LEARNING

Lewis and Clark- USA

A detailed replica under glass of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition is viewed by school children at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 10, 2005. More than a million people came to the Portland world's fair and a century later the Oregon Historical Society is commemorating the event with the exhibit 'A Fair to Remember: The 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition.' (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

AP - Mar 15 7:05 AM

Protesting military occupation- Philippines

Filipino children with their face painted sit during a rally near the US embassy in Manila March 20, 2005. Philippine anti-U.S. activists protested continued American military occupation of Iraq. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

Reuters - Mar 19 11:51 PM

DETAILED NEWS

SCHOOLING

Eight-year-old Canadian fundraiser visits Thai children in tsunami-hit region - THAILAND

12:18 PM EST Mar 16

ALISA TANG

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050313/w031336.html

PATONG BEACH, Thailand (AP) - Most eight-year-olds visiting Thailand are probably keen to focus on playtime. But Bilaal Rajan, a Toronto boy who has raised millions of dollars for tsunami relief, was busy attending to his duties Sunday as a child spokesman for the United Nations' children's agency.

The day after the Dec. 26 disaster, Bilaal launched UNICEF's Canada Kids Earthquake Challenge, talking at schools and encouraging every child in Canada to raise $100 for UNICEF's work to help children in the affected areas. His efforts brought in $2.5 million.

HEADLINES

"You have not lived until you have done something for which someone cannot repay you," said the small doe-eyed boy.

Fundraising may seem an unusual activity for an eight-year-old, but Bilaal's father says his son has always been interested in helping others.

"Bilaal has always been very giving. It's in his nature," said Aman Rajan. "We've always fostered in him that there are people in the world who are needier than us, so when he sees need, he always says, 'Let's do something.' "

After the 2001 earthquake in India, Bilaal - then four - raised money by selling oranges door-to-door with his grandfather. For Haiti's hurricane relief, he raised $6,000 by selling cookies.

On Sunday, Bilaal was visiting this tsunami-hit area of southwestern Thailand as a child spokesman for UNICEF Canada, his first stop on a tour of some of the countries - Thailand, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia - devastated by the killer waves. Eleven countries in the Indian Ocean region were affected.

At the Ban Kalim elementary school here, some of the children lost homes and relatives. But they didn't talk about it during Bilaal's visit. Instead, one boy asked Bilaal what snow is like. A girl asked how many countries Bilaal has helped.

But they grew livelier when Bilaal brought out a toy for them.

As they pushed a flip-flopping capsule-shaped bean down the roller coaster ramp they had just built, Bilaal joined them on the floor, for a moment putting aside his adult fund-raising duties.

"It brings joy to my eyes to see kids happy and playing," Bilaal said afterward. "Why should children in other parts of the world not have what children in Canada have?"

HEADLINES

Schools full of sleepy kids!- USA

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7242_1279152,00180021.htm

ANI

London, March 14, 2005

American schools are full of sleepy fifth-grade students too tired to learn because of lost sleep due to fights with parents over bedtimes or staying up late to watch television, says a new study from Ball State University.

According to News Wise, a survey of 199 fifth graders found that majority of students regularly experience sleep loss and feel sleepy during the day at least two-to-four times weekly. Almost half admitted to having trouble waking up in the morning on school days.

The lack of a good night's sleep on a regular basis may leave some children suffering from negative changes in their behavior throughout the day, said Denise Amschler, a professor of physiology and health science.

"Sleep affects the health and well-being of children and plays a key role in preventing disease and injury, stability of mood and the ability to learn. If this study is a good indication, youngsters are not getting enough quality sleep. Elementary school-aged children require an average of 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night, and most aren't getting it", she said.

The study observed that 48 per cent of students admitted to arguing with their parents at least twice every week about when they should go to bed, 31.7 per cent indicated staying up late two-to-four times per week without their parents' permission and 30.2 per cent said they were staying up late five-to-seven nights per week when parents thought they were asleep.

" The presence of televisions and computers in children's bedrooms may play a key role in their decreased sleep time and subsequent daytime fatigue", Amschler said.

KATU 2 News - Portland, Oregon

www.katu.com

Kids' rooms are evolving into multimedia centers- USA

March 13, 2005

- By GENARO C. ARMAS

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - It wasn't too long ago that a kid with a stereo and television in his room might have been the coolest on the block. Now, that just makes him one of the crowd.

In the past five years, many children's rooms have evolved into multimedia centers, with cable or satellite hookups, computers and video game consoles.

For instance, 20 percent of youngsters age 8 to 18 can surf the Web from their bedrooms, double the figure from 1999, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released Wednesday.

That has helped turn kids into "media multitaskers," researchers suggest. Nearly one-third of kids say they chat on the phone, surf the Web, instant message, watch TV or listen to music "most of the time" while doing their homework.

What effect this behavior has on the often fragile ability of kids to focus is unclear because detailed research is fairly new, said Vicky Rideout, the foundation vice president who directed the study.

"We are not necessarily saying that kids spending more time with more media is a bad thing," Rideout said. "This is something all parents have to decide based on what age their kids are, how they are doing in school and the parents' own values." HEADLINES

Some of the blame - or praise - rests with the Internet and technology such as instant messaging, tools widely used for education and entertainment, said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"The parental fear is that this can't be good by splitting kids' attention into so many segments," Rainie said. "Yet the argument in favor of it is you are more efficient, you can do things on the fly that you couldn't do before."

