November 2012 - KV

TRUMAN’S LETTER This month we celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition that was started more than 350 years ago by the settlers who founded Plymouth colony. A lot has changed in our country since the pilgrims landed.

You can read about some of the historical people and places that helped shape our country and make it the wonderful place it is today in this issue. You can even find out what it’s like to work in a really cool museum! That’s a place where history really comes to life (but hopefully not at night!)

The Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621 because they were thankful for a successful har vest. What are you thankful for?

Kids Who Bully, Beware As the kids came into the “Cool Kind Kid” class, Ms. Gilmour greeted each with a question. To Tanner, Nicole and Rudy she asked, “Are you tough enough to be kind?”

To Carmen, Stephen and Truman the Dragon, she asked, “Are you cool enough to be KIND?” The kids all looked at her funny, since they hadn’t even said “hello” yet.

She then said, “Hello,” to each child and waited to hear how they would respond.

Each one said, “Hello,” to Ms. Gilmour and replied, “YES!” “Yes, I am!”

Yes, me, too!”

Tanner looked at her and said, “I know what you’re doing. You are challenging us so we can challenge other kids.”

Rudy added, “If we don’t believe in the challenge, how can we get other kids to be part of it?”

“Right on,“ added Stephen.

Ms. Gilmour smiled and said, “You are so smart.”

Truman was thinking about Ms. Gilmour’s challenge to the kids here and how excited they got when she asked if they were cool and tough enough to be kind. “It can’t be too hard to get kids onboard,” Truman said. “I think we should focus on the bullies first.”

“I agree,” said Nicole. “If we can get them onboard, we won’t have to worry about the kids being bullied because it will stop.”

Carmen added, “And we won’t have to worry about the ones who see bullying and don’t do anything because there won’t be any bullying to watch.”

Ms. Gilmour then asked another question. “Why do you think some kids bully or are bullies?”

Truman thought about that and said, “I like that you said ‘some kids bully,’ meaning they don’t do it all the time. They may do kind things sometimes, too.”

Rudy offered, “Calling them ‘bullies’ is no different from them calling other kids

NOVEMBER 2012

fat, skinny, dumb or any mean name.”

Ms. Gilmour added, “That is putting a label on someone, which can lead to the bullying.”

Tanner said, “No one can be a bully all the time. They have to be nice sometimes.”

Nicole tilted her head, and looked like she was figuring out something when she said, “We need to find out what makes someone do hurtful or bullying things. We need to let them know it’s okay to be kind. I think they all need a friend.”

Stephen shared, “I know a kid who bullies because he is bullied in his neighborhood by older kids. I try to be his friend.”

“My friend’s dad bullies him, so he thinks he’s showing how tough he is when he bullies. But I know it hurts him. I can show him that being tough is really about being kind,” added Rudy.

Truman stood up and said, “Kids who bully, beware! The Cool Kind Kids are going to be your friends! We are going to show you that you don’t have to bully.

We’ll help you see that you can be tough and cool just by being kind.” Everyone was excited to begin the challenge.

Barbara Gilmour, Tanner’s grandmom, is the creator and developer of the “Cool Kind Kid” Social Skills, Character Values and Anti-Bullying educational materials and the award-winning “Cool Kind Kid” Audio CD. She also writes the Children’s Manners Blog, offering tips for teaching your children manners and social skills. www.CoolKindKid.com.

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 3

Be Thankful for History

As we celebrate Thanksgiving in November, it’s a good time to learn more about history. When the pilgrims arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620, they were determined to establish a new land where they could worship and live free. There are many historic places and figures along the way to the establishment of that free country, the United States of America. Here are just a few places that you may want to learn more about and maybe even visit one day.

Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts

In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England and moved to Holland searching for religious freedom.

They prospered there, but didn’t want their children to grow up with the Dutch way of life. They decided to travel to the New World. They set sail on the Mayflower in 1620 and formed the Plymouth Colony. These are the same Pilgrims that celebrated a successful harvest with their Indian neighbors in 1621.

Plymouth Rock is the traditional site where the Mayflower Pilgrims were thought to have landed in 1620.

Today, Plymouth Rock is part of Pilgrim Memorial State Park. From the end of May to Thanksgiving Day, Pilgrim Memorial is staffed by park interpreters who tell visitors about the history of Plymouth Rock and answer questions.

George Washington’s Home, Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon was George Washington’s home when he was alive. George Washington, Commanderin-Chief of American forces in the Revolutionary War and the first President of the United States, and his wife Martha Washington lived at Mount Vernon for more than 40 years. Situated along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, Mount Vernon is now the most popular historic estate in America. Mount Vernon consists of a 50-acre plantation, a mansion and more than a dozen original structures. You can also visit Washington’s Tomb, a working blacksmith shop and a four-acre demonstration farm where you can learn about what life was like when George Washington was alive — and maybe even get to help!

