APRIL IS FULL OF FUN--NO FOOLING!

 MAKE APRIL AWESOME!

April is famous for tricks from the weather and absolutely awesome, inspired creations from artists, scientists and curious thinkers!  

Meet Howard McWilliam the awesome illustrator ...


of our WHAT IF YOU HAD!? series.





April 1: April Fool's Day  The day is known for pranks but it started in 1564 when New Year's Day officially changed on the calendar from being April 1st to January 1st. People who continued to celebrate the year's change on April 1 were called "April Fools".

April 2: US MINT founded in 1792 in Philadelphia, PA. 
Do you know who is on each of the American coins? Guess. Then find coin samples to check. 

April 3: Pony Express started and the first mail delivery started from St. Joseph, MO in 1860.
Would you want to be a Pony Express rider? Read. Then decide.

April 4: Golden Gate Park was opened in San Francisco, CA in 1870.

April 5: Joseph Lister was born in Essex, England in 1827. He became a surgeon and was the first to use antiseptics to prevent infection after surgery.

April 6: North Pole! Robert E. Peary became the first recorded person to reach the North Pole in 1909. Read about the race to be the first. If this happened today, you could blog about it. So write a two paragraph blog report of this North Pole Race.

Communication Satellite the first commercial communication satellite, called Early Bird, went into orbit in 1965.

April 7: World Health Day 

April 8: William Henry Welch was born in Norfolk, CT in 1850. He is credited with transforming American medicine.

April 9: John Presper Eckert, co-inventor of ENIAC, the first electronic computer, was born in Philadelphia PA in 1919. 
I had the amazing opportunity to have lunch with Eckert and talk with him about the invention of ENIAC. :-)

April 10: Safety Pin was patented by Walter Hunt in 1849. List at least 5 things you could do with a safety pin--even better list 10.

April 11: Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in major league baseball in 1947. Read two different biographies of this person. In your opinion, which is better? How do the books tell Jackie's story differently?

April 12: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gaganin became the first man in space in 1961. The flight lasted 108 minutes. Now Artemis II is in space and circling the moon!

April 13: Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, was born in Albermarle County, VA in 1743. In this book, the author does a clever job of comparing Thomas Jefferson and another key person in history. List at least 3 ways the books tells that these men were different. How did those difference help them?

April 14: Mathematician and physicist Christian Huygens was born in Hague, Netherlands, in 1629. He discovered Saturn had rings.

April 15: Artist, inventor Leonaro da Vinci was born in Anchiano, Italy in 1452. Make a parachute, invisible ink, walk-on-water and more to follow in DaVinci's inventive footsteps. Activities are found in this book.

April16: Aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright was born in Milville, IN, in 1867. Read about the man. Then start flying your own planes--that's straw airplanes.

Click to link to directions.

April 17: Celebrate Bats Day
Read my book The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats (Millbrook/Lerner) to discover why bats are in trouble and why we need to help them.

April 18: Paul Revere and William Dawes made their "Midnight Ride" in 1775.
Read a really fun telling of this moment in history as shared by Paul Revere's horse.

And read one of my all time favorite books about this time in history.

The San Francisco earthquake and fire happened from April 18-21, 1906.
What was it like to survive this quake and fire? Here is one fun fictional story about it.

April 19: Surveyor 3 landed on the moon in 1967. This let scientists learn the surface is solid and not covered in fine powder. That opened the door for lunar landings.

April 20: RCA introduced the electron microscope in 1940, making it possible to sre the structure of very small things. 

April 21: Conservation leader and explorer John Muir born in Dunbar, Scotland, in 1838. His efforts led to the establishment of national parks. He led a successful effort to save California's giant redwoods. This is one of my favorite books. Read it to find out how this camping trip with John Muir changed the world. 

April 22: Arbor Day often observed on this date. First observed in Nebraska in 1872, by planting trees. 

And get to know trees from the Outside In.

Earth Day first observed on this day in 1970. 

April 23: First public showing of a motion picture took place in 1896 in New York City.
What is your favorite movie? Why?

April 24: Library of Congress established in 1800. It is considered the world's largest library with millions of books.

April 25: Guglielmo Marconi born in Bologna, Iltaly, in 1874. He invented the wireless telegraphy which made the radio possible.

The first Seeing Eye Dog was presented as a guide dog in 1928. Read the story about Roselle, the seeing eye dog in my book. How was this dog a hero?

April 26: Ornithologist (studier of birds) John Audubon was born in Haiti in 1785. 

April 27: Inventor Samuel Finley B. Morse was born in Charlestown, MA in 1791. He invented the telegraph. The first message ever sent was between Washington, D. and Baltimore, MD. It was "What hath God Wrought?" 