Kaiser surveyed more than 2,000 third-graders through 12th-graders between October 2003 and March 2004 about their nonschool use of TV and videos, music, video games, computers, movies and print. The study included nearly 700 people who kept seven-day "media diaries."

On average, kids devoted six hours and 21 minutes a day to recreational media use, an increase of just two minutes from 1999, the Kaiser study found.

That still amounts to over 44 hours a week - four more hours than a parent's typical work week.

But 26 percent of kids in 2004 said they "multitasked" when using any form of media, compared with 16 percent five years earlier. That could mean a child is downloading music over the Internet while playing video games, or chatting online while watching a favorite TV show.

Over the same period the proportion of kids' homes that have two or more computers jumped from 25 percent to 39 percent, and the proportion with Internet access in the home grew from 47 percent to 74 percent.

The proportion of kids who had a VCR or DVD player in their room rose from 36 percent to 54 percent, while the proportion with cable or satellite TV in their own room grew from 29 percent to 37 percent.

Cable and satellite programming is not subject to the federal indecency guidelines that free, over-the-air broadcast TV and radio stations must follow.

Speaking at a Kaiser forum Wednesday, Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton said increased exposure to risque TV programming, violent video games, and salacious Internet sites have led to a "silent epidemic" of media sex and violence.

"Parents worry their children will not grow up with the same values they did because of the overwhelming presence of the media," said Clinton, D-N.Y. She called for closer attention by parents and government to what kids watch and play.

That goes beyond just keeping a time log of how much time they spend in front of the TV or the computer, said Donald Roberts, a Stanford University communications professor.

"It's not just the time, it's the messages. ... What are they learning from that time," Roberts said after the audience was shown clips of racy scenes from ABC's "Desperate Housewives," a Britney Spears video and other programs.

A majority of kids - 53 percent - in the Kaiser survey said their families had no rules for TV viewing. The remaining kids said they had rules, but just 20 percent said those guidelines were enforced most of the time.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

FOCUS: KIDS AND TECHNOLOGY

Wired for the digital world – COMPUTER WORLD

------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------

More and more, computers and other electronic devices are filling bedrooms of children, much to their delight. But how will this affect their development?

By EMMA D. SAPONG

News Northtowns Bureau

3/12/2005

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050312/1069543.asp

Derek Gee/Buffalo News

Sam Schwass, 16, a student at Sweet Home High School, plays video games on his computer. He said it's not uncommon for him to simultaneously do homework, listen to music and send Internet messages to his online friends.

Sam Schwass' bedroom is an entertainment wonderland.

It's furnished with all the popular electronics - from PlayStation 2 and Xbox to two well-equipped computers to a DVD player and a VCR.

With so many interactive entertainment options, the 16-year-old would seem to have it all. He doesn't think so.

"I want more," he said. "I need a new computer and more games. Computer upgrades come out monthly."

More and more children and teens have rooms like Sam's, a recent national study has found, diminishing the effect of the once-punishing parental directive of "go to your room."

The Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed an increase in kids' rooms that resemble multimedia centers. For instance, 54 percent of children's bedrooms had a VCR or DVD player last year, up from 36 percent in 1999, and 31 percent of kids had a computer in their rooms, up from 21 percent.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton recently teamed up with other senators to reintroduce a bill calling for $90 million in federal funds to set up a research program to look into the electronic media's effect on children's mental, psychological and physical development.

"But there is so much happening in the media world that we don't have a clue about," said Clinton, whose bill would study the impact of interactive, digital and wireless media as well as television.

Sam, a student at Sweet Home High School, said he accumulated some of his electronic treasures over the years as birthday gifts and Christmas presents. It's not uncommon for him to simultaneously do homework, listen to music and send Internet messages to his online friends.

What effect media multitasking has on the often fragile ability of kids to focus is unclear because detailed research is quite new, said Vicky Rideout, the foundation vice president who directed the study.

"We are not necessarily saying that kids spending more time with more media is a bad thing," Rideout said. "This is something all parents have to decide based on what age their kids are, how they are doing in school and the parents' own values."

Mom cites pros, cons

Anna Schwass, Sam's mother, admits her son would probably perform better in school if he had fewer distractions in his room, but there are benefits to his electronics.

"You need those tools to get your homework done, but it also gets him distracted," she said. "But I know where he is. It keeps him out of trouble. I know he's not out on the streets, getting in trouble and arrested. It kind of weighs out."

But family psychologist Jonathan Treible said too much exposure to media could stunt kids' creativity and imaginative play and lead to sedentary lifestyles.

"It seems the media would distract from and take them outside of themselves for external stimulation; imaginary play could be lost," said Treible, who has a Williamsville practice. "And it builds a habit of sedentary lifestyles, and we know there's an obesity epidemic in the country."

Kaiser surveyed more than 2,000 third- through 12th-graders between October 2003 and March 2004 about their recreational or non-school use of TV and videos, music, video games, computers, movies and print. The study included nearly 700 panelists who kept seven-day "media diaries."

On average, kids devoted six hours and 21 minutes a day to recreational media use, up just two minutes from 1999, the Kaiser study found. That's more than 44 hours a week - four more hours than a parent's typical work week.