The Smithsonian Museums, Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian complex is a wonderful place to learn about history. Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex. It consists of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. The Smithsonian Institution was established with funds from James Smithson (1765-1829). He was a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” He left more than half a million dollars for the U.S. to create the institution, and he had never even been to America! Now we have wonderful museums such as the American History Museum, American Art Museum, the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum and many more. The Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are free to visit and are open every day except Christmas Day.

The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by President George Washington and was celebrated on Nov. 26, 1789. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made it an annual holiday and established the date as the last Thursday in November. In 1941, Congress declared it to be celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday of November.

Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 4, at 2 a.m. and Standard Time resumes. This means that you should turn your clock back one hour before you go to bed.

PAGE 4 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

AR O UND THE W O RLD United States

Veterans Day is a day to thank and honor all those who served in the military. It is observed on Nov. 11 each year. Veterans are people who served in the military — the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, which celebrated the end of World War I in 1918. An unknown American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in 1921 in remembrance of Armistice Day. In 1954, the U.S. Congress passed the bill changing the name to Veterans Day. Today, the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery is a memorial to all Americans who gave their lives in all wars.

Thailand

Since 1961, the Elephant Roundup has been held on the third Saturday in November in Surin, Thailand. This area is known for its elephants, and the people that live in Surin are skilled at capturing them and training and taming them. Each year, more than 100 elephants participate in the round-up. They play games of soccer, carry logs and play tug-of-war against human teams. They also have a parade of elephants through the city.

Guatemala On Nov. 1, Guatemala holds the Kite Festival of Santiago Sacatepequez. The children work on the elaborate giant kites for many weeks and fly them in the cemetery each year on Nov. 1. Legend has it that many years ago a magician told the people that they could get rid of evil spirits by flying kites. The spirits are supposed to be afraid of the sound of the wind against the paper kites.

Kingdom Animalia Phylum Echinodermata Subphylum Asterozoa Class Asteroidea

Starfish

Did you know that a starfish isn’t really a fish? Even though it has fish in its name, the starfish (also called the Sea Star) isn’t a fish at all. It’s an invertebrate, which is the same group to which the sea urchin and the sand dollar belong. An invertebrate doesn’t have a backbone, but a fish (a vertebrate) does.

About 1,600 species of starfish exist, and they live in all the oceans of the world. Most starfish have a central body and five arms, but some have 50 arms! Some can even grow a new arm if they lose one. They can grow from half an inch to more than three feet across. And, some of them are really big. Some species, like the Midgardia xandaros, have really long arm spans, up to four-and-a-half feet. One of the biggest starfish in the world, Thromidia catalai, lives in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean and can weigh up to 13 pounds.

Starfish are spiny on the upper part and can be in shades of red or orange, but also brown, blue or grey. Underneath, they have a mouth in the center of the body and tube-like suckers on their arms that allow them to move along the ocean’s floor. Eyespots on the tips of the arms are sensitive to light and help the starfish find food. Most species of star fish are predators that eat mollusks, like clams, oysters and snails.

While some species of starfish live to around 10 years old, some

NOVEMBER 2012

species can live up to 34 years. Starfish have a water vascular system and are always pumping water through their bodies. This makes them vulnerable to water pollution, which can be harmful to the starfish.

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 5

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS...

THE NETHERLANDS 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 5º 45’E and latitude of 52º 30’N, and you’ll find the Netherlands, a European country about the size of two New Jerseys located at the mouths of the Maas, Rhine and Schelde rivers.

You may have heard the Netherlands referred to as Holland, but that is not correct. Holland — actually North Holland and South Holland — make up a small part of the Netherlands. Along with other provinces, they comprise The Kingdom of the Netherlands. The government is a constitutional monarchy, and the head of state is Queen Beatrix.

The Netherlands is a country that continues to grow — that is, it increases in land size, but it doesn’t take any from its border neighbors, Belgium and Germany. How can that be? Well, today, about 27 percent of the Netherlands is below sea level. For more than 2000 years, the Dutch, as the people of the Netherlands are called, have worked to hold back the waters of the North Sea and reclaim the land, which is very fertile. They do so through a system of

terpen or dykes (what we call levees), which are walls built to keep the water out. Some of the dykes are made of clay, earth and sand held in place by willow trees. Others are cement paved with klinkers or bricks, creating roads. Canals and pumps called polders, drain the reclaimed land and keep it dry.

