• Before you read this story, help your child find some swirling lines in each illustration.
• As you talk together about the illustrations, teach your child the meaning of words like sap, fern, and frond.
• Point to the images in the illustrations as you read the text. This will help your child understand what he or she is hearing.

Although the vocabulary in this poem may be a bit of a challenge for our youngest readers, they will enjoy the sounds of the repeated letters and finding the images described in the text in the illustrations. The author, Michael J. Rosen, has written many children's books, including A Drive in the Country (Candlewick, 2007). He's also the author of You, Me, and the ABCs: 100 Ready-for-Reading Activities for Kids and Their Favorite Grown-ups (Ohio Children's Foundation © 2009). It's a great resource for both parents and teachers.

*Language Development: Listening & Understanding (Understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.)
*Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and nonfiction books and poetry.)

A Silly Day (pages 21 to 24)

• Encourage your child to listen for the rhyming words as you read this story aloud.
• Use the illustration on the last page to help your child retell the story. You'll see that all the "characters" in this tall tale are sitting on the shelf above the boy's bed!

When children are able to identify words that rhyme, they demonstrate their ability to distinguish ending sounds in words. Learning to recognize the small sound segments in a word is an important early-literacy skill.

*Literacy: Phonological Awareness (Progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in stories and poems.)
*Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Demonstrates progress in abilities to retell stories.)

The Hippo and the Mouse (pages 26 and 27)

• After you and your children have enjoyed reading the poem and looking at the illustration, use the questions to explore some basic math concepts.
• After hearing "Look at the Cheetah," children will have more information to help them decide which animal might win the race!

Both "Fun with Coins" (pages 16 and 17) and "The Hippo and the Mouse" are designed to help children discover how a number can be divided into smaller subsets. Another way to explore this concept is to give children a set of five or more objects. Ask them to make two small groups with the objects. Then ask them to make two new groups. (For example, if a child makes a group of 2 and a group of 3, help her discover that she can also make a group of 4 and a group of 1.) If your child enjoys playing this game, boost the complexity by using a larger number of objects.

*Mathematics: Number & Operations (Demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.)
*Approaches to Learning: Reasoning & Problem Solving (Develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.)

*Early-childhood standards based on the U.S. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.

• Children can use the information contained in each illustration to discuss what's happening and predict what might happen next.
• If children are able to recognize and name some letters, look for the repeated letters in the first two words of each sentence.

When children talk about what they see in the illustrations, they are learning to look carefully, pay attention to small details, and use words to explain what they see or think. These are important early-literacy skills. If children are beginning to recognize some letters, they may notice that the first two words in each sentence begin with the same letter. They will also begin to understand that words are formed by groups of letters, and that the letter on the left is the first letter in a given word. Some children may also see that shorter words can be found inside longer words; for example Hi is part of the longer word Hillary.

*Literacy: Speaking & Communicating (Develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions, and for other varied purposes.)
*Literacy: Alphabet Knowledge (Increases in ability to notice the beginning letters in familiar words.)

Morning on the Farm (pages 22 to 25)

• After reading the story, ask your child to retell it. If your child has trouble remembering the sequence of events, help him or her use the pictures to recall what happened.
• Reread the Spanish phrases, pointing to each animal as you say its name in Spanish.

If you want to hear the Spanish read aloud, go to HighlightsParents.com and click on the High Five® audio button. Each month, you'll find a recording of the entire issue. You can listen online or download the audio to your favorite listening device.

*Social & Emotional Development: Knowledge of Families & Communities (Progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people, such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures.)
*Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Demonstrates progress in abilities to retell stories.)

Triangle Tricksters (pages 26 and 27)

• After reading the poem and answering the questions, you could count to see how many triangles are on these pages.
• Point out that not all triangles on these pages are the same shape, size, or color, but all triangles have just three sides.
• Ask your child to find a shape on these pages that is not a triangle. (The tree trunk is not a triangle; it has four sides. The center of the star is not a triangle; it has five sides.)

Counting to find out how many triangles are green, red, etc. will help children begin to see how a set of objects can be divided into smaller subsets. You could repeat this activity by giving younger children a set of 15 colored wooden beads and asking them to group the beads into subsets based on color. Give older children a set of 15 coins, and ask them to group the coins into smaller subsets of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.