But 26 percent of kids in 2004 said they "multitasked" when using any form of media, up from 16 percent five years earlier. That could mean a child downloading music over the Internet while talking on the phone, or chatting online while watching a favorite TV show.

Chao Li's bedroom is also packed with electronics, and she is proficient in "multitasking."

"I can practically live in my bedroom," the Amherst resident said. "I just come out for food. It has everything I need - except food."

But Li, 17, and others with multimedia rooms are quick to point out that they are socially active and hold part-time jobs. And they've paid for some of their electronics.

"I work a lot, so I'm not in my room a lot," she said.

Derrick Piccolo of Buffalo said spending time with friends, going to the movies and playing basketball are still priorities, even with his multiple computers, video-game consoles and growing lists of other electronics.

"We do have a lot, but we don't stay in our rooms all the time," said Piccolo, 18.

The survey also found that the proportion of youths' homes that have two or more computers jumped from 25 percent to 39 percent, and the proportion with Internet access in the home grew from 47 percent to 74 percent.

The percentage of kids who can surf the Web from the privacy of their bedroom doubled from 10 percent to 20 percent. The proportion that watch cable or satellite TV from their room grew from 29 percent to 37 percent.

Janet Aronica, a senior at Orchard Park High School, has a more traditional bedroom. She doesn't even have a TV in her room.

"Those kids are lucky," she said. "But I don't think it's a smart idea to have all those things in your bedroom; I would want to supervise my kids when they are on the Internet."

Includes reporting by the Associated Press.

How computers hinder a child's ability to learn-worldwide research

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html? in_article_id=342367&in_page_id=1799

Children's learning is hindered rather than helped by computers, a major research study has found.

They are distracted by the availability of games, chatlines, or just the technology itself.

And in schools, computers are used more and more to replace hands-on teaching, which is usually more effective.

The report delivered the unequivocal verdict that students have a better chance of performing well in English and maths if they use computers less.

They do 'sizably and statistically significantly worse in both maths and English' when they use computers several times a week at school, the researchers found.

And the more computers there were in a student's home, the worse they did at maths.

Major blow

The study, published by the Royal Economic Society, is a major blow to the Government which has earmarked Ł2.5billion for school computers and pledged a further Ł1.5billion in the future.

Researchers at Munich University analysed the achievements and home backgrounds of 100,000 15-year-olds in 31 countries. The data had been collected as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Pisa had originally concluded that the more pupils used computers the better they did. Those with more than one computer at home were a year ahead of those who had none, it said.

But the Munich team re-examined the data and decided it had been misinterpreted.

They concluded that families who had a computer or computers at home tended to be better off and with higher educational backgrounds, which was the real reason their children appeared to be further advanced.

Distracting

Revising the original verdict, the Munich researchers said: "Mere availability of computers at home seems to distract students from effective learning.

"Holding other family characteristics constant, students perform significantly worse if they have computers at home.

"This may reflect the fact that computers may actually distract students from learning, both because learning with computers may not be the most efficient way of learning and because computer scan be used for other aims than learning."

The report says that the mere availability of computers at school does not translate into higher student performance, and regular use actually leads to worsening performance, possibly because computerised instruction replaces handson teaching.

It concludes: "Having a computer at home and using one at school will almost certainly raise some computer skills. What our results suggest however, is that this may come at the expense of other skills."

Ofsted has previously warned that pupils may be failing to make progress in the three Rs because they spend too much time in front of computers at school.

Nevertheless the Government has pushed a policy of 'personalised learning' with computers, and children as young as eight have access to laptop computers.

It believes that computers should be 'embedded' in the teaching of every subject.

©2005 Associated New Media

Kids-Eye View - Looking through the hole in the wall - INDIA

Posted by: Bonnie Bracey

From the slums of New Delhi to the coastal roads of Banda, hundreds of poor kids in India go online every day at free, outdoor computer kiosks installed in slums and rural villages to read news headlines, befriend cartoon figures, draw with digital paintbrushes and explore the possibilities of cyberspace. Read an interview a member of the Hole in the Wall research team, psychologist Ritu Dangwal, find out what the kids' favorite sites are, and see what terms they've come up with for computer tools and features.

- Online in the Street: Interview with Ritu Dangwal

- More Holes

I don't see the Hole in the Wall as a purely Indian phenomenon. Children are the same all across [the world]. If it can hold true in India, it can work as well anywhere in the world. Cambodia, Ethiopia and the Philippines have all shown interest in this project.

The first Hole in the Wall computer kiosk went online on January 26, 1999, in the slum of Kalkaji in New Delhi. Today, there are 52 such kiosks connecting kids to the Internet around the country. By the end of 2003, Dr. Mitra and his team at the Centre for Research in Cognitive Systems hope to have 108 Hole in the Wall computer kiosk clusters operating in 22 different sites across India. Funding for the Hole in the Wall experiment comes in part from the Indian government, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

See a map of the kiosks:

Hole in the Wall Web site - http://www.niitholeinthewall.com/

TRAVEL

MIAMI AND THE EVERGLADES: Two kids, two days, two destinations- FLORIDA, USA

Posted on Mon, Mar. 14, 2005

BETH J. HARPAZ

Associated Press

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/breaking_news/11133862.htm

MIAMI - Two kids, two days, two destinations - Miami and the Gulf Coast-area Everglades. I had a lot of ground to cover; there would be no time for whining or getting lost. If this quick trip to Florida was going to work, I needed a 48-hour plan, agreed to by all. I researched itineraries and started negotiating.

