Boy Floated Off in Balloon Found Safe

By P. Solomon Banda &
Ivan Moreno
Associated Press
October 15, 2009

Editor’s Note: Photo of Six-year-old Falcon Heene sits in the box of his family’s pickup truck outside their family’s home in Fort Collins, Colo., after he was found hiding in a box in a space above the garage on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Falcon Heene at first had been reported to be aboard a flying-saucer-shaped balloon fashioned by his father and then carried by high winds on to the plains of eastern Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A 6-year-old boy was found hiding in a cardboard box in his family’s garage attic Thursday after being feared aboard a homemade helium balloon that hurtled 50 miles through the sky on live television.

The discovery marked a bizarre end to a saga that started when the giant silvery balloon floated away from the family’s yard Thursday morning, sparking a frantic rescue operation that involved military helicopters and briefly shut down Denver International Airport.

But Sheriff Jim Alderden turned to reporters during a news conference and gave a thumbs up and said 6-year-old Falcon Heene is “at the house.” “Apparently he’s been there the whole time,” he said.

The boy’s father, Richard Heene, said the family was tinkering with the balloon Thursday and that he scolded Falcon for getting inside a compartment on the craft. He said Falcon’s brother had seen him inside the compartment before it took off and that’s why they thought he was in there when it launched.

But the boy fled to the attic at some point after the scolding and was never in the balloon during its two-hour, 50-mile journey through two counties. “I yelled at him. I’m really sorry I yelled at him,” Heene said as he hugged his son during a news conference.

“I was in the attic and he scared me because he yelled at me,” Falcon said. “That’s why I went in the attic.”

Richard Heene adamantly denied the notion that the whole thing was a big publicity stunt. “That’s horrible after the crap we just went through. No.”

The flying saucer-like craft tipped precariously at times before gliding to the ground in a field. With the child nowhere in sight, investigators searched the balloon’s path. Several people reported seeing something fall from the craft while it was in the air, and yellow crime-scene tape was placed around the home.

But in the end, the boy apparently was in the garage the whole time, even as investigators scoured the house and neighborhood for any sign of him.

Neighbor Bob Licko, 65, said he was leaving home when he heard commotion in the backyard of the family. He said he saw two boys on the roof with a camera, commenting about their brother.

“One of the boys yelled to me that his brother was way up in the air,” Licko said.

Licko said the boy’s mother seemed distraught and that the boy’s father was running around the house. The Poudre School District in Fort Collins, where the boys attend, did not have classes for elementary schools Thursday because of a teacher work day.

The boys parents are storm chasers who appeared twice in the ABC reality show “Wife Swap,” most recently in March.

“When the Heene family aren’t chasing storms, they devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm,” according to the show.

In a 2007 interview with The Denver Post, Richard Heene described becoming a storm chaser after a tornado ripped off a roof where he was working as a contractor and said he once flew a plane around Hurricane Wilma’s perimeter in 2005.

Pursuing bad weather was a family activity with the children coming along as the father sought evidence to prove his theory that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields.

Although Richard said he has no specialized training, they had a computer tracking system in their car and a special motorcycle.

While the balloon was airborne, Colorado Army National Guard sent a UH-58 Kiowa helicopter and was preparing to send a Black Hawk UH-60 to try to rescue the boy, possibly by lowering someone to the balloon. They also were working with pilots of ultralight aircraft on the possibility of putting weights on the homemade craft to weigh it down.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much the search operation cost. Capt. Troy Brown said the Black Hawk helicopter was in the air for nearly three hours, and the Kiowa helicopter was airborne for about one hour. The Black Hawk costs about $4,600 an hour to fly, and the Kiowa is $700 an hour, Brown said.

Col. Chris Petty, one of the pilots aboard the Black Hawk, said he was thrilled the boy was OK.

Asked what he would say to the 6-year-old if he saw him, Petty said: “I’m really glad you’re alive, I’m very thankful, but I’d sure like to know the rest of the story.”

