Hej from Sweden

A few fun facts from a summer visitor.

Sweden is an amazing and beautiful country. It is a monarchy (ruled by a king and a queen), located in Northern Europe. It borders Norway and Finland, and a bridge called the Oresund Bridge connects Sweden to Denmark. It is part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Sweden’s current population is about 9.2 million people.

A few of those people came to visit me and my family this summer. I talked to them about what it is like to live in Sweden. I also learned a lot about the language.

My friend Mikael Carrlsson told me that his favorite sport is soccer (which they call football). In school he learns English along with his native Swedish language. He also studies math, art, writing, reading, and Swedish history.

A traditional Swedish dish is kalops, or moose meat soup. Swedish people also love pancakes with jelly and whipped cream.

In Sweden people use kronors for currency, and eight kronors equal one dollar.

I learned to speak a little Swedish while Mikael was here. I learned that hej means hello; kontroll means remote, bil means car, and klocka means clock.

People usually live in apartment buildings, he said, and the Harry Potter series is very popular. Another favorite Swedish book series is LasseMajas Detektivbyra, which translates to Lasse and Maja’s Dectective Agency.

Higher education in Sweden is free for all citizens. Health care is also free, but visits to the doctor are limited to four minutes per patient.

I also asked Mikael what holidays he celebrates.

“Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter,” he says. “We also celebrate Mid-Summer, where people dance and sing together.”

Overall, I think Sweden is a wonderful country. Researching it for Mikael’s visit—and this blog—was really interesting.

—Alan Gelman

PHOTO:  My mom, me, and Mikael and his mom, Natalie, in Times Square in New York City. Photo Courtesy Alan Gelman

Kayaking on Beaver Lake

Even the dog participates in the Schroeder family hobby.

Nestled high in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas is an awesome lake called Beaver Lake. That’s where I spent my family summer vacation practicing our family hobby of kayaking.

We put our kayak on top of the family car and drove more than 14 hours from New Mexico to Arkansas. Beaver Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen! It is surrounded by plants, flowers, a variety of trees, and limestone bluffs.

The long drive was worth the wait, because I found out right away that the lake water was warm and clear. Beaver Lake has 28,370 acres of water and 487 miles of shoreline, so there were a lot of great spots on the lake to launch our kayak.

Our first launch was at Indian Creek, with shallow water and a swimming area where I could jump in and swim while my Dad unloaded the kayak. I also took my goggles and did some diving while I waited.

The kayak has three seats: just enough room for my mom, dad and my dog Kiska. We always wear life jackets so we brought along one for our dog to wear too!

It was a good thing Kiska was wearing her life jacket because when we started paddling out into the lake, she stood up and fell over the side! We had to grab the handle on her life jacket to pull her up and back into the boat. She was a very wet dog, so I was happy that she decided to sit with my mom at the back of the kayak instead of with me!

After I got a lot of exercise kayak paddling with my Mom and Dad, I jumped into the warm lake and swam next to the boat. I saw a turtle on a tree branch in the water and a squirrel running along the shore. My Dad was fishing for bass while I swam and told me he saw an alligator gar in the water! They have huge teeth but aren't aggressive towards people. I got back into the kayak just in case!

We had a great summer trip to Arkansas! We spent time at three different places on Beaver Lake and had fun with my cousins who live close by in Bentonville. We also visited Pea Ridge, which is one of the most important Civil War Battlefields west of the Mississippi. It was a great trip filled with a lot of good times, warm weather, and fun in the sun!

—Jacob A. Schroeder

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Jacob Schroeder (front) with his family and dog Kiska Kayaking on Beaver Lake in Arkansas. Photo courtesy Jacob Schroeder.

 

 

Kids to the Rescue!

What it takes to be a lifeguard at the beach.

Have you ever wondered what to do if you see a person drowning in the ocean? Or what would you do if you were caught in an ocean riptide? This summer I found out the answers to those questions and more. I just finished a junior lifeguard course at my local beach. It was not only fun, I also learned a lot about the ocean. Learning about the ocean is very important because sometimes the ocean can be dangerous.

During this course, I was with around 30 kids from the ages of 11 to 15. You have to be in great shape to be a lifeguard. Each class started with a far run on the beach. I have to admit this was my least favorite part—it is not easy to run in the sand!

After that we would do a long distance swim in the ocean. Then we went through several different activities and drills. For one drill we had to carry a partner on our backs and run a short distance. I didn’t realize lifeguards had to practice carrying people.

