Nudge a Noodle!: Inspire your child to love learning!

Let's Talk Turkey: Turkey Facts

Turkeys get no respect: Apart from their dubious fame as center of the Thanksgiving table, how much do any of us really know about turkeys? A friend of mine drove into a flying turkey on a highway (and thankfully wound up fine -- except for her windshield.) The first words out of every body's mouths were, "Turkeys fly??????"

10) Wild turkeys do fly, while their heavier, domestic pals cannot. Up to 55-mph, apparently!

9) Domestic turkeys have been bred to be heavier. Nearly twice the weight of wild turkeys. Typically, they are the guys who grace our plates.

8) Wild turkey heads can change color in a flash (blue, white, red, or pink pigments) when the bird is upset or excited.

7) Only male turkeys (toms) "gobble."

6) Most of the colors have been bred out of domestic turkeys. They are typically white.

5) A wild turkey's "gobble" can be heard a mile away.

4) Turkeys have a 270-degree field of view.

3) Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, rather than the bald eagle. On a personal note, I find the thought of a turkey emblazoned on our currency to be rather funny.

2) Big Bird's costume (on Sesame Street) is made of 4,000 turkey feathers dyed yellow!

1) My favorite fact: Turkeys have weird names for parts of their face: The wattle or dewlap (the growth under the chin,) the caruncles (fleshy bumps on the head,) and the snood (that bit of flesh that hangs over the beak.)

My goal for today: To use the word, "snood" in a sentence.

 

Redesign the Dollar Bill?

PHOTO: AMAGILL

Tired of our paper currency? Same old, same old? Wish our money had more pizazz?
Whether or not you think the U.S. could stand a change, here's a fun challenge to pose to your kids: Re-design the dollar bill!

That's what Richard Smith has challenged our entire country to try. Smith, a creative strategy consultant, believes that snazzing up our currency will help to boost the economy. While I'm not so sure I agree something like that will work (a wallet empty of green bills is the same as an empty wallet of redesigned bills to me!), I figure it can't hurt. Smith's Dollar ReDe$ign Project received a vast array of entries and they sure are fun to look at. The entry period is over, but voting on designs is still going on.

Regardless of what you think of the concept and the designs, think of the great conversations you can have with your kids concerning our paper money:

• Explain the images on our current bills.
• Ask them to design a bill using something old and something new. (What new symbol has meaning to them when it comes to our country?
• Should the new bill be one color or lots of colors? Which colors?
• Visit the U.S. government kids' site. Lots of great links for learning about money.

So, what do you think? Could we stand a design overhaul on paper money? If so, what should it look like? From the contenders in the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, I like Carlos Carillos' design and Sean Flannagan's best.

 

 

Shakespearian Source

Amanda has been asking me about Shakespeare lately. Since she's 8, I didn't think giving her my huge volume of the Complete Works of Shakespeare would do much for her. I began searching for some kid resources. Well, I didn't need to go far. A whiz of a homeschooling mom named "Jimmie" has compiled an amazing list of resources on Shakespeare For Children as a Squidoo lens. Please check it out! And visit her many other lenses as well. Very inspiring. And for me, exhausting, because I now have so many ideas running through my head and so little time on my hands that I'm getting flustered!

Enjoy!

 

Bite of Film History

For kids who love movies and film, you might want to introduce them to Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen was a pioneer in fantasy films and stop-motion art. My son has been bitten by the "film producing bug" (God help me & him!) and Harryhausen is now his idol (next to Lucas and Spielberg!)

So, my son is now try his hand at stop-motion using Lego's, Bionicles and clay. We've been quite impressed with the results! It's teaching him some patience, that's for sure.

HIstory of Valentine's Day

Sure, you could make something up about where Valentine's Day came from, but the History Channel has a whole bunch of fun info about the History of Valentine's Day.....  The truth is that the origins of this holiday is sort of a big mystery involving various legends. Personally...I'm just glad that somehow chocolate got involved!

Speaking of chocolate, how many of you parents sneak the stuff from your kids? And if you do...do you feel guilty? We all reprimanded my husband last night as my daughter caught him sneaking a piece of her stash!

ELECT TO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!

