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Letter From Truman

March 2014 Letter from Truman

March is Women’s History Month. It is a great time to take a look at some of the amazing women who have worked to make the world a better place . Check out “Connections” to learn about a few of these awesome women. “What’s It Like to Be” features an interview with Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller. Talk about an amazing person! She is one of our country’s most decorated athletes. That is definitely worth celebrating! Speaking of athletes, have you ever heard of fencing? It’s an Olympic sport that involves swords – real ones! Check out “Come Out and Play” and learn more about how fencing works. Your friend,

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Conservation Corner

Plastic Bottles

Plastic is used most everywhere in the modern world. Everything from wrappers on candy to water bottles is plastic. The beginning ingredients of plastics are either oil or natural gas, but adding other chemicals and treating them differently changes how the plastics work. If manufacturers use butadiene, the plastics are tougher. Even though there are several different kinds of plastic, and even more uses for it, only two things can happen after people are finished using it. Either the plastic can be recycled and used as something new, or it can be thrown away. If it is recycled, what happens depends on what type of plastic it is. A thermoplastic is recyclable because when recycling plants melt it down, it is easy to shape it into something new. Thermosets are a lot harder to recycle, and people usually just throw them away. Instead of molding these, manufacturers cure them. This makes them a lot tougher and heat resistant, but also means the recycling plant can’t melt them and reshape them. Thermosets make things like spatulas and electronic components. When thermoplastics are recycled, they have the ability to change from plastic bottles to jackets, but it takes a several-step process. First, garbage men collect the plastics and take them to a recycling facility. Next, large machines squeeze the plastics into large squares so they are easier to transport. Then machines clean and sort the different kinds of plastics because different plastics melt at different temperatures. Most places use machines called optical beams to do this. The next step is to grind the plastics into small pieces that machines clean and separate again. Some recycling plants will then melt the plastic into little beads that they sell to companies that use plastic. Companies then take the beads or flake and melt them down again and shape them into completely new things.

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Cool Kind Kid

Local Kids Start Anti-Bullying Campaign

The kids were all excited when they arrived for class today. As Ms. Gilmour greeted each one, they all said, “I’m a ‘Cool Kind Kid Challenger’” to her. She laughed when she realized that they had planned this ahead of time. They began talking all at once, trying to tell her things that had happened since their last class. She raised her hand to calm them down. Ms. Gilmour then asked if the kids remembered talking about writing a press release about being “Cool Kind Kid Challengers.” All said that they did. She continued, “What did we say was the reason for the press release?” Tanner spoke first. “So everyone will know about it.” Nicole then said, “So kids will know how to be one.” Rudy added, “So we can let people know where they can be a ‘Cool Kind Kid Challenger.’” “All good reasons,” replied Ms. Gilmour. Ms. Gilmour then asked, “Where should we send the press release?” Carmen said, “How about our local newspaper?” Truman the Dragon laughed and said, “The Dragon News!” Everyone laughed with him. Stephen thought posting it on the Internet was a good idea. Everyone agreed. Nicole said, “Let’s make posters out of the press release and hang them in our schools.” Ms. Gilmour said, “All good ideas. We need a catchy heading for the press release,” Ms. Gilmour continued. Tanner asked, “What about ‘Local Kids Start Anti-Bullying Campaign’?” Nicole said, “I like it. It makes me want to learn more about it.” Ms. Gilmour said, “That’s exactly what the heading should do. Do you all like this heading?” The kids gave it six thumbs up. “Now we need to tell what the campaign is about,” said Ms. Gilmour. Truman the Dragon was first to say, “All kids can be ‘Cool Kind Kid Challengers.’” Rudy shared, “We are about helping kids reject bullying by being kind and cool.” Nicole added, “We challenge kids to be ‘Tough enough to be Kind.’” “And, ‘Cool enough to be Kind,’” added Stephen. Carmen said, “We want kids to know that they can stand up for kids who are being bullied, be their friend.” Nicole thought about that and said, “Sometimes kids who bully need a friend, too.” “What are a few challenge ideas we can add?” asked Ms. Gilmour. All hands went up. “Be Tough enough to stop someone from picking on a little kid on the playground,” said Rudy. “Be Cool enough to not spread gossip about someone,” added Carmen. Nicole added to that, “Be Cool enough to believe that everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect.” Tanner was thinking. “Let’s put in where to be a CKK Challenger. Do you like my abbreviation?” Everyone liked it. Truman started listing places. “School, playground, sports events, our neighborhoods and community places.” Rudy added, “Wherever we go, we can be CKK Challengers!” The kids couldn’t wait to see what kind of response their press release would bring.