*Mathematics: Number & Operations (Demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.)
*Mathematics: Geometry & Spatial Sense (Begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts, and their attributes.)

*Early-childhood standards based on the U.S. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.

ACTIVITIES
Fun This Month (page 2)
Make a pinwheel and figure out a maze.

Find the Pictures (page 2)
Look for the 10 pictures hidden throughout the issue.

Hidden Pictures® (page 14)
Find the open book, spatula, and other objects.

BrainPlay (page 39)
What is a rock?

HUMOR
The Timbertoes® (page 29)
Mabel plays a silly trick on Tommy.

READERS' CONTRIBUTIONS
Your Own Pages (page 32)
Readers see drawings and poems from their peers all over the world.

REBUS
A Big Dinner for Little Mouse (page 11)
This mouse has a healthy dinner and a good night's sleep.

ACTIVITIES
Fun This Month (page 2)
Make a pinwheel and figure out a maze.

Find the Pictures (page 2)
Look for the 10 pictures hidden throughout the issue.

Dillon's Vacation (page 6)
Solve this puzzle.

Hidden Pictures® (page 14)
Find the open book, spatula, and other objects.

Tag with a Twist! (page 21)
Try these new ways to play an old favorite game.

Lunch at The Banana Café (page 22)
Trace the path that will lead Max to his friends and a delicious banquet.

Crafts (page 26)
Design a Personalized Mobile, create a CD Rainbow Sun Catcher, and make a Lezim, an Indian musical instrument.

Check . . . and Double Check (page 34)
Find 12 differences in these pictures.

Thinking (page 35)
Ponder what's happening in this race.

Make 11 (page 38)
Enjoy this game for two players.

BrainPlay (page 39)
If you found your old backpack at the bottom of your closet, what might you expect to find in it?

Picture Puzzler (page 43)
Untangle this maze to unite dogs with the people who are walking them.

FICTION
Kissy Face (page 12)
James finds that being a big brother is a good thing.

Nighttime in the City (page 36)
The city noises sing a lullaby.

HUMOR
Jokes (page 15)
Readers relate the best jokes they have heard.

The Timbertoes® (page 29)
Mabel plays a silly trick on Tommy.

Riddles (page 38)
Kids share their favorite riddles.

READERS' CONTRIBUTIONS
Your Own Stories (page 20)
Kids share stories they wrote.

Your Own Pages (page 32)
Readers see drawings and poems from their peers all over the world.

Dear Highlights (page 42)
The editors deal with readers concerns about getting angry and including others in activities.

REBUS
A Big Dinner for Little Mouse (page 11)
This mouse has a healthy dinner and a good night's sleep.

SCIENCE AND NATURE
Try This! Swirling Colors (page 10)
Watch the colors flow and mix.

Science Corner (page 18)
Find out how hot water can help open a jar.

Dino Days (page 18)
"Do you have an idea of how big a dinosaur's brain was?" Dino Don Lessem answers this question.

VALUES
Goofus and Gallant® (page 6)
Goofus doesn't read the directions; Gallant checks the instructions first.

The Bear Family (page 19)
Piddy learns to watch but not touch the baby animals.

VERSE
A Man for All Seasonings (page 5)

Reflections (page 15)

ACTIVITIES
Fun This Month (page 2)
Make a pinwheel and figure out a maze.

Hidden Pictures® (page 14)
Find the open book, spatula, and other objects.

Crafts (page 26)
Design a Personalized Mobile, create a CD Rainbow Sun Catcher, and make a Lezim, an Indian musical instrument.

Check . . . and Double Check (page 34)
Find 12 differences in these pictures.

Thinking (page 35)
Ponder what's happening in this race.

BrainPlay (page 39)
Describe how a pen works.

FICTION
The Tenth Puppy (page 8)
Saralynn helps her uncle discover the missing "puppy."

Ask Arizona (page 24)
Arizona and Ollie figure out a great way to remember "Grandfather Oak."

Play Ball, Jaguar Paw! (page 40)
Jaguar Paw finally finds some kids who just want to play the game.

HUMOR
A Chicken Chuckle (page 28)

NONFICTION
What a Pro Knows: Bubble Science (page 16)
Fan Yang may be the world's only bubble artist and scientist.

