December 2015 jabberblabber by Greg Gardner

Available ONLINE at www.jabberblabber.com MEMPHIS, TN

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 10 December 2015

This Jabberblabber belongs to:

Greetings loyal fans and new friends!

December is one of my favorite months in Memphis! I love the festive lights on the poles on Poplar Avenue, all the way from the river to Germantown! I also love learning about all of the wonderful holiday traditions during December around the world. The spirit of GIVING seems to be a theme in many cultures. The art of GIVING can be practiced year round by you and your family. What you will likely discover is that GIVING is also RECEIVING. The only way to understand this is to do it. So what are you waiting for? Instead of sitting around waiting on what you're going to receive under the tree this year, make a list of ways you can GIVE every single day. Some examples might be to GIVE your mom or dad your help setting the table, washing dishes or taking out the trash and recycling. GIVE your grandparents a call and tell them you love them. GIVE your neighbor a smile. GIVE a fellow student a compliment. GIVE your teacher your attention and respect by following instructions and turning your work in on time. While you're at it, GIVE the sponsors you see throughout this Jabberblabber your business! They are ALL locally operated and share our mission of providing "edutainment" to children and families in 25 cities throughout the Mid-South! GIVE them a call today, and let them know you saw it here so we can continue to GIVE this publication to you for FREE!!! Happy Holidays! I'll see you next year!! Peace and love, Jabberblabber

letters from Jabberblabber’s Pen Pals!

Dear Jabberblabber, I love your magazines because they are so amazing. I see you on Channel Three waving your hand and telling us what to wear. Do you have any siblings because I have nine brothers and two sisters? Sincerely, Keniyah Miracle Renna Engram, age 7, Memphis TN

Dear Jabberblabber, Thanks for the sticker. You are still my green pen pal. What's your favorite color? So I hope you write me back. So stay green. Write back soon. And wish me a happy birthday please. Jabberblabber is green and I think he's a monster or alien in a good way. Me, I'm a person with long hair who likes rainbows. Sincerely, Rodneka T. Hunter, age 10, Memphis, TN

Dear Jabberblabber, It's Grace again! I think you are AWSOME! Of course I will be your Green Pen Pal. I have never seen you in real life, but I hope I can! Sincerely, Grace, age 9, Olive Branch MS

Dear Jabberblabber, This is Jasmine. I just want to say Thank U for all the Jabberblabbers. I love reading them and doing the contest. I have the best time. Jasmine Phillips, age 13, Arlington, TN 3 P.S. I am your biggest Fan !! :-)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Be GREEN like me!

Jabberblabber loves the holidays. He loves playing with his dreidel. Do you know what a dreidel is? There is one hidden somewhere in this magazine.

See if you can help him find it!

pg 4 pg 5 pg 6 pg 8 pg 11 pg 11 pg 12 pg 16 pg 18 pg 19 pg 20 pg 22 pg 22

Edible Art Drawing Contest - Win Prizes UDrawIt Winners PARENTS PAGES! TEACHERS PAGE! Activity News Channel 3 Weather Calendar Find It Dental Puzzle GRANDPARENTS PAGE! JabberGenius Jabberblabber Spotted U! Answers

Jabberblabber is published monthly by Jabberblabber, Inc. 1985 Madison Ave., #7 • Memphis, TN 38104 P 901.278.5002 F 901.274.3361 www.jabberblabber.com • jabberblabber@aol.com facebook: jabberblabber memphis twitter: @jabberblabber instagram: @jabberblabbermagazine

Editor: Theresa Andreuccetti

Art Director: Nikki Schroeder

Contributing Writers: Gerard J. Billmeier, Jr., M.D., Sponsorship Sales: Jeffrey Laper and Chris Owens Volunteer: Donna Gafford

History of Decorating Trees

The evergreen fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals for thousands of years. Nobody is really sure when fir trees were first used as Christmas trees. Many early Christmas trees seem to have been hung upside down from the ceiling using chains hung from chandeliers or lighting hooks. The first person to bring a Christmas tree into a house in the way we know it today may have been the 16th century German preacher Martin Luther. A story is told that one night before Christmas, he was walking through the forest and looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful that he wanted to bring a tree into his home and recreate the lighting with candles. In Germany, the first Christmas trees were decorated with edible things such as gingerbread and gold covered apples. Then glass makers made special small ornaments similar to some of the decorations used today. Connect the dots below to finish the fun drawing. Then use your imagination and lots of color to create your own masterpiece.

UDRAWIT CONTEST December 2015 SEND your drawing in for the

UDRAWIT random drawing!

Make sure to follow all directions! The winner will receive a Jabberblabber bookmark, folder and sticker. The winner will be announced in March 2016!