The episode led to a brief shutdown of northbound departures from one of the nation’s busiest airports, said a controller at the Federal Aviation Administration’s radar center in Longmont, Colo. FAA canceled all northbound takeoffs between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. MDT, said Lyle Burrington, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association representative at the center. The balloon was about 15 miles northwest of the airport at that time.

Before the departure shutdown, controllers had been vectoring planes taking off in that direction away from the balloon, Burrington said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency tracked the balloon through reports from pilots.

Neighbor Lisa Eklund described seeing the balloon pass.

“We were sitting eating, out looking where they normally shoot off hot air balloons. My husband said he saw something. It went over our rooftop. Then we saw the big round balloonish thing, it was spinning,” she said.

“By the time I saw it, it traveled pretty fast,” she said.

The balloon landed on its own in a dirt field. Sheriff’s deputies secured it to keep it in place, even tossing shovelfuls of dirt on one edge.

Jason Humbert saw the balloon land. He said he had gotten a call from his mother in Texas who told him about the balloon. He said he was in a field checking on an oil well when he found himself surrounded by police who had been chasing the balloon, which came to a rest 12 miles northeast of Denver International Airport.

“It looked like an alien spaceship you see in those old, old movies. You know, those black-and-white ones. It came down softly. I asked a police officer if the boy was OK and he said there was no one in it,” Humbert said.

___

Associated Press writers Judith Kohler, Dan Elliott, Sandy Shore and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.

Source Yahoo News

Stars Talk Fun on Set of The Wild Things Are

By Mariam El Hasan
October 13, 2009

Editor’s Note: If you have a review of a movie that you have seen. You can contact us dan@youngchronicle.com

Do you ever wish that you could go to a place where there are no rules? A place where you could be free to do whatever you want? That is exactly what happens to Max in the upcoming movie Where the Wild Things Are. The movie is based on the children’s book of the same name by Maurice Sendak.

In the story, Max is a lonely boy who loves to play around in his wolf costume. He craves attention and acts wild, refusing to mind. When his mother punishes him for his rowdy behavior, he goes to his room where his imagination offers him an escape from reality.

He sails to an imaginary world where he meets monsters and becomes their king. There, he is able to be as wild he pleases. He has dirt clod fights and howls as loud as a wolf. He’s happy that no one is there to prevent him from showing his wild, rambunctious side.

Yet, the movie is not just about wild behavior. It also about the roller coaster ride of emotions that can be life for a 9-year-old child.

The star of the movie is Max Records, now 12, who plays the character by the same name. Where the Wild Things Are is Records’s first movie. It was filmed when he, too, was 9 years old.

His audition for the part was not a typical Hollywood script reading.

“I read a couple of lines for them, but I also had to attack my parents in the backyard with a plastic sword, and do water balloon target practice,” he said.

He also had to put on inflatable boxing gloves and go a round with director Spike Jonze. Then he had to block foam bullets with an umbrella.

Jonze said that he chose Records because he best suited the character’s wild and willful side.

“It was a demanding role for any actor,” he said. “[Records could] play the wild, playful, reckless side, and then also the internal, interior part of Max.”

Cast and crew had plenty of fun moments on the set while they were filming, Jonze told Scholastic Kids Press Corps. The fun continued during the interview.

“The whole thing was this adventure,” Jonze said, just as Records pressed the button on a remote controlled fart machine. Records kept it up during the entire interview, proving he was a perfect choice for the role of Max.

As the electronic farting continued, Jonze went on to finish his story.

“Everyone moved to Melbourne, Australia, and it was a wild adventure to just make the film,” he said. “Everyone brought their kids, so the set had lots of kids on it.”

The kids dressed up in wolf costumes to make their own mini movies. The art department made fun costumes and toys to keep them busy.

Catherine Keener, who played the role of Max’s mom, said the kids on the set had a great time and never got in trouble.

“When they were doing things like the dirt clod fights…it was so magical for us,” she said.

