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 Toby's Map
2010-07-21 13:08:19
 Did you see Toby's review of Follow That Map! in Issue 28 of KNOW? (Look for it on page 28.) Toby loved this book and told us that she drew a map of her room after reading it. She shared her map with us and we thought you might like to see it too!
 Birds in Your Backyards - Reports from our Readers
2010-06-24 13:20:58
Thanks to all of the readers who sent us reports on the birds they see in their backyard. Here are some of their reports and a few pictures, too.
From Hayley in Calgary, Alberta:
Last summer I saw a hawk in our backyard who was eating a sparrow.
About two weeks ago I saw two black capped chickadees. They were going in and out of the birdhouse like they were building a nest. My Dad went out to put some sunflower seeds in the birdfeeder but he scared them away. Today I saw them again.
From Peter in Thunder Bay, Ontario:
In our backyard we have robins who built their nest under our patio deck each summer. It is nice to see them & we know summer is here when we spot them. The mother robin can be seen bringing food to her babies. My mom also plants sunflower plants in our garden & we are able to see the chickadees trying to eat the seeds.
From Isaac in the Solomon Islands:
We had a blue and white Kingfisher visit our backyard on a coconut stump. We also had red and green parrots (Lorikeets) visit a different coconut tree.
Frigate birds sometimes fly over our house. We know they are Frigate birds because of their long, crooked wings.
And the most common bird in Solomon Islands is the Myna bird!
From Azadeh in Richmond, BC:
The spotted towhee comes often especially the black-capped chickadee. The house wren comes maybe a few times a day, but the house finch is very rare where I live!! When I feed those cute little birds, squirrls get into their way and scare them ,tell me a way to make the squirrls eat their own food if you know how.
From Charles in Hampton, Ontario:
I love birds and I'm going to tell you about my backyard birds. One time I got seeds and stood right at the feeder and about five chickadees landed on my hand. They felt light as a feather and their claws didn't even hurt.
My next experience was with a goldfinch. I saw it under the feeder and I went outside and it was trying to hop away and its feathers were really puffy and it looked like it was missing one. I quickly ran up to it and picked it up and held it and looked at it to see if anything was wrong. It seemed like something wrong, but I think there was something, but I couldn't see it. It flew away and I think I helped it.
These are the birds I see in my yard: flickers, blue jays, gold finches, chickadees, woodpeckers, red-winged blackbirds, juncos, sparrows, hummingbirds, red poll finches, robins, baltimore orioles, cardinals, crows, mourning doves, barn owls, hawks, sparrow hawk, and grosbeaks. Across our street we get Canada geese and a blue heron.
From Davis in Ottawa, Ontario:
I have Goldfinches, Blue Jays and Cardinals at my feeder. Also, Chickadees and Sparrows come by to eat, too.
Thanks, everyone!
Is chocolate good for you?
2010-04-9 10:09:39
Did you eat a lot of chocolate for Easter? It probably tasted great, but do you think it was good for you? If you ate good quality chocolate that contained a lot of cocoa and you didn't eat a lot of it, then maybe.
Researchers in Germany found that people who ate about 7.5 grams of chocolate a day lowered their blood pressure and reduced their risk of heart attack and stroke. They think that chemicals call flavanols, which are found in cocoa, may be the secret. Flavanols help relax the muscles in blood vessels, so they widen. This reduces blood pressure.
But before you run and tell your parents how chocolate is so great for you, remember that the people in the study were eating small amounts of good quality chocolate. Chocolate is "energy dense." This means it has a lot of calories, so just a little bit goes a long way. If you've had a chocolate egg or two already today, it's probably best to reach for an apple instead.
Your parents may be interested in reading more about this study. They can find a summary here.
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