Name __________________________ Address ________________________ City ___________________________ State__________Zip______________ Age________ T-shirt size _________ Youth ________ Adult ________

Complete the form and mail to: Jabberblabber 1985 Madison Ave., Suite 7 Memphis, TN 38104

Winners for September 2015

Congratulations! Age age age age aGe age

0-3: Alyssa Laird, Jackson, TN 4-6: Anawin Rodriguez, Hernando, MS 7-9: Ashlynn King, Olive Branch, MS 10-12: Rosa Isela Arellano, Memphis, TN 13-15: Ann Marie Hollis, Southaven, MS 16-120: Jessica Gutierrez, Olive Branch, MS

Healthy Children, Healthy Planet The Gift of Garbage-Recycling for Today and Tomorrow

The first Curbside Recycling programs started in the US over 70 years ago as a way for citizens to give something to the soldiers fighting World War II. The country needed ships, tanks, and planes and to build them we needed every bit of scrap metal that could be found. Housewives “swished and squashed” the cans they used everyday to prepare meals, and Boy Scouts collected the metal for recycling. This gift kept our industries running during some of our country’s most difficult times. Eleanor Roosevelt used an old New England phrase “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” throughout World War II to encourage Americans to save natural resources and recycle. “Her simply put description of recycling and reuse is the basis of Memphis’ re-’use it up’ recycling program”, said Joy Williams, Recycling Administrator for the City of Memphis. “Recycling provides resources for the future by using resources from your waste stream, and at the same time, recycling reduces the volume of waste going to landfills.”

The City of Memphis Solid Waste Department has been working hard to expand Memphis' residential recycling program. Now more materials can be recycled - all plastic containers, milk and juice cartons and jugs, large rigid plastics (5-gallon pails, plastic bins, hampers, plastic toys, and plastic furniture) as well as non-food contaminated paper and glass bottles and jars. There is no need to cut cardboard into individual sheets. Just flatten the box. There is no need to sort. Just toss your recycling into your recycling cart or bin. New 96-gallon rolling carts are wheeling their way into neighborhoods throughout the city. Within two years all single family residents that recycle should have the new carts! To help families understand the new recycling program, Memphis Solid Waste Management and City Beautiful are partnering to offer a new outreach program to local elementary schools, providing hands-on activities, recycling information, and recycling lesson plans. City Beautiful’s school programs make recycling seem more like a game than a chore! After collection, all the acceptable materials are sent to our local ReCommunity recycling facility to be sorted, baled, and sent to be made into new products. To learn more about the process, watch a guided Virtual MRF Tour, or for other educational materials about recycling, visit ReCommunity.com/Education.

Finally, Williams adds "Just as our war-time recycling was a gift to our fighting men, your recycling now is a gift to your children.” Recycling saves natural resources like trees and water which are required to create new products from scratch. So . . . during the holidays, when GIVING is the universal theme, recycle and “give” a little bit to everyone today so there will be a greener tomorrow.

Join Jason's Deli In the Fight to Eliminate Cancer!

4 Locations in the Memphis Area: 3473 Poplar Ave. Ste 102 - Memphis 1199 Ridgeway Rd - Memphis 1585 Chickering Lane - Cordova, TN 6A Stonebridge - Jackson, TN We Cater and Deliver www. jasonsdeli.com

Jason’s Deli is donating ten cents of each bottle of water they sell to support cancer research at MD Anderson Cancer Center. As of August 2015 we have raised $440,332.98 for cancer research! Photograph: Melinda, Kobee and Hadley Cohen

Great Kid’s Menu - organic apple juice, organic low-fat white or chocolate milk and FREE Ice Cream! No styrofoam • Eco-friendly to-go containers • Organic Ingredients go into dozens of menu items and are found on the Salad Bar! 0% Artificial Trans Fats • 0% Processed MSG • 0% Nitrites • 0% Artificial Colors and Dyes • 0% High Fructose Corn Syrup

Parents and Kids

DR. B

Christmas Trees

DECEMBER TOPIC: HOLIDAY SAFETY TIPS

By Gerard J. Billmeier, Jr., M.D.

Here are a few tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics to help parents plan for a safe holiday season.

• • • • •

When purchasing a live tree, consider a replantable fir tree to aid in conserving trees in the environment. Whether a cut tree or replantable, check for freshness - green in color, needles do not break or readily drop from the tree. Make sure the tree is set up at home safely away from fireplaces or space heaters. Keep the tree stand filled with water as heated rooms can dry out a tree quickly. When buying an artificial tree, look for the label "Fire Resistant".

• • • • • •

Check all tree lights for frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections. Make sure outdoor lights are certified for outdoor use. Use hooks or insulated tacks for outdoor lights. Plug outdoor lights into outlets on circuit breakers to avoid potential shocks. Never use electric lights on a metal tree. Always turn off tree lights at bedtime or when leaving home to avoid fires.