We also practiced doing an actual rescue. It was a little difficult, but when I brought my pretend victim in, I felt good. We even had to practice how to jump off the lifeguard chair and run into the ocean.  That was so much fun.

I think the most important thing I learned was how to spot a riptide in the water and what to do if I get caught in one.

If you ever get caught in a riptide remember this: DON'T PANIC, and don’t attempt to swim against the current back to shore. Wave your arms to get the attention of the lifeguard or anyone on shore. Then swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current.   

At the end of the course there was a competition between participants of all the junior life guard programs at other local beaches. It was fun to show off all the skills we learned. I think all kids should take a junior life saving course. You should see if your town offers a program like this, especially if you live near the ocean. Who knows, you may save someone’s life someday!

—Jacqueline Minogue

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Jacqueline Minogue takes off for a run along the beach in Long Island, New York. Photo Courtesy Jacqueline Minogue.

Lights, Camera, READ!

Reading in the spotlight on NBC Today Show’s Al Roker's Book Club.

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be on TV: what it’s like behind the sets, what does a “green” room look like, and how does it all comes together to make a show. I found out this week when I became one of six kids in Al’s Book Club for Kids. The show airs once a month on NBC’s Today Show.

Al Roker, who is really funny and super nice, is the host of the book club.  Each month we will meet to discuss a different author and book. We also get to ask the featured author questions.

The whole experience was very exciting for me. After arriving the morning of the show, I was taken into the studio’s green room, which, by the way, is NOT green! It’s the room where guests can relax before going on the air.

As soon as I got there a woman approached me. I recognized her from a photo on the back of a fantastic book I had just read: she was the day’s featured author, Michelle Paver!

As we chatted, she said that I reminded her of herself when she was my age.  She signed my copy of her book and stamped it with an awesome wolf footprint that she had traced from an actual wolf track!

The featured book for this first show was the first in the series The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. The title is Wolf Brother. Ms. Paver was very, very interesting to talk to.

Then I joined the other kids on a couch. As we started talking, I knew I was making five new friends. The producer, Amanda Marshall, took us upstairs where there was another smaller green room that our parents waited in while we went to the set. I was so excited because I really loved the book we were discussing and I’ve always dreamed of being on TV.  I was also having fun getting to know the other kids.

We were taken to the set for the Book Club and told which bean bag chairs to sit on. We were given microphones and were reminded to speak loudly and clearly.  Ms. Paver gave us some cool artifacts to pass around that she had collected on her journeys. She handed us a real stone-age chiseled axe head, an antler, and reindeer hide mittens. The mittens were the same the type Torak, the main character in the book, would have worn.

Then Mr. Roker came in and started joking around with us. He told Tatiana, who was wearing the mittens at the time, that she should have a doctor check out her skin condition. He made us all laugh!  I suggested that we all wish each other good luck and so we counted down and said good luck in unison.  Then the crew counted down from 10 seconds, 9 seconds…down to 1 second and then “LIVE” and we knew we were on the air!

After the show was over we met up with our parents back in the green room. We were all excited and happy after the tension of being on the air.  In the green room the Ms. Paver talked with us some more and we took pictures with her and with each other. 

Ms. Paver is so interesting and definitely one of the best writers whose work I’ve ever read!!  I had so many questions to ask her and she was happy to answer them. I was fascinated with how she writes and what inspires her.  I had so many questions that she agreed to let me interview her just for Scholastic! I can't wait!

The Today Show gave each of us the other books in the series—five books in all! I did not expect that, but it sure was awesome!! I’ve already read up to chapter four in the second book, Spirit Walker. I’m writing a book review on Wolf Brother because I have to tell you guys how great this book is!

—Danielle Azzolina

Photo: Danielle Azzolina (front left) and the other members of Al Roker's Book Club for Kids in the Green Room at NBC studios in New York with author Michelle Paver. (Photo SKPC)

Meet the Secretary of Education

Kid Reporter goes “one-on-one” with cabinet member Arne Duncan.

Interviewing Secretary of Education Arne Duncan may be my biggest assignment yet as a Scholastic Kid Reporter. Secretary Duncan is head of the U.S. Department of Education. He is part of President Obama’s cabinet and I was really excited to meet him.

I joined the video crew from Scholastic in the library of the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon. The library is in the basement of the building. 

The producer and cameraman set up an area to film the interview while I spent the time going over the questions I had prepared. In about 25 minutes, Secretary Duncan arrived. We started by filming the two of us greeting each other.