READERS' CONTRIBUTIONS
Your Own Stories (page 20)
Kids share stories they wrote.

Your Own Pages (page 32)
Readers see drawings and poems from their peers all over the world.

Dear Highlights (page 42)
The editors deal with readers concerns about getting angry and including others in activities.

SCIENCE AND NATURE
Science Corner (page 18)
Find out how hot water can help open a jar.

Dino Days (page 18)
"Do you have an idea of how big a dinosaur's brain was?" Dino Don Lessem answers this question.

Nature Watch (page 28)
Spring peepers live in marshes and other wetlands in eastern and central North America.

Learning to Speak Bear (page 30)
Scientist Lynn Rogers studies what black bears are saying.

Science Letters (page 34)
Learn how thermometers find the temperature.

VALUES
Gallant Kids (page 7)
Adam and Daniel Parker share their love of Marx Brothers movies with senior citizens.

You Need:

• Salt
• Macaroni
• Butter
• Flour
• Non-Fat Milk
• Low-Fat Cheese
• Pepper
• Bread Crumbs

Before You Begin

Fill the muffin tin with paper liners.
Adult: Preheat the oven to 350°.

1. Adult: Boil salted water in a large pot. Add 1/2 pound of macaroni and cook until it is almost tender (about 8 minutes). Drain and set aside.

2. Adult: Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Sprinkle in 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour. Stir for 2 minutes. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups of milk. Whisk the sauce for 4-5 minutes or until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove the pan from the stove.

3. Add 1 cup of grated cheese into the white sauce. Stir until the sauce is smooth. Add some salt and pepper.

4. Add the macaroni, 1/3 cup of bread crumbs, and a little more salt and pepper. Stir well.

5. Put the mixture into 12 muffin cups. Adult: Bake for 8 minutes.

Results of the Poll

1. Do you spend enough time with your kids?

2. When do you spend more time with your children?

3. What activities do you and your kids do together?

Other activities:

• Playing outside; going to the park
• Doing crafts
• Playing video and board games
• Helping with piano practice
• Gardening
• Reading together! One parent quite rightly took us to task for not listing reading among the listed options.

4. If you had more time, what would you and your kids do together?

• I think that my biggest problem isn't that I'm not spending enough time with my kids, but rather that I am constantly multi-tasking (homework help while I pay bills).
• Working mom = lots of guilt. But I spend lots of quality time with the children because I enjoy it.
• My twins stared kindergarten this year. They are so tired by the time they get home that we do not have any quality time together. It is all about homework, eating, and rushing to school or to the bath so they can get enough sleep.
• I homeschool, so we get a lot of time together! On the weekends, I try to take a little time away from the kids.
• I find that many parents (read "mothers") stress far too much about the subject of time with kids. Too many children have absolutely no idea how to amuse themselves independently (without screens or organized activities).
• Even though I am a stay-at-home mom, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to do all the things that I need to get done and all the fun stuff I'd like to do with my kids.

How many

a) legs on a spider?
b) colors in the rainbow?
c) teams in the National Football League?
d) pounds in a ton?
e) members in the U.S. House of Representatives?
f) teeth in an adult?
g) justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?
h) lines in a sonnet?
i) years in a U.S. Senator's term of office?
j) innings in a baseball game?
k) February days in a leap year?

See the Answers

Answers:

a) 8 (By definition, spiders have 8 legs; insects have 6.)
b) 7 (The colors of a rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.)
c) 32 (The teams are divided by conference and region, with 4 teams in each of 8 categories.)
d) 2,000 (A short, or U.S., ton is 2,000 pounds; a long ton is 2,240 pounds; and a metric ton is 1,000 kilograms or slightly over 2, 240 pounds.)
e) 435 (The number is fixed by law but can be changed by Congress.)
f) 32 (This includes molars and wisdom teeth; children have 20 teeth.)
g) 9 (U.S. Justices are appointed by the President and must be approved by a majority vote in the Senate.)
h) 14 (Sonnets have 14 lines. While the rhyming schemes of sonnets vary, the typical Shakespearean sonnet follows an a-b, a-b, c-d, c-d, e-f, e-f, g-g format.)
i) 6 (Each senator is elected for a six-year term. There are 100 Senators in Congress, two serving from each state.)
j) 9 (When the score is tied, a game goes into extra innings. The longest games on record have played over 20 innings.)
k) 29 (Usually February has only 28 days, but the extra day is added every four years so that the calendar year can catch up with the solar year, as it actually takes a little more than 365 days for the Earth to make a complete circuit around the sun. Leap year has 366 days.)