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Kidsville Connections

March 2014 Connections

During the month of March, the contributions of women in the United States are celebrated during National Women’s History Month. This year, the theme for the month is Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment. This month we look at some women in our history who have demonstrated these characteristics.Babe Didrikson ZahariasBabe Didrikson Zaharias has been called the World’s Greatest Women Athlete. She was bornJune 26, 1911, in Port Arthur, Texas. Her real name was Mildred Ella Didrikson. There are twostories as to how she earned her nickname. One is that it was a name her grandmother called her; the other is the story she told, which is that she earned her nickname after hitting five home runs in a baseball game. Thus, her name was in honor of baseball great Babe Ruth. While participating in the 1932 Olympics, she won two gold medals and one silver medal in trackand field. In 1935, she began her professional golf career, becoming America’s first female golfcelebrity and the leading player of the 1940s and early 1950s. Babe died of cancer in 1956. Amy Elizabeth ThorpeAmy Thorpe is not a name that most people will know. Thorpe, born on November 22, 1910, inMinneapolis, Minn., was one of the most successful spies in history. Thorpe was a member of the World War II Office of Strategic Studies from which today’s SpecialOperations Forces have descended. During World War II, her code name was Cynthia. In one ofher many assignments, she persuaded an Italian Admiral, Alberto Lais, to give her all of the navy’s code and cipher books, as well as information that would disable ships. Her most famous assignment was in Vichy, France, where she solicited assistance from the French press officer, Charles Brousse, to gain information to use against the Nazi government occupying France. Jeannette Rankin Jeannette Rankin, born on June 11, 1880, was the first woman elected to the United States Congress. At the time Rankin was elected, only 40 states allowed women to vote. She was one of 50 members of Congress who voted against entry into World War I and the only member who voted against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1916 and to the U.S. Senate in 1940. Following her election in 1916, she said, “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last.”

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Kidsville Kitchen

Little-Known Food Facts Revealed!