The set was a lot of fun for Records and the other actors, but what about Max the character in the movie? Does having freedom to do whatever you want without parents to answer to turn out to be everything he hoped it would be?

You will find out the surprising discovery that Max learns for himself when you see the movie. Where the Wild Things Are opens in theaters nationwide on October 16. It is rated PG.

Source: Scholastic News Online

What You Need to Know About Me

 

By SafeKids/PIO
 October 13, 2009

I’m doing more things on my own now and I love to explore. I can move faster and have lots of energy so you’ll need to be one step ahead of me at all times. I’m still very curious but don’t understand risks and dangers well. I can do more and more each day, but I don’t understand why some things are off-limits.

 

Did you know…?

I imitate older playmates and adults, meaning I will try things that are beyond my physical abilities.

I’m still developing my balancing and climbing skills.

I am likely to lose my balance and fall because I’m top-heavy.

I need supervision—all the time.

I breathe very fast because my lungs are small and still developing.

I can inhale harmful gasses very quickly.

My skin can burn faster than an adult’s because it’s thinner and more sensitive.

I like playing with matches, lighters and other heat sources and I don’t understand that fire can be dangerous.

I may still need to be rear-facing in my car seat

 

Safety Tips Checklist

Preventing Falls

• Install stair gates.

• Use stationary play centers instead of baby walkers

• Use playgrounds that are age-appropriate (for children under 5) and have safe surfacing (shredded rubber, sand, etc).

• Don’t put toys or things that attract children on top of furniture.

• Place furniture away from windows and secure it to the wall.

 

Preventing Motor Vehicle Injuries

• Keep your toddler rear-facing until the weight or height limits of the convertible seat have been met. Then use a forward-facing car seat in a back seat of the car. Do not rush to place your child forward-facing.

• Have your car seat checked by a certified child passenger safety technician to make sure it’s properly installed.

• Walk all the way around your parked car to check for kids at play.

• Never leave your child alone in a car, even for a minute.

• If a child goes missing, immediately check trunks and cars.

 

Preventing Burns & Scalds

• Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

• Lock up matches and lighters out of his or her sight and reach.

• Set your water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

• Make the stove area a “kid-free” zone.f

• Cook with pots and pans on back burners. Turn handles away from the front of the stove when cooking.

• Place hot foods and liquids on the center of the table. Don’t set them on the edges of tables or counters.

 

Preventing Poisonings

• Lock up poisons out of your child’s reach and sight.

• Use child-resistant packages.

• Keep products in their original containers.

• Don’t call medicine “candy”.

Source: Safe Kids

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Where the Wild Things Are

Movie Review – Where the Wild Things Are

By Mariam El Hasan
October 12, 2009

Has there ever been a time when you felt that nobody understood how you felt? Then perhaps you can relate to Max, from the upcoming movie Where the Wild Things Are.

Kids might wonder how a picture book of only about 300 words could be stretched into a feature-length film. Director Spike Jonze took on the challenge, which took him three years to complete. The book’s author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, was there to help.

In the book, the reader knows that the main character, Max, is a wild, rambunctious boy. In the movie, you soon see that Max is also an angry boy. His parents are divorced, his sister no longer pays any attention to him, and he becomes very uncomfortable and unhappy when his mother begins dating.

In the beginning of the movie, Max gets into an argument with his mother and bites her! As a 9-year-old boy, he certainly ought to know better. He is sent to his room where he decides to run away from his problems.

With the help of an active imagination, Max sets sail for an island where he becomes king of the wild things. You see the movie through Max’s eyes, and feel with him all of the turmoil of reality and the release of escapism just as he experiences it. When Max meets the wild things, we discover with him that they are not simply wild beasts. They have complicated feelings and different personalities.

Overall, Where the Wild Things Are is a terrific movie. Watching it was a unique experience. Like looking through a kaleidoscope, it can be described, but you really have to see it yourself to experience the true beauty.

