match. The televised match became nown as The Battel of the Sexes. At the time, woman tennis players were payed much less than men.

Riggs had been World No 1 in the 1940s and was a great showman. Billie Jean King was one of the world’s greatest female players. Riggs boasted that he was a much superior player and that women were simply too week and inferior.

The game was played at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. It was clere when the game began that Billie Jean had done her homework. Instead of playing her usual game, she positioned herself to make her opponent run all over the coort. She one the game 6-4,6-3,6-3.

The legasy of that game led to an increase in prize amounts for women but not until 2007 were women awarded prize money equal to men in major tournaments.

Standards Link: Writing Applications: Edit text to check for correct spelling and grammar.

Find your way through this group of tennis balls by making a path using only the even-numbered balls.

2

4

6

5

4

4

6

2

9

7

5

5

1

4

9

7

1

8

9

7

6

5

8

4

2

6

2

8

6

3

2

6

1

8

9

6

5

9

8

3

9

2

9

7

4

5

6

2

4

1

5

9

5

1

4

8

6

2

9

9

7

6

4

2

6

9

7

9

5

7

3

5

1

5

9

7

9

8

Standards Link: Number Sense: Identify odd and even numbers.

TENNIS COURT RACQUET RUBBER GREEK ATHLETE GAME SERVE MATCH RULES HISTORY BOUNCE BALL NET WEAR

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

T A G K S I D S C O E L T A S E L U R O

U B L H M I R P G S

Q E O A L E N V R R

C V E U B E S N E M

A O F B N E T O E A R R U T H C E E K T

M R A R T W E A R C

C Y R O T S I H H H

Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

10 o you hear a soft and constant crunching sound? Tiny little crawlers have chewed their way out of tiny little eggs. They are munching on leaves and grass.

They eat upside down, they eat sideways, they don’t care which way they eat. But they hardly stop eating. They’re...

Big, little, bare, or fuzzy, all caterpillars have the same body parts.

Different caterpillars will become different moths or butterflies.

Do the math problems on each caterpillar, butterfly and moth. The matching answers will show you what kind of butterfly or moth each caterpillar will become.

Standards Link: Number Sense: Compute sums and differences.

Tiger Swallowtail 4 + 11 =

8-2= White Marked Tussock Moth

(These will become the legs of the adult butterfly or moth.)

17 - 9 = 22 - 3 = Hog Sphinx 13 + 6 =

These “legs” support and move the growing caterpillar. Prolegs help the caterpillar to hold tightly to a branch or leaf.

20 - 5 = A newly hatched caterpillar is about 1 millimeter long. In a couple of months most will be about 2 centimeters long. This is about a 2,000 percent increase in length. If you grew 2,000 percent, how tall would you be?

One of the biggest of all caterpillars is the hickory horned devil. To find out how big it is, count all of the other on the page.

Wooly Bear 5+3=

inches

12 - 6 =

Hickory Horned Devil

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know animals have structures that serve different functions in growth and survival.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

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Number each picture in the order in which the lifecycle events occur.

1. The adult moth or butterfly lays eggs.

2. Once a caterpillar hatches, it needs to eat to grow. So it eats and eats and eats.

3. When you grow, your skin grows with you.

But when a caterpillar grows, its skin gets tighter and tighter until it no longer fits.

4. The old skin splits down the back and the caterpillar crawls out with a new, looser skin. This is called molting.

5. After it molts 3 to 5 times, the caterpillar attaches to a twig or other surface and changes into a pupa.

6. Inside the pupal case, the larva changes into a moth or a butterfly.

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know sequential stages of life cycles are different for different animals.

hile out eating, which is most of the time, caterpillars are easy prey for birds and other predators. Nature has given caterpillars some built-in protection.

Some have alarming-looking body parts, such as the fierce red horns of the hickory horned devil. Some have a foul odor and others have spines that sting.

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

Find the differences between the caterpillar and its reflection.

Standards Link: Life Science: Students know animals have structures that serve different functions in survival.

Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

12 Hop vertically or horizontally (not diagonally!) from even-numbered bunny to even-numbered bunny only (odd-numbered bunnies are a dead end). Can you reach the big, juicy carrot at the end of the bunny trail?

