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Around The World – July 2020

The United States Of America July 4 is America’s birthday. If you haven’t heard the story by now, you are missing a good one! On June 7, 1776, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. The colonists were frustrated. It was Richard Henry Lee who submitted the resolution claiming the 13 colonies should be independent from Britain. By July 1, Thomas Jefferson had drafted the Declaration of Independence, and the Continental Congress was ready to reconvene and take action. Twelve of the 13 colonies were in agreement. Only New York refused to vote. After some minor revisions, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and America was born! The very next year, on July 4, 1777, people celebrated America’s birthday with fireworks. It’s a tradition that continues to this day. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, also celebrates its independence this month, but on July 1. On that date in 1867, the British Parliament passed the British North America Act, making Canada a self-governing nation. Originally, the holiday was known as Dominion Day, but it was changed to Canada Day by the Canadian Parliament on Oct. 27, 1982.

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Come Out and Play

Come Out and Play – July 2020

Improvisation It is a style of performance that was made popular by David Shepherd and Paul Sills in Chicago in 1955. It is a type of theater, but it is unique because there are no scripts. Instead, actors go out on stage and spontaneously make up the scenes they perform. There are two types of improv: long form and short form. In long form, the actors create scenes that can last over 20 minutes. Short form is usually more like short games that are over in just a couple minutes. Here are a few short form improv games that anyone can play. AND THEN is a short form improv game made for a group of people. • Everyone sits together in a circle, and someone starts a story. • After a few sentences, the speaker says, “and then.” • Then the story moves over to the next person who continues telling it. • The story goes around in a circle until it is over. • The idea is to create a story together that makes sense. • No one should tell more than a few sentences of the story at a time. Another game is called EMOTIONAL MIRROR. • This game must be played in pairs. • The two players should face each other and talk in gibberish. • Gibberish is a made-up language that means nothing but sounds like language. • One partner should speak gibberish and try to display a specific emotion. • The other partner should copy this emotion in their own gibberish. • After a few minutes, the partner should switch emotions. A third improv game is FREEZE & JUSTIFY • This is also played by groups. • Two actors step up and start improvising a scene. • The rest of the group stands around them, and at any moment, someone can shout, “Freeze!” • The actors must freeze, and who ever stopped the scene taps an actor on the shoulder, and they switch places. • After the switch is complete, a new scene must start. • The goal is for the change between scenes to be smooth. There is no right or wrong scene in improv. For all these games, the goal is just to have fun and work together as a team. For more information, visit the following sites: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/631.html http://www.childdrama.com/warmups.html http://www.kidactivities.net/post/improv-games-and-exercises.aspx

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Kidsville Connections

Kidsville Connections – July 2020

HEROES protecting people from harsh leaders, enemies becoming best friends, friends having adventures together, losing people you love, searching for the meaning of life — these are all common themes in stories. In fact, the Epic of Gilgamesh, what is commonly known as one of the oldest surviving written stories of all time, includes all of these. Written on stone tablets, the earliest version of the story dates back to the 18th century B.C.E. and takes place in Mesopotamia, which includes modern-day Iraq and Kuwait and parts of Syria and Turkey. Gilgamesh, who is half man/half god, is the king of Uruk. He’s handsome and brave, but he’s not a nice king. He’s so mean, in fact, that the gods create a wild man named Enkidu to keep the king from hurting the citizens. Enkidu challenges King Gilgamesh to a fight. The king wins, but the two become friends and head out on an adventure. They travel to the Cedar Forest, kill the forest guardian and cut down the Sacred Cedar. Later, they kill the Bull of Heaven. The gods are furious and sentence Enkidu to death, and he gets sick and dies. Gilgamesh is crushed by the loss of his friend. To make himself feel better, he sets out to find the secret of eternal life. In the end, he finds out from a wise man that, “life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let death be his share, and life withheld in their own hands.” It’s not unusual for people to make up stories with their kings as heroes. It’s a way to honor their leaders. Stories have other functions, too. They entertain us. They teach us things. They inspire us. They are often a record of historical facts. Before stories were written, one of the most effective and efficient ways to pass down lessons, history and other facts was by telling someone else. It’s still a great way to pass along information and to make someone think, smile or laugh

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Kids

Conservation Corner – July 2020

Did you know? Once a term that dominated newspaper headlines and environmental discourse, “global warming” is now heard far less frequently. Many may assume global warming has been rebranded as “climate change,” but the two are not one and the same. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, global warming refers exclusively to the earth’s rising surface temperature, while climate change includes global warming but also its side effects. Such side effects include the melting of the world’s glaciers and the growing frequency of drought and heavier rainstorms. Global warming is also used most often to refer to warming caused by humans, while climate change is a term used when discussing environmental changes that are human-caused or natural.