What can a camel teach you about grilled cheese? Camels like the Sahara desert because it is dry. Grilled cheese sandwiches also like a hot and dry environment — the pan. Put the butter or oil on the outside of the bread, not in the pan.Become a food adventurerThe best cooks, hosts and shoppers have a well-rounded approach to the culinary world, including a wealth of helpful tips at their foodie fingertips. To show others how best to navigate their kitchens and grocery stores to create the most delicious and freshest dishes, food adventurer Marcy Smothers wrote her unique, fun-filled book SNACKS: Adventures in Food, Aisle by Aisle. While taking the reader on a journey through each grocery store aisle, culinary insights are served in fun, small bites. Here are a few of Smothers’quirky, fun facts you can use in your own food adventures:  Is your spinach a sunbather? Do you always grab the bag in the back to get the freshest one? That’s okay for salad greens, but not spinach. USDA research has shown that spinach packed in clear plastic containers and continuously exposed to supermarket lights maintains photosynthesis. The best bet for nutrition is the bag basking in the front.  Why should you listen to your knives? Not sure if it’s time to sharpen your knife? Listen to it. Carefully ping the blade. If you hear a high-pitched tone, the blade is still sharp. If you hear a dull tone, it’s time to sharpen the knife.  Should you blow-dry your chicken? The secret to a crispy chicken skin is starting with dry skin. The skin of a chicken is fifty percent water. Use a blow dryer on the no heat setting to draw out the moisture, and then roast the chicken in the oven. The book also includes original recipes, such as this one for Soupwiches, which combines the creaminess of tomato soup and grilled cheese in the same easy-to-enjoy sandwich. For more information, visit www.snacksthebook.com.SoupwichesServings: 4 as main course or 12 as an hors d’oeuvre1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature1/4 cup Campbell’s Tomato Soup, condensed (right from the can)1 tablespoon onion or shallot, minced2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded8 slices bread (English muffin bread, if available)Olive oil Mix the butter, soup, onion and cheese. Spread equal amounts of tomato soupcheese butter on four slices of bread. Top with the other bread slices. Press on the Soupwiches to seal. Using a pastry brush, lightly paint the outside of the Soupwiches on both sides with olive oil. Alternately, you can use soft or melted butter. Heat heavy or nonstick skillet on medium-high. When it is hot, add Soupwich. Squish and flip a few times until browned on both sides. (You can cook two at a time if your pan is big enough and you can manage twice the squishing and flipping.) Cool the Soupwiches for a few minutes. Slice in half, plate them and serve. If you are serving the Soupwiches as an hors d’oeuvre, remove the crusts and cut into fours on the diagonal. Still want soup? Go ahead and make the rest of it. Be sure to fill the can 3/4 full with water, not all the way to the top.

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Space Place

Bright Flash on the Moon Leads to a New Crater

On March 17, 2013, a meteor the size of a small boulder traveling more than 70 times the speed of a bullet crashed into the surface of the Moon. It created an explosion so bright that it could be seen from Earth — without a telescope! Scientists think that the force of the explosion was the same as about 5 tons of dynamite going off all at once. The whole thing was captured on video, too! NASA uses telescopes here on Earth to watch the Moon for impacts. NASA has been doing this since 2005. The March 17 impact was the largest they have ever seen. Scientists wanted to see what kind of damage this speeding rock caused. A couple of months later, NASA was able to use a spacecraft orbiting the Moon to zoom in on the area from the flash. They found a bright, white crater. It had to be the crater caused by the meteor. A picture from 2012 of the same place had no crater there! The Moon has a rich history of getting hit by meteors. Its surface is covered in all kinds of craters from impacts both big and small. Early on in its history, billions of years ago, the solar system was full of objects crashing into each other. Without weather or many of the geologic processes on Earth to remove them, lots of the craters on the Moon’s surface are from this ancient time. But that doesn’t mean that the Moon’s surface stopped changing after its hectic early years. Thanks to space rocks still zipping around our solar system today, the Moon’s surface is not frozen in time. Instead, its ancient features are dotted with the scars of impacts that have occurred to this day. As you look at the Moon in the night sky, let its cratered surface be a reminder of the power and wonder of our busy stellar neighborhood. To check out a video of the meteor hitting the moon and to learn more about this exciting event, check out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYloGuUZCFM.

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What’s It Like To be

What’s It Like to Be… an Olympic Gymnast?