All of the words in this puzzle start with the letters P-R-E. Read the definition of each word and see if you can fill in the blanks. If you get stuck, look below for each word’s missing letters.

An early or advanced look at something:

Something very cute or even beautiful:

To stop from happening:

Adding stress or force to something:

George Washington was the first one: B

A

C

D

Look very closely and carefully at these jesters.

Can you find the two that are exactly the same?

Take your time!

J

To make believe:

E

A gift:

To save or protect: I

H

G

F Standards Link: Language Arts: Vocabulary.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

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APRIL 2022 Tick the box on each day when you have completed 20 minutes of reading. Children who develop a love of reading will become better students and build a better future.

How long can you go without watching TV? How many books could you read if you gave up TV for a few days?

Can you do a cartwheel? If so, teach a friend how to do one. If not, work with a friend that knows how.

Who were the first people to reach the North Pole on this day in 1898?

Turn Off TV and Read Month

Do something nice for a brother or sister today.

Maybe they will do something nice for you!

Have fun counting eggs today!

List 3 things you could do to keep America beautiful.

Keep America Beautiful Month

Find some of your favorite books and read them to a younger child.

Flowers are blooming on this page.

Can you find the one that is different?

How many foods starting with the letter B have you eaten this week?

Look up at the sky for 15 minutes tonight.

How many aircraft can you spot in that amount of time?

Take your dog for a walk or spend time playing with your cat.

Pet Owner’s Day

Share some jokes with your family.

Why did the student eat his homework?

A: His teacher told him it was a piece of cake!

Humorous Day

In which part of the world do penguins live? There are 17 Watch a movie made different species of before 1950. Then talk about things penguins. Can you you noticed that name three? are different from World modern movies.

Penguin Day

Learn all the words to one of your parents’ favorite songs.

Have a family sing along tonight!

If you could open a toy store, what would you call it.

What toys would you like to sell?

Take turns to tell a story—it can be from memory or from a book, a legend or from folklore.

Tell a Story Day

Do something to improve your health today. Go for a long walk, make a nutritious meal and get a good night’s sleep.

Do you have books you’ve outgrown?

Contact your library and see if you can donate them.

Discuss the meaning of the word meditate.

Close your eyes and sit completely still. Be calm and meditate for five minutes today.

The Titanic sank on this day in 1912. What caused the disaster?

Clip coupons asp from the new. Set e n li n o per or unt aside the amoou of money y a r save to use fofor t a e tr l specia the family.

Put on gloves and go for a walk and pick up trash in your neighborhood or join a park clean-up project.

Calling all poets! Write down ten pairs of words that rhyme. Now write down a poem using those words.

Plan a visit to a tree nursery

Arbor Day

Create a comic strip.

Use two characters to tell knock-knock jokes or riddles.

With a friend, create a secret code. Write messages to each other using the code.

Then see if other friends can “break” the code and figure out what you wrote. © Vicki Whiting April 2022

14

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring was published. Her book described how DDT entered the food chain and gathered in the fatty tissues of animals, including human beings, causing cancer and other damage.

Insects that bite, eat crops and garden flowers are considered pests. Years ago, scientists discovered chemicals that killed insect pests. They called these chemicals pesticides. For a while, this seemed to be a great discovery.

But further study showed that these same chemicals, particularly one called DDT, killed more than just bothersome insects.

What may be a pest to people may be food to a fish. That fish is food for a bigger fish, which is food for an even bigger fish. Eventually one of the animals in this food chain might end up on somebody’s dinner plate.

Find where each missing word belongs in the article below.

Rachel’s book _________ people.

It also made many powerful people _____. She was criticized and called terrible names. But for Rachel the message was more important than her feelings. She carefully kept track of her _______ and found other scientists who agreed with her.

Eventually the United States government _______ DDT. And millions of people began to look more carefully at how human beings are __________ to the entire natural world.

Not long after Rachel completed her master’s degree in zoology, her father died and she became the sole supporter of the household she shared with her mother. In 1937, her sister died leaving two teenage daughters who joined Rachel’s household.

Rachel found a job writing radio scripts for the United States Bureau of Fisheries (now called the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Eventually she became the editor-in-chief for all publications of this government service.