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Where in the World

Where in the World – July 2020

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a region between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in southwestern Asia. Today the region is part of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. This region is famous because it is where civilization was first started by the first people who lived there: the Sumerians. The Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers make the land fertile, but getting enough water was still a problem. Instead of relying on the rare rains, the Sumerians invented irrigation. They dug canals to move water from the rivers to large areas of land. The rivers provided a steady supply of water. Artificial irrigation allowed people to start farming in this region without relying on rainfall. The farms could produce so much food that not every person had to farm to survive. Some people could farm, and others could trade, build and invent. • Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between two rivers.” • The Sumerians were the first people to live in Mesopotamia, and they lived in a bunch of small city-states. Each city had its own king who ruled the city and the farms around it. • The Akkadians united all the small city-states into one large empire and changed the main language of the area called Akkadian. • The Babylonians came next in the region. • They created the most powerful city: Babylon. The Babylonians spread their empire across the Middle East. • The Babylonians created the oldest written law in the world: The Code of Hammurabi The Hammurabi Code is an important part of the history of Mesopotamia. It is named after the Babylonian King who created it: Hammurabi. This King ruled from 1792 to 1749 B.C.E. We know about the code because 282 laws were recorded on large clay tablets. These clay tablets were spread all over Babylon so that the citizens would know the rules of the land. The laws covered issues like trade, theft, trade, divorce and slavery. For more information visit the following sites: http://www.ancient.eu/Mesopotamia/ http://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_mesopotamia.php https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia ?

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Weather

Weather – July 2020

Have Fun at the Beach, but Stay Safe! The summer months are the perfect time for a beach trip. However, it’s important to know the facts about beach safety when planning your next trip — the ocean can be dangerous if you’re not prepared. Many beaches use warning flags to indicate dangerous conditions. When going to the beach, be on the lookout for signs that indicate what the different warning flags mean. In this way, if you see a warning flag being used, you can know what to look out for. However, not all beaches use warning flags, and the warning flags may be different from beach to beach. One of the beach’s biggest dangers are rip currents. Rip currents are narrow, powerful currents of water that are found at the nation’s surf beaches. They can quickly carry you away from the shore and even cause drowning. Each year, over 100 people in the United States die due to rip currents. If you get caught in a rip current the best thing to do is not swim against the current, relax and float. If possible, escape the current by swimming in a direction toward the shoreline. If unable to escape the current, face the shore and call or wave for help. The chance of drowning at a beach with lifeguards is very small (a chance of 1 in 18 million). Rip currents aren’t the only danger in the water — waves can also be dangerous. Plunging waves are the most dangerous type of breaking waves. They can easily slam your body into the ocean floor. Many spinal and head injuries are caused in this way. Surging waves can also be dangerous as they can easily knock you over as they rush up and back down the beach. Even small waves can be dangerous. REMEMBER: STAY DRY WHEN THE WAVES ARE HIGH! When the waves aren’t high and you’d like to enjoy some time in the water, it’s always important to enter the feet first. Don’t dive in head-first because if the water is shallow, you can cause serious injuries if your head hits the bottom. Heat and sun safety are two other things to keep in mind when at the beach. It’s important to always wear sunscreen to protect yourself against UV exposure when you’re going to be in the sun for an extended period of time. You’ll also want to make sure that you stay hydrated. Additionally, it helps to wear lightcolored clothes, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Lastly, always pay attention to the weather. If a thunderstorm is approaching, immediately take shelter indoors or in a hard-topped vehicle to avoid being struck by lightning. Beach activities are the second greatest cause of lightning fatalities. So now you know a few good tips to help make your trip to the beach a safe one! For more information about beach safety, visit http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/beach_hazards.html

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Wildville

Wildville – July 2020

Domesticated Animals The Fertile Crescent is an area in Southwest Asia. It includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, the state of Palestine, Egypt, Turkey and Iran. This part of the world is known for its hot and dry climate, which makes it difficult for anything to live or grow. However, the Fertile Crescent surrounds the Nile River, the Euphrates River and the Tigris River. The rivers made this land fertile and more able to support life. Animals and people have lived here for thousands of years, despite the harsh climate. The people who first lived here, in what was called Mesopotamia, changed the relationship between people and animals through domestication. • Domestication is when people take wild animals and make them tame. • This is done through breeding the animals and having the animals interact with humans. • It takes many years for an animal to be domesticated. • Domesticated animals become dependent on humans and can’t live in the wild. • These animals usually serve as pets or work animals. • Sheep, goats and pigs were domesticated by 7000 B.C.E. • Cows, donkeys and oxen were domesticated later. • These animals were important to the survival of humans in Mesopotamia. • They helped provide food and resources and worked on the farms. • Plants can also be domesticated. • When something is domesticated, it becomes different from its wild relatives — like the differences between wild wolves and domesticated dogs. Domesticating plants and animals was an important step for people. With animals like oxen and donkeys helping to do work on the farms, people could grow more food. When the farms produced more food than everyone needed, not everyone had to spend their time farming. Some people could farm, and others could do different kinds of work like building, baking or trading. This was the beginning of society and the cities that we know and live in today. For more information visit the following sites: http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/365903/Animals-In-Ancient-Mesopotamian-Life/ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/domestication/ https://sites.google.com/site/1ancientcivilizationsforkids/ancient-iraq-mesopotamia

