Ryan Hulance, 13, Solihull, Great Britain, started collecting cans to recycle hoping to raise some money for local food banks. He has now collected over 1.5 MILLION cans and has raised an amazing $20,000 thus far! He turned in the collected aluminum cans to a local scrap metal company earning about 10-50 cents per pound. When people heard of what Ryan was doing, they began dropping off cans to his home. His parents were crush the can so they didn't take up too much space. Someone heard about Ryan's efforts and donated an industrial crushing machine that also bundled the cans. Ryan estimates that he works about 20 hours a week collecting cans. Congrats to Ryan for his caring spirit to help others and for helping the environment, too.

Photograph from Goodnewsnetwork

Do you like going underwater and seeing how long you can hold your breath?Scientists say queen bumble bees can survive submerge for days even a week! With spring, many of the underground nests get flooding but the queen bumble bees are able to slow their respiration and seldom move during their winter sleep. It is thought that a tiny layer of air clings to the queen's body, while under the water, giving her breathable air to survive.You may wonder why this is important. Scientists have learned that if the queen bumble bee doesn't survive the winter to lay her first eggs, there will be NO colony for that year. The survival technique helps to ensure that the next generation of bees will be around to pollinate and protect our food supply.

Photograph from Discover Magazine

Many kids have or have had a sock monkey at some point in their lives. Emilia Evans Munton, 22, has made a sock monkey which is the largest sculpture in the world. Guinness World Records just confirmed that her 49.5 ft. long sock monkey is the biggest ever made. Emilia used over 200 ft. of corduroy and 40 bales of hay to make her sculpture last fall at Glasgow, Scotland's School of Art. Called "Remember I'm Still Here", it took about 1 week to make the clothing and another week to stuff! Recycled wood was used for the giant button eyes. After being displayed, the stuffing was removed and what was left of the sock monkey was placed in Emilia’s grandmother's attic.

Photographs from Smithsonian

Hunted by sailors, the giant tortoises of the Floreana Island were wiped out. Additionally, animals not native to the island came with the sailors, including cats ,rats and goats and also helped to wipe out the unique species of giant tortoises who lived on the island in the Galapagos. For a couple of years, scientists have been raising 600 baby tortoises, found on Isabela Island. They have a similar DNA to the Floreana tortoises. Last week, giant tortoises have once again returned to the island for the first time in 150 years.

Photograph from NewsforKids

TAKE A PEEK at THESE ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:

Teaching Tips A-Z

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Calender of Resources for the Year:

Landmarks from Around the World

Mrs. Waffenschmidt

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

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.






Mail Gail:
Gail Hennessey

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