The children's No. 1 demand: No museums. I conceded as a good-faith gesture.

Consensus followed on two places - Parrot Jungle in Miami and a wildlife tour in the Everglades.

Then, an impasse. The kids wanted Miami glam; I couldn't care less about designer stores and celebrities, but I dreamed of sitting on the sand and gazing at the turquoise sea.

So we compromised. We'd go shopping in South Beach and take a cruise of Miami's "Millionaires Row" - waterfront real estate owned by the rich and famous. But then we'd have to check out the beach. Nobody was going home without sand between their toes.

A deal was struck. It was chilly and raw when we left New York, sunny and 80 when we got to Florida. We shed our coats, put on sunscreen, and became tourists.

First stop: Parrot Jungle's nursery, to see twin orangutans. These baby apes have diapers, toys, climbing bars, and more attention from their 24-hour keepers than some human children. Other highlights: an albino alligator, a petting zoo where we fed baby goats from bottles, and a picturesque flock of pink flamingos. Unfortunately, we missed Parrot Jungle's famous liger - half-lion, half-tiger; he's only there on weekends.

We loved the shows Parrot Jungle is known for. Pythons and other exotic snakes starred in the reptile show, and the yellow-naped Amazon parrot who sang "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" - with feeling! - was my favorite part of the bird show.

Parrot Jungle began as a 1936 roadside attraction but reopened in a new home on Watson Island in Biscayne Bay in 2003. With 500,000 visitors a year, it's managed to survive the Disney era "by being different - and being real," as spokesman Jeff Abbaticchio put it.

I saw what he meant by "real" when a stubborn cassowary - a 6-foot-tall Australian bird - refused to take the stage.

"Animals are animals, not machines," show host Mel Echanique explained apologetically to the audience. "We can't make them do what they don't want to do."

Turned out the cassowary's unpredictable behavior proved just as memorable to my boys as Pinky, the cockatoo who pedaled a tiny bicycle on cue.

We lunched at Little Havana's Versailles restaurant, a huge, friendly place where Cuban food draws everyone from business executives to families. I had a sampler plate that included pulled pork, rice and beans, and then we headed down Eighth Street, the main drag, to nearby Domino Park, a square where retirees gather each day to play dominos. Close your eyes, and all you hear is the clatter of tiles on tables.

Next, Bayside Marketplace, to catch our Island Queen cruise along Millionaires Row. You don't actually see the stars, of course, but for ardent fans, it's enough to hear the guide say, as you pass Star Island, that the mansion on the right with the boat out front belongs to Gloria Estefan. We spied a basketball court at the place we were told belonged to Shaq, but we couldn't see much of P. Diddy's house - it was hidden behind trees.

Then we headed to Collins Avenue and the Lincoln Road Pedestrian Mall in South Beach. My 12-year-old was determined to buy trendy sunglasses, but $100 specs from designer stores weren't in his budget. Fortunately, there were several discount shops for every Ralph Lauren or Kenneth Cole boutique; a $10 pair proved easy to find.

I'd been warned we might encounter what's euphemistically called European-style bathing - in other words, topless! - at the beach, so we stayed in the family-oriented area, 10th Street and below, where we saw less bare flesh than in the average TV commercial. I dipped my toes in the water and we ended our whirlwind day with incontrovertible proof of a beach visit - sandy shoes.

We spent the night with relatives in Del Ray Beach, then I sounded reveille at 6:30 a.m. for our 130-mile drive to Everglades City, much of it along I-75, a highway known locally as "Alligator Alley."

There are many options for sightseeing here, from noisy, thrilling airboat rides, to big open trucks known as swamp buggies, to canoe and kayak rentals. We chose a narrated boat ride from the Gulf Coast Visitors Center of Everglades National Park to what's called the Ten Thousand Islands, a lush area where the swamp meets the Gulf.

For us, the tour was perfect. The small boat had a canopy for shade but no upper deck or windows to obscure the view. Atlantic bottlenosed dolphins frolicked nearby, splashing and waving their fins. Great blue herons, black cormorants, white ibises and pelicans were easy to spot along the shore, green and lush with mangrove trees. We saw ospreys tending their nests, including one feeding its babies and another with a catfish flopping in its talons. The children were awestruck.

We lunched at the Oyster House across from the park entrance. I had the local specialty, stone crabs, in a zesty chowder, along with a delicious plate of farm-raised 'gator - breaded, fried and served with mustard dip. (Tastes like chicken, I swear!)

Now we were ready to see alligators in the wild. A park ranger recommended H.P. Williams Park, part of Big Cypress National Preserve, 6 1/2 miles from Everglades City. Walking the boardwalk near the parking lot, we saw dozens of alligators lurking in the waters below.

We had one creature left on our Florida wildlife checklist - the elusive manatee. We found some swimming in a roadside canal. Our tour boat captain had directed us to the spot, 1.8 miles from Everglades City along Route 41, unmarked except for other gawkers parked along the shoulder.

