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BOOK NAME: National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010

You'll like this book if you're really interested in a lot of stuff. It has so many random facts.. like the World's Wildest Theme Parks. Did you know Ocean Park in Hong Kong is really close to the ocean and it's all ocean animals?!

Some of the topics of the book are: Amazing Animals, Culture Connection, Geography Rocks, Going Green, History Happens, Wonders of Nature and Super Science.

Here's one of the stories I liked. It's called "5 Cool Dudes Who Changed the World" and it's about five people who helped make the world a better place. The cool dudes are Marco Polo, Juan Ponce de Leon, Ferdinand Magellan, David Livingstone, and Robert Peary. Marco Polo was one of the first Europeans to explore China. Juan Ponce de Leon was the first to discover Florida. Magellan led the first expedition to sail around the world. Livingstone was the first European to explore Africa extensively. Peary led the expedition that was the first to reach the geographic North Pole.

In Geography Rocks, there's a story called "10 Cool Things About the White House." The first one is that the President has his very own helicopter called the Marine One. The second is the White House has a lot of sports things like tennis and basketball courts, a swimming pool and a putting green! Number nine is that some claim the White House is haunted by John Adams wife, Abagail.

It also has more than 500 incredible photos and lots of other cool things.

Hi everyone. We're still in Costa Rica and having a great time. After Monteverde we went to the Arenal Volcano, which is an active volcano that is still letting out lava. When we arrived, great clouds of smoke were coming from the top of it, which was amazing to see. Later that day we went on a hike up the old lava flow, which was formed when it last erupted in 1968. While we were up there, we saw the volcano erupt and could even hear it rumbling! These "eruptions" usually last for only about 10 seconds, but happen as often as 17 times a day.
 

A team of committed folks has been folding and counting all the denim you sent in for the Guinness World Record attempt to collect the largest amount of clothing for recycling. And let me just say, we have a lot of denim. The count to date is... 29,317!!!!

We are flabbergasted. We will continue to count, but please don't send in any more denim. June 30 was the deadline! Once we have everything folded and counted, then we will call in the big boys at Guinness to give us the official count.

Stay tuned!

"Whoa!!!" I yelled when I lost traction in my wet, rubber boots. Splat!!! I was lying, facedown, in Amazonian mud. I can laugh now, but I sure wasn't laughing then. It was 8 a.m. We had just started our journey to spot giant river otters at Oxbow Lake.

I pulled myself upright. I was covered from head to toe in brown, sloppy mud. This was not the look I was going for. I was OK, but I couldn't say the same for my new camera. It was practically encased in the dirt. Perfect...

Thank goodness for Luis, our jungle guide. He took my equipment, wrapped it in a towel and put it in his backpack. We continued on our hike to the lake. Once on the boat, Luis wiped most of the grime off of my camera.

"You were lucky, Grace! The lens cap stayed on. Also, the body of the camera seems OK." The zoom control was a different story. It was a mess. I sat there looking at my suddenly-not-so-brand-new-looking Nikon camera. I was filthy and worried. I put the camera away. It began to rain--and we didn't see any giant river otters.

Scientists are concerned that fireflies may be disappearing. With the help of volunteers around the country, they hope to collect information about where and when fireflies are appearing this year. Ask your parents if you can help count fireflies. Visit Ready, Set, Glow! to learn how to observe fireflies in your backyard. You can also learn some firefly jokes and do some activities.

Visit Ready, Set, Glow! from the National Children's Museum.

Ask your parents, then register for the Museum of Science, Boston's Firefly Watch and share your observations.

Check out bug photos on National Geographic Kids.


To celebrate the launch of the National Children's Museum's Ready, Set, Glow! project, families join Museum of Science Boston educator Don Salvatore, holding a firefly fishing pole, for a firefly night walk.


Photograph courtesy the National Children's Museum

This is my last post on the Olympics, and frankly, it's been great writing for you guys. I've really enjoyed writing this blog, as it's helped me do things I wouldn't normally do--like interview athletes, trade pins, learn about the mascots and the torch relay. This enhanced my Olympic experience, too! The last Olympic event I went to was the men's beach volleyball.  The U.S. team got the gold medal, and I got to see them raise the American flag and sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the middle of Beijing! What a great way to end this Olympics!

Another highlight was getting to see Nadal and Federer play on the same day. It has inspired me to work hard on my tennis and I will try out for my middle school tennis team again this year (I didn't make it last year).  I also learned how a lot of different sports were played & judged (canoe/kayak slalom, beach volleyball, badminton, diving, etc.). Being able to watch a few events in person helped me appreciate how hard the athletes have to work before and during the Olympics.

Last year I met Meg Cabot, the author of The Princess Diaries, when she came to South Africa. It was so cool and she was so nice!

Last week I met John van de Ruit, the author of Spud, during the launch of his latest book, Spud - Learning to Fly at this cool mall called Melrose Arch.

Every year Grade Five puts on a huge production, a play  that my drama teacher writes, and this year it was my turn!!!

My friend Sukayna and I were the lead along with two boys.

Sukayna and I were the two angels: Goodness and  Evil, who come down from the heavens to Earth and meet two crazy people, and they all go looking for the reason of evil spreading everywhere. And guess what? I was the evil angel! And Sukayna was the good angel.