• • • • • •

Always use flame-resistant materials to trim a tree. Select tinsel made of plastic or non-leaded materials. Avoid lighted candles on the tree. Avoid trimmings that resemble food or candy that may tempt small children. Use caution when handling "angel hair" (wear gloves) or artificial snow spray. Keep breakable decorations or those with small removable parts out of the reach of small children.

Decorative Lights

Holiday Decorations

Safe Toys • • • •

Select toys that are age appropriate to minimize safety hazards for younger kids. Always read instructions carefully before allowing a child to use a new toy. Avoid choking hazards for small children - puzzles, games, etc. Keep button batteries and magnets away from young children - swallowing one can cause serious illness and even death. • Beware of uninflated or broken balloons around children under 8 which can cause choking or suffocation.

Fireplaces

• Make sure the flue is open before lighting a fireplace. • Be cautious with ''fire salts" which contain heavy metals and can be toxic to children. • Avoid burning wrapping paper in the fireplace which can cause a flash fire.

Holiday Parties

• Remove all leftover food, alcohol and tobacco items after a party to avoid toddlers consuming such things. • Keep a list of important phone numbers for your use or the babysitter's including police, fire department, your pediatrician and the National Poison Help Line (1.800.222.1222). Adhering to these simple tips for holiday safety should give you peace of mind toward your child's safety and ensure a happy holiday season for the entire family.

Parents

Evergreen Rain Garden

A rain garden is a shallow depression (bowl or bioretention cell), generally planted with deep-rooted native plants and grasses. Rain gardens are designed to withstand extremes of moisture and nutrient concentrations (such as nitrogen and phosphorous) found in storm water runoff. Native plants and grasses develop or occur naturally in particular places or regions, and they are essential to healthy insect life. In addition to being beautiful, rain gardens have many benefits, including propagation of native species and habitat support for butterflies and insects. In Midtown Memphisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thriving Evergreen Historic District neighborhood, a group of neighbors came together to create Evergreen Rain Garden, a demonstration project to beautify the neighborhood and raise awareness of the importance of residential storm water management. In February 2014, with the support of the Evergreen Historic District Association, neighbors decided to try to beautify a long-untended, vacant lot that was leftover from the citizen-defeated I-40 route through Midtown. Using IOBY (In-Our-Back-Yard, www.ioby.com/ memphis), a crowd-resourcing platform that had just come to Memphis, volunteers raised $1,375 from 30 donors for soil, plants, mulch and tiller rental. In October 2014, a group of 13 dedicated volunteers worked for almost 40 hours to remove and improve soil, then plant 54 plants and mulch them to make the shallow bowl garden known as Evergreen Rain Garden. By spring of 2015, the eight types of flowers, bushes and grasses in Evergreen Rain Garden were starting to thrive. The early spring beauty of the garden inspired Evergreen Historic District Association to donate funds for planting a companion bee and butterfly garden. These two 10x20 foot gardens provided passers-by with a lovely vista and inspired one neighbor to plant a patch of zinnias in the lot! One visitor counted 12 different types of butterflies in late summer! While growing season is over this year, neighbors plan to plant two more small flower gardens next year to build on our picturesque and productive NEST@Peach (N. Evergreen Street & Peach Avenue). For some great resources and a history of the garden, as well as a slide-show about rain gardens, visit their web site at www.evergreenraingarden.org.

by Robyn Mace

February, 2014 - the corner of Evergreen and Peach

October, 2014 - the corner of Evergreen and Peach - work begins

Parents and Kids

Fall 2015

TEACH YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT RECYCLING!

What is recycling? To ”recycle” something means to process materials for another use. Ask students what they know about recycling and why they think it is so important.

Questions to encourage classroom participation: “Does your family recycle at home?” “Do they take the recycling to a facility or put it on the curb with the rest of the trash?” “How do you help with recycling at home?”

Explain that when recycling is picked up, it goes to a facility where the different materials are separated. The materials are then cleaned, broken down and turned into new products. Sometimes the material from one item will be used to create an entirely different item. For instance, a water bottle can be recycled into an article of clothing or an area rug.

Which Items Can Be Recycled?

Test students’ knowledge by listing various items and asking whether they can be recycled. To make the lesson more engaging, bring in each of the items you plan to list and place two bins in front of the class, one labeled “Recycling” and the other labeled “Trash”. Let students line up, pick an item and place it in the bin where they think it belongs. Make a sign that says: “Can you guess whether each of these items can be recycled or not?”

by Nikki Schroeder

PLAY. . . For young children, play is more than just a pastime.

It is critical for brain development and cognitive abilities like language, memory, and attention. Unfortunately, parents often

underestimate the importance of play. Too often, our hectic daily lives crowd out opportunities to engage in play with our children.

Play allows children to explore and master their environment.