Last stop: Smallwood Store, on Chokoloskee Island, which opened in 1906 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Part store, part museum, it's filled with pioneer and Indian artifacts. Peter Matthiessen's novel, "Killing Mr. Watson," was based on a murder that took place here in 1910. I bought a copy while I was there, along with alligator oven mitts, alligator T-shirts and an alligator key chain. What's a trip without souvenirs?

The sun was setting over the Gulf of Mexico. We hadn't worn socks or long sleeves in two days. Time to head back across Alligator Alley, put our coats on, and go home.

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CARING KIDS CLOSE THE GAPS

It Pains Me to See Children On the Streets Begging - Ivette – LUSAKA, AFRICA

The Post (Lusaka)

March 14, 2005

Posted to the web March 14, 2005

By Tabitha Mvula

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200503141090.html

IT pains me to see children my age on the streets begging for assistance, 12-year-old Cuban Ivette Cano has said.

Cano, a grade seven pupil at Lusaka's Rhodespark School, called on the leadership to urgently put measures in place to take all children off the streets.

"When I came from Cuba, I was shocked to see children on the streets as I had never seen this before. When I saw them, I felt so much pain because they are children like me," she said.

Cano said all children had the right to go to school and that it was the responsibility of the government to provide education for all children.

"There is a need to help children who have lost their parents, if they can do this it will be great and I think the government should do this quickly," Cano said.

She called on well-wishers to combine efforts in assisting orphans and vulnerable children in the country.

Cano, who has been in Zambia for about six months, said it was disturbing that children were sacrificing time that they would otherwise use for school, working for food.

"They are losing an opportunity to make themselves better in life because they spend their time working. They need help very quickly," she said.

Cano said school was very important if people were to equip themselves for the future.

She admitted that Zambian children were very helpful and had accommodated her despite her inability to speak good English.

Cano said it was for this reason that she felt all children deserved a better life, full of joy and happiness.

Copyright © 2005 The Post. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

Children urged to combat bigotry- SCOTLAND

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4371329.stm

School children are being enlisted in the fight to remove sectarianism from Scottish society.

A new online and classroom-based education package has been launched along with a series of training seminars for teachers.

The Don't Give it, Don't Take It campaign packs will be sent to every school in the country.

First Minister Jack McConnell insisted progress was being made in stamping out religious hatred.

He said: "We have new laws to punish crimes fuelled by bigotry and we have seen strong action by the Old Firm and other clubs to tackle sectarian attitudes.

It is up to all of us - politicians, parents, sporting heroes and teachers - to help children understand that there is no place for bigotry

"But Scotland will never be free of the shackles of sectarianism unless we teach our youngsters that bigotry is wrong.

"They carry the future of Scotland in their hands, and it is up to all of us - politicians, parents, sporting heroes and teachers - to help children understand that there is no place for bigotry or sectarianism in modern Scotland."

Mr McConnell met with teachers and pupils from Woodlands Primary School and St Margaret of Scotland Primary School in Glasgow, who took part in the pilot for the scheme.

Annette Carmichael, headteacher of Woodlands, and Anne-Marie Bready, headteacher of St Margaret of Scotland, said: "The children from both schools worked very well together and we received positive feedback from all involved, parents pupils and staff.

"We believe that we have begun to change attitudes and that this will have a lasting effect on our children."

The website is designed to provide guidance, interactive resources and good practice examples to help schools develop anti-sectarian work.

Farm Fest reveals secret lives of dairy cows- DELAWARE, USA

By TARA CLIFTON

[email protected]

March 16

http://www.thestarpress.com/articles/3/036358-4023-004.html

MUNCIE - Leilani Russell, 8, crouched beside a large brown cow Tuesday and grabbed a teat, pulling downward until a stream of white liquid poured out. She let the warm milk flow into her cupped hand.

Then she told the kids crowding around her to give it a try. Nervously, a little boy wearing a puffy blue coat and dark-framed glasses stepped onto the hay where the cow stood. He reached underneath and tried to milk the animal while Russell showed him how.

For at least 15 minutes Russell expertly guided children on one of the basic routines of dairy farm life. Young and old alike were able to learn many more aspects of farm living during the 27th annual Farm Festival, Tuesday and today at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

Various booths in the Memorial Building offered festival-goers the chance to pet chicks, watch sheep being sheared and more.

A crowd of people jammed around the booth of the Delaware County Rabbit Breeders Association. Kids exclaimed when they felt how soft a rabbit's fur could be.

"It's so smooth!" exclaimed Grace Henson, 9, when she stroked Roxi Poe's mini rex rabbit, Harley. Although not a part of the breeder's association, Poe said she had been learning the ins and outs of rabbit raising from the organization this past summer.

Without hesitation, Henson said her favorite part of the farm festival was the rabbits.

"They're adorable," she said, putting her hands to her heart.

Sandy Russell, Leilani's mother, said she loved seeing kids experience farm life for the first time.

Sandy and her husband, Glen, run MTJ Swisher Jersey dairy farm, east of Eaton, along with other family members. They have attended the festival since its beginning to display their cows.

"Most kids don't have the opportunity to milk a cow," Sandy Russell said. "Any time you can teach a child, well, that's just great."

One thing Russell has noticed that children learn immediately from milking cows is that the milk comes out warm. Being city kids, she said, they're used to cold milk.

Russell added she was thrilled when the youngsters had a good enough time to show their family what they learned.