Two of the most important are the North Holland Canal, which is 46-miles long, 20-feet deep and 65 to110 yards wide, and the Merwede Canal, which is more than 40-miles long and averages 100 feet wide.

You may be familiar with the famous windmills of the Netherlands, which have been in use since the 1200s to pump water. Today, electric and diesel engines have replaced most of the windmills. And it isn’t just the sea that the Dutch have to worry about. Remember those three rivers? Well, when it rains hard in Germany, for example, all that water heads to the sea — and the Netherlands. As you can imagine, flooding is of great concern to the Dutch!

But windmills and dykes aren’t the only thing for which the Netherlands is famous. Among history’s many celebrated Dutchmen are naval admiral Michiel de Ruyter and explorer Oliver van Noort; writers Erasmus, Grotius, Boerhaave, Thomas a Kempis and Father Cats and of course, the great Dutch Masters including painters, such as Memling, Van Eyck, Jan van Schorel, Frans Hals and Rembrandt van Rhjn — whom we call simply Rembrandt.

Sources: “Dyke,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyke; “Netherlands,” The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html; “Famous Dutch People,” www.hollandhistory.net/famous_dutch_people/famous_dutch_people.html; “Netherlands,” www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/holland.htm; “Polders and Dikes of the Netherlands,” http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/dykes.htm.

Cultural Connections: Theatre In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh sent English explorers out looking for a place to settle in the New World. What Philip Amada and Arthur Barlowe found was a beautiful place that is known as Roanoke Island, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is named after the Roanoke Indian tribe that lived there when the English explorers first landed.

What appeared to be a happy landing soon turned into a mystery that people have discussed for almost 400 years. In fact, the story is so interesting that North Carolina author Paul Green wrote a play about it called The Lost Colony.

Every summer for the past 75 years, more than 100 actors, dancers, technicians and singers come together to tell the story of The Lost Colony at Waterside Theatre in Manteo, N.C., which is located on the state’s Outer Banks.

The play tells the story of the colony and the mystery surrounding it.

More than 400 years ago, Sir Walter Raleigh sent 117 men, women and children from England to settle on Roanoke Island. He named John White the governor of the new community. White’s daughter and son-in-law were part of the settlement, too.

By the time the ship landed on the North Carolina coast in the summer of 1587, there was no time to plant crops so they would have food for

PAGE 6 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

the winter. The ship quickly left for England to get more supplies. White went on the ship, even though his daughter had just given birth to a daughter — Virginia Dare. Virginia was the first English child born on American soil.

It was three years before White returned to Roanoke Island, and what he found was heart breaking. The settlement was abandoned. He found the word “CROATAN” carved in one of the walls of the settlement and the letters “CRO” carved in tree near the town.

White and his crew were hopeful that the settlers were okay and that they had joined the Indians at Croatan further inland. Before anyone was able to search for the colonists, a hurricane came through and damaged the ships. White was forced to return to England. He tried and tried but was never able to return to American to look for his family. Other people who searched for the colonists were never able to find out for certain what happened to the settlers at Roanoke Island. To this day, historians are still trying to solve the mystery.

Sources: www.roanokeisland.net/attractions and www.roanoke-island.com/history.html.

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

WHAT IS LIKE TO BE FULL PAGE....

NOT LOADED YET

What’s It Like To Be a...

Museum Curator?

This month, I’m learning all about history. I’ve discovered that one neat way of learning about history is by looking at old photographs. Shannon Perich is a curator of the Photographic History Collection at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Her dad was in the Air Force so she traveled all around and lived overseas twice when she was a kid. She lived in places where she didn’t speak the language so she had to use her eyes to figure out what was going on, like looking at tapestries in castles to understand the history of that area. She thinks that experience probably has a lot to do with her interest in culture and her love of photography.

She spoke with Kidsville News! about what it’s like to be a curator at a museum.

Truman: How do you become a museum curator?

Perich: As far as education, you need to have a subject you are really interested in. For me that was photography, and then history. It might be any other field, like science or art. You need a four-year college degree.

Depending on what kind of museum work you do, you might need a PhD (which is an advanced college degree that gives you the title doctor — but not like the one you see when you are sick). I have a masters’ degree in museum studies. So you have to have a subject you really like and learn how to do research in all kinds of different places. The Internet is a great resource, but you need to use other sources like archives, and research may even be reading old letters. You need to have a lot of curiosity about the world.

On a daily basis, you need to be flexible — whether creating an exhibition or doing research, you have to ask a question and follow that line of inquiry. But if you don’t get the answers you need, you might have to retrace yourself and ask different questions. You have to like reading old books and journals and newspapers — even manuals.