We encourage our kids to tell us what's going on in their lives, and yet we don't want them to be "snitches" or "tattletales." It's not always easy to understand the difference. How should we react?

Here are 4 questions to help guide your response. See how they apply to the real-life situations we've presented.

If your child comes to you with information about others, you can ask yourself:

• Why is my child telling me this?
• What are the possible consequences of what I've been told?
• What am I conveying to my child about how I handle problems?
• What else do I know about the situation that can inform my response?

See how the questions apply to these situations, and think about how you'd handle each one.

"I'm telling on you!" Four-year-old Justin is always quick to inform you if his older brother uses a forbidden curse word.

Suggestion: Explain to Justin that while you agree that his brother shouldn't be using such words, it's not his job to tell you.

Why: Young kids tend be strict about rules, especially as they apply to their siblings. In this case, it's more important to encourage harmony between the boys than respond in a situation where nobody's been physically or emotionally injured.

Your eight-year-old says, "Matthew pushed me in school again today. He says that if I tell the teacher, he's going to get his friends to punch me during recess."

Suggestion: Speak to the teacher about the bullying. Let your son know that you're glad he told you, empathize with his situation, and tell him that bullying is unacceptable. Discuss strategies for handling bullies.

Why: It's important for parents and school staff to collaborate to stop bullying as soon as it starts. Kids need to know that you take this seriously and that the adults are there to help. Always encourage children to report situations where anyone has been physically or emotionally hurt or threatened.

At her birthday party, Madison, your six-year-old, informs you that her cousin Molly has taken an extra piece of pizza. She says it's not fair, and that Molly should be given a time out.

Suggestion: Remind your daughter that the goal of a party is to share and have fun. Ask her why she's so upset, since there was plenty of pizza to go around.

Why: It appears that you've been drawn into a squabble between kids that has little to do with pizza or even fairness. Talking together may help both of you understand the root cause of her anger.

Your daughter, age 11, says, "Sophie told everybody to stop being friends with Amanda. Amanda was crying in the bathroom today and said nobody is talking to her."

Suggestion: Thank your daughter for letting you know what happened. Talk to your daughter about how she and her friends can stand by Amanda and find ways to confront Sophie.

Why: Children need to know they can discuss difficult situations with their parents. Being called names or ostracized is painful. If in talking to other parents or teachers you find that the mean behavior is ongoing, discuss ways parents or the school can step in. Friends can play an important role in informing grown-ups of what's going on "under the radar screen" of adult awareness.

"Grandma told me that she quit taking her medicine. She doesn't want you to know."

Suggestion: Thank your son for his concern, and let him know that you'll speak to Grandma. Then give Grandma an opportunity to discuss with you her feelings about taking medicine.

Why: It's very possible that Grandma wants to be found out. When people confide in others about things that are dangerous to themselves, there's often a wish to be helped.

Your ten-year-old son tells you, "The coach always picks on Ryan. Today the coach said that Ryan is a lazy slob and doesn't deserve to play."

Suggestion: Tell your son that you're glad he told you what happened, and speak to Ryan's parents and those in charge of the team.

Why: Your son is justifiably distressed by the way the coach is speaking to this teammate and concerned both about Ryan and the group. He wants to know whether you think this is par for the course or inappropriate. As you learn more about what's going on, you can decide how to tackle the coach's behavior. Kids can't confront adults in authority and need to know that their parents will step in when necessary.

"Guess what Brian is doing?" Your older daughter reports that one of her younger twin siblings is hitting the other with a plastic bottle.

Suggestion: Thank your daughter for letting you know, and then break up the battle. Work on helping the twins learn to handle their disagreements with words.

Why: It's important to intervene when kids are acting out physically—to prevent possible injury, set limits, and help kids learn better ways to handle conflicts.

Your seven-year-old daughter reports, "Hannah and Michelle took gum from the store without paying. They said that if I tell on them, they'll never talk to me again."