 

Source: Scholastic News Online

Miley Cyrus Raps About Her Last Tweet

National Zoo – Gorilla

By FNZ
Oct 13, 2009

Order: Primates
Infraorder: Catarrhini
Family: Hominidae

Species: Gorilla gorilla

Subspecies:
G. g. gorilla (western lowland)
G. g. diehli (Cross River)

Species: Gorilla beringei

Subspecies:
G. b. beringei (mountain)
G. b. graueri (eastern lowland)

Some primatologists list one additional subspecies of mountain gorilla, and are proposing to separate the Bwindi population into a fifth gorilla subspecies.

Shy vegetarians, the world’s largest primates face an uncertain future in Africa’s remaining equatorial forests.

Physical Description
Gorilla of different subspecies vary in coat length, hair color, and jaw and teeth size. Individuals vary, but many western lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla)—the subspecies to which the Zoo’s gorillas belong—have brownish-gray coats, unlike the often blackish coats of the mountain (G. b. beringei) and eastern lowland (G. b. graueri) gorillas.

Generally, the mountain gorilla has longer hair than the other subspecies.

Western lowland gorillas have a more pronounced brow ridge, and ears that appear small in relation to their heads. They also have a different shaped nose and lip. Adult male gorillas’ heads look conical due to the large bony crests on the top (sagittal) and back (nuchal) of the skull. These crests anchor the massive muscles used to support and operate their large jaws and teeth. Adult female gorillas also have these crests, but they are much less pronounced. In comparison to the mountain gorilla, the western lowland gorilla has a wider and larger skull and the big toe of the western lowland gorilla is spread apart more from the alignment of his other four toes.

Like all great apes, gorillas’ arms are longer than their legs. When they move quadrupedally, they knuckle-walk, supporting their weight on the third and fourth digits of their curled hands. Like other primates each individual has distinctive fingerprints.

Lowland gorilla hair is short, soft, and very fine. There is no under fur (a thick layer of insulating hair close to the skin, such as on dogs or minks). Lowland gorillas’ coats are suited for warm, moist forest habitats. Mountain gorillas are more shaggy and thick-furred due to the colder temperatures at high altitudes.

Size
The eastern lowland gorilla is the largest. Adult male gorillas have silvery white “saddles” that inspired the name “silverback” for these animals.

On two legs, adult male gorillas stand about five a half feet tall (rarely a bit taller). They weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. Females are smaller, standing up to five feet tall and averaging about 200 pounds. Zoo animals are often heavier.

Geographic Distribution

 

Western lowland gorillas live in lowland tropical forests in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, and Nigeria.

Eastern lowland gorillas, also called Grauer’s gorillas, live in tropical forests from low elevations up to 8,000 feet in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and along the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

Mountain gorillas, the rarest of the subspecies, hang on in mountain forests (up to 11,000 feet) at the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Status
Western lowland and Cross River gorillas are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Eastern lowland and mountain gorillas are listed as endangered on the Red List.

Habitat
Gorillas live in moist tropical forests, often in secondary, or re-growing, forests or along forest edges, where clearings provide an abundance of low, edible vegetation. Mountain gorillas range up into cloud forest.

Diet in the Wild
Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, eating the leaves and stems of herbs, shrubs, and vines. In some areas, they raid farms, eating and trampling crops. They also will eat rotten wood and small animals.

The diet of western lowland gorillas also includes the fleshy fruits of close to a hundred seasonally fruiting tree species; the diets of other gorilla subspecies include proportionally less fruit. Gorillas get some protein from invertebrates found on leaves and fruits. Adult male gorillas eat about 45 pounds (32 kg) of food per day. Females eat about two-thirds of that amount.

Reproduction
Female gorillas reach maturity at seven or eight years old, but they usually don’t breed until ten years or older.

Due to competition between males for access to females, few wild males breed before they reach 15 years old. Eight and a half months after mating, a female gives birth to one young, which can usually walk within three to six months. Young are usually weaned by three years old, and females can give birth every four years.