Rachel spent much of her childhood learning about nature. One night she decided to see what kinds of life could be found in the quiet of the night.

“If I had been asked a month ago, I would have said my backyard was a peaceful enough place at night. That was before I had gone exploring in it with a flashlight, and had seen how the bushes, the jungles of moss and grass, and even the woodpile were filled with hunters. After an hour of exploring by flashlight, you realize as never before how alive the night is. It is alive with a thousand watchful eyes.”

– Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

15 Are you an eagle-eyed reader? Circle the six errors in the article below.

Imagination

In her first year of kollege, Rachel wrote a story for the the school magazine called, “The Master of the Ship’s Light.” The story’s setting was a wild seacoast witch she described as having “towering waves,” “booming breakers,” “icy winds” and “patches of white foam, betraying the menacing reefs beneath.”

While as a child she had read book about the sea, at the time she wrote this story, she had never been to the ocean. Using her imagination, she was able two write her own powerful descriptions of a places she had never seen.

Rachel Carson called her book about the

dangers of pesticides Silent Spring because of her concern that the

use of

pesticides might kill the

that eat insects, and spring would no longer be filled with their

.

SECRET CODE:

A B C D E G I L N O R S Use the code to find the missing words.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

RACHEL CARSON CHAIN CURIOSITY SILENT FOOD WOODPILE RADIO BACKYARD CHEMICALS HUMAN NIGHT SPRING BOOK LIFE

Find the words by looking up, down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

S Y T I S O I R U C

L R T H G I N N G W

A T A N A D I N L O C N B C T A I

I N O

I E O U H R F O O D

M L O C P E S R E P E I K S W R L A T I

H S I N A M U H C L C B A C K Y A R D E

Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

16

Take a walk outside and look around!

Chances are you will see flowers starting to bloom.

April is a month to celebrate the colorful display of flowers in our community. Even pesky weeds bloom this time of year!

Color these drawings and enjoy the beauty of some of North America’s wildflowers!

oppies are the California state flower. They can be found blooming throughout the state in spring.

FLOWER: ORANGE STEM AND LEAVES: GREEN

uttercups have cup-shaped flowers made up of five petals. People used to believe that the rich yellow color of butter originated from a high content of buttercups in the cows’ diet. This belief is false. Cows avoid buttercups because they are poisonous!

ndian Paint Brush is Wyoming’s state flower. It has been used to make dyes. The main pollinators of this wildflower are hummingbirds.

luebonnets are the Texas state flower. Some grow to be three feet high! The bluebonnet comes from the legume (bean) family.

FLOWER: YELLOW STEM AND LEAVES: GREEN

FLOWER: RED-ORANGE STEM AND LEAVES: GREEN

FLOWER: PURPLE/DARK BLUE STEM AND LEAVES: GRAY-GREEN

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

17 Look closely: Can you find the two identical bouquets of flowers?

A

E

C D

B

F

I

H

G J

How many flowers do you see here?

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

K

L

Find the words by looking up, BLUEBONNET down, backwards, forwards, sideways and diagonally.

BUTTERCUP LEGUME T N A I D N I H B E INDIAN T E N N O B E U L B FAMILY E M D O N B T T M H TEXAS BLOOM X O F Y L T R E F R BRUSH A L O O E D T U W I SEEDS S E O R G S I R S C AVOID S M C H U S W O C H PODS O U F A M I L Y V W DYES STEM P O D S E E D S S A COWS Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical RICH words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns. © Vicki Whiting April 2022

18

Are you a super smart shopper? Count up how much money each child has for school supplies. Then look at the price tags. On the lines below each child’s name, write all the things he or she can afford to buy without spending more than the amount shown.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

19

PRIVATE INFORMATION

Private information includes things that identify you, like your full name, address, phone number, age, birthday and school. Do not share this information online. If you are asked to share this information, ask your parent for permission to do so.

When you go online, you leave a footprint that can last forever. very time you go online to play a game, search the internet, or send email, you leave a trail. This trail is called your digital footprint.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information tells people about things you enjoy and like.

It shares something about you but doesn’t let anyone know where you could be found.

Personal information includes your hobbies and favorite things.