Shannon Miller has won an astounding 59 international and 49 national competition medals. Over half of these have been gold. She is the only U.S. gymnast to win two World All-Around Titles, and she is the first American female to medal in the individual all-around of a non-boycotted Olympics. Her tally of five medals (two silver, three bronze) at the 1992 Olympics was the most won by a U.S. athlete in any sport. At the ’96 Games, she led the “Magnificent Seven” to the U.S. Women’s first-ever Team Gold, and for the first time for any American gymnast, she captured gold on the balance beam. She is the first American gymnast to win an individual gold medal at a fully attended Summer Games and cemented her place as the most accomplished gymnast, male or female, in U.S. Olympic history. Truman: What does it take to be a gymnast? Miller: A gymnast must have physical strength, flexibility, balance and agility. However, much of that will be learned over time. To do well, a gymnast needs to have a basic understanding of physics, the work ethic to repeat skills and routines numerous times and the ability to remain focused on a task. Most importantly, a gymnast must love and be passionate about the sport. Truman: When and why did you first become interested in gymnastics? Miller: I fell in love with gymnastics after following my older sister into the sport at the age of five. I had always wanted to be just like my big sis. After she decided to move onto swimming, I realized I enjoyed gymnastics too much to leave. Truman: What is the most challenging thing about being a gymnast? Miller: As with any sport, there are many challenges. And I think each gymnast has his or her own “biggest” challenge. My challenge was frustration. There were times I would get frustrated as a young gymnast to the point that I was unable to listen to the correction the coach was making. I had to learn that mistakes are part of the process. Mistakes are what help you learn. Truman: What is the best thing about being a gymnast? Miller: I loved competing for my country. There is nothing like standing on the podium, gold medal around your neck, U-S-A across your back seeing the American Flag being raised and hearing the sounds of my national anthem. It was wonderful to represent something so much bigger than just myself. Truman: What is your favorite thing to do that is not gymnastics related? Miller: I enjoy golf and reading. Truman: Thank you for sharing your story with me!

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Where in the World

Where in the World Is… France

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! Located at 47 °N and 2 ° East lies the country of France. Based on land area, France is the largest country in Western Europe. It is also one of the oldest. France has been a big part of world politics since the Middle Ages, and many famous people came from France: Charles Perrault lived from 1628-1703 and wrote fairy tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Voltaire lived from 1694-1778. He was a philosopher who helped to think of some of the ideas on which America was founded. Louis Pasteur lived from 1822 until 1895. He was a scientist, and he created a vaccine for rabies and a process called pasteurization, which makes milk safer to drink. Napoleon lived from 1769 until 1821. He was a soldier, and he made France one of the biggest and most powerful countries in the world while he was alive. Coco Chanel was also French. She lived from 1883-1972. She was very important in fashion, and her perfume is still very popular today. Joan of Arc is another important French woman. She was born in the early 1400s in the eastern part of France. Her village was called Domremy. While she was a young girl, England and France were at war because the English king felt that he should be the king of France as well. At the age of 12, Joan claimed that she started seeing visions from saints and angels. These visions guided Joan to help the French army, and she was made a co-commander. With her help, the French won many battles, but the English eventually captured and killed Joan. Since 1920, she has been the patron saint of France. Domremy where Joan was born is now called Domremy-la-Pucelle. It is in the Meuse Valley and is still a small village. Less than 300 people live there. Most of the people there are farmers, and the land is very green and beautiful. There are still buildings in the town that date back to Joan’s lifetime, including the house in which she was born.