Upon reaching sexual maturity, between ages seven and ten, young gorillas strike out on their own, seeking new groups or mates. Zoo gorillas may reach sexual maturity before seven years old, and may have young every two to three years.

Life Span
Gorillas may live about 35 years in the wild, and up to 54 in zoos.

Behavior
Gorillas live in groups. Each group usually contains one or more silverbacks and two to ten females and young. Newly established silverbacks may kill young not sired by them, but otherwise, gorilla family life is mostly peaceful. Bloody battles sometimes occur between silverbacks when they square off to compete over female groups or home ranges. Gorillas spend their mornings and evenings feeding, usually covering only a small area of forest at a time. Groups spend the middle of the day sleeping, playing, or grooming (females groom their young or a silverback). At night, gorillas fashion nests of leaves and branches on which to sleep; unweaned infants sleep in their mothers’ nests.

Social Structure
Gorillas are behaviorally flexible. This means that their behavior and social structure is not set in stone; there is great variety. The information below should only be used as a general guide.

Gorillas live in groups, or troops, from two to more than 30 members. Western lowland data seem to indicate smaller group sizes, averaging about five individuals. Groups are generally composed of a silverback male, one or more black back males, several adult females, and their infant and juvenile offspring. This group composition varies greatly due to births and deaths and to the immigration and emigration of individuals.

Mature offspring typically leave their natal group to find a mate. At about eight years old, females generally emigrate into a new group of her choosing. She seems to choose which silverback to join based on such attributes as size and quality of his home range, etc. This seems to be related to the silverback’s size, but not always. A female may change family groups a number of times throughout her life. When leaving their natal group, some sexually mature males may attempt to replace the silverback in an already established group. However, they usually spend a few years as solitary males. Nevertheless, a new troop can be easily formed when one or more non-related females join a lone male.

Eastern lowland Gorilla

The group is led by the adult, dominant, silverback male. He has exclusive breeding rights to the females. At times he may allow other sub-adult males in the group to mate with females. The silverback mediates disputes and also determines the group’s home range. He regulates what time they wake up, eat and go to sleep.

Gorillas are most active in the morning and late afternoon. They wake up just after sunrise to search for food, and then eat for several hours. Midday, adults take a siesta and usually nap in a day nest while the young wrestle and play games. After their midday nap they forage again. Before dusk each gorilla makes its own nest, infants nest with their mothers.

All gorillas over three years make nests, day nests for resting and night nests for sleeping. Infants share their mothers’ nests. Gorillas form nests by sitting in one place and pulling down and tucking branches, leaves, or other vegetation around themselves. Adult males usually nest on the ground. Females may nest on the ground or in trees. Juveniles are more apt to nest in trees. Studies of western lowland gorillas have shown that the number of nests found at a site does not necessarily coincide with the number of weaned animals observed in a group.

The western lowland gorilla is characterized as a quiet, peaceful, and non-aggressive animal. They never attack unless provoked. However, males do fight over acquisition and defense of females, and the new leader of a group may kill unrelated infants. This causes the females to begin cycling sooner. An adult male protecting his group may attempt to intimidate his aggressor by standing on his legs and slapping its chest with cupped or flat hands while roaring and screaming. If this elaborate display is unsuccessful and the intruder persists, the male may rear his head back violently several times. He may also drop on all fours and charge toward the intruder. In general, when they charge they do not hit the intruder. Instead, they merely pass them by. This demonstration of aggression maintains order among separate troops and reduces the possibility of injury. It is thought that size plays an important role in determining the winner of an encounter between males (the larger male wins). Because of gorilla variability, some or all of these behaviors may not be seen.

Gorillas exhibit complex and dynamic relationships. They interact using grooming behaviors, although less than most other primates. Also affiliation may be shown by physical proximity.

Young gorillas play often and are more arboreal than the large adults. Adults, even the silverback, tolerate infant play behavior. He also tolerates, to a lesser extent, and often participates in the play of older juveniles and black back males.