Check out the Morse Code alphabet. Then try writing a "Happy Birthday" message to your best friend in Morse Code.

April 28: First free fall parachute jump made by L.L.R. Irvin, in 1919 in Dayton, OH. 

April 29: "Separable Fastener" patented in 1913 by Gideon Sundback of Hoboken, NJ. With some tweaks, this became the zipper.  
What in the world can you do with a zipper? Find out and try some of the activities on thi site just for fun!

April 30: The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the US in 1803. Would you make the deal? Read and decide. What is your opinion?

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY FEBRUARY FUN!

Start off this month's FUN by Visiting with me as I share COULD YOU EVER WADDLE WITH PENGUINS! (Scholastic)

Now, discover more fun on these dates.

February 16: OPERATION SANDBLAST The submarine USS Triton left New London, CT beginning what became the world's first underwater circumnavigation of the earth. It took 84 days and covered 41,500 miles. It also followed, generally, the route of the first ever circumnavigation of the globe by Ferdinand Magellan from 1519-1522. 

Challenge Ss to think about being inside a sub for 84 days. What would they have taken along to entertain themselves? And it would have had to fit in a small space! What would they have loved about this adventure? But what would they have missed most?

Also, challenge Ss to think about Magellan's crew being away from home for years! And no way to text or call!

February 17: NATIONAL RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY. Think of some way to be nice to someone else.

Now, give each Ss another Ss's name to be their Secret Kindness Friend for a week or just a day. Have them leave their friend a note on a Kindness Message Board. Think what other little acts of kindness they might do?

February 20: is LOVE YOUR PET DAY. *I have to share one of my favorite love your pet books.

Challenge Ss to write a one paragraph story about their pet...Or their wished for pet.

February 22: POPCORN While this may not be the exact date, it's believe February, 1630 was when Native American Quadequina introduced early colonists to popped corn. You may be shocked to learn popcorn was the original puffed breakfast cereal. Popcorn was also worn by the early Native Americans. Have kids pop up some jewelry too. After threading dental floss through a needle have them poke the needle through the thickest part of the popped kernel. String necklaces or bracelets. After wearing, hang outdoors for bird snacks. 

February 25: READ ACROSS AMERICA begins today! It ends on March 2nd, Dr. Seuss's birthday. So be sure and read a Dr. Seuss book out loud today. *Here's my favorite.

And don't miss me reading to your Ss too.

I'm reading WHAT IF YOU COULD SNIFF LIKE A SHARK!? (Scholastic)

CELEBRATE PENGUIN AWARENESS DAY!

 I've written three books about penguins and each book has been about a different kind of penguin.

THE GREAT PENGUIN RESCUE
(Millbrook/Lerner, 2017) is about African penguins. 

A MOTHER'S JOURNEY (Charlesbridge, 2005) is about Emperor penguins.

PENGUINS: GROWING UP WILD (Currently Available on Amazon Kindle) is about Adelie penguins.

I love penguins because I had the wonderful opportunity twice to live with 160,000+ Adelies in Antarctica during the summer while they raised their chicks, watch Emperors from an icebreaker while they were riding on icebergs (off duty from wintertime egg hatching) and see even more kinds of penguins (Fairy Blue and Yellow-eyed) in New Zealand. 

So, here are some activities for you to enjoy getting to know the penguins in my books.

HOW PENGUINS STAY DRY
First, use the link to download 2 printable pictures of an African penguin--for each child.  

Next, supply children with paper cups of water and eyedroppers. Have them drip five drops of water on the uncolored African penguin. Then have them drip five drops on the colored African penguin. Ask, "What difference do you see?"

The children will observe the water soaks into the uncolored penguin and beads up on the colored on. African penguins, like all penguins, have a special gland that lets them spread an oily coat over their feathers. Like the wax, that lets their feather shed water. And penguin feathers are incredibly small (I know because I've held some in my hand). But the tiny feathers tuck tightly over each other, like roof shingles, to form a thick, watertight coat. In fact, penguins have more feathers than most birds--as many as 100 feather per square inch.

Emperor Dad On Duty

A MOTHER'S JOURNEY shares the less familiar story of what female emperors do while the dad's hunker down incubating their egg through Antarctica's freezing cold winter.  I know what winter in Antarctica is like. I experienced it firsthand at McMurdo Station.

Winds could be strong enough to lean into. Snow like tiny ice-glitter would fill the air. And temperatures averaged -50F to -70F (painfully cold to breathe) and dropped as low as -129F. It's an impressive cold. 