It's finally Election Day! More importantly (ehem) it's my birthday! Yay! However, my birthday doesn't affect the country. So, rather than tell you that I want cupcakes from Magnolia bakery tonight, that the present I want is for my preferred candidate to win, and that I'm desperately trying to ignore this is my last year in my thirties, I'll just say:

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Where does Obama stand on Education? 

Where does McCain stand on Education? 

If you can, bring your kids into the voting booth with you! Especially if they've been studying the election process in school and/or at home.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The truth of the matter.

Halloween is upon us and parents all over this great country of ours are preparing to try out new and inventive ways of sneaking the chocolate loot from their childrens' trick-or-treat bags. Oh, how horrible, you say? Come on, be truthful now! I'm not the only one! And, if not the chocolate, you want the Skittles. Personally, I'm after the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Fortunately, my husband hates peanut butter.

I'm a total hippocrite, though. Do I give out Reeses Peanut Butter Cups at the door? Oh, no. Typically, I try to give out non-chocolate items so that I'm not tempted by the leftovers. If I make a good choice like that, then I am vindicated from sneaking them out of the kids' bags. See how it works? Sigh.

However, if we're going to go with the premise that Halloween is actually for kids, you might as well let them know the history of Halloween. Ice cream kings, Ben & Jerry, have a fun site complete with history, crafts, and games.   http://www.benjerry.com/halloween/history

For ages 8 - 11, "Halloween Facts and Fun," is an entertaining non-fiction title about Halloween's History.  

Just for fun, for adults, once the kids are in bed, watch "Sleepy Hollow" with Johnny Depp. Hmm...that didn't sound right. But, by all means, if you can watch it with Johnny Depp, go for it! My husband and I love this creepy, quirky film and try to watch it every Halloween. When our kids are older, it will be fun to include them as well.

So, go ahead...clear your conscience...which candy do you sneak from your kids' bags?

Olympic Spirit

Where is Beijing? What's China like? The 2008 Olympics is a prime opportunity to introduce kids to another culture. There's a great article about China for kids at:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/YAK01/805130315/1073/YAK

The Internet Public Library offers a fun site for getting to know other cultures at: http://www.ipl.org/youth/cquest/

To talk about the history of the Olympics, you can find lots of facts at http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/ancient/index_uk.asp.  Want to start a round of giggles? Tell the kids how the Ancient Greeks had to compete in the Olympics naked. I also got comments such as, "Cool!" and "You mean...like...no underwear?"

WORLD EXPLORATION

I am sooo excited! Can't wait for the kids to wake up tomorrow, because I want to share My Wonderful World.org with them! This site provides an opportunity to explore countries and continents virtually via amazing links.

Sure, I'd rather actually take the kiddies to some of these places. However, with the price of gas these days, I'm not itching to drive to the beach, let alone travel the U.S. by car, or pay for plane fuel via current airline ticket prices! I've become so shell-shocked over gas prices that hit over $4.00 a gallon, that I've taken to only filling the tank half-way. Yeah, I know I'm spending the same over the long haul. But, paying around $30 per gas station visit actually saves me money by preventing me from driving out of there in a catatonic state resulting in hundreds or thousands of dollars in body work.

Anyway, kids of all ages can find maps, games, virtual experiences, and world news at http://www.mywonderfulworld.org.  Plus, one of the links there(http://www.nationalgeographic.com/onestop/) will take you to National Geographic's phenomenal One-Stop Research site. Take note of this link to help your student find report resources, or just share it with them for exploring their favorite topics.

Diggin' Into History

Before history got boring for me in Junior High, I can remember getting crazy-excited over finding things that were really old. I loved archaeology and antique stores were magical to me...like stepping back in time. What a shame my JHS teachers weren't more creative with their lesson plans. I remember reading texts aloud, copying off the blackboard and lectures delivered with all the flavor of a cucumber.

I've started to latch onto an interest in archaeology again as an adult, but, my kids are at that stage where they are naturally drawn to it. That's probably why my interest is renewed! I'm hoping they'll keep that curiosity.

I just found a real cute, attention-grabbing web site about digging into the past via a farmstead in West Virginia at http://www.kidsdigreed.com. It's designed for the grade school set and includes video footage of a dig, games, history, and a cow. Yes, a cow. A rather silly, ridiculous cow, but hey, I laughed!