"You know you really hit home when the kids want to bring their parents and show them," she said. "This is stuff they normally don't see."

WHAT INTERESTS ONE COUNTRY ABOUT ANOTHER

American girls ride the mule to go to school every day- NORTH DAKOTA, USA, reported in CHINA newspaper

http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/03/18 16:39

　　Saje Beard's half-hour commute to class is the envy of her four classmates at a one-room schoolhouse just south of here [Bismarck City]

　　Most mornings, the third-grader makes the trek on Ruth the mule.

　　"She's called many things, but Ruth is what we call her in public," Saje said of the 4-year-old gray mule. "Actually, that's my dad's joke. She's really nice and gentle. And she sure is smart."

　　Saje, 9, is an old hand at maneuvering mules. She's been doing it since she was in first grade.

　　"I feel more safe with her riding a mule than having her ride in a car or on a bus," said her father, Marty Beard.

　　At the Manning School, about 15 miles south of the North Dakota capital, Saje "parks" Ruth by tying her with a bowline to a tree near swing sets and monkey bars. Ruth then gets some leather hobbles attached to her front legs, a routine Saje began after her other mule, Shirley, got loose and ran home from school last year.

　　Saje's classmates, who are in kindergarten through fourth grade, help take off Ruth's saddle and tack. It's stored in the school's cloakroom, next to basketballs and other playground equipment.

　　The five children then run to the school's flagpole to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the national anthem. The mule, named Ruth, prances and kicks up dirt as the children sing.

　　"It's cool," Lucas Irving, 10, said of his classmate and her mode of transportation. "She's cool."

　　Saje gets up at sunup to prepare for school. She brushes Ruth and feeds her grain, then hoists an old saddle that weighs nearly as much as she does over the chubby mule.

　　Saje has corn and sweet peas stuffed in saddlebags for Ruth's lunch and for treats during the school's three recesses. Her homework and a tuna fish sandwich are in her backpack, tied to the mule.

　　Mules are known for protecting themselves and their riders. Marty Beard said the mule would likely attack anyone who hassled Saje along the route.

　　The trip home always is a little faster: Ruth knows she'll have some grain waiting, so she picks up the pace without prodding, Saje said.

　　Kris Beard, Saje's mother, said even some of their rural neighbors find her daughter's mule commute unusual.

　　"It's not strange for us, but for other people it is quite different," she said.

　　"We're very fortunate to live here."

HEALTH

It's a stretch, but kids love yoga class- USA

James Walsh, Star Tribune

March 19, 2005 YOGA0319

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5301613.html

Breathe. Reach. Relax.

In the dim light of Renee Combs' classroom, 16 middle school students followed gentle instructions and twisted and strained their bodies on mats of orange, red and purple with white flowers. Soft music -- the strumming of an acoustic guitar -- played on a portable stereo.

Jones is a health teacher at St. Paul's Battle Creek Middle School. At the end of every week, she transforms her classes into "Fit Fridays." Sometimes, the students walk. Sometimes they go to the gym. But every other week, Combs' kids delve into yoga. And it's not a stretch to say they enjoy their new twist on health.

"I like it," said Shavell Buckner, 12. "It's relaxing."

Added Use Urhieyovwe, 12, "It helps my body. I feel energized for the rest of the school day."

Push up. Hold it. Hold it. Feel those tummy muscles right now. The abdominals.

Combs has taught at Battle Creek for 10 years. But she's been teaching yoga to her health students just since January. She started by leading a yoga class for teachers after school on Thursdays. Then she realized how little physical activity most students get during the day. The kids have taken to it, she said.

"The kids love it," she said Friday.

Combs has even led her husband's basketball team -- he teaches physical education at the school and is the head boys' coach -- through yoga exercises before a game. At a time when declining student health and increasing student obesity are alarming educators, Combs said, yoga is an effective antidote.

Breathe in and out through your nose. Close your eyes. Tighten your muscles and hold. First your legs. Now your back. Now relax.

As Combs leads the class, Buckner mimics her teacher's movements. She bends, slowly, to reach her toes. Then she reaches high, stretching toward the ceiling. There is no giggling, no goofing around. Three boys in the back of the room, squirrelly before class began, stay focused -- even when Combs tells the class to "keep that tailbone up in the air, toward the ceiling."

The students get on all fours. They stretch one leg out behind them, reach an arm out in front. Like cats waking from a nap in the window, the students look almost languid as they uncurl and bend and stretch.

But it's not easy.

"Ow," Judy Flores, 12, says quietly, as her legs strain to hold a position.

Crystal Cubus, 13, wobbles just a little. Still, she keeps smiling.

With your right leg up in the air, paint the ceiling. That's it. Good. Breathe.

"Fitness Fridays" probably taxes Combs most of all. She teaches five classes each day, three in the morning, two in the afternoon. After all that yoga, she admits she's pretty wiped out. "That's why we do this only a couple times a month."

But, judging by the student response and Combs' growing enthusiasm -- she plans to earn her yoga instruction certification in April -- it's a safe bet that the kids at Battle Creek Middle School will stay with this new method to fitness.

Hands down. Eyes closed. Erase every single thought. Relax. And ... we're done.

Hearts are diamonds for three of a kind-AUSTRALIA

Michelle Pountney, health reporter

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,12621705% 255E2862,00.html

THIS cheeky trio have more heart than most, and a unique bond that no one can break.