So the female emperor penguins get credit for traveling through this--in the dark--to reach open water and to feed, stay strong, and return just in time to feed their newly hatched chick. 

And the males get credit for staying the winter with the egg tucked into their brood patch (to share body warmth) and hold the egg on top of their feet to keep it off the cold ice and snow--even as they shift around with the huddle of other males. This activity will let kids get the idea.

Use any kind of baggie--even a self-sealing plastic bag. Put a ball inside to be the emperor penguin's egg.  First, have the children put their egg on top of their shoes (feet together) and practice waddling to move slowly without losing their egg. 

After a little practice, children are ready to be in a large penguin huddle with their egg on their feet. Tell them to pack as close together as they can. Then challenge them to waddle whenever you call "MOVE". And everyone at the outside of the huddle shifts one person to the inside. Repeat several times. 

It's fine for anyone who drops their eggs to return it to their feet. But point out Dad penguin must be quick in real life. Chilling puts the chick developing inside the egg at risk of not surviving to hatch. 

Listen to A MOTHER'S JOURNEY being read.

MY SOUTH POLE JOURNEY

On December 14, 1911 Roald Amundsen led the first ever journey to stand at the Earth's South Pole. It involved lots of planning and preparing. It meant first reaching Antarctica on board a ship called the Fram. It was a long ocean trip. 

A whole team of men came with Amundsen and helped. They brought materials to build shelters to live in, food to eat, and gear to stay warm while they prepped for the big push to reach the South Pole. 

They also brought tents to be shelters for the Pole trip, sleds to carry survival gear, including camp stoves, and dogs to pull the sleds. 

Getting to the South Pole was a VERY big journey and it was dangerous. There were blizzards and freezing temperatures to endure. There was also dangerous frozen lands to cross. But Amundsen and his team were successful. Though there was no flag or marker to let him know he'd arrived. Instead, he used a seaman's tools to determine when he was at the Earth's South Pole. 

 

In December, 1996, I too journeyed to the South Pole. That trip was only historic to me, but it was life changing for me and part of something special happening. 

I didn't go to Antarctica with the goal of reaching the South Pole. I went because I applied to participate in the National Science Foundation's Artists and Writers program. And I was selected to go so I could create one of the first--maybe the first--NSF Antarctic websites to share polar research with elementary school students. I interviewed lots of U.S. scientists who regularly spent time working in Antarctica. And I shared this on a website I created. My other goal in going to Antarctica for NSF was to share the first ever live virtual visits--audio only--from Antarctica with U.S. elementary schools. That probably sounds like no big deal now. Then it was a VERY BIG deal.

I didn't travel to Antarctica the way Roald Amundsend did. He left Norway on the Fram on August 19, 1910. It took him 5 months to reach the coast of Antarctica. I left Atlanta, Georgia by plane in late November, 1996. I had to change planes in Chicago, Los Angeles, and then Auckland, New Zealand. I reached Christchurch, New Zealand in just under twenty-four hours. After being outfitted with the warm clothes and boots I'd need in Antarctica, I boarded a C-17 military plane.

This time I sat on a canvas seat with stretched netting for a back in the guts of the plane. Passengers were elbow to elbow and knee to knee. Just past our "seats" toward the tail end were floor to roof giant pallets of crates and equipment. My camera gear was there...somewhere. And I was given my in flight meal--a paperbag lunch with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of chips, a candy bar, and a bottle of water. Off we went!

It was too noisy to talk. The temperature alternated between super hot and freezing cold depending on when the heater blasted air into our area. And it was a bouncy, bumpy ride. I didn't drink the water. I had not had anything to drink for a full day before the trip either. I'd been warned and knew the only "bathroom" on this flight was primitive and just behind a curtain in a corner of the passenger area. 

Eleven hours later, the challenges of the flight were forgotten. The announcement was passed along that we were over Antarctica. I took my turn getting to one of the plane's porthole windows. And the sight took my breath away. I also saw why all those who worked on that frozen continent called Antarctica "The Ice". I was looking down at VAST white ice! But it's not flat. There are rugged mountains,including steam puffing volcanoes punctuating flat stretches. So besides white I saw every possible to imagine shade of blue, lavender, and pink where shadows tinted the white.

When we landed, I was whisked away in a vehicle perfect for rolling over ice and snow nicknamed the TERRA-BUS. 

Roald Amundsen and his team had to build shelters and set up where they would cook their food. They named their Antarctic station Framheim. It was located on thick ice covering the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. And it was sheltered from blasting winds by the hills on a nearby island called Roosevelt Island. 