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Cultural Connections

Cultural Connections – July 2020

Imagine the World with No Written Communication No street signs, no texting, no symbols for gaming controllers, no books. Thousands of years ago, there was no writing. People had to talk to each other to transfer information. As societies moved from hunting and gathering to farming, people stopped moving around as much. They needed a way to keep track of their crops. Rulers wanted a way to keep track of things like taxes. It was the Mesopotamians who are credited with the first form of writing in 3100 B.C.E. They used it to keep records. These first writings were nothing like the complex alphabet system we use today. They are called pictographs. They were more like pictures, sort of like emojis, but for business. Scribes used pointed tools to draw on soft clay. Many of the tablets discovered by archaeologists have information about barley crops on them. Barley was a major crop in Mesopotamia. By 3500-3000 B.C.E., the pictograph system had evolved into cuneiform writing. The city of Uruk is credited with advancing this type of writing. To write in cuneiform, scribes used a stylus with a wedge on the end to make impressions that represented words and images into soft clay. This form of writing spread to all of Mesopotamia where people used this type of writing until about 100 B.C.E., which is when alphabet-like script came into existence. For more information, visit the following sites: http://www.ancient.eu/cuneiform/ http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/story/sto_set.html

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Kidsville Kitchen

Kidsville Kitchen – July 2020

Try Your Hand at Homemade Ice Cream! Summer is the season for ice cream. Dessert-loving foodies can try their hands at making their own creamy confections, such as the following recipe for “Blueberry Ice Cream” from Lou Seibert Pappas’ Ice Creams & Sorbets (Chronicle Books). Blueberry Ice Cream Makes about 1 quart 2 cups fresh blueberries 2 tablespoons water 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 2⁄3 cup sugar, divided 11⁄2 cups half-and-half or milk 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Rinse the berries and pick out any bad ones. Place in a small saucepan with the water and cook over low heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and purée in a blender or food processor. In a small bowl, mash the zest with 1 teaspoon of the sugar to release the oils. In a small saucepan, combine the half-and-half with the remaining sugar, stirring until dissolved; let cool to room temperature. Stir in the blueberry purée, cream, sugared zest, juice and vanilla. Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream is almost frozen, churn about 1 minute more. Transfer to a container, cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

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What’s It Like To be

What’s it like to be a storyteller?

Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself. My name is Len Cabral, and I am a full-time storyteller. I have been sharing stories with children in grades K through 12 for 40 years. I travel and perform nationally and internationally at festivals, museums, theaters and educational conferences. I tell folktales, legends and fairy tales from around the world and original tales with some poetry thrown in for good measure. When did you know you wanted to be a storyteller? I didn’t know about storytelling when I was growing up. I knew that I loved it when my teachers read aloud to the class. I still love to hear people read aloud, and I like to read aloud myself even when I’m by myself. When I was a kid, I was not any different from you. I thought I’d be a fireman or football player or basketball player, typical boy stuff. I did know that whatever I did when I grew up, I wanted to enjoy it. I feel blessed that I have a job that I enjoy. Why is it important? I realized the importance of storytelling when in the early 1970s I was working in a daycare center and I oversaw 15 five-year-olds. That is when I discovered the importance of storytelling as a teaching tool. The teachers that we remember best from our years of schooling were the ones that told stories because stories connect us to each other and help build community. Stories also help us understand each other and lead listeners to an area of compassion and empathy What is one thing you wish everyone knew about telling stories? That all our ancestors, no matter where they came from, all told stories. Since the beginning of time, people have told stories, and we still tell stories — so it must be important. I want adults to know when their children ask them for a story, they are not asking for an epic. They just want to hear a story. They want to know the time you got bit by a dog! About the time you almost got bit by a dog but ran faster than you thought you could! (That’s a story with a happy ending!) They also want to know if you ever cut yourself and had to get stitches. They want to know how you got that scar on your arm or leg or hand. I want adults and parents to tell stories to their children. What is your favorite thing about your job? Seeing the sense of wonder on the faces of the listeners, children and adults, and also making people aware of the pleasure and power of the spoken word.

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