The tearaway three-year-olds all received new hearts when they were about a year old.

Now they are typical toddlers who love toys, making noise, making a mess and -- best of all -- catching up with their heart-buddies.

Jacob Holden, of Lara, Alyssa Alsop, of Colac, and Logan Heald, from Mt Isa, received new hearts within weeks of each other at the Royal Children's Hospital -- the only hospital in Australia that does pediatric heart transplants.

Logan's twice-yearly check-ups provide an opportunity for the trio and their mothers to get together. Their appointments are all scheduled for the same day.

Jacob's and Logan's families got to know each other as their boys fought for life in the intensive care unit.

As the boys gained strength, little Alyssa came in for hers.

Now, whenever Logan sees a heart, he proudly tells whoever is listening that he has a new heart.

If not for the transplants, all three children would have died.

Logan and Alyssa were both diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle is damaged and is less able to pump blood around the body, when they were about three months old.

Jacob was born with Fallot's tetralogy, where the blood flow is diverted through a hole in the heart to the aorta, bypassing the lungs so oxygen is not received. Within weeks he was also diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Logan was eight months old when the Healds learned their only option was a transplant.

Alyssa was nine months old; Jacob, the youngest by four months, was put on the transplant waiting list when he was just five months old.

For Logan's family, distance made dealing with his illness even more difficult. Trips to Melbourne for six-monthly check-ups must now be co-ordinated with the one commercial flight a week from Brisbane to Mt Isa; Logan also has two check-ups a year at a Brisbane hospital.

"We got our heart transplant at the 11th hour," Mrs Heald said.

"Logan was on the way out. When they wheeled him off to theatre at 5am he was cold, and we came back at lunchtime and he felt warm -- before that, he had always felt cold."

Jacob's family also fought distance while Jacob fought for life.

Their eldest son, Lachlan, who was three, lived with family in Bendigo while his parents and brother were staying in Melbourne.

Jacob's problems were discovered the day he was born, when he could not maintain his body temperature.

Fallot's tetralogy can be corrected with surgery, but Jacob's enlarged heart and its poor condition meant a transplant was the only option.

"He got worse and worse until the only thing left was a transplant," said mum Belinda.

Alyssa's mum, Heather, is full of praise for the hospital that saved the lives of the three buddies.

"The staff alone are incredible in what they do. Where would we be without these people?" she said. "They are like family and this is like a second home. You always know if you are ever worried about anything, you can always call any time and they are always there -- like a second family."

CHOCS AWAY! – UNITED KINGDOM

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/familylife/viewarticle.aspx?id=192307

Published on 22/03/2005

Lovely!Four-year-old Monique Bailey covered in chocolate after munching through her Easter eggs-LOUISE PORTER

A delivery of chocolate eggs from the Easter Bunny may have the kids hopping with excitement – but for parents it can be a battle to make it last past the Bank Holiday. The boxes stuffed full of chocolate treats are often too tempting for children to resist, and many eggs have the added lure of toys hidden inside.

For most kids, the biggest decision they’ll make this Easter is which one to try first.

So how can parents avoid a trail of half-eaten chocolate eggs and miniature toys strewn across their living room? By allowing their children only one Easter egg a day, according to Amanda Bailey, from Carlisle, who has two children, Monique, four, and Ruby, two-and-a-half.

“They get sick of them after a few days, and then my husband, Dougie, helps polish them off,” she said.

“Monique is more interested in the packaging than the chocolate. She likes the Barbie or Cinderella themed eggs and makes the boxes into houses for her dolls.

“Ruby is mad about Winnie the Pooh, but unlike her sister, she loves eating the chocolate.”

Although Monique and Ruby receive about seven eggs each, their mum and dad make sure Easter is about more than chocolate.

They continue the Easter tradition of pace eggs – eggs wrapped in onion skins and boiled – and take part in a treasure hunt for them.

“Easter is always a special occasion for us,” said Amanda. “We spend Easter Sunday visiting family and have lunch with my mum and dad who set up a treasure hunt for us in their garden.

“They hide six to eight pace eggs and we have to find them with the kids. They’re often hidden in trees so it can be a challenge.

“The kids dress in their best clothes and we visit relatives. They get Ł1 and a chocolate egg from each one, and the older generation give them an orange and a pace egg as well.

“The day after, we paint faces on the pace eggs. Humpty Dumpty is our favourite.

“I think it’s nice to keep up traditions and do the things I used to do myself as a kid. Easter can’t be about just eating chocolate eggs. It’s got to mean something else.”

Stuart and Kathryn Hodgson, who have two children, Luke, five, and Jenni, three, have the solution for left-over Easter eggs – turning them into rice crispie cakes.

“We allow Luke and Jenni one Easter egg a day at most, but after a few days they’ve had enough chocolate and don’t want any more,” said Stuart, from Penrith. “We then melt it down and the kids help us make rice crispie cakes. It’s a better alternative to them eating even more chocolate.

“The children get about five or six eggs each from relatives and friends. We tend to buy them a book or toy instead because they get so many from other people.”

One way of getting the kids to burn off some of the excess calories from the chocolate is to take them along to one of the events taking placing in Cumbria over the Easter holidays.

