April fools

Mackenzie put a whoopie cushion
on the teacher’s chair.
Makayla told the teacher
that a bug was in her hair.

Alyssa brought an apple
with a purple gummy worm
and gave it to the teacher
just to see if she would squirm.

Elijah left a piece of plastic
dog doo on the floor,
and Vincent put some plastic vomit
in the teacher’s drawer.

Amanda put a goldfish
in the teacher’s drinking glass.
These April Fool’s Day pranks
are ones that you could use in class.

Before you go and try them, though,
there’s something I should mention:
The teacher wasn’t fooling
when she put us in detention.

–Kenn Nesbitt

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EASTER TIME

EASTER T

Easter time is upon us

Spring has come at last

Displaying all her beauty

Like a carpet she has cast

 

Out of the dreary winter

With colours of every shade

A breath-taking panorama

That Mother Nature has made

 

Frogs in the Lilly ponds

With frogspawn all around

Soon there will be tadpoles

Jumping up and down

Birds are also busy

Building with haste and zest

Making ready for new life

As they build their precious nest

 

 Children prepare their Easter bonnets

Decorated with chicks eggs and glue

Display them at the Easter Parade

For the delights of me and you

 

It’s a time of new beginnings

To focus on new things to do

 Be more positive in your thinking

To create a better future for you

 

Malcolm G Bradshaw

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Smoking and cancer: Why do people smoke?

People smoke for many different reasons. Smoking is very addictive because tobacco contains a powerful drug called nicotine. Smokers have also been influenced by the clever marketing tactics of tobacco companies for many years.

Nicotine as a drug

Cigarettes are deliberately designed to give you a fast nicotine hit. It takes just 10 seconds for the drug to reach your brain from inhaled cigarette smoke. Nicotine causes addiction in much the same way as heroin or cocaine. It is just as addictive as these ‘harder’ drugs.

Nicotine is a stimulant that increases your heart rate and affects many different parts of your brain and body. Smokers get a high because nicotine triggers the release of dopamine in the brain – a chemical linked to feelings of pleasure.

This also means that smokers start to make a mental link between the act of smoking and feeling good. Because of this, smokers can also become addicted to abstract things like the taste of cigarettes or the feeling of smoking, as well as the nicotine itself.

 

Withdrawal symptoms

Addiction explains why giving up smoking can cause nicotine withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms include cravings, irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, restlessness and disturbed sleep.

As your body adjusts to the lack of nicotine, these symptoms will start to disappear and most will go away within a month. Withdrawal symptoms can be difficult to cope but the benefits to your health are well worth it.

Nicotine as a poison

Nicotine is a neurotoxin (a poison that kills nerve cells) found in tobacco plants. It acts as a defence mechanism to stop them from being eaten by animals.

However, in cigarettes, the level of nicotine is too low to cause poisoning. And the nicotine in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a safe way to come off the nicotine in cigarettes. Using NRT can double your chances of successfully quitting.

Tobacco advertising and promotion

Half of smokers die from smoking-related diseases. The tobacco industry needs new customers to replace the 114,000 people who are killed by smoking in the UK each year. Cigarette manufacturers make sure that:

• they know exactly why people smoke
• they cleverly market products to attract new customers.

In the past cigarette manufacturers have deliberately targeted children and young people. The industry spends a great deal of money on making cigarettes seem glamorous, appealing, fashionable and attractive. Most smokers started when they were young and image conscious. Young smokers often find it difficult to give up in later life.

Cigarette advertising is now banned in the UK. So the industry is developing new and subtle tactics to avoid prosecution.

Stress and relaxation

Many people claim that smoking helps them to cope with stress. But in fact, nicotine is a stimulant and won’t help you to relax. Smokers probably think a cigarette makes them feel better because when they aren’t smoking they suffer from nicotine withdrawal.

Other personal reasons for smoking

People have many other personal reasons for smoking. Smokers may:

• use smoking as a support for when things go wrong
• enjoy smoking with others as a shared activity
• use smoking to start conversations and meet new people
• smoke to make themselves look more confident and in control
• think that cigarettes help them to keep their weight down
• have a cigarette when they’re feeling bored or lonely
• smoke when they need a break or a moment to themselves.

Knowing why you smoke is one of the first steps towards giving up.

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hush a little baby daddy’s sad

Hush little baby Daddys here

Hush little baby dont you fear

Hush little baby as i hold my tear

Hush little baby dont you hear
Hush little baby daddys son

Hush little baby daddy will see you soon
Hush little baby Daddy did try

Hush little baby dont you sigh

Hush little baby as i start to cry

Hush little baby daddy never got say bye bye

hush little baby mummy took you away

hush a little baby daddy misses you every day

hush little baby will daddy ever see you again.

colin thornton

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BABY……

Baby let me tell u how I feel

Baby let me love u till the end

Baby my heart is urs

Baby let me touch u all over

Baby can I kiss ur lips

Baby can I rub ur feet

Baby look me in my eyes and don’t blink

Baby when the sun goes down will u be around

Baby let’s walk the hall of love

Baby when I look at u I see another world in ur eyes

Baby I’m tha man that can take u where u need and want to go

Baby please let’s go and don’t say no Baby this is my last cry

Baby make love to me till the end of time
Baby….

Ralph Acosta

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“Turn Off the TV” Poetry Theater

Adapted from the poem by Bruce Lansky in My Dog Ate My Homework, published by Meadowbrook Press. Summary: A child debates watching TV with his parents. Presentation Suggestions: Read or perform the poem with your friends. Act out the different lines while you read them. Props: A TV would be a great prop but if one is not available the poem can be performed without it. Delivery: The lines of the poem should be read with poetic rhythm but don’t worry too much about this. For more information on poetic rhythm and how to perform poetry, please read the Performing Poetry section of our site.   Characters:     Child     Mom     Dad Turn Off the TV! Child: My father gets quite mad at me;          my mother gets upset–          when they catch me watching          our new television set.                My father yells:            Dad (yelling): Turn that thing off!            Child: Mom says:            Mom: It’s time to study.            Child: I’d rather watch my favorite TV show          with my best buddy.                I sneak down after homework          and turn the set on low.          But when she sees me watching it,          my mother yells out:                Mom (yelling): No!            Child: Dad says:            Dad: If you don’t turn it off,          I’ll hang it from a tree!                Child: I rather doubt he’ll do it,          ’cause he watches more than me.                He watches sports all weekend,          and weekday evenings too,          while munching chips and pretzels–          the room looks like a zoo.          So if he ever got the nerve          to hang it from a tree,          he’d spend a lot of time up there–          watching it with me.                THE END! © 1996 by Bruce Lansky. Adapted from the poem “Turn Off the TV” from My Dog Ate My Homework, published by Meadowbrook Press. This classroom theater play version of “Turn Off the TV” is © 1999 by Meadowbrook Press.   Permission is given for individual school classes to perform this play and to make as many copies of the play as are needed for the students’ use. All other reproduction and performance is prohibited under penalty of law. For use of this play outside individual classes, please contact info@meadowbrookpress.com for permission.

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DO KIDS WATCH TOO MUCH TV

 

                                      

 

  Most kids plug into the world of television long before they enter school.

• two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
• kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs
• kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.

The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.

As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family.

Of course, TV in moderation can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer.

But despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental:

• Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
• Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
• TV characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

Children’s advocates are divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that zero TV is the best solution. And some say it’s better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach kids that it’s for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism.

That’s why it’s so important for you to monitor the content of TV programming and set viewing limits to ensure that your kids don’t spend too much time parked in front of the TV

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