Tag archives for Kids
Posted by Have you ever created a work of art you think would make a great greeting card? If you’re 14 or under, you can enter the 20th annual Pier 1 Imports/UNICEF greeting card contest! This year’s theme is “Making Spirits Bright.” The winning design will be reproduced as an official UNICEF greeting card for the 2011 winter holiday season. The winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship and $500 in art supplies for his/her school! In addition, visitors to the Pier 1 website will be able to cast their vote for the “Fan’s Choice Award.” The artist who receives the most votes will receive $500 in art supplies.
All entries must be received by Pier 1 Imports’ Corporate Headquarters by March 12, 2011. The winner of the contest will be announced in April.
Visit your local Pier 1 store or visit the website to get an entry form.
Learn more about the contest on the UNICEF website.
Image courtesy of UNICEF. Design by Justas Varpucanskis, 2010 “Voter’s Choice” winner
The U.S. and Canadian winners of the International Photo Contest 2010 for Kids have been announced! Click here to check out the gallery on National Geographic Kids and see the winners.
The cool cats in this winning picture don’t seem to be too worried about the dog in the house. Maybe they didn’t read the sign!
Photograph by Laura Bleacher
Posted by BOOK NAME: To Come and Go Like Magic
AUTHOR: Katie Pickard Fawcett
One of the reasons I read this book is because of its gripping title. The title is a small but important aspect of this book because the main character, Chili, lives in Mercy Hill. This is fine, but she wants to see other places and people. Chili’s mom says that people born in Mercy Hill stay in Mercy Hill. Chili is surrounded by questions that mom and pop won’t answer for reasons unknown to her. Mercy Hill is a relatively poor area except for the VISTAS, the people who come here to “help the homeless, dirty and uneducated people”. However, they don’t appear to be here to help people. It’s more like they are here to get publicity and act like saints. The people of Mercy Hill aren’t dirty and dumb, they just choose to live this way. They go around barefoot because they want to. Even the kids with shoes walk around barefoot.
I love the amazingly unique and strong characters. The author gives you a personality description of the characters, but she leaves out the visual description. I actually like this because then I can make the characters look like anything I imagine them to be in my mind. I would recommend this book to all your friends, because this book has made its way into my heart and is a terrific read for a rainy day. Read it for yourself and I promise you won’t be disappointed.
National Geographic Adventure has chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers, 16-year-old Jessica Watson, circumnavigated the globe solo this May. It took 210 days, but she did it–and became the youngest person to make the journey while she was at it! Raised on sailboats, Jessica had been training her whole life to make this difficult voyage, with the support of her parents.
Sometimes the journey was scary, but Jessica says there were plenty of good moments, too. “The Pacific was easy sailing, smooth and fun. In the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn, the albatrosses were just amazing, surfing down the face of the waves. One of the great things about sailing is no two days are really the same.”
What was your best adventure in 2010? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the 2010 nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Hands-On Explorer blog.
Photograph by Sergio Dionisio, Getty Images
Adventurers of the Year Chosen
National Geographic Adventure has chosen their ten Adventurers of the Year. Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorites for the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. One of the adventurers is only 12 years old: Matt Moniz, a mountain climber. Matt’s big 2010 adventure was this summer. In less than two months, Matt climbed the highest point in all 50 states with his dad.
Matt thinks it’s really important that kids get outside. “It’s important to try to encourage kids to go outside and protect public land. In another 30 years, if we had a president who just grew up in the city and played video games all his life, he might not be as focused on protecting our land,” he says.
What was your best adventure in 2010? Leave a comment below and tell us!
Read about all of the 2010 nominees, then vote for your favorite on National Geographic Adventure.
Want to read more about kids having adventures? Check out the Global Bros blog.
Photograph courtesy Matt Moniz
Posted by BOOK NAME: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
AUTHOR: John Grisham
I had a summer book review due for school. I liked Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer so much I picked this one for the book review. And you know how much I read!
This book is about a 13-year-old kid who wants to be a lawyer and he’s already almost as smart as a one. He’s always in the courtroom in his hometown because his parents are lawyers and that’s where he wants to be. Also, he sometimes handles small cases for the kids in his class, and even argues for them in court (things like problems with their pets).
There’s about to be a huge case about a murder. The judge case let’s Theo’s Government class sit in the bleachers for the first session. The case is about a man who murdered his wife. His lawyer is the best defense lawyer in the town and it looks like the suspect is about to get away.
It turns out that one of the kids that Theo tutors at the homeless shelter has a cousin who was an eyewitness to the murder. BUT, the eyewitness is an illegal immigrant so he doesn’t want to tell anyone because he’s afraid he’ll be arrested and sent back to his home country.
Theo has to find a way to help the cousin step forward without getting arrested. The rest of the story is about how Theo has to solve the case before the suspect is set free.
This is a great book for 3rd grade and above. It’s not that long and I loved it.
There’s just a few more days to enter your best photos into the 2010 International Photography Contest for Kids! All entries must be postmarked or uploaded by November 1. You may enter one photo for each of the contest categories: humor, animals, scenery, or people.
