In 2024, a Norway Spruce tree, from Stockbridge, MA, has been selected as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. It is 74 ft. tall and is 43 ft. Wide. The tree is estimated to be about 70 years old. Head gardener for Rockefeller Center, Eric Pauze, has been selecting the tree for 30 years. Trees usually arrive by flatbed truck, with a BIG sign saying it is the Rockefeller Center Tree. Sometimes the tree has arrived by other methods including by a barge and a helicopter. The tree will go up the Wednesday after Thanksgiving and will be taken down at the end of the twelve days of Christmas, January 7th. The tree will eventually be donated for lumber to build homes for the organization, Habitat for Humanity. Photograph of tree before it left the NYC is from Rockefeller Center. Learn fun facts about the famous tree at this link: Learn about the history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Kali McMillin, 12, of Salem, Ohio, grew a pumpkin, a really big one. At the local Canfield Fair, her pumpkins weighed in at 1951 pounds and broke the fair's record previously held by her father,from two years ago. Growing pumpkins is in the family. Kali's pumpkin ,which was 4 ft. wide, earned her a trophy and certificate. Currently, the world record for a pumpkin is 2749 pounds!

Photograph from Salem News

Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, of Nepal,is from a family of mountain climbers. His father was the youngest to summit Mt. Everest, without additional oxygen, at the age of 19! Starting at the age of 16, Nima began climbing the tallest peaks in the world. This fall, Nima became the youngest person to summit ALL fourteen of the tallest mountain peaks in the world, including Mt. Everest! Nima joins a small group, just 50 people, to have accomplished this task. Congratulations to Nima!

Nima's Facebook page

The five day celebration, known as Diwali, will be a bit different this year, in the capital city of India. The holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs, held October 29th-November 3rd this year, will not have any festive firework displays in Delhi. Fireworks and firecrackers are very popular during this holiday. Diwali or Deepavali meaning "Festival of Lights" is a joyous time. People pray, give gifts, light lamps, eat special foods such as sweet treats called laddus (sweet wheat balls with nuts and fruits) and Karanjis (flour friend dumplings with coconut and sugar). It is a time to get together with family and friends.However, this year, the government has banned fireworks due to increased pollution concerns. Learn about Diwali at this link: Learn about Diwali

Artificial Intelligence(AI) was recently used over the Nazca Desert in Peru and an amazing discovery was made. More than 303 additional geoglyphs of different creatures were found. There were at least 430 previously known geometric designs, birds and animals. What makes these amazing designs very interesting is they can only be seen from the air! Many of the designs are estimated to be more than 2000 years old.

Photographs from goodnewsnetwork

There is a LOT of trash on Mt. Everest. Last year, almost 94 tons of trash was taken down from the famous mountain. That is amazing! Nearly 60,000 people try and make it to the base camp each year. Each climber pays a $4,000 fee and it is only refunded if the climber brings down at least 17.6 pounds of trash. Still the trash continues to grow.Now, drone technology is planned to help lift trash left on the slopes! The drones can carry up to 515 pounds every hour, much faster than local Sherpa guides can do. Interesting piece of Mt. Everest history. Climbers(in 1924),Andrew Irvine and George Mallory, never returned from their trek up Mt. Everest. This week, a boot, with a sock inside with the name of Andrew Irvine,was discovered. Did these two men summit Mt. Everest before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway? (1953) The search will continue in the area of this discovery for more remains and their camera.

Picture from PixabayLearn about Mt. Everest:Mt. Everest, Freebie

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About Gail:

I retired from teaching after 33 1/2 years in the classroom. Of that time, I taught Grade 6 Social Studies teacher for 31 1/2 years.I earned my BA in early secondary education with a concentration in social studies from SUNY Oneonta, New York, and my MST in social studies education from Binghamton University in New York. In 1988, I was awarded the Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the New York State Council for the Social Studies. Additionally, in 1988, I was also awarded the Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award by the National Council for the Social Studies. I am the author of 8 books for teachers and over 35 books for children(Purple Turtle Series by Aadarsh Publishing and Odd History Series by Red Chair Press).

My work has appeared in most children's publications including:
Highlights for Children,News-O-Matic,Appleseed,,Scholastic's Super Science,,Scholastic's Science World,Jack and Jill,National Geographic World, Ranger Rick, Cobblestone, Faces, Muse Magazine,Contact Kids, US Kids,Action Magazine(Scholastic),Girls' Life,Boys' Life,American Girl, Instructor,Creative Classroom,Middle Years,Time for Kids,Scholastic News,Scholastic News Zone, Time for Kids , Ask Magazine, Dig,Calliope, Cobblestone, FACES, Studies Weekly, Glo Adventurer, and more.

* Special thanks to EducationWorld for letting me use this image of my "alter ego" as Mrs. "Waffenschmidt!







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* Special thanks to EducationWorld for letting me use this image of my "alter ego" as Mrs. "Waffenschmidt!

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