The duration and frequency of sexual activity in gorillas are low in comparison to other great apes. The silverback has exclusive mating rights with the adult females in his group. The reproductive success of males depends upon the maintenance of exclusive rights to adult females. The female chooses to mate with the silverback by emigrating into his family group. Normally quiet animals, some gorillas are unusually loud during copulation.

Communication
Gorillas communicate using auditory signals (vocalizations), visual signals (gestures, body postures, facial expressions), and olfactory signals (odors). They are generally quiet animals, grunting and belching, but they may also scream, bark, and roar. Dian Fossey heard 17 different kinds of sounds from mountain gorillas. Other scientists have heard 22 different vocalizations, each seeming to have its own meaning. Gorillas crouch low and approach from the side when they are being submissive. They walk directly when confident and stand, chest beat (actually they slap with open hands), and advance when being aggressive.

Past/Present/Future
Until several decades ago, gorilla populations enjoyed the seclusion of vast tracts of forest. Today, Africa’s growing population puts many pressures on these declining primates. Logging roads snake into forests, opening frontiers to settlers and loggers, while hunters kill or capture gorillas for their meat, parts (sometimes sold as souvenirs), or because the animals raid farm fields. Gorilla meat is eaten by hunters and loggers, and is also sold in city markets and restaurants.

While protection laws exist in most countries still inhabited by gorillas, enforcement is often lacking. Civil wars in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have harmed conservation efforts in these countries and opened parks to poachers. Gorillas also stumble into snares set for other animals, and may be killed or injured. Increased political stability, better public awareness, and carefully protected parks would go a long way toward reversing the gorillas’ decline.

Outbreaks of the Ebola virus and increased hunting led the IUCN to move the western lowland gorilla from endangered to critically endangered status in 2007. In August 2008, the Wildlife Conservation Society released a census showing that more than 125,000 western lowland gorillas are living in two adjacent areas of the northern part of the Republic of Congo. Previously, it was thought there could be fewer than 50,000 of these gorillas.

With a population of fewer than 300 individuals, Cross River gorillas are listed as critically endangered.

A Few Gorilla Neighbors

Leopard (Panthera pardus): The only animal in its range, aside from humans, that can harm an adult gorilla, although these animals rarely tangle with each other.

African elephant (Loxodonta africana): By downing trees, forest-dwelling elephants help create gorilla feeding areas.

African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Despite a large range, this forest parrot is disappearing from many areas due to capture for the cage bird trade and forest cutting. By saving gorilla habitat, we protect these and many other animals.

Fun Facts

Despite their size and current popularity, gorillas remained a mystery to people living outside of Africa until a missionary described them in 1847. After chimpanzees, gorillas are our closest relatives, sharing about 98 percent of our genes.

Source National Zoo

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Grade 2 Math

By Dale Beltzner
October 12, 2009

Editor’s Note: We hope this will help your child learn math at home. We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

The sky’s the limit as kids calculate bigger numbers and learn the true value of money

Second-grade math textbooks are filled with illustrations to help students make a connection between groups of objects and their numerical representations. One of the fundamental skills for all mathematics learning is a firm understanding of the place value system, which is crucial for understanding the complex processes students will encounter in later grades. For most kids, place value is part of the second-grade curriculum. Students will learn to read and order numbers through the hundreds place, such as 356, or “3 hundreds, 5 tens, and 6 ones.” With this knowledge in hand, most students by the end of the year will be adding and subtracting three-digit numbers. Second-graders will also work with “fact families,” taking, say, 3, 4, and 7, and writing the addition and subtraction equations that can be built from them – “3 + 4 = 7,” “7 – 4 = 3,” “4 + 3 = 7,” and “7 – 3 = 4.” And they will learn to count money, a truly practical application of their growing skills.