This footprint can be helpful or harmful.

It’s safe to share personal information but NOT private information online.

What information is safe to share online?

Meet Ellie Electra Elephant and Mervin Masel Mouse. They are trying to figure out what is safe to share online. Can you help them? Check the box next to the word PRIVATE if this is private information which should not be shared online. Check the box next to the word PERSONAL if this is personal information and is safe to share online. Show your answers to a parent or trusted adult and discuss.

Name: Ellie Electra Elephant ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Name: Mervin Masel Mouse ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Birth date: February 21, 2013 ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Pet’s name: Carl the Caterpillar ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Favorite hobby: Ice skating ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Favorite food: Cheese ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

NOTE TO TEACHERS AND PARENTS: To see full lesson plans and find more lessons about Digital Citizenship, visit commonsense.org/education Common Sense Education™ defines Digital Citizenship as someone who uses technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

Where you live: 123 Waterhole St., Peanuts, WA ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Where you live: Mousehole ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

User name: gray_toes Password: bamboo ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

Secret: My brother and I fight a lot. ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

My favorite photo: ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

My favorite photo: ❏ PERSONAL

❏ PRIVATE

© 2022 Common Sense Education™. Used by permission. For more information, visit commonsense.org/education © Vicki Whiting April 2022

20 Do the math to learn more about us!

Avocados originated in Mexico where they were gathered over 10,000 years ago and then grown about 5,000 years ago. The Spanish brought them to Europe and now they are grown and eaten all over the world.

Use the code to discover some amazing avocado facts!

• There are over _______ ( types of avocados.

) different

) countries produce avocados • _____ ( commercially.

• One avocado tree can produce ______ ( avocados every year.

)

=0 =1 =2 =3 =4

Avocados Around the World

=5 =6 =7 =8 =9

31 = BRAZIL 18 = KERALA

16 = FRANCE 29 = JAPAN

43 = HAITI 25 = MOROCCO

In _______________ (34 - 16), a district in southern India, avocados are used in milk shakes and ice cream.

In _______________ (22 + 9), avocados are also made into a dessert milk with sugar and milk.

Chocolate syrup is sometimes added.

In ___________ (18 + 7), a similar drink is sweetened with sugar and orange flower water.

You’ll need a large avocado, celery, prepared salsa and cherry tomatoes for this tasty treat.

Mash the avocado and add some salsa to taste.

Wash celery and cut into sticks.

Fill the hollow in the celery with the guacamole mix.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half and lay on the top.

In ____________ (16 + 27), avocado is mixed with the root vegetable cassava and spread on bread for breakfast.

An avocado is a healthy, powerhouse food. You can tell it’s a fruit because it has a large seed, called a pit. (Avocados are actually considered a berry!) Farmers plant avocado trees in groups called groves or orchards.

Rhyme Time: Set a timer for 2 minutes. Can you come up with more words that rhyme with each of the words below than a friend or parent? GO!

GROVE

SEED

PIT

EAT

PLANT

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

21

Reduce Food Waste with Fun Recipes!

Slash Your Trash!

This month’s Kid Scoop News is full of information about ways kids and families can protect our planet.

One great family project would be to see how much you can cut back on the amount of trash you toss each week.

FIRST: WEIGH IT

Pick one day a week to weigh and measure the amount of trash you accumulate. Weigh or measure the trash and record this. Then discuss what is in the trash and how you might have less next week.

BONUS: If you are really ambitious, weigh your weekly trash accumulation!

Food waste going into landfills creates methane gas, wastes water and money. One way to reduce food waste is to come up with some clever ways to cook with leftovers.

TACO MAC ‘N CHEESE

Combine two favorite foods and get a third favorite!

INGREDIENTS:

• Leftover taco meat • Tortilla chip crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

NEXT: MAKE A PLAN

Plan how you will accumulate less trash. Here are some ideas to consider: 1. Use reusable bags when you go shopping.

2. Use reusable containers for your packed lunches.

3. Buy foods from the bulk section and store in mason jars.

4. Reduce junk mail by writing “Rejected. Return to sender. Take me off your mailing list” on junk mail and leave it in the mailbox for the mailman to return to the sender.