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Story Time with Truman

Anna’s Story: Chapter Seven; On the Orphan Train

Our story so far: Anna ran away from the cigarmaker in the tenement and found help at the Children’s Aid Society. Now they are sending her out West. “It was still dark when they woke us,” Anna said, as she, Tommy and Jake sat on the grass under the cottonwoods behind the feed store. She looked out across the rail yard, remembering. “They gave me a suitcase and told me to put my things in it. And they told us to be quiet and not wake up the other children. I put my other dress and the rest of my clothes, and my comb and brush, into the suitcase and went downstairs. “They took us to Grand Central Station, and we got on a train. There were two grown-ups from the Society and 30 of us, all in the same train car. I was sitting with another girl, Jenny, but mostly it was boys.” Anna stopped for a moment. “And I thought about you, Jake, because there was a little boy there who was about four years old, with his big brother, who was seven, and they were going west together.” She sighed a sigh that caught in her chest like a sob. “I thought, if only we had gone to the Society when Mama died, we might have gone west together, too.” Jake reached over and put his hand on hers. “We’re here now, aren’t we?” “Ya,” she agreed. “But so much had to happen to us first, so many bad things.” “We’re here now,” Jake repeated. “Yes,” Anna said. “We’re here now. And there were brothers and sisters who didn’t get to be together, who went to different families. But they tried to keep them in the same town, so they could still visit each other, just like we can, I hope.” “Did they tell you very much about the LaRocques before you got here?” Tommy asked. “No, they didn’t know who would adopt me or where I would live,” Anna explained. “We sat in the train for a day until we got to St. Louis, and then our car was put on another train and we sat some more. “When we got to Kansas, they started stopping at different towns, and we would get out and they would take us someplace, like a church or a school. And there were people there who wanted to adopt a child to work on their farms or just to have a child because they didn’t have one. “We’d line up, and someone would tell about each of us, ‘This is Anna, she is nine years old and a Roman Catholic. She works hard and she can mend and help to cook.’ And people would come closer to look at you and they might ask you questions. If they wanted you, you went away with them. If nobody wanted you, you got back on the train and went to the next town.” “How many …” Tommy started to ask, then was embarrassed and stopped. “Four,” Anna said. “Denver was the fourth town where we stopped.” She smiled at Tommy’s embarrassment. “It’s all right. It made me ashamed the first time, when they didn’t want me. After that, it just made me a little sad, a little angry. Some of them didn’t say anything, but some of them would talk to each other like you weren’t even there. Some said I was too little to be useful. Some didn’t want a child with a German accent. Some didn’t want a Catholic. Most of them wanted boys anyway because they wanted a farm worker who would grow up and be able to lift heavy things, not just someone to work in the house. But those ones didn’t even come over to look at me. “The only thing that really made me sad was that Jenny, the girl I was sitting with, got adopted at the first place, and then I had to sit on the train alone until the next town,” she remembered. “After that town, though, another girl came and sat with me, because the person she was sitting with got adopted, too. “When we got to Denver, there were 14 of us left,” she recalled. “And it was the same as the other places, but there were more people because Denver is a city. “But they lined us up and told about each of us, and the LaRocques came up to talk to me, because they wanted a girl. They already had a son, Dennis, and he helped with the farming. They wanted a girl because Mrs. LaRocque can’t have more children, and I could help her in the house and in the farmyard.” Anna put her hand to her collar and touched the chain. “And they were Catholic, too.” “He seems nice,” Tommy said, looking over at the loading dock where Mr. LaRocque was helping load a wagon. “Yes. They are very nice people,” Anna agreed. “They didn’t just want a servant. They really wanted a daughter, and their son was ready to start his own life. They had saved forever so Dennis could buy a farm nearby when he grew up, and then he and Father would help each other. Instead, he wasted all the money on a gold mine with no gold.” “Why did he do that?” Jake asked. Anna shrugged. “He wanted to be rich. A man showed him a mine in the mountains, and there was gold ore all over the ground outside, so he bought it. But there was no gold inside the mine. The man just put the ore there to fool him.” They sat quietly, watching Mr. LaRocque work. Then Jake asked a question. “Is it wrong to cheat a thief?”

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Around The World

Noche de Brujas, Fallas, Holi

Noche du BrujasNight of the Witches, as it is translated, is celebrated the first Friday of March at Cerro Mono Blanco in Catemaco, Mexico. This festival, which features song and dance performances as well as a marketplace for all things magical, is just the place to go if you are looking for a lucky rabbit’s foot or a love potion. It is held on Laguna Catemaco, which is made up of several islands, including Isla de los Mono (Monkey Island). The island is home to dozen of macques. FallasFallas is celebrated March 12-19 in Valenica, Spain. It is also a celebration of spring. Throughout the festival, fallas, which are huge sculptures of papier mâché on wood built by teams of local artists, are placed throughout the city. Just like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, local community groups and neighborhoods sponsor their own fallas. More than 350 of these giant puppets are placed throughout the city. On the last day of the festival, the fallas are set on fire by the use of fireworks. HoliHoli is an annual festival held throughout India and Nepal. It occurs for three days around the March full moon. Holi is a celebration of the end of winter and a welcome to spring. On the last day of the festival, the people celebrate the Festival of Colors, where children and adults run through the street throwing colorful powder over each other and dump buckets of dyed water all over each other.

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