Then we sat down for to talk. Secretary Duncan was very friendly and answered all of the questions in ways that kids could easily understand. First, he answered some of the more serious questions, about the future of the No Child Left Behind Act  and the country’s rising high school drop-out rate. I  also asked him some fun questions—about former teachers and favorite books. You'll have to wait for the full story to be published to find out what he said!

Reading is very important to Secretary Duncan and his entire family. He told me that he encourages all kids—including his own two—to read for fun, whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or even comic books.

Currently he is reading the Harry Potter books to his kids, which are their favorites. They are on book five! When he was a kid, he told me, he enjoyed reading the Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien.

Secretary Duncan also told me that he sometimes plays basketball with President Obama, including a game this last weekend. Even if you didn’t know anything about Secretary Duncan, you might guess that he’s a basketball player. He is really tall!

I asked him if he ever beats the President. They usually play team basketball, he explained, rather than one-on-one.

“Luckily we usually win when we’re on the same team,” he said. I guess what works on the basketball court can also work in politics!

 —Madison Hartke-Weber

PHOTO: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Scholastic Kid Reporter Madison Hartke-Weber in the library of the Department of Education, Washington, D.C. on Monday, August 3, 2009. Photo by SKPC

Fireflies Count!

You can participate in the National Firefly Count and help save a really cool bug!

I am participating in the National Firefly Count. I find fireflies as the most interesting type of bug. I have registered for the Firefly Count and have already started counting the fireflies.

Fortunately, I can still see a decent number of fireflies in my backyard.  However, I notice that their numbers are dwindling year by year. I did not make a formal count like the one that I am doing currently, but I recall witnessing a greater population of these insects last year in my very own backyard. 

In my neighborhood, we are currently witnessing a new building development. That probably explains one of the reasons for fewer fireflies.

Fireflies are the most interesting creatures. They represent a totally unique form of life, that can naturally generate light emissions using their own biological tools. It is also very strange that fireflies cannot see certain shades of light.

Counting Fireflies

The first challenge that I had to encounter before participating in this project, was to figure-out an ideal location to perform a firefly count on a consistent basis.  Given the fact, that our lawn needs regular fertilizers, weekly lawn mowing, and sometimes pesticides, I chose an area in my backyard a little away from the lawn. I designated this  as my “count-point.”  It is a point where I can stand-still and make a count of all visible fireflies.

The second challenge that I had to face was to make sure that the area at the time of count is devoid of any uncontrolled light. For example, car-lights on the street, building-lights, and the street lights.

After I took care of these little issues, the firefly count has become a great fun activity. Me and my sister get ready with our blue acetate covered lights and jars to go out and do the weekly count.  (Sometimes, she surpasses me in the count-game, but nevertheless it is a lot of fun).

On my first week of counting, I saw 18 of them in 10 seconds.  My sister saw 20.  However, I estimate that there were probably about a hundred blinking lights from the fireflies in my one-acre backyard at that moment.

Read more about the count and how to participate on Scholastic News Online.

—Gopa Praturi

PHOTO: A firefly up close! CREDIT: istockphoto.com

Through the Eyes of the Pilgrims

On board the Mayflower II to Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts

 Imagine traveling for nine weeks, under the deck of a ship, crowded together with 100 other passengers and a variety of animals. You are sometimes wet, cold or sick, as you and your fellow travelers are searching for a new beginning in a new land.  This is how the first settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts, came to America.

As I walked on board the Mayflower II, a copy of the original ship, I could see how these Pilgrims lived as they traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. The replica ship was given to the U.S. by England over 50 years ago.  Like the original it is neither big nor comfortable. 

According to legend, when the Pilgrims first arrived, they saw Plymouth Rock and rejoiced at the new land. That rock is still in Plymouth. It, too, is really small. Plymouth Rock is where many believe William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620 first landed in America. It is the most visited rock in New England!

I also toured the Plimouth Plantation, which is a recreation of a 1627 English village. I learned how the Native Wampanoag people lived, as well as the new colonists from England.  It was interesting to learn how they built their different shelters and gathered their food. I walked around the Wampanoag village smelling food cooking over open fires. The food samples we got to taste were pretty good too! By the way, Wampanaogs have lived in the area for more than 12,000 years.

—Matthew Spana

PHOTOS: Matthew on board the Mayflower II. Photos Courtesy Matthew Spana