You have to be able to sit and think for a long period of time. I think curiosity is the number one thing you need to work to a museum — you’ll figure out how to get to the end of your question and keep asking questions, because you are interested in what you are doing.

Truman: When, and why, did you first become interested in this profession?

Perich: I was at the University of Arizona and I did an internship at the Center for Creative Photography, where Ansel Adams left his archives. (Ansel Adams was a great American photographer. To find out more about him, check out www.anseladams.com.) I was getting a degree in photography but didn’t think I was a very good photographer. After doing that internship, I knew I wanted to be a museum curator. Being a curator allows me to look at great work, collect it, talk about it and tell other people why I thought it was cool and why it matters. After that I came to Washington and got a master’s in museum studies at George Washington University and did an internship at the National Museum of American History, where I now work.

After my internship, I was working in a film docu-

NOVEMBER 2012

mentary company, and the museum called and asked if I wanted a job, and I said yes. I’ve been here 16 years.

Truman: What do you do every day? Describe a typical day on the job.

Perich: One of the best things is that I don’t have a routine. It depends on what projects I’m working on.

If I’m collecting, I might be doing research and talking with a donor. If I’m working on an exhibit, I might be writing, picking objects or working with designers, editors, the conservators and project managers. If there is one thing that I get to do every day, it is that I get to think about why photography matters to us. Even with

Shannon Perich gives a lecture on portraiture, sharing research, the Smithsonian photography collections and her enthusiasm for the history of photography. a task like just improving collections storage, I get to hold photographs and hold history in my hands.

Truman: What’s the hardest part of your job?

Perich: I have more ideas than I have time to research. There are lots of wonderful stories to be told, which take a lot of time and energy to tell. There’s just more stories to tell than I can tell in a lifetime. That means there is room in this field for lots of people, for others to come in and tell the stories that they want to tell.

Truman: What’s the best part of your job?

Perich: Other than for history to be real every day, I get to work with wonderful, smart, creative people.

From generous donors who want to leave a legacy and share history, to my colleagues who are so smart. The Smithsonian is a place where people really love their jobs. We are working for the visitors who come to the Smithsonian, but even for people who may never come to the capitol. We are collecting for posterity, preserving our history for those people who are to come down the line so they have a better understanding of who we are today.

Truman: Why do you think it is so important to preserve things from the past?

Perich: There are several reasons. One is to tell future generations about who we are — that’s collecting stuff now. Another reason is to study the

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

past. We try to be neutral, but it’s very emotional. By collecting different kinds of materials we can begin to understand things in a different way, by looking backwards. Rather than just listening to how people tell a story, the objects may tell a different kind of story. The way that we live our lives, is often through a series of historical events — a whole history that lies behind that.

By understanding what came before we better understand the present.

Truman: History is really fascinating and there are so many interesting things in your museum. What is your favorite thing in the museum?

Perich: It depends on what day of the week it is.

One of my favorite objects is a snap-shot album put together by an African-American woman in the 1950s in Los Angeles. She used a wallpaper sample book and glued the photos on those colorful pages. She kept nearly every photograph that came back from the drugstore, whether it was a good photo or not.

We can feel as though we traveled through her world with her. The wallpaper gives us a sense of the colors and patterns available for home decorating. Some of the things we can’t see in the black-and-white photographs, like what color of wallpaper would’ve been in that photograph. She went to the opening of Disneyland and has photos of that, so through the photo we get to participate in a little piece of history. Even though it’s one woman’s life history, it relates to all of us. We can relate to backyard picnics, birthdays and going to the beach. That woman in the 1950s is not really that different from how we are today with the things she loved and cared about.

Truman: What is your favorite hobby or thing to do when you are not working?

Perich: I love to bake cookies. Cookies make people happy. I also like to make cyanotypes, a kind of photography but you don’t need a camera or a darkroom. You put a special emulsion on different papers and fabric, and lay different items on top, and then put it out in the sun. Then just wash it in a water bath.

My kids (9 and 11) and I like to make those together.

Truman: What advice would you give to kids who are interested in this profession?

Perich: Internship. Internship. Internship.

Volunteer. Volunteer. Volunteer. You can’t get enough hands-on experience to know all the different parts of working in a museum. There are lots of jobs visible to the public, but many that aren’t. There are a lot of jobs in museums, even if you don’t want to specialize in one area. An internship will allow you to learn what you like and what you don’t. Also, now when you are doing research projects for school, don’t forget to call a museum and ask to interview a curator. Visit the museum and look at real bugs, bones, baseballs.

I decided very early on that I wanted to do a job that made me happy and that I enjoyed. I love my job. I love coming to work and learning about history.