But despite all the Easter fun on offer, most parents have to face the fact that the main focus of the holiday will still be chocolate.

Dietician Dr Frankie Phillips of the British Dietetic Association, has tips to help parents cope with the Easter chocolate rush.

“Parents want to make sure children get the message that eating chocolate is a treat they can have, and it’s not bad,” she said.

“But they should try to buy their children just a small Easter egg, as they’re likely to be getting more than one from other relatives and friends.”

Of course it’s not easy to get children to eat their eggs slowly instead of guzzling them all at once.

“Children should be encouraged to save some chocolate for next week, by being told that if they do so it will save some enjoyment for them,” she added.

CELEBRATIONS

Dressed for better harmony-AUSTRALIA

NICK HIGGINS

Tue, Mar 22, 2005

http://www.bordermail.com.au/newsflow/pageitem?page_id=920557

lStudents in harmony were Jessica Don, Ava Saunders, Lachlan Curnow, Jorja Fillipe, Sienna Michael and Jessica Brown.

DRESSING in the garb of another country gave Wodonga Trinity Anglican College an insight into other cultures yesterday.

And along with the dressing up, students also prepared and sampled Italian cuisine all part of the Harmony Day celebrations.

Teacher Ms Sarah Dobson said many students dressed up in clothing from their own family heritage while others dressed in traditional French clothing.

French games were played and students also tried their hand at international art and craft.

“It got the children to see that within our community we have a lot of diversity and to celebrate our differences and the things we have in common,” Ms Dobson said.

Joining in the Trinity celebrations were Daniel Hotham, Caitlin Balkwill and Alastair Robertson.

http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok- 19188.html

Kremnica celebrates Easter with a funny winter farewell-SLOVAKIA

Who was that masked skier?

By Zuzana Habšudová

Spectator staff

http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok? cl=19188

SLOVAK girl on skis accompanied by her American Cousin It.

photo: Courtesy of Kremnické noviny

ALMOST everybody skis in the central Slovak town of Kremnica. So what better way to welcome spring than having fun in the snow?

For the 44th time, Kremnica's ski enthusiasts announced their traditional carnival farewell to winter, the Easter Egg.

On Easter Sunday, March 27, an array of skiers wearing eccentric masks and costumes will line the mountain's ridge at the local Skalka ski resort.

If you go along be prepared to have a smile on your face. The poster for the event warns: "For people who don't know how to guffaw, this carnival is highly risky. And those easily offended should not even think of coming!"

Turning the carnival into a humorous parade was the idea of a group of locals, led by Rudolf Čillík, the former Czechoslovak ski champion.

Mountain gods

Štefan Grosch, 82, long-time skier and one of the founders of the Kremnica Easter Egg said: "When [Čillík] participated at ski competitions in the Czech Republic, he saw the Czechs having fun with their Krakonoš, a mythical mountain God, similar to the Alps' Ullrich. He then brought the tradition here."

Locals and outsiders alike are busily dreaming up outlandish Easter Egg costumes within a particular theme. Last year it was European Union enlargement, but this season it is something very different.

New reality

The organizers of this year's contest want to underpin it with a new reality - the reality show craze.

"The entire country lives with reality shows," said Michal Lysek, from Kremnica's municipal office, one of the event's organizers.

He revealed that the whole event, including moderators, would be adapted to this idea. He expects skiing contestants to turn up wearing masks of the finalists in SuperStar and costumes inspired by other reality shows.

"I am looking forward to it. It's a joy to watch the little kids skiing dressed in all kinds of costumes. And I am happy that the tradition continues," he said.

At the moment, the Skalka ski centre near Kremnica has two metres of snow. But Grosch remembers the times when they had to use conifer branches to carry the snow from the forest to have something to ski on.

SHORTBITES

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=21664

On World Water Day, glass half empty for fifth of world's children

22 Mar 2005

Ninety days after water generated horror and headlines around the globe, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said that 400 million children - almost one fifth of all children - lack even the bare minimum of safe water they need to live.

At least 20 litres of safe water per day (about two buckets) are essential to enable children to drink, wash hands of disease-bearing dirt and cook a simple meal. Without it, children become easy prey for a host of life-threatening afflictions carried in dirty water and on unwashed fingers.

According to UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2005, 21% of children in developing countries are severely water deprived, living without a safe water source within a fifteen minute walk of their homes. In addition, a staggering 2.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation. These deprivations cost many their lives and account for at least 1.6 out of 11 million preventable child deaths every year.

This is what one first grader started when he heard that kids in Africa did not have enough water: Ryan's Well http://www.ryanswell.ca/

Children's fairy tale stamps issued in HK – HONG KONG, CHINA

www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-22 23:34:14

HONG KONG, March 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Hongkong Post issued on Tuesdaya new set of stamps, "Children Stamps -- Andersen's Fairy Tales," at a ceremony at the Hong Kong General Post Office.

"Our fairy tale stamps are a fitting tribute to one of the world's best-loved children's storytellers, Hans Christian Andersen, in this bicentenary year of his birth," said Postmaster General of Hong Kong Allan Chiang.

Chiang hoped that this special children's stamp issue, which ispart of the series of Children Stamps first introduced in 2001, would encourage youngsters to read more literature and become interested in stamps as a healthy and educational hobby.

HEADY HEADLINE ~QuickQuiz

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