Does Everyday Math Work for Every Child? Schools have tried a variety of math programs over the years, seeking the one that will best increase student performance, particularly on standardized tests. One of today’s most popular programs is McGraw-Hill’s Everyday Math series of textbooks. The series’ approach has been nicknamed “Chicago Math,” because its key ideas were developed at the University of Chicago. Everyday Math introduces new concepts in brief units, then “spirals” back to them for review throughout the year. It also emphasizes real-world applications for math skills — asking students, for example, to find prices in supermarket advertisements and using them to calculate the cost of a shopping trip. Some school districts credit Everyday Math with improving standardized-test scores, but it has many critics as well: It does not teach students traditional computation methods or demand that they memorize addition and subtraction facts. It also omits traditional lessons such as division by fractions and longhand division. In some schools using the textbooks, teachers supplement their lessons with traditional addition and subtraction drills.

• Second-graders may still be calculating relatively small numbers, but soon enough, they will be working with radically larger sums. Mitsumasa Anno’s Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar (Putnam, 1999) uses words and pictures to show young children the magic of rapidly expanding numbers.
• If your grandchildren love working with numbers, or if they need some extra help with addition and subtraction, keep a workbook on hand for their visits. Scholastic Success With Math Workbook – Grade 2 (Scholastic, 2002) reinforces essential math skills with puzzles, games, and practice pages kids can complete independently.

Math Is War. Help your grandchildren practice comparing number values by playing the classic game of War. Divide a standard deck of cards into even piles and keep the piles facedown. At each turn, each player turns over his or her top card. Whoever has the highest card takes the other cards. (Decide before the game if aces will be high or low.) In case of a tie, go to War: Each player plays one face-down card and then one face-up card. The highest face-up card takes all the rest. The player who has all the cards at the end of the game is the winner. (Or, since War can take a while, you can set a time limit for each game and declare a winner when you reach the limit.)

Everybody Uses Math. While you’re out in the neighborhood with your grandchildren, ask them to identify people who are using math and how — for example, a waiter, a carpenter, or a tailor. As you find more people using math skills, you can reinforce for grandchildren the importance of math lessons for their futures.

Editor’s Note: Dale Beltzner has been a teacher, principal, and freelance educational writer for the past 30 years. He has worked in public and private schools in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Dale currently teaches fifth grade in Coopersburg, Pa., and serves as the district’s elementary math subject leader.

We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Source: Grandparants

EDWIN GARCIA

Case Type: Family Abduction
DOB: Nov 9, 1998	Sex: Male
Missing Date: Oct 2, 2009	Race: Hispanic
Age Now: 10	Height: 5’2″ (157 cm)
Missing City: KENANSVILLE	Weight: 115 lbs (52 kg)
Missing State : NC	Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1132358
Circumstances: Edwin and Luis were allegedly abducted by their mother, Gloria Garcia-Cruz. A felony warrant was issued for the abductor on October 2, 2009. They may travel to Mexico.

Missing Kids

GLORIA GARCIA-CRUZ
Companion
(Abductor)

Case Type: Family Abduction
DOB: Apr 29, 1972	Sex: Female
Missing Date: Oct 2, 2009	Race: Hispanic
Age Now: 37	Height: 5’2″ (157 cm)
Missing City: KENANSVILLE	Weight: 100 lbs (45 kg)
Missing State : NC	Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1132358
Circumstances: Edwin and Luis were allegedly abducted by their mother, Gloria Garcia-Cruz. A felony warrant was issued for the abductor on October 2, 2009. They may travel to Mexico.

View Poster

MARLENE NICOLE GONZALEZ

Case Type: Family Abduction
DOB: Oct 30, 1999	Sex: Female
Missing Date: Sep 30, 2009	Race: Hispanic
Age Now: 9	Height: 4’10” (147 cm)
Missing City: CALEXICO	Weight: 130 lbs (59 kg)
Missing State : CA	Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1132393
Circumstances:Marlene may be in the company of her mother. They may travel to San Diego or Santa Barbara, California, or Baja or Guadalajara, Mexico.

Missing Kids

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