I arrived at the U.S. base called McMurdo Station on Ross Island. Permanent buildings were already there--built in 1955 through 1956 by the US Navy Seabees. I shared a room in a dorm, called Hotel California. And I ate in a cafeteria with the hundreds of workers and scientists that were there for the summer research season. During the summer, the McMurdo population can be as great as 1,200 people--winters it drops to 200 or fewer. It was a rugged, gritty, icy place. Rows of trucks were parked between the buildings--each plugged in when not operating to keep their batteries warm. Strong winds blews regularly--and I mean strong enough it often felt like I was pushing through heavy blankets. Tiny ice crystals danced in this wind along with grit that made my teeth crunch together. 

And a little ways from the group of buildings forming McMurdo Station was Robert Scott's hut. Robert Scott's team built it when they first landed here in 1902. Scott returned to Antarctica again in 1910 and built a hut at Cape Evans. It was from that base that he made his attempt to reach the South Pole. 

Scott's hut on Ross Island is located where his ship anchored. That must have been great for off-loading supplies. But it was  too far away from the hill sheltering the buildings forming McMurdo Station to have given it any wind protection.  

I remember standing inside Scott's Hut. Seeing everything I'd seen in photos of the men living here. And I thought "This must have been a horrible place to have spent more than a year!" Scott's crew did have a lengthy stay there. But not without something to keep them busy during the long dark, winter months. They brought a printing press and published a book. They also managed to put on plays to entertain themselves.

OH, I forgot to mention that summertime in Antarctica means daylight lasts 24-hours every day. I found it exhilarating! I was generally up nearly nonstop for 3 days at a time before I'd crash to sleep. And thanks to the constant daylight I could see and photograph everything. I hiked and hiked and camped out at an Adélie penguin rookery. 

I also helped scientists launch a weather balloon, catch giant Antarctic fish through a hole in the ice, and search for Mars meteorites that fall to Earth everywhere (I'm told) but show up best on white snow. 

Roald Amundsen and his four-man team traveled to the South Pole by dogsled. To get ready, some of his team made advance trips along the route to stash food. That way, those heading to the Pole could travel lighter and keep going all the way there. Their total trip required camping and traveling over dangerous terrain for 56 days. 

I prepped by staying up the entire night before my journey to the South Pole. I knew this was an awesome opportunity and I was worried I might sleep in. Then I caught my Terra-bus ride to the airfield--what was actually the sea ice. And I climbed aboard my ride--a LC-130 Hercules propeller driven plane equipped with skis to take off and land on the ice. I also traveled with four other people but our trip took a little less than six hours. 

Being at this historic site was amazing! VAST again leaps to mind. I could see just the tops of what had been the huts men constructed for living there when the South Pole Station was built between November 1956 and February 1957 (summertime in Antarctica). 

I toured the building currently being used as the South Pole Station for science research and survival year round. I was also there to view the site and plans for construction of a new South Pole Station--what is there now. 

It stands on massive supports that can raise it little-by-little to remain above the snow as more and more piles up. It's not so much what snow falls at the Pole as what blows and drifts.

Though I was only at the South Pole for a few hours, it remains a vivid memory. In all, I went to Antarctica three times and lived there for two summer research seasons and one winter--when McMurdo Station is cut off from the rest of the world for nine months. 

RoaldAmundsen became a historic figure for his journey to the South Pole. Robert Scott did too, but he and his team had a sad ending. Here is a photo of him and his team on their journey. They arrived at the Pole on January 17, 1912, finding the marker Amundsen left. They died during their return trip. 

Though my three Antarctic trips didn't make the history books, they inspired a number of my books.

Pioneering Frozen Worlds (Atheneum) About Antarctic research.

Super Cool Science: South Pole Stations Past, Present, and Future (Walker) About the polar stations.

Growing Up Wild: Penguins (Atheneum) About Adélie penguin chicks hatching and growing up.

A Mother's Journey (Charlesbridge) About a female emperor penguin's wintertime journey while the male incubates their egg.

I also shared my live virtual visits with schools in the U.S., wrote magazine articles about Antarctica exploration and research, did an NPR interview while on board an icebreaker, and helped develop a documentary on the ozone hole over Antarctica for CNN. In addition to helping NSF have a website about their supported Antarctic research, the National Science Foundation supported my development of Kit & Kaboodle from 1997 through 1999. This was an early interactive, on-line elementary science curriculum. And, happily, it was successfully used by schools in all 50 U.S. states plus 11 other countries. It made science unforgettable FUN for many elementary school students.

And I met my husband Skip Jeffery at McMurdo Station. We became the third couple in the world to be married in the Chapel of the Snows at McMurdo Station---twenty-six years ago. He spent two winters and one summer working there so we share very special memories of our journeys to Antarctica.