Kids' Corner
Kids Corner: Fun things to do with your brothers and sisters
Do you ever get bored? If so, here are a few activities that may interest you. Pick one to do with your brothers and sisters so you can all have fun together.
Create wacky characters
Draw the head and upper body of a character such as a person, animal, or monster. Then, fold the paper in half to hide your drawing and pass it to the next person. They must draw the lower part of the body without looking at what you drew. The results are sure to make you laugh.
Start a story circle
If you and your siblings can read, take turns sharing sentences or entire pages from a book you all enjoy. You could also pick one person to read the entire thing out loud.
Put on a show
Host a performance for your parents. Depending on your talents, you could:
• Sing a song or two
• Create a dance
• Put on a puppet show
• Recite nursery rhymes or poems
• Play a musical instrument
• Tell jokes
Make sure to rehearse what you’re going to do.
Make up a story
Choose five or more words at random. Then, make up a story that includes all the words you chose. If you want, you could challenge yourself to create a story that’s scary or funny.
Play store
Make price tags and attach them to your stuffed animals, puzzles, and toy cars. Place these items on a table to mimic a store shelf. Then, decide who will play the customers and who will play the cashier. Make sure you get out all the props you need to play your parts. This might include play money, a change purse, reusable bags, and a calculator.
To come up with more fun games for you and your siblings to play, use your imagination or ask an adult to help you look for ideas online.
1. Draw a picture of your brother or sister
2. Play cards or a board game
3. Solve a puzzle together
4. Build a fort with sheets and clothespins
5. Build the tallest tower of blocks you can
6. Play charades
7. Play 20 questions
8. Hide objects around the house to create a scavenger hunt
9. Write a letter to a family member
Kids' Corner
Nature quiz: find the odd one out
If you love nature, this fun quiz is for you. Try to find the odd one out in each of the following questions.
1. Which of these trees isn’t an evergreen?
A. Spruce
B. Yew
C. Poplar
D. Pine
2. Which of these mammals isn’t a rodent?
A. Beaver
B. Squirrel
C. Rabbit
D. Mouse
3. Which of these waterways isn’t a river?
A. The English Channel
B. The Seine
C. The Nile
D. The Mississippi
4. Which of these mushrooms isn’t edible?
A. Destroying angel
B. Porcini
C. Chanterelle
D. Shitake
5. Which of these constellations isn’t part of the zodiac?
A. Aries
B. Centaurus
C. Leo
D. Scorpius
6. Which of these mountain ranges isn’t in North America?
A. The Cascade Range
B. The Andes Mountains
C. The Appalachians
D. The Rockies
7. Which of these shrubs are thornless?
A. Sea buckthorn
B. Caper
C. Rhododendron
D. Rose
Answers
1-C, 2-C, 3-A, 4-A, 5-B, 6-B, 7-C
Kids' Corner
Morse code basics
Before the telephone and satellite communication was invented, Morse code was used to transmit messages over long distances quickly. For example, ships often used Morse code to send distress signals. Additionally, in the past, if you wanted to tell your family when your train would arrive at the station, you could send them a letter in Morse code.
What’s Morse code?
Morse code was invented by Samuel Morse and is a means of communication that uses long and short signals to transmit messages. Morse code is often sent using sound or light signals. It can also be written. For example, short signals are represented as dots and long signals as dashes:
• A =
• E =
• R =
• T =
Therefore, to communicate the letter A in Morse code, you must transmit a short sound followed by a long sound. Each letter of the alphabet has its own code, so you can easily spell words and phrases using the right combination of signals.
It’s a bit complicated, isn’t it? Fortunately, today you can simply text, email, or phone your friends. However, the Morse code is still used in military emergencies.
Kids' Corner
Why does helium change the sound of your voice?
Have you ever inhaled helium from a balloon? If so, you may have noticed that your voice becomes higher than usual. This is a funny and intriguing side effect. Here’s why it happens.
Your vocal cords vibrate when you speak or sing, much like the strings on a guitar. How fast the air passes through your vocal cords determines the pitch of your voice. Slow-moving air makes low-pitched sounds, while fast-moving air makes high-pitched sounds.
Helium is lighter than air. Therefore, when you inhale helium, it travels much more quickly across your vocal cords than oxygen, making your voice sound higher than normal.
Be careful
Though it’s fun to alter the pitch of your voice by inhaling helium, don’t overdo it. If you inhale too much, you could deprive your body of oxygen and faint. It’s perfectly safe to inhale small quantities of helium, but doing so repeatedly can have dangerous consequences.
Kids' Corner
10 tips for being a good friend
Cultivating long-lasting friendships takes time and commitment. Here are a few simple tips to help you make friends.
1. Pay attention and listen to them when they tell you something
2. Share with them
3. Keep their secrets
4. Periodically call, or video chat them
5. Never talk behind their back
6. Support and encourage them if they’re going through a tough time
7. Console them if they’re sad
8. Invite them to spend time with you
9. Celebrate important events with them like their birthday and holidays
10. Apologize if you hurt their feelings
One of the best gifts in life is friendship.
Kids' Corner
Association game: vegetables
Vegetables are excellent for your health and come in many colorful varieties and shapes. Try to match each clue to the correct vegetable.
1. This white vegetable is called Daikon
2. Bugs Bunny’s favorite food
3. A similar vegetable to collard greens
4. Another name for beans
5. There are summer and winter varieties of this vegetable
6. Rutabagas are from the same family as this vegetable
7. A crunchy green vegetable with lots of water
8. A dark green vegetable that looks like cauliflower
9. The leaves of this vegetable are used in salads
10. The most common varieties of this vegetable are English and Lebanese
11. Iceberg and Chinese are two varieties of this vegetable
12. A bulbous vegetable that’s said to repel vampires
13. A vegetable that’s often eaten with butter and salt
14. There are many ornamental varieties of this vegetable
15. The sweet version of a chili
A. Garlic
B. Chard
C. Broccoli
D. Carrots
E. Celery
F. Lettuce
G. Cucumber
H. Squash
I. Legumes
J. Kale
K. Corn
L. Turnip
M. Pepper
N. Radish
O. Arugula
Answers
1-N, 2-D, 3-B, 4-I, 5-H, 6-L, 7-E, 8-C, 9-O, 10-G, 11-F, 12-A, 13-K, 14-J, 15-M
Kids' Corner
4 animals that can regrow body parts

Many animals have extraordinary abilities. For example, certain species can change color or sleep with their eyes open. Here are four amazing creatures that can regrow their body parts.
1. Octopuses need eight limbs to move around and eat. Fortunately, they can regenerate lost tentacles in a matter of months.
2. Lizards can sever their own tails as a defense mechanism. A new tail will regrow within a few months.
3. Flatworms can tear themselves in half and regrow a completely new body, including a new head.
4. Spiders commonly lose legs when fighting off predators. The good news is that they can regrow their lost limbs within a few days.
In addition, male deer shed and regrow their antlers every year.
Did you know?
People can also regrow one specific part of their body. The liver, which filters blood, can partially regenerate itself.