Visit the 2010 International Photography Contest for Kids page to learn more and enter the contest.
See some of the winning photos from last year’s contest on National Geographic Kids.
Do you know how someone becomes President of the United States? Well, a lot of kids ask that question on the website, Kids.gov. Now is your chance to help explain how the process works as part of a contest on Kids.gov. Create a poster or infographic (information graphic) containing the information on how the presidential election works and submit it to kids.gov. The winner of the contest will receive $2,500, and their entry will be featured on Kids.gov. The entry period ends on November 3, 2010.
Learn more about the poster contest on the Kids.gov website.
If you were President for a day, what kind of zany stuff might happen? Add your words to this Funny Fill-In to create your own story.
Image courtesy kids.gov
Saturday, Sept. 18, will be the first International Observe the Moon Night. There are more than 300 official moon-watching events scheduled, but you can observe the moon from your own neighborhood if the sky is clear. You can use binoculars or a telescope to get a closer look at the moon. Even without a telescope, you can see some craters, such as the Tycho crater near the moon’s south pole!
NASA and several partners established International Observe the Moon Night to raise people’s awareness of the moon and its scientific importance.
Learn more about Observe the Moon Night on National Geographic News.
Think you know the most about the moon? Quiz Your Noodle and see how you rate!
The moon isn’t the only cool thing in the sky to celebrate. Learn how to throw a star party on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Siamak Sabet, My Shot
Last year, a Dutch court ruled that Laura Dekker was too young to sail around the world by herself. Laura is now 14, and she is on her way to Portugal on her yacht, Guppy. In September, Laura will begin her official attempt to break the record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe sailing solo. The current record holder, Jessica Watson, broke the record in May at the age of 16.
Would you want to sail around the world alone?
Read more about Laura in the Associated Press article.
See a video of Laura on the the BBC.
Photograph by Bas Czerwinski, AP
Ten winners have been chosen by Build-A-Bear in their Huggable Heroes program. The program recognized the teens for their commitment to helping others.
Visit the Huggable Heroes website to find out who this year’s Huggable Heroes are!
Read more about the Huggable Heroes program on News Bites.
Eleven-year-old Sam Atkin, also known as the Shark Scientist, traveled to the TEDxOilSpill conference in Washington, D.C. last week to hear people such as National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence Sylvia Earle speak about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. NGKids News Bites asked him some questions about the conference.
News Bites: What are you hoping to accomplish by attending the event?
Sam: When I try to figure out a solution to the gulf oil spill, one problem leads to another and I get overwhelmed. I know there are going to be a lot of scientists at the conference and I’m hoping to witness a solution in the making with my video camera. My goal is to understand the problem better and share what I learn in Shark Scientist Magazine [Sam's blog].
News Bites: What can kids to do help with the oil spill?
Sam: I think it would be dangerous for kids to work physically with the oil. We don’t have the judgment and skills of the adults to handle hazardous materials. However, kids in the area can learn about the problem and bring what they know to school. By doing reports and projects about the problem, they can interest friends who have not done the research but are still interested in knowing more. Since that work doesn’t depend on your location, it can be done by kids far and wide. I think the kids in the gulf states have an opportunity to lead the rest of us. [I saw a video] done by VAYLA-NO, they teach about hydrocarbons and hydrosulfide in oil. I didn’t know that. If I saw a blob of oil on the beach, I might play with it before I saw their video. Now I know to keep away. They may not be able to clean birds and stuff, but they made a video that educated me about the dangers of encountering oil at the beach. That’s pretty important to me.
Read more about Sam on Nat Geo News Watch.
Find out more about the oil spill on the GreenScene blog.
Next week will be Kids Week on the TV game show Jeopardy!
(where
host Alex Trebek gives the answers, and contestants have to give him the
questions). Beginning on Monday evening, you can watch kids compete for
$15,000 and a trip with their families to Norway, Costa Rica, Mexico,
Alaska, or the Galápagos Islands.
On Wednesday, July 7,
Alex will present answers provided by National Geographic Kids!
How many of the
kids will be able to give the correct questions? Be sure to tune in to
find out!
After you have watched the show, post a
comment and
let everyone know how many of the questions you could answer.
Find out when Jeopardy! airs in your state on the Jeopardy! website.
Are you a trivia whiz? Check out the quizzes on National Geographic Kids.
The winner of the National Park Foundation’s First Bloom garden design contest has been announced! Fort Smith National Historic Site in Arkansas came in first place. The design features raised beds planted with native Arkansas plants, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. To fit in with the historic nature of the park, youth from Girls, Inc. of Fort Smith will help maintain the garden wearing costumes from the 1860s.
The Fort Smith National Historic Site’s First Bloom group will be taking a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit national parks such as the National Mall. The other winners will get grants to help them with their projects.
Visit the First Bloom site to see a gallery of all the entries.