5. Recycle everything you can.

6. Use old rags for cleaning instead of paper towels.

Reducing and reusing keeps money in your pocket and can do a lot of good for our communities and environment.

• Leftover macaroni and cheese • Sour cream and salsa (optional)

1. Mix macaroni and taco meat.

3. Put a dollop of sour cream and/or salsa on top.

2. Microwave until warm.

4. Sprinkle with tortilla chip crumbs.

Created by Judah C.*

Graphic: www.treehugger.com

EDITOR’S PICK

by Vicki Whiting, Kid Scoop News

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World

By Laurie Lawlor and Laura Beingessner

R

achel Carson’s writings helped spark the global environmental movement which would eventually lead to the establishment of Earth Day. In celebration of Earth Day, this is a beautifully illustrated book about Rachel Carson’s life to share with your children.

It spans the time from the early childhood days in her poverty-stricken family to

her persistence to learn more and more about the world of science. It tells of her education when few women entered the world of biology, and how she turned to writing to share her observations of the outdoors. It includes an extensive “epilogue” on what happened after the publication of her book, Silent Spring.

For more ideas go to: keeperofthehome.org

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

22 M is for Map m is for map Learning Buddies: Read the two phrases aloud. Have your child read with you. Trace the uppercase and lowercase letter M. Say the letter as you trace it.

How many words or pictures can you find on this page that have the sound that the letter M makes in the word map?

Follow the maze on the map to find your way to Midtown. Watch out for mud puddles!

Letter Identification With your child, look through the newspaper to find pictures of things that start with the same sound as the letter M in map.

Math Play

Point to the number 3 in the newspaper.

Have your child say the number and trace the number 3s that are large enough.

Story Telling

Read a Lost and Found classified ad. Ask your child to tell a story about the lost animal.

Your child might want to pretend to be the lost animal.

How many

?

How many

?

blue mugs

I read my map before my nap And found my way to bed.

I sat my cap upon my lap And put a pillow behind my head.

Go for a Ride

Ask your child, “How many pictures of things to ride on can you find in today’s paper?”

(Examples: cars, planes, trains, boats, etc.)

Right and Left

Open the newspaper so that you see two pages. Point out which page is on the right and which is on the left. Ask your child questions that require the answer left or right.

yellow mugs

How many

?

red mugs

STOP and GO

Show your child how to spell the words STOP and GO. Look through the newspaper together to find and cut out the letters that spell each word.

Trace the letters in the word STOP in red. Trace the letters in the word GO in green.

Learning Buddies: Trace and say the number. Read the questions. Touch and count to find the answers.

Syllable Clap

Find and read two-syllable words in the newspaper.

Clap your hands as you say each syllable.

Have your child clap and repeat the word with you. Next try three-syllable words.

© Vicki Whiting April 2022

23 Page 4

Page 7

In 1996, swimmer Amy Van Dyken became the first woman to ever win four gold MEDALS in a single Olympics.

Amy has severe ALLERGIES. When she was a little girl, her allergies caused asthma attacks that often sent her to the EMERGENCY room at the hospital.

She was so WEAK from her asthma that she could not swim the length of a pool until she was 12 years old.

Page 5

Since that time, new treatments have made it possible for people with allergies and asthma to live more NORMAL lives. In Amy’s case, it helped her go for the GOLD!

Rhyming Clothing Sun Hat Party Dress Three Socks Blue Jeans Fuzzy Slippers

V P J K C A T T A K

Facts and Opinions 1. Fact 2. Opinion 3. Fact 4. Opinion 5. Fact 6. Opinion

A E T M O L D Y T D

Earth Day Slogan Hug a tree! It’s Earth Day! S Y Y M S P R I N G

R M R S A M E E C B

Y E E T O T W A L R

D D F T E S R R O E

D L T S P M E T T V U O I A N U M H H O B F P F L A H Y E R C E E C A F R U S P

R H Y M I N G T A L

Page 6

C D O G S E A U R R

A I T C H Y L N E O

Page 9

Page 11

2

4

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2

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1

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1

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8

What French tennis player started a clothing line with the crocodile as its logo?