While manipulating toys and other objects, a child learns about the properties of the physical world and builds mental models that will serve as the

foundation of thought and language. Through playful interactions with parents and caregivers, she learns emotional, behavioral and social skills.

Parents can promote their childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development by remembering to set aside time for sharing simple, unstructured activities. Even the simplest or silliest forms of play are exercise for a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing brain.

Stay tuned each month for more on TOUCH. TALK. READ. PLAY.

See if you can find the 9 differences in the two photos below.

sponsored by

k i r by p i n e s. c o m

Grandparent of the Month - Sylvia Statham ~ by Jesse Latimer

Sylvia has had many interesting adventures during her lifetime which once included hanging out with Elvis! She met her husband, Paul, in 9th grade when she was 14 and he was 15 and two weeks after Sylvia graduated from her RN program, they were married! During her earlier years, you could catch Sylvia anywhere from Graceland to the Med where she was a registered nurse. While she was busy with her life in Memphis, her soon-to-be husband, Paul, was in the Air Force as a flight surgeon! Can you say cool?! Sylvia and Paul had one son, Kevin, who attended Briarcrest High School where he met his bride to be. He currently works at Fedex as an engineer, while Laura, his wife, started working as a school teacher, but has since decided to become a registered nurse . . . I guess it runs in the family! But make no mistake, they have had a handful . . . I mean 3 boys! Can you imagine the grocery bill!? The boys' names are Ben, Jacob and Nathan who are not so much boys anymore. Ben works as a paramedic in the county while his new wife, Sharon, is going to school to be a dental hygienist. His brother, Jacob, while living in Savannah, Georgia, works on the cutting edge of technology as a barber! Nathan, on the other hand, is in a bit dirtier field of work, currently in school to be a car mechanic.

Someone once said "Life is what you make it!", and if you ask anyone that has been around Sylvia, they would agree that she has made a great life with her always positive attitude and bubbly personality! She is currently living at Kirby Pines and is very involved with all the activities, especially the Traveling Club. Throughout Sylviaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, no matter what is going on, she always has a smile and always trying to help others . . . that is why the staff here at Kirby Pines Retirement Community want to say, "Way to go Sylvia!"

GRANDPARENTS TRIVIA FUN! Vintage Christmas Carol Trivia!

1. Who wrote the Christmas Carol "Sleigh Ride?" A. John Williams B. Irving Berlin C. Leroy Anderson D. Scott Joplin

2. In what movie did the song "White Christmas" first appear? A. The Bishop's Wife B. Holiday Inn C. Miracle on 34th Street D. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

3. In the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" what gift did her true love give to her on the eleventh day? A. Eleven maids a milking B. Eleven lords a leaping C. Eleven geese a laying D. Eleven pipers piping

4. This popular carol was composed in an emergency - the church organ broke down on Christmas Eve. Which one is it? A. The First Noel B. Away in a Manger C. Silent Night D. Little Drummer Boy 5. In which Christmas song was the night referred to as "so deep"? A. Silver Bells B. Oh Holy Night C. The First Noel D. Silent Night

6. In what year did Gene Autry record "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?" A. 1949 B. 1959 C. 1939 D. 1969

7. What is the next line of lyrics after this phrase: "Oh, the weather outside is frightful"? A. On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day B. But as long as you love me so C. But the fire is so delightful D. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! 8. Which song sings about "star of wonder"? A. Silent Night B. We Three Kings of Orient Are C. Oh Little Star of Bethlehem D. Oh Holy Night 9. Which composer wrote the music for the ballet "The Nutcracker Suite"? A. Wagner B. Mozart C. Tchaikovsky D. Beethoven

10. In the song "A Holly Jolly Christmas," of what are you urged to have a cup? A. Joy B. Tea C. Cheer D. Meade

Grandparents

Answers on page 22

On Facebook and around Memphis!

Answers to JabberGenius on page 20:

Answers to the Jabber Jokes on page 4: 1. Nothing, it was on the house! 2. Pineapple. 3. Santa Pause. 4. Because he had the drumsticks. 5. Jingle smells. Answers to Be Green Like Us on page 7: 1. Reduce Waste 2. Waste Not 3. Not Polluted 4. Polluted River 5. River Conservation 6. Conservation of Energy Answers to the Grandparents Trivia on page 19: 1. C. Leroy Anderson 2. B. Holiday Inn 3. D. Eleven pipers piping 4. C. Silent Night 5. C. The First Noel 6. A. 1949 7. C. But the fire is so delightful 8. B. We Three Kings of Orient Are 9. C. Tchaikovsky 10. C. Cheer Answers to the Bank Tennessee Riddle on page 23: 1. Since the money in the piggy bank doubles with each passing day, the piggy bank will be half-full the day previous to the one on which it gets full. Thus, the piggy bank will be half-full on the 10th day. You will have $10.64 on day 11.

answers on page 22