Whatever job one does, I think you should take pride and pleasure in it.

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 7

PUZZLEVILLE!

What’s the Difference?

There are four things different between Picture A and Picture B. Can you find them all?

PAGE 8 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

Color the Turkey

NOVEMBER 2012

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 9

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!

A Bread Time Story

Kids Across 1. The golden edge on a slice of bread 3. An O-shaped breakfast bread that is boiled before it is baked 5. The number of pieces you have when you cut a muffin in half 6. The color of rye bread 8. It's a fruit spread for your bread 11. A sesame dot on a hamburger bun 12. What kind of music would you expect to hear at a breakfast restaurant? Rock and ____ 13. Bits of bread that fall into your lap 15. Bacon, lettuce and tomato between two slices of bread 17. The wonderful smell that means fresh bread is in

the oven 18. Canned fish that makes a tasty 15A 20. Tangy pickle pieces that can spice up a lunch 22. When the jelly asked the biscuit, "Who is your maker?"

The biscuit said sweetly, "Of course, it's the ____" 23. Lunch that looks like it's relaxing on a 3D Parents Down 1. Flaky member of the bread family with a French name 2. Oliver Twist's respectful request for additional bread: "Please, ___, can I have some more?"

3. Sweet pet name for one's heartthrob: Honey ___ 4. Natural material woven to make a bread basket (or

PAGE 10 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

the stuff of scarecrows) 6. "Born" companion (and homophone of the theme of this crossword) 7. What a doughnut gets when dipped in coffee 9. Burgers pan-fried between slices of sourdough or rye: Patty ____ 10. Cubes tossed among cukes, tomatoes and lettuce 13. Braided bread served during the Jewish sabbath 14. Healthy muffin grain 15. White grains atop foccacia 16. Pretty witty: Homophone of corned beef lover's bread 19. Bit a biscuit (and then chewed and swallowed it) 21. It's whites, brushed on dough, make the top crispy

™

This Week’s Solution

kris@kapd.com

KAPD ebooks now available on www.kapd.com

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

9/23/12

© 2012 KAPD , LLC.

NOVEMBER 2012

PAGE 14 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

In Theaters Wreck-It Ralph November 2

You’ve never seen an animated comedy as wacked out as Wreck-It Ralph. Characters from all sorts of video games — old and new — come together in this funny story about a game character named Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly).

Ralph is tired of being the bad guy in the video game where he has lived for a very long time. Fix-It Felix is the “good guy” in the game who fixes everything Ralph breaks. So many years of being the bad guy has put Wreck-It Ralph in need of breaking out once and for all. Ralph escapes to discover all shapes and sizes of characters from other video games. If you think you’re up on your old-school video games, Wreck-It Ralph will test your knowledge. Sarah Silverman performs the voice of Vanellope von Schweetz, a feisty little girl that Ralph promises to save from the “Sugar Rush” game she inhabits.

Rated PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence. 92 minutes. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Rise of the Guardians November 21

November is the month for animated characters from different settings to get together for a shared cause. Santa Claus (voiced

by Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and the Sandman need the help of Jack Frost

NOVEMBER 2012

(voiced by Chris Pine) to help them conquer an evil spirit named Pitch (voiced by Jude Law).

Pitch wants to take over the world. Pitch and his army are set to use fear as their greatest weapon against kids. Our gang of fearless Guardians will let nothing stand in the way to “protect the hopes, beliefs, and imaginations” of children all over the world. Santa will have to use his sleigh to battle against Pitch if he’s going to be able to deliver presents on Christmas Eve. Rated PG for thematic elements and some mildly scary action. 90 minutes.

(Sony Pictures Animation)

the Prince.

Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother comes down and casts a spell that allows the beautiful Cinderella to go to the party, but she will have to be home before midnight when the spell wears off. Filled with great songs and terrific imagery, Walt Disney’s Cinderella is a truly magical animated movie for kids of all ages.

Rated G. 75 minutes. (Disney)

Brave

Children’s DVDs Cinderella November 20

Disney’s animated version of the popular children’s fairy tale “Cinderella” has charmed audiences for more than 60 years. It’s a movie that just never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. In a faraway kingdom long ago, Cinderella lives a happy life until her father dies.

Cinderella’s stepmother Lady Tremaine isn’t very nice. In fact, she’s down right wicked. Lady Tremaine makes Cinderella do all of the work around the house, while she lets her own children play.

Cinderella’s only friends are the cute little animals that live around the estate.

Across the kingdom, the King plans a fancy dress ball to find a bride for his son,

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

November 13

10th century Scotland’s rugged highlands provide the lush setting where an independently minded girl, Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), comes face to face with her destiny. The princess-to-be is the daughter of King Fergus (voiced by Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Historic tradition calls for a competition to decide which of the amusingly ugly local men Merida will marry.