Suggestion: Tell your daughter that you're glad she didn't join her friends in doing something that was wrong. If you're comfortable speaking to your daughter's friends' parents, let them know what's up. Help your daughter figure out what to do if the situation comes up again.

Why: Kids this age experiment with off-limits behavior, and it's a good idea to remind them what is and isn't acceptable. Your daughter may be looking for support for not going along with her friends.

Your middle-school son confides, "The new girl, Samantha, didn't get on the school bus today. She was talking to a high school boy, and he gave her a ride home."

Suggestion: Kids don't always have the full picture, and the older boy may have been Samantha's big brother. However, it makes sense to follow up with a call to make sure Samantha is OK.

Why: Your son correctly senses that there's something potentially dangerous going on. Kids often look for adult guidance in making sense of unsettling observations or incomplete information.

As the above examples suggest, it's best to encourage kids to tell you what's going on rather than withhold information. That way you have the option of deciding what to do.

As kids grow, they acquire new skills that need to be practiced. Puzzles provide enjoyable ways for kids to build their emerging skills. With puzzles, the goal is clear and the feedback immediate; a puzzle piece either fits or doesn't. Because puzzles are fun, kids will persist and discover that sticking to a task pays off. They feel an enormous sense of accomplishment when they've achieved their goal. Seeing the tangible results of mastering a new skill builds confidence to take on the next challenge. So it's not really so puzzling why kids love puzzles.

Here are some of the specific skills kids are developing and how puzzles "fit the picture."

Seeing Similarities
Matching activities help kids note similarities, which in turn enable them to generalize. When kids notice which puzzle piece fits in a particular place or recognize that an M and an m are related, they are learning how things can be grouped into categories.

Seeing Differences
Making distinctions is another basic cognitive ability. When kids recognize that a puzzle piece is the wrong shape or too big, they are seeing what does and doesn't belong in a category. In a Hidden Pictures® puzzle, kids are challenged to observe closely and note details as they hunt for objects positioned in different directions and embedded in a complex picture. This skill is important when kids are learning to read and need to see subtle distinctions between letter forms, such as a d and a b.

Sequencing
Sometimes, order matters. Young kids are just beginning to understand that the days of the week or the pages of a book are sequenced in a specific way. Dot-to-dot activities provide sequencing practice with a great payoff. If you connect the dots in order, a picture appears!

Remembering
Many puzzles and other activities involve memory—something kids seem to have in abundance, especially when it comes to promised ice cream! Solving puzzles encourages kids to hold visual images in their memories. Where is that blue piece that completes the birdhouse?

Seeing Patterns
Seeing a pattern helps kids predict what's next. The ability to recognize and create patterns is essential in math, reading, and science. Working puzzles and playing games with repetitive rules and procedures provide a hands-on way for kids to practice recognizing and remembering patterns. As they play, kids use what they know to anticipate what follows. Game rules and puzzle-solving strategies follow repetitive patterns. That repetition builds confidence, since kids know what to expect.

It was illuminating to look into the question of why kids are so drawn to puzzles. The answer is that they give kids a fun way to practice emerging skills, master new ones, and develop a "can-do" attitude when faced with new challenges.

• Encourage children to describe the differences and similarities in these two illustrations.
• If you record children's observations, you can refer back to your list when you revisit these pages. Perhaps you'll discover differences that you missed the first time around!

When children talk about these pages, they are learning to look carefully, to pay attention to small details, and to use words to explain what they see or think. These are important early-literacy skills.

*Speaking & Communicating (Uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary.)
*Approaches to Learning, Reasoning & Problem Solving (Develops increasing abilities to classify, compare and contrast objects, events and experiences.)

Banana Dippers (page 28)

• Have children use the pictures to read the list of ingredients and explain what happens in each step.
• If possible, make this recipe together.

When children help cook, they learn to measure and work with fractions. They also observe how mixtures are formed and changed. In this recipe, children discover that heating the peanut butter and honey mixture makes it thinner. If you make this recipe with children under the age of four, eliminate the raisins. They can be a choking hazard.

*Mathematics: Number & Operations (Begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.)
*Science: Scientific Knowledge (Shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships.)

Time for a Nap (pages 29 to 31)

• Before you read the story, ask children to explain why they do or do not like to take naps.
• Ask them to predict what might happen in this story.
• Read the story and then ask children to retell it. Encourage them to use the pictures to recall the sequence of events.