A. René Lacoste

C V E U B E S N E M

A O F B N E T O E A R R U T H C E E K T

M L O C P E S R E P E I K S W R L A T I

H S I N A M U H C L C B A C K Y A R D E

Page 12

M R A R T W E A R C

C Y R O T S I H H H

Page 10 Wooly Bear 5+3=8

Tiger Swallowtail 4 + 11 = 15

PRE Test Preview Pretty Prevent Pressure

17 - 9 = 8 20 - 5 = 15

Hog Sphinx 13 + 6 = 19 22 - 3 = 19

8-2=6 White Marked Tussock Moth

The Big Guy 6 inches

2

3

4

6

One of the early names for the game of tennis was Sphairistike, which is a GREAT word meaning “the art of playing ball.”The inventor of the MODERN game of tennis, Major Walter Wingfield, favored this name.

1

T E N N O B E U L B

E M D O N B T T M H

X O F Y L T R E F R A L O O E D T U W I

President Pretend Present Preserve

Page 14

The Backlash 12 - 6 = 6

5

Can you find the two indentical bouquets of flowers?

E&K

T N A I D N I H B E

April Foolishness A&E

Page 11

Page 17

Puzzler 31 flowers

History of the Tennis Court

Early tennis courts, built in the 1600s, were NARROW indoor courts where the ball could be played off the WALLS and the net was three feet high in the middle and five feet high at EITHER end.

I N O

I E O U H R F O O D

Q E O A L E N V R R

Page 8

Tennis Raquet Crossword Down Across 1. Head 2. Face 2. Frame 4. Throat 3. Grip

C N B C T A I

U B L H M I R P G S

E I K Q P O L L E N

Find the two identical tennis players.

C&D

A T A N A D I N L O

E L T A S E L U R O

E W Y R E F F U S C

G B R O I R R A W A

S Y T I S O I R U C

L R T H G I N N G W

T A G K S I D S C O

T S G G E L U L T T

T U N A E P O N A O

Page 15

Rachel’s book ALARMED people.

It also made many powerful people ANGRY. She was criticized and called terrible names. But for Rachel the message was more important than her feelings. She carefully kept track of her FACTS and found other scientists who agreed with her.

Eventually the United States government BANNED DDT. And millions of people began to look more carefully at how human beings are CONNECTED to the entire natural world.

Page 15

Clues in Code

Rachel Carson called her book about the dangers of pesticides Silent Spring because of her concern that the CARELESS use of pesticides might kill the SONGBIRDS that eat insects, and spring would no longer be filled with their SONGS.

S E O R G S I R S C

S M C H U S W O C H

O U F A M I L Y V W P O D S E E D S S A

Page 18

Brandon has: $5.40 Hannah has: $2.35 Olivia has: $2.25 Tyler has: $3.25

Page 20

Avocado facts • 500 different types of avocados • 69 countries • 150 avocados every year Avocados Around the World Kerala Brazil Morocco Haiti Another name for avocados Alligator Pears © Vicki Whiting April 2022

24

ParentEd Talks

16 YOUR LIBRARY CARD IS YOUR ALL-ACCESS PASS TO: BOOKS AND MAGAZINES GRAPHIC NOVELS MOVIES AND AUDIOBOOKS E-BOOKS AND STREAMING MEDIA FREE ONLINE TUTORING WITH HOMEWORK LOUISIANA ONLINE DATABASES PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES AND SO MUCH MORE!

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must-watch talks for parents Baton Rouge Parents Magazine virtual events are back and better than ever! We’ve got a list of topnotch experts to speak on timely parenting topics and dish out essential advice. Break the cycle of parental burnout, transform your relationship, learn the latest science on child development and more with our free ParentEd Talks.

Dan Siegel, M.D. will share how you can become more present in your own life and with the ones you love. Monday, April 4, 3 p.m.

CT The “Modern Mommy Doc” Whitney Casares, M.D. shares her blueprint for what it means to be a successful working mom.

Tuesday, April 19, 3 p.m. CT

Renowned author Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. teaches what it means to cultivate a “Yes Brain.”

Tuesday, May 3, 3 p.m. CT

Don’t miss out!

Register now: brparents.com If you cannot watch live, an email with a link will still be provided to watch the series.