Redheaded Merida has a few ideas of her own. The headstrong lass uses her expert archery skills to tip the games in her favor. A misunderstanding with her mother sends Merida searching for a magical remedy to her problems.

Kelly Macdonald gives her spritely young character plenty of gutsy Scottish charm in this instructive story about a child’s relationship with his or her parents. It’s a lesson works both ways.

Rated PG. 93 mins. (Disney-Pixar)

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 17

Exploring Nature!

4IFSJ "NTFM t XXX FYQMPSJOHOBUVSF PSH Match the Animals to Their Tracks bear

Tracking Fun Facts Some mammals are diagonal walkers, moving their legs on opposite sides of the body, like foxes, bobcats, deer and moose. Weasels and otters are bounders, with their front feet landing together and the back feet landing behind or on top of the front track. Hares and squirrels gallop, with their back feet landing in front of their front tracks.

a.

Winter Animal!

Snowshoe Hare

b. deer

Lepus americanus Snowshoe hares are built for long wonters. Their fur get thicker and turns white in winter to bland into their snowy habitat, and they have large feet for traveling on top of the snow. They are active all winter.

c.

d. coyote

e. bobcat beaver f.

raccoon

g.

___

___

___

___

___

___

bobcat

hare

This carnivore leaves a track with no visible toenails – because it retracts them. It is a

What’s Missing? Circle 8 things that are different in the animal-tracking scene on the right.

a. bear, b. coyote, c. raccoon, d. hare, e. deer, f. bobcat, g. beaver Exploringnature.org is an award-winning resource that inspires learning about science, conservation and the outdoors through school ���������������������� illustrated books and online resources.

Explore outside today!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

ptarmigan and weasel switched last hare track has feet swithced one deer track is reversed one coyote track is a deer hare facing opposite way tree missing moon phase change deer missing antlers

PAGE 18 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

KIDSVILLE KITCHEN

Together Time — Ask an adult for help with projects!

Aut-yum Leaves

Here’s a treat no kid will leaf behind. Made with store-bought piecrust dough, these leaves are filled with chocolate and peanut butter chips – but try jam and cream cheese or chocolate chips, walnuts and mini marshmallows, if you prefer.

Ingredients • 1 egg • 1 teaspoon of water • Prepared pie crust • Mini chocolate chips • Peanut butter chips • Raw sugar • Flour for work surface Instructions 1. Heat the oven to 375°. Whisk one egg with a teaspoon of water and set it aside.

2. On a floured surface, roll out a prepared piecrust so that it’s about inch thick. Use a large leaf-shaped cookie cutter (ours is 4½ inches wide) to make as many dough leaf pairs as possible.

3. For each pocket, spread about 4 teaspoons of mini chocolate chips and peanut butter chips on a leaf, leaving a ½-inch margin at the edge. Brush egg wash onto the edge, place a second leaf on top and press the edges to seal.

4. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle it generously with raw sugar. Bake the leaves on a parchment-covered cookie sheet until their edges are just beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Let them rest on the sheet a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

PAGE 20 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

Spacecraft’s Signal a Multi-purpose Container One of the really neat things about an ice cream cone is that the cone not only holds your ice cream, but when the ice cream is gone, you can eat the container. There are other inventions like this, in which something created to serve one purpose can also function for a completely different purpose.

One of these inventions is the way spacecraft that explore the solar system communicate with Earth. They use radio signals. The signal is a stream of radio waves. Radio waves are a form of light we can’t see.

However, NASA’s big, sensitive dish antennas on the ground can “see” them.

But to send information like images and temperature readings, the spacecraft’s transmitter changes — or “modulates” — the radio signal. The signal is thus made to carry all kinds of information gathered by the spacecraft’s cameras and other instruments.

But besides being a “container” for all the important information from the spacecraft’s science instruments and internal workings, the signal itself can be used directly to do science experiments. For example, say the spacecraft is near Mars, as Mariner 4 was in 1965 when this type of radio science experiment was first tried. When Mariner 4 went behind Mars (as seen from Earth), there was a moment when the signal just grazed Mars’ surface. For that short time, Mars’ thin atmosphere changed the signal a little bit as it passed through.

Before that, no one had accurately measured the properties of Mars’ atmosphere!

Since then, scientists have set up many clever experiments on many different space missions using only the spacecraft signal itself, plus the ability of the big Deep Space Network antennas to “see” it. This radio science technique is used to learn about the atmospheres of planets, moons and even the Sun. Spacecraft signals are also used to measure the mass of solar system objects and how gravity varies on different parts of the object and even to test Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Learn how NASA’s Deep Space Network can communicate with faraway spacecraft 24 hours a day by playing the “ Uplink-Downlink” game at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/dsn-game.