When children talk about their own experiences before hearing a story, they will use what they have experienced to better understand the story. This helps develop children's ability to comprehend what they hear. This is critical to later reading success. Learning to retell a familiar story is another important early-reading skill that children can practice, even before they learn to read.

*Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Demonstrates progress in abilities to retell stories from books and experiences and to predict what will happen next in a story.)
*Language Development: Speaking & Communicating (Develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, and opinions.)

*Early-childhood standards based on the U.S. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.

ACTIVITIES
Fun This Month (page 2)
Learn how to say "I Love You" in five languages and figure out a puzzle.

Find the Pictures (page 2)
Look for the 10 pictures hidden throughout the issue.

Hidden Pictures® (page 14)
Find the ring, slipper, and other objects.

BrainPlay (page 39)
What do teeth do?

HUMOR
The Timbertoes® (page 21)
Ma creates an unexpected Valentine's Day greeting.

READERS' CONTRIBUTIONS
What's Inside? (page 18)
Kids share their drawings of mysterious creatures.

Your Own Pages (page 32)
Readers see drawings and poems from their peers all over the world.

REBUS
A Cold Kangaroo (page 35)
A quick-thinking woman helps rescue a kangaroo found hopping in the snow.

ACTIVITIES
Fun This Month (page 2)
Learn how to say "I Love You" in five languages and figure out a puzzle.

Find the Pictures (page 2)
Look for the 10 pictures hidden throughout the issue.

Maatcha, Maatcha, Bagootar! (page 10)
Try this Nepali game for two players.

Sticky-Bun Butter (page 10)
Make a breakfast treat.

Hidden Pictures® (page 14)
Find the ring, slipper, and other objects.

Crafts (page 24)
Design some Wiggly Noodle Snakes, make a Build-a-Picture Game, and create a Sign of Love.

Party Brainteaser (page 28)
Solve this puzzle.

Thinking (page 34)
Ponder what's happening in this diner.

BrainPlay (page 39)
Name two foods that are sweet, two that are salty, and two that are sour.

Picture Puzzler (page 43)
Find words that sound alike in this picture.

FICTION
Don't Eat the Giggleberries! (page 22)
A fruit vendor cheers up the residents of Sadville.

Allie's Sparrow (page 36)
This young girl helps free a bird that got caught in a store.

HUMOR
Jokes (page 15)
Readers relate the best jokes they have heard.

The Timbertoes® (page 21)
Ma creates an unexpected Valentine's Day greeting.

Riddles (page 38)
Kids share their favorite riddles.

READERS' CONTRIBUTIONS
What's Inside? (page 18)
Kids share their drawings of mysterious creatures.

Your Own Pages (page 32)
Readers see drawings and poems from their peers all over the world.

Dear Highlights (page 42)
The editors deal with readers concerns about test-taking trouble and thinking of an idea for an invention for a class project.

REBUS
A Cold Kangaroo (page 35)
A quick-thinking woman helps rescue a kangaroo found hopping in the snow.

SCIENCE AND NATURE
Weaving in My Mango Tree (page 8)
See how weaver ants save mango trees.

Science Corner (page 20)
Learn why some bushes and trees don't drop their leaves in winter.

Dino Days (page 20)
"Which was the first dinosaur to go extinct?" Dino Don Lessem answers this question.

VALUES
Goofus and Gallant® (page 28)
Goofus leaves things where they fall; Gallant picks up.

VERSE
There Are Days and There Are Days (page 5)

Fred (page 15)

You don't have to be a reporter to conduct an interview, and posing questions is a great way for you and your kids to learn more about one another.

Here are some questions that will encourage an exchange and may open up more discussion.

Questions Your Child Can Ask You:
What was it like in your elementary school?
How would you describe your favorite teacher?
What memories do you have of something surprising happening in school?
What did you do after school?
What were your friends like?
What kinds of games did you play?

Questions You Can Ask Your Child:
If you had more free time, what would you do?
What do you like most about your best friend(s)?
What makes you really mad, and why?
If you could ask the President of the United States three questions, what would they be?
What is your favorite time of year, and why?
If you could take a trip anywhere you wanted, where would you go?