How much do you know about the national parks? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Illustration courtesy National Parks
Foundation
Do you like to explore? Kids living in the U.S. spend 50% less time outdoors than kids did 20 years ago. Forests are great places to have outdoor adventures and learn about nature. You’ll never know what you’ll discover. Grab your parents and tell them you want to go on an outdoor adventure this weekend. Visit the Discover the Forest site to get inspired and print out a book full of cool stuff to do featuring Shrek!
Why does Shrek like visiting the forest? Watch the new Discover the Forest video on YouTube to find out!!
Visit Discover the Forest to find a forest or park near you.
You can go on a camping trip in your backyard! Find out how on National Geographic Kids.
Do you want to learn more about national parks and have some fun at the same time? First Bloom is a National Park Foundation program just for kids in grades four through six where kids do activities and meet with park rangers once a month. Kids can learn about environmental topics such as invasive species vs. native plants and how they affect an ecosystem.
This spring, First Bloom groups designed gardens that feature native plants from their local parks. You can vote for your favorite design. The group that gets the most votes will win a free trip to a national park.
Learn more about First Bloom and vote for your favorite garden designs on the National Parks Foundation website.
What are invasive plants? Get the scoop on National Geographic Kids.
Illustration courtesy National Parks Foundation
On “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day,” April 22, kids took over National Geographic headquarters. They got the inside scoop on what it’s like to work for National Geographic and reported on what they learned.
Read the whole post »
The 2010 National Geography Bee state competitions were held on Friday, April 9. The winners of the state GeoBees have been announced and are listed here! The finalists will travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the finals on May 25-26 at National Geographic headquarters.
Learn more about the National Geographic Bee.
Want to test your geography knowledge? Try the GeoBee Challenge or Quiz Your Noodle!
Photograph by Jeanne Modderman/National Geographic
Read the whole post »
Have you ever hiked or camped in a national park? Then you probably have seen a park ranger on duty. The National Park Foundation wants kids ages 9 to 12 to enter a contest and write an essay answering this question: If you were a National Park Ranger for a day, how would you describe the national parks to someone who’s never been before?
The winner of the contest will receive $200 in Merrell gift certificates, an Olympus camera, and an America the Beautiful pass. The pass allows free entry to all of America’s recreation lands.
Learn more about the contest on the National Park Foundation website.
Want some inspiration? Visit the photo gallery to see great shots from the parks, then Quiz Your Noodle and see how much you know about these national treasures.
On February 5, we asked for your help naming our upcoming Explorers’ area on National Geographic Kids. You sent in some great ideas, and now you can help narrow down the names! Visit http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/contests/Explorers-name-voting and vote for your favorite name in the poll.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Visit the Huggable Heroes website to find out more and enter, or pick up an entry form at a participating Build-A-Bear Workshop store.
Get inspired! Read about kids who helped National Geographic Kids, Jordin Sparks, and Malaria No More fight malaria in Africa.
Photograph courtesy Build-A-Bear Workshop
National Geographic Kids is about to launch a new online feature to showcase our amazing group of National Geographic Explorers! You can get a sneak peek in the illustration above. We want your creative ideas on what to name our upcoming explorers area. Our explorers not only dive into the depths of the ocean to do research, they also preserve languages, study wildlife, explore world cultures, and pore over scientific data to understand our planet and nature.
Please send us your ideas! You can either post your ideas as a comment, or email us. Thanks!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Think big for a second. If you could do anything, what would you do? Google wants to know and is inviting K-12 students to get their creative imaginations working on what you’d do if you could do absolutely anything.
Your school must be registered by March 17 for you to be able to submit a design and all entries must be received by March 31.
Learn more about the Google 4 Doodle competition.
Feeling really artistic? Enter the Ocean Flag Design Contest on National Geographic Kids.
President Obama has finished his first year in office. But how well has he done as President? National Geographic Kids magazine asked 758 readers to grade President Obama on his performance in different subjects like health care, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the environment.
So how did he do? For the most part, NG Kids readers think the President is doing a pretty good job. Most kids (90%) gave him an overall passing grade. When it came down to individual issues, the readers were a little more divided. For example, 46% gave him an A or B on health care, 22% gave him a C or D. Fifteen percent of kids gave him an F–more Fs than he received on any other subject. Readers were more pleased with President Obama’s progress on taking care of the environment. Nearly half gave the President an A or B in this subject.
But when it comes to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, one in four kids gave the President a C or D for his performance. Here, too, they were sharply divided on his handling of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and both sides were extremely vocal about the stance they thought the President should take.
Along with the grades, kids also gave advice for the President to keep in mind for the rest of his term, such as “Sometimes being a leader means standing alone and doing the right thing when no one else will,” “Listen to the people, because the people make up this great union,” and “Try not to slouch so much.”
What grade would you give President Obama for his first year in office?
Read more stories about President Obama on News Bites.
Photograph by Pete Souza/Official White House Photo
What an incredible year this has been! Take a look at these 9 lists recapping your favorite amazing videos, tips, games, and more from NG Kids in 2009.