This article was written by Diane K. Fisher and provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

Conservation o r n e r Waste Minimizations Strategies

Communities - The U.S. EPA estimates that over 4,000 communities have “pay-as-you-throw� programs. Residents pay for each bin or bag of trash they set out for disposal rather than a flat fee. When households reduce the amount of trash, they pay less.

Businesses - Practicing source reduction helps industries decrease raw material use and cut manufacturing costs. Check out what this means for cans and bottles. Offices can shrink their waste stream, too. Get waste reduction strategies for large and small businesses.

Consumers - Buying in bulk, reusing products, buying products with less packaging and using refillable products all help to reduce consumer costs and the amount of waste going to disposal. Get a laundry list of tips from the National Recycling Coalition.

Content provided by www.kab.org

NOVEMBER 2012

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 21

P ARENTOWN’S K ID S MAR T

Take Charge of Your Financial Health Stress over financial matters can affect both your health and your family’s well-being. You can reduce the stress by following a few simple tips such as these from Foresters™, a leading international life insurance provider.

Gather your documents and store them safely. Over time, you accumulate all sorts of important papers from medical histories to bills and insurance information. It’s a good idea to keep all these important documents in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box or fire-proof strong box. Here are some things you’ll want to store safely and be able to retrieve quickly: • Insurance plan information – life, health, dental, home owners, renters, auto, boat, etc.

• Mortgage information • Tax information – returns, purchase and charitable contribution receipts • Investment paperwork – savings, stocks, bonds and retirement records • Will and trust or health care directives Keep ATM receipts for a month, and paycheck stubs, bills, credit card, bank and investment statements for a year. Hold on to tax returns, medical bills, mortgage and home records longer – up to three to seven years.

Set a monthly budget. It’s important to keep track of your finances and what you’re spending money on in order to determine where you can cut back. Keep an accurate account of your finances for several months, then start trimming expenses where possible. There are excellent software packages available to help you keep your income and expenses balanced.

Set a savings budget and stick to it. Whether it’s for your children’s college tuition, a home down payment or for retirement, it’s important to make your savings goal part of your monthly budget. Set aside a regular amount – starting as early as you can.

Keep an emergency fund. Financial emergencies can happen when you least expect them. Instead of adding to your debt through a credit card withdrawal or bank loan, keep an amount equal to six months expenses on hand. Get started by arranging a biweekly or monthly automatic transfer into your savings account Stay on top of your credit score. Good credit opens many doors – auto and home ownership, backup credit lines, even co-signing your child’s student loans can be influenced by your credit score. In addition, spotting fraudulent accounts – such as credit cards opened via identity theft – is much easier when you’re managing your credit score. Free credit report services with email alerts are available online.

Look to life insurance to help protect your family. If the unexpected happens, you want to know your family is safe, and that includes your finances. Talk to a life insurance professional for help in selecting the coverage and life insurance provider best suited for your family circumstances. For example, Foresters is a member-based life insurance organization that offers competitive, high quality products and a range of member benefits that support overall family well-being. To learn more visit www.foresters.com.

PAGE 22 - KIDSVILLE NEWS

El estrés que se siente por los asuntos financieros puede afectar tanto su salud como el bienestar de su familia. Usted puede reducir el estrés y tranquilizar a su familia si sigue algunos consejos sencillos como estos de Foresters™, un proveedor internacional líder de seguro de vida.

Recoja sus documentos y guárdelos en un lugar seguro. Con el tiempo, usted acumulará muchos documentos importantes como historiales médicos, facturas e información sobre el seguro. Es una buena idea guardar todos estos documentos importantes en un lugar seguro, como por ejemplo una caja de seguridad o una caja fuerte a prueba de fuego. A continuación se presentan algunas de las cosas que querrá guardar en un lugar seguro para poder recuperarlas rápidamente.

• Información sobre los planes de seguros – seguro de vida, de asistencia médica, dental, de hogar para propietarios o inquilinos, de automóvil, barco, etc.

• Información hipotecaria • Información sobre los impuestos – declaraciones de impuestos, recibos para compras, devoluciones y donativos • Documentos relacionados con sus inversiones – registros de ahorros, acciones, bonos y de jubilación • Directrices con respecto a su testamento, fideicomisos o su salud Guarde los recibos de los cajeros automáticos por un mes, y los talones de los cheques de la paga, facturas, estados bancarios, de tarjetas de crédito y de las inversiones por un año. Guarde las declaraciones de los impuestos, los recibos médicos y los registros relacionados con su hipoteca y su hogar por más tiempo – de tres a siete años.

