I Didn't Know That!

Gatherings can be educational and entertaining for children. They can give kids a chance to explore places and things they've never experienced before.

For example, did you know:

• Many county and state parks offer nature walks, complete with leaflets that identify plants and trees. Organize a contest with a prize for the child who collects and identifies the greatest number of leaves from different kinds of trees. (Start by teaching kids how to identify and avoid poison ivy!)

• Hummingbirds flap their wings 55 times per second and can fly at 25 mph. (By the way, hummingbirds don't migrate on the backs of geese.) How about a contest to spot the most unusual birds or butterflies?

• Teach kids to be good stewards of the Earth. (Learn about the Ecology Awareness  program provided by Modern Woodmen of America.)

• Only three natural objects in the sky are bright enough to cast a shadow - the sun, the moon and Venus. As the day's light fades, hold a contest to see who is the first person to spot Venus. Click here for directions telling where to look for Venus and other planets.

• Several of Jupiter's moons can be seen with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Show children the Earth's moon and explain its phases. Then let them see the moons of Jupiter.

• The age of a tree can be determined by counting its rings. The live portion of a tree includes only the most recent rings. The largest part of a tree is dead wood (often a darker color). Find a sawed log and show children the rings. Point out how large the tree was the year they were born or in 1969, the year man first landed on the moon.

• Oxymorons are phrases with words that seem to contradict one another. Examples:

• • jumbo shrimp

  • cruel kindness

  • act naturally

  Hold a contest to see who is the first person to write down 10 of them. Ask everyone to read their list out loud. The results can be surprising. (Want a contest that's even more challenging? Try palindromes, below.)

• Palindromes are words or phrases that read the same from right to left and from left to right. Examples:

  • mom

  • pop

  • Anna

  Now, just for fun, let's try some complicated ones. (The spaces between words will be different from right to left than from left to right.) Try:

  • So many dynamos

  • Sit on a potato pan, Otis.

  • Go hang a salami. I'm a lasagna hog.

  Challenge your older kids to create their own palindromes.