Establezca un presupuesto mensual. Es importante monitorear sus finanzas y sus gastos para determinar dónde puede hacer recortes. Mantenga una cuenta precisa de sus finanzas por varios meses, y luego empiece a hacer recortes donde sea posible. Existen varios paquetes de software excelentes para ayudarle a mantener sus gastos e ingresos balanceados.

Establezca un presupuesto de ahorros y no se aparte de él. Ya sea que se trate de la matrícula de la educación universitaria de sus hijos, la cuota inicial para la compra de una casa o dinero para su jubilación, es importante que su objetivo de ahorros forme parte su presupuesto mensual. Aparte un monto regular – y empiece a hacerlo lo antes posible.

Mantenga un fondo para emergencias. Las emergencias financieras pueden ocurrir cuando menos las espere. En lugar de aumentar su deuda mediante un retiro de su tarjeta de crédito o préstamo bancario, tenga disponible un monto equivalente a seis meses de gastos. Empiece haciendo una transferencia automática mensual o cada 15 días a su cuenta de ahorros.

Manténgase al tanto de su calificación crediticia. Un buen historial crediticio abre muchas puertas – su calificación crediticia puede influir en la compra de un automóvil o una casa, las líneas de crédito, hasta la co-firma de los préstamos estudiantiles de sus hijos. Además, el descubrimiento de cuentas fraudulentas – como por ejemplo las tarjetas de crédito que se abren mediante el robo de la identidad – es mucho más fácil cuando se maneja bien la calificación crediticia.

Los servicios de informes crediticios gratuitos con aviso por correo electrónico están disponibles en línea.

Considere el seguro de vida para proteger a su familia. Si ocurre lo inesperado, querrá saber que su familia está protegida, y eso incluye sus finanzas.

Pídale ayuda a un profesional de seguro de vida para seleccionar la cobertura y proveedor de seguro de vida que mejor se adapte a las circunstancias de su familia.

Por ejemplo, Foresters es una organización de seguro de vida constituida por sus afiliados que ofrece productos competitivos de alta calidad y una gama de beneficios para afiliados1 que apoyan el bienestar general de su familia. Para saber más, visite foresters.com.

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

P ARENTOWN’S K ID S HAPE

Trying to Decide about Raw Milk?

Developing a healthy lifestyle is a process with many decisions and steps. One step you might be thinking about is adding raw milk to your diet. Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized to kill harmful germs. Germs include bacteria, viruses and parasites. It’s important to understand the risks of drinking raw milk, especially because you may be hearing claims about the supposed “benefits” of raw milk.

Maybe you want to eat less processed food, or maybe you’ve heard that raw milk contains more of certain nutrients than pasteurized milk. Perhaps you’ve heard that raw milk can even prevent or solve various health problems. For some people, buying raw milk is one way they try to support local farmers and sustainable agriculture.

It is important to know that milk can be a very efficient home for bacteria and other germs. When milk is pasteurized, some bacteria remain in it, but the disease-causing ones are killed. Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to a high-enough temperature for a long-enough time to kill disease-causing germs.

Harmful germs usually don’t change the look, taste or smell of milk, so only when milk has been pasteurized can you be confident that these germs are not present.

To ensure that milk is safe, processors rapidly cool it after pasteurization, practice sanitary handling and store milk in clean, closed containers

NOVEMBER 2012

at 45 degrees Farenheit or below.

You can’t look at, smell or taste a bottle of raw milk and tell if it’s safe to drink. Make the best decision for the health of your family.

If you want to keep milk in your family’s diet, protect them by not giving them raw milk. Even healthy adults can get sick from drinking raw milk. If you’re thinking about drinking raw milk because you believe it has health benefits, consider doing some more research.

The Real Milk Campaign has a formal rebuttal to the FDA’s viewpoint and can be found at realmilk.com. The Weston A. Price Foundation states that “… compared to 30-50 years ago, dairy farmers today can take advantage of many advancements that contribute to a dramatically safer product including pasture grazing, herd testing, effective cleaning systems, refrigeration and easier, significantly less expensive, more accessible and more sophisticated milk and herd disease testing techniques.”

Talk to your doctor, a nutritionist or your child’s pediatrician before making significant dietary changes or if you have questions about the debate between raw versus processed milk.

The FDA site www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/consumers has information about pasteurized milk. Information from proponents of raw milk can be found at www.realmilk.com.

WWW.KIDSVILLENEWSTN.COM

KIDSVILLE NEWS - PAGE 23